For all of my (18+) parenting years I have been making breakfast for our family. Cereal has been a rarity, saved only for the “I can’t even” mornings. Big breakfasts for our family have been necessary and good for the following reasons:
- Our growing boys need to eat something substantial to keep them full until lunchtime.
- Fixing one big breakfast for everyone has been easiest up until now.
- Eating our meal together has been a special time as we begin our days together with yummy food and Bible time.
I’ve always been a careful planner, adding a breakfast plan into our overall meal plans for the week. I’ve worked to make breakfast foods the night before to make the mornings simpler. This has all been working well for years and years. It’s been working so well, in fact, that it has been a part of our nightly routine for the boys to ask in anticipation, “What’s for breakfast tomorrow?!”
The past few months, however, I’ve been growing a bit burned-out on breakfast prep. Our days are constantly full, our evenings are super busy, and lately when the boys have asked the nightly question, “What’s for breakfast tomorrow?” I’ve had an unseemly urge to grunt loudly and throw a pillow at them. Sweet, huh? Bet you wish I was your mom.
Breakfast? I am so over it. Ask me again in a few years when my daily life-with-teenagers schedule demands aren’t so…demanding. Of course, by then there will be fewer people here to feed in the mornings and I’ll not know how to make less than a triple batch of waffles. So basically I’ll be having breakfast issues for the rest of my life.
It’s Time for a Change
I am giving in to a new way of doing breakfast around here. My morning God time before all the boys get up is so dear to me and basically necessary to my family’s survival – even more than food. This mom needs her quiet chair time in which she spends time seeking Jesus while drinking coffee and soaking in the Word. My sanity depends on it, so I think we can all agree that staying in the chair for as long as possible each morning is much more important than baking muffins.
Instead of cutting into my sleep (no, no, no, no, no!) or my God time (we’ve been through this already) I’m checking breakfast off my to-do list. I’m not done eating this meal, mind you. We will all continue to eat breakfast. I’m just done regularly cooking big breakfasts for everyone on a regular basis. Deciding this has been a pleasantly nice relief. I didn’t even know it was bothering me that much. (The urge to throw pillows woke me up to the truth.)
The New Breakfast Plan
We still need to eat breakfast. We still want to eat this meal as a family. We still want to have our family Bible time together first thing in the mornings. But from now on, the boys will figure out their own breakfasts (except for the rare occasion I find my sanity at an earlier hour and surprise them with French toast).
Remember how I told you that teaching your kids to cook when they are young (or old) comes back to bless you one hundred fold when they are older? This is one of those glorious times. My boys are so capable! They can all prepare a simple breakfast for themselves each morning. Then we can all sit down together as normal and instead of starting my day overwhelmed, I’ll sit down with everyone and enjoy our morning devotional.
Breakfast Food Options
There will almost always be eggs and fruit for the boys to start with as they figure out their breakfast plan each morning. They can all scramble or fry eggs. Here are other options that will be available (though not always at the same time):
- Stir-n-Pour Bread
Because this bread is so easy to make, we frequently have some hanging out and ready to eat. It toasts up nicely and makes a tasty part of breakfast.
- Granola ~ 5-Minute Stove-Top Version
I can easily whip up a batch of this or have one of the boys do it. It keeps for quite a while too, so making huge batches is a good idea – then we have it for breakfast options for a few weeks.
- Muffins or Bars (loads of recipes here!)If one of us finds ourselves with time the afternoon or night before, we can prep some baked goods to go with breakfast the next day. It is so helpful to have these on hand IF we can squeeze it in.
- Homemade Instant Oatmeal
I always have a big jarful of instant oatmeal ready for the boys to make for themselves. It is a life-changing recipe. Make some of this if you haven’t already.
- Giant Breakfast CookiesOne of the boys can mix these up and bake them. Then we can keep them in the freezer to pull out as needed.
Those basic options, along with eggs and fruit will take care of our breakfasts just fine. When I do have time to make pancakes or waffles, I’ll be sure to make extra for the freezer for additional options.
So there you have it. My new breakfast plan for our family. I no longer feel like throwing pillows. Now to figure out a new and improved laundry system…
