by Amanda @ .running with spoons. 95 Comments
This shouldn’t come as a big surprise to anyone, given my complete obsession with cereal, but I’m willing to run the risk of stating the obvious and straight up tell you thatI like breakfast…
*said in best Jim Carey expression*I like it a lot…
Cereal. Oatmeal. Yogurt. Fruit. Whatever it is, it has to be sweet, and it has to bebig. You’ve heard the expression: “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper”? I wouldn’t exactly call my dinners pauper-ish, but I definitely prefer to eat the bulk of my calories earlier in the day.
I used to be the kind of girl who could get by on just having a Poptart or granola bar in the morning andI honestly have no idea how I managed it.After a decent amount of trial and error, I’ve discovered that breakfast has abig influence on how I feel for the rest of the day, and that eating a big breakfast makes a big difference not only in my energy levels, but in my overall hunger management as well.
If I don’t eat enough early on in the day, I notice that I have a much harder time keeping my hunger at bay – I just never seem to feel satisfied and my desire to graze goes through the roof. That and I hit a lot more energy slumps as the day progresses. Solution? Set myself up for successby eating breakfast like a king…
A lot of people mentioned that cereal doesn’t hold them over too well, which is something I can definitely relate to – a simple bowl of cereal with milk will last me all of about 30 minutes before my stomach starts asking screaming for more food. Thankfully, I’ve managed to come up with a few ways to keep it quiet for longer…
First, I always eat my cereal with yogurt instead of milk, with a 2% plain Greek being my weapon of choice. After making the switch from 0 to 2%, I can honestly say that I’ll never go back, and I opt for a plain yogurt over a flavored one because I love the tang, and the added sugar doesn’t really do me any good – instead, I prefer adding some sweetness in the form offruit, with bananas, blueberries, and applesauce being what I turn to more often than not.
But we’re not done – we’ve got ourselves a good base, but this next step is what makes it or breaks it. Nut butter. If you’ve never tried topping your cereal with nut butter, then you’re not really living missing out. Trust me on this one. Would you eat your oatmeal without nut butter? Probably not; so don’t impoverish your cereal bowls either, because that’s what’ll get you anepic bowl of goodness…
… that has a nice balance of carbs, proteins, and fats.Perfect.And if cereal isn’t your jam, then perhaps I can interest you in some breakfast bakes?
Baked Apple Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal
Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Bake
Blueberry Muffin Breakfast Bake
And if not, then there’s always the good old fashioned eggy banana oats…
I’d offer some savory breakfast options as well, but to be completely honest… I can’t even remember the last time I had a savory breakfast, so I’m probably not the best person to turn to if that’s what you’re looking for. And I feel likeI should apologize for all the breakfasts posts around these parts lately, but you have to admit… breakfast is pretty darn marvelousand worthy of some attention. Happy Monday, friends! 😀
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Do you tend to eat the majority of your calories early in the day, or save them for later?
Do you prefer sweet or savory breakfasts?
What was this morning’s breakfast?
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Oh my gosh, you’ve made me so incredibly HUNGRY!!! I’ve officially been up TOO long…I think it might be time for a little snack before I mack yet another attempt for sleep tonight! By the way…thanks for entertaining me during tonight’s bout with insomnia…even if I am practically drooling all over myself after seeing all this! Lol
Most of my meals stay pretty small and consistent in calories throughout the day, but that’s what works best for me…if I eat too big a meal all at once I feel slow and sluggish for the rest of the day.
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Gosh your food pictures always make me drool.
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I think that saying is very very true. If I don’t eat enough in the morning and early afternoon, my body seriously goes haywire and I overeat at night. I hate this because I really dislike going to bed with an overly full stomach and even worse, I hate waking up without an appetite. I prefer my breakfasts to be a good balance of sweet and savory but more on the sweet side – oatmeal with fruits & nut butter, waffles with nut butter & jam, etc. I recently discovered that my lunches need to be the biggest meal of the day for me (I am physically unable to eat too much early in the morning), which helps prevent random nightly cravings…even though there’s nothing wrong with that either 🙂
So, I want ALL of this. Sweet, Savory, all of it. Why must your pictures look SO good!?
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you are quite the breakfast gal lol i’m a creature of habit: i always have scrambled eggs (1 white, 1 whole) with spinach, onions, tomatoes, flaxseed and turkey bacon mixed in (yummmm) + wheat toast w/PB and juice… so, my breakfast is a little king-ish lol
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Can oyu please come make me a king-like breakfast? This looks SO good!!!
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Amanda @ .running with spoons.This coming from the woman who makes some insanely creative and delicious breakfasts herself? 😛
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Oh gosh, now I’m craving cereal now!! I had puffins while I was in America and they’re so good!
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Mmmmm… love me some breakfast. All of yours look soooooo good; I’m glad I was already eating my oats when I read this, otherwise I’d be crazy jealous!
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For me, breakfast is the biggest meal of the day, i always wake up hungry and i need a good breakfast to get me going! I definitely prefer sweet breakfasts over savory, oatmeal + fruit + nuts/nut butter etc…I like having a savory breakfast like an omelet with toast for dinner! Oh i often make your egg-y banana oats, which are so good- love that recipe! 🙂
This morning’s breakfast…well as of now it’s only 6 am ^_^ so i have yet to have had breakfast, just coffee…but i’ll probablyl have oatmeal with banana and perhaps tahini + coconut butter, which has been a favorite latelyReply
Okay, missy. I think it’s time for you to write a breakfast creation cookbook. These photos are seriously swoon-worthy! Don’t even try to tell me that people wouldn’t buy a book about cereal, oatmeal, or breakfast bakes, either. Because they totally would. You’ve inspired countless cereal bowls over here, and I’m pretty certain that I’ll be trying out that pumpkin pie breakfast bake this week. 🙂
I used to top-load my calories at the end of the day, which was a behavior born from the fear that if I ate too much in the morning, I’d be more apt to go over my “calorie allotment” for the day. So instead, I restricted all day long, and then eased up at night, once I knew I was in a “safe zone.” So silly! Now I balance my meals throughout the day; in fact, they’re all about the same size right now. Keeping them somewhat consistent is the only way I’m able to squeeze everything in!
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All that cereal looks delicious. I’ve seen but haven’t tried that almond butter brand. How is it?
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- Amanda @ .running with spoons.
I honestly can’t say enough good things about it! The taste is amazing, it doesn’t have any added sugar or salt, and it’s perfectly drippy. The only downside is the price – it’s kind of expensive so I try and wait until it goes on sale and stock up.
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All this cereal talk has me drooling.
Dinner is always my largest meal, and my breakfasts the smallest. Apparently it’s “healthier” the other way around, but it works for me! I do bikram yoga in the mornings, and that wouldn’t really work so well if I had a huge breakfast to digest.
Almond butter is my life. I love that you drizzle it on everything. Well, not everything. That would be weird.Reply
- Amanda @ .running with spoons.
What’s healthier is whatever makes you feel your best 🙂 And I’m pretty sure that almond butter would go on everything without being too weird… I’ve used it in savory dishes before and it was surprisingly enjoyable!
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Haha, you got me thinking and I had to reply. I agree about the AB and savoury, peanut is good too. ( not for you though ;)) I think it would be weird on mexican food. But hey, ya never know till you try it.
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I probably have to admit that I am more of a savory breakfast person than a sweet breakfast. Mainly because it tides me over longer throughout the day. Still love pancakes, oatmeal and those breakfast bake links above … awesome!
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I generally do the whole 5 small meals things, so I’d say most of my meals/snacks are pretty well-balanced in terms of size, though I do prefer having a larger breakfast rather than a larger dinner since I like having a little something to eat before bed and if my dinner was too filling than I won’t be able to. Plus breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so it’s definitely a plus if it’s on the bigger side. Today’s wasn’t so big, but it was pretty filling: pumpkin almond flour pancakes topped with peanut flour paste and unsweetened applesauce. I’m loving applesauce lately for some reason!
Oh, and I’m definitely a sweet breakfast person. I’ve never understood those people who like eggs or whatever for breakfast!
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Phew! Now I know how to build a breakfast like a king!! THANK YOU! You may have yourself a new cereal breakfast buddy… okay well i probably won’t have my massive bowl until dessert bc I just can’t live w/o my pancakes in the morning 🙂
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- Kate
I pretty much never get tired of looking at breakfast pictures. yours has all the makings of greatness – carbs protein and healthy fats!! I too usually eat my calories earliest in the day, which makes sense because I work out before breakfast, so my breakfast is how I refuel. I’m usually most hungry for the lunch meal though, so I eat a lot there too, but usually not quite as much for dinner/bedtime snack.
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- Amanda @ .running with spoons.
I tried working out before breakfast on a few occasions, but it only made me feel like I was going to pass out 🙁 My belly needs something in it before I try and be active. Do you eat anything light beforehand?
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It really depends what I’m doing- with running I really can’t have anything in my stomach or i’ll puke, but cycling = way less stomach jostling so I do have like a clif bar or a few toast slices as a snack before. Actually if I’m doing a long run over an hour i’ll snack before but to give myself more time to digest it than before cycling. This is the I eat a fairly large snack right before bed and try to work out as close to first thing as possible! You can’t really train on empty and improve anyway, you need a little something or else all you do is burn fat- which only makes you faster if uou have a lot of fat to burn. Anyway i digress, this is not exercise phys class lol
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This was my favorite post I’ve read all week, no question. 🙂
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The highlight of my mornings are my big, big breakfasts. Talk about starting your day off right. 🙂 PS, obsessed with your photos–so beautiful.
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OMG I am loving these breakfast posts! Bahhhhhhh
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You must share your secret to making the most incredible looking breakfast bowls!! I too love breakfast however I still think my biggest meals are later in the day. Today’s breakfast – oats with vanilla whey powder and lots of cinnamon!
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Your breakfasts always look so good! I’m never that hungry in the mornings, so my breakfast is usually lighter with lunch and dinner being bigger meals.
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your breakfasts always look sooo amazing! I still struggle with eating alot in the am to “save” calories for later in the day because I like my dinner and just incase I get hungry.. but I been adding more in more in the am and i def have sooo much more energy throughout the day! Im more of a sweet bfast girl, i have pumpkin pie oatmeal with some coconut whipped cream this am.. always hits the spot!
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- Amanda @ .running with spoons.
Coconut whipped cream? Oooomigosh that sounds amazing.
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I eat all of my meals like a king 🙂
I have to have my cereal with yogurt. I’d still be hungry after two bowls if I just had milk! Nut butter is key too.
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I need to have a good sized breakfast too, otherwise it just throws my whole day off! Like this morning I made apple egg white oatmeal for breakfast, but I must have skimped on it somehow because it didn’t satisfy me at all. But I couldn’t eat more because I had to run out the door for class, so I felt weak and hungry for the rest of the day – even after eating other meals and snacks. Ugh.
Sweet breakfasts all the way for me! I can’t even remember the last time I had a savoury breakfast. I love eggs, frittatas, quiche, etc, but I always eat them at lunch. I need sugar to start my day haha!
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- Amanda @ .running with spoons.
Have you ever tried throwing a fried egg on top of oats with some maple syrup or jam? It’s actually a great sweet/savory combo!
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I haven’t! But I always always put egg whites in my oats for that staying power. And of course nut butter. 😉 The only thing different about my breakfast yesterday was that I didn’t add a banana because mine weren’t ripe yet, so that’s why I was still so hungry. 😛
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I usually have eggy oatmeal for breakfast, since cereal usually doesn’t satisfy me and (tear*) I think I ODed on Greek Yogurt and lost my taste for it 🙁
I actually managed to make successful (read: did not taste like thin sheets of cardboard) protein pancakes this weekend, which is fabulous since regular pancakes don’t keep me full either.
Lately though, I’ve been having egg scrambles (veggies, protein, carbs) topped with a dippy egg and toast for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, sometimes 2x a day. Yum! I think I might try your breakfast bakes to mix things up.
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- Andrea
Can you share your measurements on a bowl like this? I struggle on finding a balance between yogurt-cereal-fruit! Fill the bowl with yogurt and cereal and fruit as toppings?
Do you mix it all up after?
Ohh the confusion! 😛
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- Amanda @ .running with spoons.
Hehe it’s really not a science 😛 I just eyeball it depending on whether I feel like having more yogurt or cereal on that particular day. On the mornings where I’m hungrier, I eat more, and on the days I’m less hungry, I eat less. I don’t usually mix everything up though… I put the yogurt in first and then throw everything else on top.
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I have to agree with Alex. I know it’s terrible. I’d definitely like to try a few days where I eat more in the morning than at night though! Partly because you just made me really jealous I’ve been missing out on all that goodness!!
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when I think of a breakfast queen I think of you. You really have a way to make it an art form. You are going to hate me but I rarely eat breakfast… just not my meal. too rushed, too not hungry. I am dinner girl for favorite meal
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- Amanda @ .running with spoons.
I could never hate you, but I do think you’re kind of crazy for it 😛
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