replacing breakfast

Reznik

I work an office job and don't have time to make breakfast at home before I go to work. Due to the close proximity of Tim Hortons I end up eating breakfast cake (aka muffins) almost every day. I'm trying to cut that shit out of my diet, so I'm looking for something drinkable to replace it with. Are any of those meal replacement shake things actually any good? I remember drinking 'Carnation instant breakfast' back when I was in high school and those were filling enough but I don't know if they had any decent nutritional value, and I would like to consume something that isn't just sugar and carbs.

I'm both super lazy and have no time in the mornings, hence looking for the convenience of something in drinkable/powder mix form. Most of the quick 'healthy' type breakfast options that I could buy close to work are things I don't eat (like yogurt and oatmeal and stuff).

AngelHedgie

Honestly, you should really rethink oatmeal. Not only is it something easy to prepare and keep around (I keep a box of instant oatmeal packets at my desk for breakfast), it's also good for getting oats in your diet. Which is good for your heart. I also keep breakfast biscuits (sort of like whole grain breakfast cookies) as well, which also provide additional grains in my diet.

Enc

I'm a fan of Kind bars. Its a nut based thing like a granola bar, only without grains. Pretty tasty and the almonds and dried fruit keep you full till lunch.

schuss

Cereal or toast with peanut butter with a banana don't take long at all. It's maybe 5-10 minutes? Don't mean to be a dick, but that's not a lot of time to make for breakfast.

Six

If you have time to stop at Tim Hortons to get a muffin, you have time to eat cereal with a banana.

Reznik

I'm a picky eater, which is why I'm looking for a drink. Bananas gross me out to the point where I feel like gagging if I so much as smell them. Cereal gets pricey and the kinds I like are full of sugar. I'm trying to cut bread out of my diet entirely, so no toast.

I'll look into the breakfast biscuits, and I swear I've seen one of the places attached to my office selling those Kind bars.

tinwhiskers

While they aren't amazingly healthy, the microwave egg-mcMuffins( the turkey ones are bit lower on the calorie count) from like Jimmy Dean aren't bad, and I feel like a breakfast with some fat and protein keeps me full a lot longer than a big bowl o carbs.

Iruka

If you have a blender and no one to wake up, making your own smoothies is ideal, you can also put things like oats/supplements/greens into smoothies and not really taste it. Lots of recipes out there for healthy smoothies, and you can separate and portion out frozen fruit into little packages ahead of time.

You can work through some food aversions with simple persistence. I used to gag on taste/smell of asparagus, but just forced myself to work through it. I'm trying to do the same thing with sweet potatoes and peas now. I understand its a physical revulsion, but its not entirely inherent, at least for me.

CelestialBadger

Boil a big batch of eggs at the weekend and peel them. Then grab one and a piece of fruit. Healthy breakfast. If you are really super-lazy you can buy bags of pre-boiled eggs at the supermarket.

There's no point in cutting bread out of your diet and then eating meal-replacement shakes. They aren't any healthier.

breton-brawler

if you have a blender you can do frozen type smoothies, the night before, and have it ready to go. another option is to do breakfast wraps. they hold well overnight and a quick pop in the microwave is decent for running out the door. something like that with a few slices of oranges, or watermelon is a pretty decent start. the brekafast wraps, are just a base of scrambled eggs, some cheese, a veggie of your choice, peppers, onions, mushrooms, baby spinach etc. throw in a tortilla, wrap in plastic wrap. You could even do 3 days worth, as long as you kept them refrigerated.

chromdom

I made a similar switch a year or so ago, on the advice of a trainer (note: not a nutritionist!).
Muffin tin, spray with no-stick spray.
Fill 1/2 to 2/3 full with egg whites, spinach (I don't like spinach so went with green onion), and maybe a little spice, herb, or cheese as you see fit.
Bake 375F for about a half hour. Make a week's worth at a time. Throw an english muffin in the toaster (I set my 'egg mcmuffin' on the toaster to warm it up) as you start to get dressed, then grab it on your way out the door and eat it on the way to work.
I think it is a nutritious, tasty, sustainable for those of us who are breakfast lazy, and easy way to go.
Plus it's probably cheaper than other options, so that's good too.

DivideByZero

I literally, literally literally lived on Carnations Instant Breakfast for the two months I spent with a wired jaw so if you're concerned about nutritional value, have at it. Blend it up with a yogurt and you won't even notice the yogurt.

Jimmy King

Reznik wrote: »

I'm a picky eater

Reznik wrote: »

Most of the quick 'healthy' type breakfast options that I could buy close to work are things I don't eat (like yogurt and oatmeal and stuff).

This is your problem. Learn to eat more foods, and yes, it is learning at times. Sometimes being healthy isn't about doing what you want, it's about doing what you need to do, just like so many other things in life. The good part is that more often than not, the things you start doing because you should become things you like. Your body changes, your taste buds change, etc. This is coming from a 36 year old who wouldn't eat any vegetables except corn, potatoes (both hardly qualifying as vegetables), and basic salads with so much dressing that they were no longer healthy or low calorie until maybe 3-4 years ago. I taught myself to eat other proper vegetables for lunch and dinner because of cholesterol issues. I taught myself to eat oatmeal... I never disliked it exactly, but it wasn't exactly that the top of my list of things to eat for breakfast, either.

Oatmeal is a great thing to use. Most mornings I eat a bowl of instant oatmeal. Dump the packet into the bowl, add some water, microwave to 1.5 to 2 minutes, and eat. Done. Sometimes it takes some experimenting with amount of watever, microwave time, and time sitting after (it will thicken as it sits) to find a texture you are ok with initially. Different varieties of oatmeals will also muck that up a bit... quaker low sugar vs quaker weight control vs simple truth flax and oatmeal, etc. every one of them cooks up a bit different.

dispatch.o

I can't think of anything that would be filling long term that wouldn't require an amount of preparation the morning of or night before. You're at least looking at using/rinsing a blender for smoothies.

I'd say mini quiches microwave well and you can make a half dozen every Sunday before the work week.

Heir

AngelHedgie wrote: »

Honestly, you should really rethink oatmeal. Not only is it something easy to prepare and keep around (I keep a box of instant oatmeal packets at my desk for breakfast), it's also good for getting oats in your diet. Which is good for your heart. I also keep breakfast biscuits (sort of like whole grain breakfast cookies) as well, which also provide additional grains in my diet.

I second/third this. At work (when I worked in an office), I'd keep a box of plain, instant oatmeal, some peanut butter, and boxes of raisins at my desk. Took me all of 3 minutes to mix that up in the microwave with some cinnamon as well. Really good, lots of good fats, proteins and fiber. Kept me reliably full for 4 hours until lunch.

WiseManTobes

Heir wrote: »

AngelHedgie wrote: »

Honestly, you should really rethink oatmeal. Not only is it something easy to prepare and keep around (I keep a box of instant oatmeal packets at my desk for breakfast), it's also good for getting oats in your diet. Which is good for your heart. I also keep breakfast biscuits (sort of like whole grain breakfast cookies) as well, which also provide additional grains in my diet.

I second/third this. At work (when I worked in an office), I'd keep a box of plain, instant oatmeal, some peanut butter, and boxes of raisins at my desk. Took me all of 3 minutes to mix that up in the microwave with some cinnamon as well. Really good, lots of good fats, proteins and fiber. Kept me reliably full for 4 hours until lunch.

I'll jump in the oatmeal train too, Quaker has tons of flavors too ( hooked on their cookie and cream one atm )
And ya it's 1-2 mins in the microwave, or about the same if you have a kettle, pour kettle water on and it's ready in 30 seconds.

As you get older you will not regret adding in Oatmeal as well, helps you poop

Foomy

If your not that into the packaged add water and microwave sort of oatmeals, Then I suggest trying making some baked oatmeal. It's basically just like oatmeal cake/muffins that you can keep in your fridge and just microwave for like 30s to heat up and then eat. Make it on the weekend and your set for breakfast for the work week.

-3 cups oats
-1 cup brown sugar (or less if you want it healthier/less sweet)
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt
-1 cup milk
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
-1 cup add-ins of your choice

bake 35-40mins at 350 in either a 9x13 pan or muffins tins.

You can add any sort of nuts/candy chips/fruit/spices that you like to it to make it taste to your liking and is really filling.

Quid

Seems an easy work around is to get up ten minutes earlier.

So It Goes

Quid wrote: »

Seems an easy work around is to get up ten minutes earlier.

But he could be sleeping then!

As a non morning person, I would put together overnight oatmeal the night before (you can do a a few at once) and grab it out of the fridge in the morning.

Just google overnight oats, there are tons of easy recipes out there.

Reznik

Yeah, getting up 10 minutes early means 10 minutes less sleep. I'd rather be hungry. The last time I tried to make something for myself in the morning I boiled a pot dry and set off the smoke detector. I pretty much use the walk to work to wake myself up.

I'll look into this overnight oats thing I suppose. I just feel like I'm going to have to load it with sugar to make it palatable to me. Breakfast is a rough meal for me when it can't be bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns.

schuss

Try other seasonings, like cinnamon, or mixing in fruit. Also look at the OTHER things you're eating. A lot of your palate depends on what you regularly eat, so if you ratchet down on sugar and salt, blander items will become more edible as you can taste more of the details.
There's a lot of great suggestions in here that you're dismissing out of hand because you're boxing yourself into only the things you already eat and an unwillingness to spend any time prepping.
Also keep in mind that things like kind bars and instant breakfasts can be 1-2 bucks a pop vs. things like oatmeal which cost cents.

Also, how dare you insult the mighty potato @Jimmy King .

Reznik

I have very few expenses so I don't mind paying for convenience. I value my time far more than I value my money.

As for stuff I'm currently eating, I've been trying to cut out sugar and salt for a while now. I think literally the only things I put salt on are potatoes and eggs. With sugar I've cut out sugary drinks, switched to honey in my tea, and generally avoid chocolate/candy/etc. The biggest source of sugar in my diet right now is probably the aforementioned muffins I'm trying to cut out.

Texture's also a big deal for me. I can adjust to taste... but if the texture grosses me out, there's no getting past that.

Thro

Reznik wrote: »

switched to honey in my tea

There's still lots of calories in honey. Are you sure you're decreasing your caloric intake by using honey instead of sugar?

Reznik wrote: »

Due to the close proximity of Tim Hortons I end up eating breakfast cake (aka muffins) almost every day.

Reznik wrote: »

I'm trying to cut bread out of my diet entirely, so no toast.

I'm going to go out on a nutritional limb and say that if it's between toast and something called breakfast cake, toast sounds like a decent alternative.

Reznik wrote: »

Texture's also a big deal for me. I can adjust to taste... but if the texture grosses me out, there's no getting past that.

So it won't help with your morning rush, but there are quick cook steel cut oats. Instant oats have a texture that bugs me, but steel cut are great. I'll admit the best you can hope for from turning on the stove till all the food is in your mouth is still 30 minutes though.

I like the smoothie suggestions above. You can make some the night before, and probably have enough in the fridge in travel mugs for a few mornings.

Heir

Oatmeal texture has always kind of bothered me...I'm not a fan of "mushy" in general as a texture..and even the steel cut oats weren't passing the texture test for me.

Then I found this: https://www.kashi.com/our-foods/hot-cereal/kashi-golean-hearty-honey-cinnamon-hot-cereal

Seriously, that plus a spoonful of peanut butter mixed in was my favorite thing for a while. I finally got used to other oatmeals that I doctor up, but if texture is an issue, try that.

Reznik

I think I've seen my parents eating that Kashi stuff before. I'll check it out, 'cause something with a little crunch to it would definitely be preferable to mush.

Cantido

I'm super lazy and I still think its critical to make a healthy breakfast.

I buy unflavored Steel Cut Oats, and give them flavor by chopping up or crushing fresh berries onto them. It takes three minutes. Sugar is my number one enemy. I try to keep sugar exclusive to dessert.

Phasen

You're trying to cut out sugar, but I think most people talk about added sugar? Greek yogurt with fruit is what I eat almost every morning. Buy frozen fruit and combine them the night before.

Paladin

I drink optimum nutrition whey + whole milk, with the idea that protein loading will help stave off cravings till lunch. It works as long as I'm not bored out of my mind the first half of the day.

Cantido

Phasen wrote: »

You're trying to cut out sugar, but I think most people talk about added sugar? Greek yogurt with fruit is what I eat almost every morning. Buy frozen fruit and combine them the night before.

I should check out frozen fruit more. It would save me trips to the grocery store.

Thundyrkatz

If you don't mind the cost you could drink these GNC shakes.

They are like $2.30 a bottle if you buy them on sale, and they are almost always on some sort of buy one get one sale. They taste better then most and are higher in protein then most, which will help keep you full.

Darkewolfe

Crock pot. Steel cut oats. Diced apples and brown sugar. Make it Sunday night and you'll have enough servings to throw in Tupperware and reheat every morning.

Yes, it's more work than a breakfast shake. It's also orders of magnitude healthier and better at curbing appetite till lunch.

Barrakketh

Heir wrote: »

Oatmeal texture has always kind of bothered me...I'm not a fan of "mushy" in general as a texture..and even the steel cut oats weren't passing the texture test for me.

How were steel cut oats for you texture-wise? I cook them in my rice cooker on the porridge setting and they have a good amount of bite to them. Definitely not anything that I consider mushy, but I do set it up in the morning and not let the oats soak overnight (I like equal parts milk and water so leaving it to the timer is no bueno).

Khraul

I'm gonna second a few people in here with steelcut oats, and Darkewolfe in particular. That was my go-to for a long time...

If you do them in a slow cooker you can make a batch that's good for a few days and can be pretty easily flavoured with cinnamon, vanilla, frozen fruit, peanut butter, honey, etc... It also has a little bit better nutritional value than regular oats and instant oatmeal (the latter of which is actually very high in salt of all things).

I work shift-work and food is mostly just fuel while I'm at the office, as I don't usually have much time to eat, so cutting costs is something I'm a little focused on. Steel cut oats are a good pick because there's dozens of recipes online and a bag of steelcut oats has some pretty good cost/quantity ratios depending on brand (not as cheap as plain oats, but steelcut feels like a bit more of a meal). You can eat cheap, healthy and without much prep "per meal".

Also, when prepping it for your slow cooker, coconut oil or coconut milk can add some really good healthy fats that will help with making it all the way to lunch without feeling like you're starving.

McKid

I find it completly bonkers that you won't eat toasts because you want to cut bread from your diet, but you are considering drinking breakfast shakes every morning. Bread isn't inherently unhealthy, especially if you don't buy the shittiest white bread.

Darkewolfe

Here is my preferred recipe for steel cut oats:

http://www.theyummylife.com/Slow_Cooker_Apple_Cinnamon_Oatmeal

Reznik

McKid wrote: »

I find it completly bonkers that you won't eat toasts because you want to cut bread from your diet, but you are considering drinking breakfast shakes every morning. Bread isn't inherently unhealthy, especially if you don't buy the shittiest white bread.

I don't like bread anyway. It's always been that boring filler stuff that gets in the way of real food, so having it for breakfast would be like starting my day off with disappointment. Plus every bit of nutritional advice I've gotten from people at my gym has involved "cut out bread", so hey, that was easy.

Anyway, I stopped by the grocery store on the way back from the gym so I'm giving this overnight oats thing a shot. It's sitting in the fridge right now. 1/3 c oats, 1/3 c milk, 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder and a bit of cinnamon. We'll see how it goes.

Shadowfire

If you can't get past the texture, you could add a small scoop of granola to the oatmeal. That's the only way I can eat it.

JohnnyCache

"People at the gym" are basically the worst possible source of nutrition advice you'll find without going online. (yes I am aware of the irony, yes I mean even the totally shredded ones)

Forbe!

Hardboiled eggs, though cracking the shells may be a bit too much work. I think sams club sells pre-peeled eggs in a 5 gallon bucket.

Apples, oranges, grapefruits, kiwi, pears, cherries, strawberries, almonds, pecans. All extremely portable, no fuss foods, and able to be consumed while doing other things. Wash all the fruit the day before your work week. Portion out assorted nuts into small bags/reusable plastic containers and go about your day.

Most whey proteins and supplements taste like paste, honestly if you are that picky of an eater I doubt you will like to choke down a glass of gritty supplement shake. I think a few of the fruit companies make frozen shakes that you just add milk, or juice to and shake up, I can't attest to their nutritional value, but maybe that is worth a shot.

Reznik

JohnnyCache wrote: »

"People at the gym" are basically the worst possible source of nutrition advice you'll find without going online. (yes I am aware of the irony, yes I mean even the totally shredded ones)

It's not a gym bro lifting gym, it's a small muay thai gym with people who fight regularly and have to be crazy about staying on weight. i trust their knowledge and experience.

Cauld

You could just have some fruit. Or add fruit to something else. Like have those overnight oats you're making and some berries mixed in or an apple on the side.