What do you keep on hand?
 

I woke up really late this morning with no time to fix myself a cooked breakfast. What kinds of things do you folks keep on hand for situations like this? I ended up grabbing an apple and a fiber bar for the drive, but I feel like that won't be enough. What else is there I can keep around that's fast for rushed mornings like this?

I keep instant oatmeal because I always find oatmeal, even instant, to be filling. There's also scrambling an egg and microwaving it. Not as nice at stovetop scrambled eggs, but 2 eggs slapped into bread for sandwich will get me through.

A.

My favorite quickie breakfast is a healthy tortilla warmed up in the microwave with a thin spread of natural (unsweetened) chunky peanut butter and either sliced apples or sliced bananas rolled up inside.

I also do protein shakes using almond milk and a good protein powder (I get the GNC brand).

I keep single servings of protein enriched cereal in small tupperwares and fat free milk in old water bottles, so I don't have to measure anything out in the morning.

I eat raw cashews and raw cheese when I'm in a hurry.

For me a bowl of fruit and fibre with a low fat yoghurt in it instead of milk

I have a box of cereal in my office. It's Kashi Go Lean, which is ridiculously high in protein and also doesn't taste all that good, so I am not at all tempted to snack on it. I have a bowl of it most mornings, right after I arrive at work, with some skim milk and sometimes a banana.

I make my own granola--it's ridiculously easy and I can customize it to my own taste. I keep a 1/2 cup scoop in the container and have it every morning with about 8 oz. of grapefruit juice. It's such a habit for me that I feel deprived if I don't have my usual breakfast!

For road trips, I keep Nutri-Grain bars and Kashi granola bars in the cabinet.

Does oatmeal hold up in the fridge? Maybe make pre-measured servings and keep in small tupperware and zap it for 30 sec. Have plastic spoons in the car and eat on the run. That may work! Also, in the past I used to toast and butter a bagel the night before and put it in fridge in a plastic baggie, then nuke it for 20 sec. in the morning and ran with it.

Yoghurt is always my running out the door staple; even though my regular yoghurt comes in large containers, I keep a few single serve ones on hand so that I can grab one as I leave if I need to.

I go in late.

This sounds trite, but it was a really important break through for me. I thought, in the past, that I prioritized my health, but in reality I put it first, right behind all the "important" things. So if I overslept and didn't have time to exercise, I skipped it, because of course having a perfect professional reputation was more important.

This time, I've realized that I really have to put my health first, even in front of work and social obligations. I don't really sleep in--obsessive morning person--but if I did and the choice was between barely getting there on time w/o a good breakfast and lunch or eating/packing and calling in late, I'd do the latter, because my health is more important that whether the office lady or even my boss thinks I am responsible. This was one of the largest attitude adjustments I've ever made, having been raised in The Cult of The Good Work Ethic, but it's central.

It's still a good idea to have things available for "on the go", and I am reading these suggestions with interest. But this breakthrough was really, really important for me--one of the biggest steps in this journey--and this reminded me of it.

I eat a Nutrigrain bar almost every morning. I don't really know how they rank against other options when it comes to nutrition, but I love them and they keep me from getting hungry for a decent amount of time.

Ha I did the same thing this morning. I barely made it to class on time. What I do is dump a little thingy of yoplait yogurt into a bowl, and measure half a cup of Fiber One cereal into it, and eat that. I also usually have a piece of fruit too. It's really good and keeps me going for a while.

Also you can buy these yummy things called bagel thins, and toast it (or raw, that's good too!) and spread a little bit of peanut butter on both, and then sprinkle cinnamon on them and eat it like a sandwich, also with a piece of fruit.

They're both fast and really nummy.

I make healthy muffins from scratch, and freeze them in large bags. Very easy to pull out a single muffin, nuke it, and then spread it with almond butter or peanut butter. It's a pretty portable breakfast.

I try never to leave the house hungry. Bad things happen when I do that.

You can make oatmeal (not even the instant kind) in 4.5 minutes in the microwave. Add a sliced banana and put into a travel mug and go.

PBJ on light bread - I use low sugar jam I can myself, so it's not filled with high fructose corn syrup and the like.

WW tortilla with PB and banana - I heard this idea from Glory87 and it's been a go-to ever since. I will sometimes replace the banana with sliced apples and a tbsp of homemade apple butter.

If I'm traveling, I always have protein bars on hand. Not perfect, and yes, they're processed, but they're better than most road options and keep me moderately satisfied until I can get to some real food.

Egg sandwiches are also great - just microwave the scrambled egg in a bowl or small tupperware and toast the bread.

I hard boil a dozen eggs at a time and peel them and let them dry a bit on a paper towel. I take 6 zipper bags and put 2 in each one. On the days I work I grab a bag, sprinkle in a little salt and pepper and some hot sauce and throw it in my purse. I eat them on the way along with some fruit, (apple, banana, pear, peach...etc) and a yogurt. All for around 300 calories. My husband will also take some for his lunch... So a dozen really doesn't last that long. We love eggs, and a precooked hard boiled egg is a great little nutrient rich fast food. 1 egg has 100% RDA of MANY vitamins and minerals. :)

I generally keep homemade high fiber bread on hand and so toast and peanut butter has been my go-to breakfast. I did just buy some cereal again, so that may supplant toast as my hurry staple.

Special k bar / nutri grain bar

Yes, it holds up great. I cook steel cut oats on the weekend when I've got more time and during the week I scoop out a serving and microwave it for 1 minute and I'm ready to go.

But I've had mornings when I didn't have time to sit and eat the oatmeal not matter how quickly it was ready so now I always have the 12 oz cans of v8 juice, mozzarella cheese sticks and almonds (counted out and in baggies) on hand to grab on my way out the door. I can eat that breakfast while I'm driving to work and the cheese and nuts are full of protein and fill me up.

A.M. Work Rush
 

I keep Instant Oatmeal or Instant Butter Flavored Grits in my office. I make two packs in the morning with water and shot of FF Half and Half. I always grab a piece of fruit on my way out the door.

Another thing is I try to keep a couple of FF yogurts in the fridge at work and that way if I don't have anything for breakfast I'll eat one with a piece of fruit.

Grapes, bananas and yogurt. The grapes are washed and broken down in containers, I have single servings of the Yoplait light yogurt strawberry or key lime, and a banana. Off to the races. I like some of the above ideas though, gotta try them.

Bananas, apples, cheese, nuts, yogurt tubes (frozen so they're less messy), instant oatmeal (terrible for blood sugar spikes but better than no breakfast at all), little pancakes that I make in batches and freeze (throw them in the toaster and I slap some pb on them if I don't have any bread). I'm fortunate to have access to a fridge, microwave and stove at work. I usually have a tub of yogurt and a variety of berries in the work fridge, for late breakfasts or for snacks.

Sometimes, I make porridge and/or natural cream of wheat ahead; then put it in small containers in the fridge or freezer, and just nuke it. I also have small containers of fiber cereal mixed with granola that I can grab quickly. Another option is a small bagel or wg english muffin with natural peanut butter or cheeze. I always have fruit and yogurt on hand too; just grab and go ...

Oh ya, I forgot that I have all kinds of UNsalted nuts here and with some raisins or dried apricots could be put in baggies to go; we do this when we go on drives a lot.

BTW, you can get plain sugarfree Instant Oatmeal in packets too. :D

i grab a fruit, or that bottle of fruit juice. or put some sliced cheese on bread and i'm done!