Making Breakfast Easier

With the hint of fall in the air, I think of oatmeal for breakfast. It took me years to learn to eat oatmeal, and I still don't like the slimy taste of oatmeal made with water. I've come up with the perfect oatmeal recipe—for me.

Because of the hoopla  a few years ago about oat bran lowering cholesterol, I thought, why not mix oatmeal and oat bran?  And because of the omega 3 hype, I add ground flaxseed. To expedite breakfast, I make a mix of oat bran and oatmeal with a little flaxseed thrown in.

This translates into two cups oatmeal, two cups oat bran, and one-fourth to one-half cup flaxseed. In the morning, I put three-fourths cup of milk in a bowl and add one-fourth cup mix. Since two coffee measures are one-fourth cup, I keep a measure with the mix. Microwave three minutes.

To the cooked oatmeal/oat bran I have added raisins, craisins, dried apricots, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, Butter Buds, and Marion has added honey—make it to suit your taste.

Since oatmeal is not enough breakfast for me, I eat a piece of one-hundred percent whole grain toast (just recently I read that whole grain is even better than whole wheat) with natural peanut butter.

I top the toast with cranberry jam which I make (no one else in the family will touch it). I discovered while watching my daughter cook cranberries that they thicken up nicely. I add a little sweetener—not much. When cranberries are in season around Thanksgiving, I buy one or two bags a week and make my jam; that usually gives me a year's supply.

To make sure I get my protein at breakfast, I eat a boiled egg. I don't really like boiled eggs, but eating them gives me energy, and it's easier than cooking an egg. To make it even easier, I boil six or seven eggs at a time.

I think I need to clarify that I don't eat all of this at once. I start with the toast and some tea and when most people are eating their first snack, I eat the oatmeal.

Hopefully my ideas for a streamlined breakfast will inspire you.