Is Breakfast really so important??

I’ve heard, all of my life, that “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”  You hear that eating breakfast helps you perform better, loose weight faster, and feel better overall.  In fact, while doing a little research on Webmd.com this morning, I found the following, which actually links obesity to not eating breakfast.

“Some people skip breakfast in an effort to lose weight, but the practice is more likely to cause weight gain than weight loss. Skipping breakfast is strongly linked to the development of obesity. Studies show that overweight and obese children, adolescents, and adults are less likely to break the fast each morning than their thinner counterparts. According to research, skipping meals, especially breakfast, can actually make weight control more difficult. Breakfast skippers tend to eat more food than usual at the next meal or nibble on high-calorie snacks to stave off hunger. Several studies suggest that people tend to accumulate more body fat when they eat fewer, larger meals than when they eat the same number of calories in smaller, more frequent meals. To teens, especially teenage girls, skipping breakfast may seem like a perfectly logical way to cut down on calories and lose weight. It's important for moms to educate their kids about the importance of the morning meal and the role it plays in maintaining good health and preventing obesity.”

So there it is, folks!  Breakfast is incredibly important.  Now we know it, but putting it into practice is a completely different challenge!  I’m not sure about your home, but in our home, breakfast has become a cup of coffee and the occasional granola bar, while we’re walking out the door.  It just seems that no matter how hard we try to get everything ready the night before, mornings always seem to fly by, leaving no time to heat up that oatmeal, or cook those eggs on the stove.  Well, recently in our home, we’ve found a solution that works for us.

Once every 3-4 weeks, or so, I have a “breakfast-making-day” where I make several breakfast burritos and biscuits to store in our freezer.  When I came across the recipe, several weeks ago, I was skeptical at best at the way that they would taste.  However, having recently resolved to try and help our family eat better, I gave it a try and WOW!  I’m so glad I did!

I’ve listed the recipe for you, that got me started on all of this below, if you’re interested in trying it out, but I’ve made several adjustments to the recipe, and made it work for our family. Here’s the basic idea.

Breakfast Burritos:

-       Scramble 12-18 eggs on the stove.  (Stir them first in a bowl, and mix in some milk, salt and pepper.)

-       While the eggs are cooking, go ahead and cut up a package of thawed, turkey bacon, width-wise, creating little pieces. 

-       Cook those pieces on the stove, SLOWLY, until they are cooked through, and the way you like it.  (In our home, we like them crisp!)

-       Once everything is finished cooking, bring it to an open workspace, where you will compile your burritos.  Make sure to bring tin foil (cut into small pieces), paper towels, sharp cheddar cheese, and your eggs and bacon.

-       Place a piece of foil down, and then top it with a paper towel.  Place the tortilla down, and put the cheese, eggs, and bacon in the middle and roll up the tortilla.  Then, roll the tortilla in the paper towel, and then in the tin foil.  Repeat this step until you have created all of your burritos, and used all of your ingredients.

-       Place the foil-covered burritos in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag and place them into your freezer!

Now, when you’re ready to have a breakfast burrito, you simply put one out of your freezer, TAKE OFF THE FOIL, and place the burrito (still covered with a paper towel) in the microwave for 1 minute, 30 seconds.  Remove the paper towel and head out the door!

Breakfast Biscuits:

-       This recipe is basically a repeat of the one above, with the following differences.

o   Use a package of frozen Pillsbury Biscuits, rather than the tortillas.  They will need to be baked in your oven before assembling your biscuits.  (Bake them while you’re cooking your bacon!)

o   Rather than cutting the bacon into pieces, cook the entire strip.  (Approx. 1 strip per biscuit).

o   Rather than scrambling the eggs, crack an egg into a large coffee cup.  Stir it around in the cup, breaking it up, and add a splash of milk, and a small amount of salt and pepper for taste.  Place it in your microwave for 45-55 seconds until cooked.  (You may have to try it out a few times, to find the perfect time for your microwave.  It’s 51 seconds in our home!  There shouldn’t be any “popping!”)  Once it’s done cooking, use a knife to go around the edge of the egg and pull it out of the coffee cup!  Top it with the cheese to melt it!  A perfect size for a biscuit sandwich!

o   Make sure to wrap a paper towel, and a piece of foil around your biscuit and place it in a freezer-safe Ziploc!

o   ENJOY!

Here's the recipe that I got from moneysavingmom!

Freezer-Friendly Breakfast Burritos

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup chopped green pepper
• 18 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup chopped ham
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 20 flour tortillas

Saute onions and green pepper in butter. Beat eggs and milk together and pour into the skillet with the onions and peppers.

Add the ham, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until eggs are set. Mix in cheese and let melt.

Scoop 1/2 cup egg mixture onto tortillas. Fold ends under and roll up. Freeze (see instructions below) or put all burritos in a baking dish, top with extra cheese (if you’d like) and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through. Serve with salsa.

Freezer Instructions:

Wrap burrito in a paper towel and then in a sheet of foil. Seal tightly and place in freezer bags. When bag is full, remove all air and seal. Freeze.

To serve: Remove foil and put paper-towel-wrapped burrito in microwave. Reheat for around one minute. Serve with salsa.