Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Breakfast at School: SO MUCH SUGAR

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Hey, breakfast at school? You sure are sweet.

Today I’m taking a moment to process my thoughts about the school’s tasty donuts. Also, the chocolate milk. Then I’m going to tell you what I’m trying to do at our house to help our kids avoid sugar overload.

I am all about offering a fun breakfast. But I try to keep the sugar level down if I expect any of us to be productive. Here babies. Eat these fruity pebbles. Now go sit still for a long time and calculate numbers and sound out words.

First day of school, 2021. Keith had to get in on it too!
And how dare they get on the bus without him?!

School breakfast is free this year, so I decided to check something off my morning list and let the kids eat at school when they got off the bus.

I have no idea what the kids ate on their first day. It was the first day. We survived it. That’s all that mattered.

On the second day of school, our kindergartener came home with precious, sweet chocolate cheeks. She proudly told me that they all got chocolate donuts for breakfast! I celebrated the fun with her, and then gently suggested that maybe tomorrow she pick something less sugary to start her day.

Bless her little five-year-old heart. On day three, she told me that today she’d had cereal – so that was much less sugary, right? Good job, said I. What kind of cereal did you pick?

Her happy reply was, “The chocolate kind. OH! And then I poured chocolate milk into it so it was double chocolate!”

Oy. Well, what would any of us have chosen as kids? The chocolate cereal with the chocolate milk? Well, yeah! (Ok, fine. I would have chosen the fruit loops.)

Yes, of course, the school always also offers fruit and protein. But Mom isn’t there to make them take it and eat it, ha. And it’s easy to overlook it when there lie the donuts. So.

I fight enough battles with our kids.

Our seven and five-year-old babes have plenty of other more important needs for me to focus on. I feel like I am constantly re-training and re-directing and re-teaching them. So for me to say, YOU MAY NOT EAT SUGAR AT SCHOOL! would not be an ok thing. This isn’t a hill I’m going to die on. It’s not their fault that there are so many fun sugar choices. And the school has a lot of kids to feed in a short amount of time. They can’t make omelets to order. Sweet items are easier to dole out!

Chocolate Milk…times three

This one is maybe the hardest for me. When given the choice, of course, our kids are going to take chocolate milk. That’s what I did as a kid!

I’ve tried to encourage white milk, but they don’t like how it tastes out of a carton. Then there was the day Brayden proudly told me he’d chosen a different carton of milk at school. “White milk?” I asked. “No, the pink kind!” Ahhhh, strawberry. Hahaha. Bless.

If the kids just got one sugary milk each day, I would just shrug and move on. Again, I’m not dying on this hill. But in fact, they get chocolate milk three times every day. One at breakfast, one at snack, and one for lunch. My stomach hurts just thinking about it.

So we decided to skip breakfast at school.

Maybe once in a while, I’ll let them go through the breakfast line for a special treat. But I feel like I need to start their day of learning on a better foot so that they can focus better.

  • I feed my kids before they get on the bus. This is tough because they leave the house at 7:05. But it’s worth the extra effort in the morning.
  • I focus on protein and fresh fruit at home before sending them off for the day. If I can get some eggs or sausage on their plates and tummies, I feel so much better about whatever else they might choose to eat or drink at school. Before rushing out the door, I know they have some good nourishment in them.

Some high protein at-home breakfast ideas:

Here are a few of the menu items I’ve given my kids before sending them off. Keep in mind they only have about 10-minutes to eat before leaving to meet the bus (because I let them sleep as late as possible). So the portions are small and easy to eat (and I don’t allow any chattering between bites because oh my goodness that…sloooowwwwws…themmmm…dowwwwwnnnn).

  • Fruit. Any Fruit. Just pick one and eat it. Then I give them something like:
  • Scrambled Cheesy Eggs
  • Apple Slices and Peanut Butter (this gives them both their fruit and their protein!)
  • Apple Slices and Cheese
  • Banana with Peanut Butter
  • Sausage Patties or Links
  • Peanut Butter Toast
  • Bagel with Cream Cheese
  • Fried Slices of Ham
  • Ham on Toast
  • Sausage Sandwich
  • Egg Sandwich
  • Summer Sausage and Cheese

It’s actually been pretty fun to come up with ideas for this. One day I thawed six pounds of meat and made a huge batch of Homemade Sausage.

I froze the patties, uncooked, on paper plates separated with parchment paper. These have been great to pull out and fry quickly while the kids are waking up and getting ready.

Get my Homemade Sausage recipe here. The recipe calls for ground turkey, but I use other ground meats too! Also, you’ll save time making Homemade Sausage if you follow this great recipe for making Sausage Seasoning. I keep a big jar of it, then just stir it into a large batch of meat!

Reference this too!

This simplified breakfast menu idea is my go-to! Sneak peek at the skeleton plan:

Monday – Muffins
Tuesday  – Toast
Wednesday – Oatmeal
Thursday – Eggs
Friday – Granola or Cereal

Details and recipes here.

What do you feed your kids for breakfast before school?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

5 Easy Breakfast Ideas to Have Every Week

by 8 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Need breakfast ideas to have every week to make life easier?

How many decisions do we make in a day, I wonder? I’m guessing it would blow our minds to know the answer to that.

Tip: I’ve heard that it’s wise to always take the same “route” as you walk through the grocery store, simply to cut down on the decisions you have to make.

Hmmm, interesting. Hearing that tidbit of advice made me think about what other decisions I could cut out of my very full brain (that is so busy making decisions that it can’t help me remember where I set my pen).

So let’s talk about breakfast!

I’ve just figured out how wonderful it is to save my brain energy by planning the same basic breakfast meals every weekday!

Here’s the basic breakdown of what I now make or serve each weekday:

Monday – Muffins
Tuesday  – Toast
Wednesday – Oatmeal
Thursday – Eggs
Friday – Granola or Cereal

With this skeleton plan, I can now make fun adaptations each weekday to keep our menu fresh and fun! (I save pancakes or waffles or other special breakfast ideas for Saturdays.) :) And now I will give you more specifics about how this works for us…

5 Easy Breakfast Ideas to Have Every WeekYum

Monday – Muffins

I can choose from these 40 recipes so that Mondays are never boring. I shall call this “Muffin Monday” because cuteness in the kitchen is underrated.

Tuesday – Toast

Let’s hear it for “Toast Tuesday.” Though now I have to admit, my cute names for days of the week have now run out. Anyway though, we can make this Stir and Pour Bread and then top it however we like. Peanut butter and honey is a favorite for most of us. And homemade bread is tough to beat!

Wednesday – Oatmeal

I try to keep this Homemade Instant Oatmeal on hand, but sometimes I splurge and buy these too. Either way, this makes for a fast breakfast!

Thursday – Eggs

We mostly prefer scrambled cheesy eggs, but occasionally we’ll fry them. I love how easy eggs are to make!

Friday – Granola or Cereal

We like different kinds of homemade granola like:

Or, I can make these Homemade Chewy Granola Bars for a fun change of pace.

Always serve fruit

Fruit at breakfast is a given at our house. So with all of the above day-of-the-week breakfast ideas, everyone can choose what fruit they like best. I try to keep a variety on hand, depending on what is in season. Our favorites for breakfast are:

  • Blueberries
  • Cantaloupe
  • Apples
  • Oranges/Clementines
  • Bananas
  • Applesauce
  • Peaches
  • Pears
  • Strawberries

How might this idea work for your family?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Simple Pumpkin Waffles

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I highly recommend enjoying a fall brunch with these Simple Pumpkin Waffles. These are light, fluffy, flavorful, and perfect!

When I told our 17-year old that I was going to make Pumpkin Waffles he saw right through my “add a veggie to breakfast” scheme. Still, he went back for seconds and even ate homemade applesauce on the side. It was a perfect fall breakfast – or brunch as was the case that day as we tried to squeeze in a hearty meal between high school/college classes, kindergarten homeschool, babies’ naps, a college soccer game, and tennis meet.

It’s rare that I have time to stand at the waffle iron these days. So it only made sense that I double the recipe and make a huge pile of waffles so we can easily toast and enjoy them another day soon. If you’re going to make a mess, you might as well make a big one, right? :) So now I have a freezer full of Simple Pumpkin Waffles to pull out and serve as needed!

I highly recommend whipping some cream to serve on top of these waffles. A huge dollop of whipped cream along with real maple syrup drizzled over the top of these waffles makes an incredible meal. Sausage, applesauce, and coffee too? It’s breakfast heaven.

Simple Pumpkin WafflesYum

Simple Pumpkin Waffles
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of whole grain flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
  • ½ teaspoon of sea salt
  • 1½ cups of milk
  • 1 cup of canned 100% pure pumpkin
  • 3 eggs
  • 4 tablespoons of melted butter or coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.
  2. Scoop about ½ cup of batter into a hot waffle iron.
  3. Cook until waffles are golden brown.

What is it about pumpkin and cinnamon in the fall that just doesn’t taste the same any other time of year?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

by 5 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Perhaps you have become great friends with the infamous Whole Grain Raspberry Cheesecake Bars? If not, you must. And now, you must also get to know our new friend, the Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars. Where has this friend been your whole life?

But speaking of whole, it is fantastic to know that these bars are made with whole grains. But no one, not even the boxed poptart lovers out there, will realize that these are packed with delightful nutrition. I know this because I fed a batch to a bunch of teenage boys who were visiting our home and who had just polished off a box of poptarts they had brought over. The next morning, I presented them with these bars.

Perhaps it was the added chocolate chips that made these so inviting. Well yeah, of course it was the chocolate chips. Still, they gobbled these down with a pitcher of iced coffee and some fruit, thanking me for the great breakfast like the sweet boys that they are.

It’s so fun to make treats like this that provide nourishment while still being “not weird.” You cannot go wrong with the words “chocolate chips” and “cheesecake bars” in the same title, am I right?

So get yourself some oats (which you probably already have), some chocolate chips (which you probably already have), some whole wheat flour (which you probably already have), and some cream cheese and some butter (please tell me you keep a lifetime supply of these golden ingredients on hand at all times). You will love these delightful Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars!

Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cheesecake BarsYum

5.0 from 2 reviews
Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • 1½ cups rolled oats
  • ½ cup sucanat or brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup melted butter
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
  • CHEESECAKE LAYER:
  • 8-ounces softened cream cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tablespoons real maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Mix together flour, oats, sucanat, baking powder, and salt.
  2. Stir in melted butter until the mixture resembles crumbs.
  3. Press half of the mixture into an 8x8 inch baking pan.
  4. In a blender or with beaters, whip together cream cheese, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla.
  5. Spread this cheesecake layer over the top of the oat layer.
  6. Sprinkle ½ of the chocolate chips over the cheesecake layer.
  7. Drop spoonfuls of remaining oat mixture on top of the cheesecake layer, then sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.
  8. Bake in a 350° oven for 45 minutes or until lightly browned.

 

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

12 Fun and Wholesome Ways to Cook with Whole Rolled Oats

by 3 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Why am I giving you so many fun ways to cook with whole rolled oats? Well…

If I confess to you that I do not enjoy eating a bowl of oatmeal in the morning (or any time of day) – can we still be friends? I’ve tried to like oatmeal. But I simply cannot eat it (Sam I am). I get to the third bite and try as I might, I can’t put one more spoonful into my mouth. I realize that this is because I am a spoiled, privileged person who has a plethora of food options, and in many other life settings I would be grateful to have a bowl of oatmeal.

So it is with gratitude that I share 12 other options for ways to use and cook with this wholesome ingredient!

How fun it is that delicious rolled oats can be stirred into these recipes and transformed into a wonderful breakfast option!

12 Fun and Wholesome Ways to Cook with Whole Rolled Oats

  1. Stir-and-Pour Honey Oat Bread
  2. Baked Oatmeal Cups
  3. Breakfast Cake
  4. Breakfast Cake Muffins
  5. Cracklin’ Oat Bran Cereal
  6. Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies
  7. Dark Chocolate Almond Granola
  8. Giant Breakfast Cookies
  9. Granola
  10. Granola ~ 5-Minute Stop-Top Version
  11. Raspberry Oatmeal Bars
  12. Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

Can you use Quick Oats in any of these recipes? Sure! I just always have Whole Rolled Oats on hand because I like them better. I mean, I like them better for baking. Not in a bowl. How spoiled is this girl? ;)

If you do happen to be an “oatmeal in a bowl” kind of a person, I highly recommend that you make yourself some of these: Instant Oatmeal Packets. It’s a wonderful time and money saver, plus you can include any of the favorite healthy ingredients that you like! I usually make big batches of Instant Oatmeal and put it into jars as pictured above. My family scoops out a “packet” amount and has a quick and easy breakfast!

What are your favorite, wholesome ways to eat oats?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cups You Can Feed Your Family for Breakfast

by 26 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

This is how I begin every day:

fat-bombs-easy-and-delicious

And also this…

life1

They all go together for me now. I begin each day (if at all possible) with time in my chair with my Bible, my coffee, and a Chocolate Peanut Butter Fat Bomb.

Can you think of a better way to start the day? I think not.

I think the coffee and Bible are obvious, but you might be wondering – a Fat Bomb? For breakfast?

Absolutely, yes. I’ve gone from avoiding fat at all costs (in my teen and young adult years) to eating as much good fat as possible. In fact, I’ve discovered that the more good fat I eat, the better I feel. When I start my day with a Fat Bomb, I start my day with energy and a clear brain that actually functions.

I usually eat another Fat Bomb mid-afternoon, and sometimes at night before bed. I need the fat. You probably do too. Healthy fat is so very good for our bodies and minds.

Well, that’s my Fat Bomb story (thank you for asking), but what about everyone else in my family?

My husband eats a Fat Bomb here and there, loving them as much as I do (though he can eat most anything he wants without feeling crummy, so he doesn’t seem to crave these or need them like his fat-seeking wife). And our boys? Well, they just don’t like stevia-sweetened food. It’s okay. I probably wouldn’t have either when I was their age.

But here’s the thing: These sons of mine are growing to be enormous man-sized people. If I don’t have eggs and/or some kind of meat on the table every morning for breakfast, they pleasantly ask, “Is there something we can eat with protein?”

Yep, gone are the days they would eat a muffin and fruit and be fine for a few hours. These men need their meat. {mmm…bacon}

Thus, I have been playing with my Fat Bomb recipe to see if I can make them more palatable for my kids, which offers them protein and fat in the morning but keeps us from eating too many pigs (there’s no other way to say this).

Now, my youngest won’t touch these Fat Bombs because they have peanut butter in them. (He’s slightly allergic, but mostly, he can’t stand the taste.) But my other boys love these and as my 17-year old said, “Why would I ever need a regular peanut butter cup with all the sugar? These are phenomenal!”

So I now present to you a slightly altered Fat Bomb, sweetened perfectly with honey, and a fantastic choice for breakfast or a filling snack. What a great way to start the day! (For the record, I’m sticking with the stevia-sweetened Fat Bombs.)

Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cups

5.0 from 1 reviews
Peanut Butter Cups You Can Feed Your Family for Breakfast
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • ½ cup coconut oil (I use expeller pressed so the coconut flavor didn't overpower.)
  • 1 heaping Tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 4 Tablespoons butter
  • ½ cup natural peanut butter
  • 2-3 Tablespoons honey
Instructions
  1. In a small saucepan, heat and stir together coconut oil, cocoa powder, butter, honey, and peanut butter.
  2. Pour into 12 muffin lined muffin tins. (I prefer silicone liners for these.)
  3. Freeze for 20 minutes or refrigerate for 2 hours.
  4. Store in fridge and eat as needed.

These Silicone Muffin Liners are a rock star for this recipe.

Have you tried the Fat Bombs? Are you a stevia lover or a stevia hater? Think you might prefer these sweetened with honey?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Make Your Own Cracklin’ Oat Bran Cereal

by 16 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

When you think “homemade cereal” you might think tedious, time consuming, or labor intensive. Um, hi. Would I be sharing this recipe if it were any of those things? Ok then.

You mix up the ingredients, you dump it into a pan, you bake it, and you eat it. I’ve already taken it upon myself to double the recipe from what it originally was, because why make a little when we can make enough for two or three meals or snacks? You can make this with wheat flour or gluten free flour – whichever you need.

Huge thanks to my friends Katie and Kim for sharing this amazing recipe idea with me!!

Homemade Cracklin' Oat Bran
I have no idea what the actual boxed variety looks like or tastes like. Don’t know, don’t care. You know why? This homemade version of Cracklin’ Oat Bran is amazing. I’m quite sure making it homemade saves me a nice chunk of change and I know the homemade version is healthier.

Cracklin’ Oat Bran Cereal RecipeYum

Make Your Own Cracklin' Oat Bran Cereal
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 10-12 cups
Ingredients
  • 4½ cups rolled oats (ground in the blender to become flour*)
  • 1 cup whole grain flour (I used freshly ground wheat, but you can use rice, sorgham, or another gf option if you like.)
  • ½ cup arrowroot powder
  • 2 cups unsweetened finely shredded coconut
  • 3-5 teaspoons cinnamon (the cinnamon is what makes this really yummy!)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • ½ cup sugar of choice (sucanat, coconut palm sugar, or brown sugar)
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
  • 4 egg whites, whisked to frothy**
Instructions
  1. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
  2. Add all wet ingredients to the dry ingredients at the same time, mixing until combined. Mixture will resemble large crumbs.
  3. Crumble the mixture onto two baking sheets or Pyrex casserole dishes.
  4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-40 minutes, stirring and breaking up large chunks every 10 minutes. (Baking time varies as every oven is different.)
  5. Once cereal is golden brown, turn off oven but leave the cereal in the oven to crisp up.

Here’s what the mixture looks like in “crumb form” before being baked. I found it easiest to break up the mixture with my fingers before putting it into the oven. Then, as it’s baking, I use a wooden spoon to break it up more so it becomes bite-sized cereal pieces. :)

cracklin oats1
* It’s very easy to make Oat Flour in your blender. Simply put the 4 1/2 cups of oats in your blender and whirl until the oats become fine. You can read more details about this here. Be sure to use gluten free oats if you need this cereal to be GF!

** I often have egg whites hanging out in my fridge after I make Tapioca Pudding, so this is a perfect way to use them! Otherwise, separate your eggs for this recipe and save the yolks for scrambled eggs. To “whisk to frothy” I simply put the egg whites in a bowl and whip them with a fork for a couple minutes. Easy as that!

Make Your Own Cracklin' Oat Bran

Want other Homemade Cereal ideas?

So far this recipe has been a huge hit with our family! I hope to keep at least one variety of homemade cereal on hand during the school year so I can fall back on it as a breakfast option on busy mornings.

Have you tried any other homemade cereal recipes I should look at?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Make Ahead Breakfast Ideas to Make Back-to-School Mornings Easier

by 8 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Here you go. 60 Make Ahead Breakfast Ideas to give us a boost as we kick off the school year! All of these are made with real food ingredients and will hopefully save our mornings from being too hectic.

60 Make Ahead Breakfast Recipes and Ideas
The beauty of these ideas is that they make mornings easier whether your kids have to get out the door for school in the morning or you homeschool and want to get your day off to a productive start without spending too much time putting breakfast on the table. (For that matter, these ideas are great even if you aren’t in the kids-in-school season of life!)

I love getting breakfast foods made ahead of time so that my kids can easily help themselves in the morning. Often we’ll also scramble or fry eggs to go with our meal and we always get out fresh fruit. My teenage boys often also crave protein at breakfast, so I try to have something meaty available for them to cook for themselves. Hmm, it sure does sound like we eat a lot around here. Truth: We eat a lot around here.

So 60 Make Ahead breakfast ideas. Here we go!

Recipes and Ideas You Can Make Ahead for a Fast Breakfast

breakfast_cake_3

All of these recipes can be made the day before and served right away in the morning!

Homemade cereal recipes you can make ahead and serve right away in the morning

Some mornings are cereal mornings, so there. Here are some homemade cereal options we enjoy!

dark_chocolate_almond_granola

Recipes that freeze well and can be thawed and reheated easily

If you have these in your freezer, you can thaw and rewarm in the oven or toaster oven!

Recipes that Can Be Made Easily with Whole Wheat Quick Baking Mix

quick_mix

Fun Ideas to Enjoy Stir-n-Pour Bread

stir and pour sandwich 3

This super easy Stir-n-Pour Bread takes practically no effort, but turns out a delicious loaf of bread. When I have this on hand, we can slice it and make:

  • Peanut Butter Honey Toast
  • Fried Eggs on Toast
  • Cinnamon Toast
  • Scrambled Egg Sandwiches
  • Simple Buttered Toast – maybe even with jelly :)

Drink Your BreakfastYum

Most smoothies are pretty quick to make and can be filling if you include peanut butter or cottage cheese. Add fresh spinach for an extra punch of nourishment.

pineapple_mango_smoothie_2

Muffins,  Muffins, Muffins!

I’ve learned to love freezing muffin batter, which you can read about here. What a time saver! I’ve also learned that silicone muffin cups are fantastic. More about that here.

silicone muffins 3

Make it Ahead, but Cook it in the Morning

Overnight Whole Wheat Waffles

  • Mix up Overnight Waffle Batter before bed so that all you have to do in the morning is cook the waffles and serve.
  • Make Turkey Sausage in large batches and freeze it in meal sized portions. Make Freezer Biscuits, and thaw only the amount you’ll need in the morning for a meal. Make a quick meal of a big treat – Biscuits and Gravy – when you’ve done the prep work ahead! Here’s my Sausage Gravy recipe.
  • Follow the freezing muffin batter idea mentioned above, set some out at night before bed, then bake them in the morning.
  • If you want to serve pancakes, mix the dry ingredients the night before so that all you have to do in the morning is add your liquids and cook. This isn’t as fast as other ideas shared here, but it does make the pancake process a little easier in the morning! Here’s our favorite Whole Wheat Pancake recipe.

I have several new breakfast ideas in the works, so be on the look-out for those. Sign up here for our free weekly newsletter to be sure you don’t miss a post!

Leave a comment to share your favorite Make-Ahead Breakfast ideas!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Cook Your Breakfast ~ Money Saving Monday

by 7 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Money Saving Monday Banner

Boxes of cereal, boxes of granola bars, boxes of poptarts, boxes of donuts, boxes of muffin mix – there are so many boxy choices. You’re probably assuming that I’m about to tell you that all the food that comes from a box is not very good for you. But I won’t say that. Nope, I’ll just purse my lips and produce a forced smile because I’m not going to tell you about the dangers of eating all those preservatives and additives and empty calories that give you no energy and keep you from concentrating all morning. After all, that would be a run-on sentence.

Instead, I’m here to express the joy of how making your own healthy, real food, preservative-free breakfast will save you lots of money.

I spent about 10 minutes on Saturday making 20 cups of Homemade Instant Oatmeal. This is huge money savings, in about 10 minutes. (It’s also healthier than what comes in a box, but we’re supposedly not talking about that today.)

I spent about 30 minutes on Saturday mixing up three different kinds of wholesome muffins for the freezer. This is huge money savings, in about 30 minutes. (It’s also healthier than what comes in a box, but we’re supposedly not talking about that today.)

My family can polish off 2-3 boxes of cereal in one sitting, easily. That can add up to being a $12 breakfast, and that doesn’t include the milk and fruit. Plus cereal only keeps them full for about two hours.

See, making a homemade breakfast does more than just save money. It satisfies my family’s need for nourishment, so they are full longer and are able to concentrate on their school work all morning. This must be because the breakfast is healthier, but we’re supposedly not talking about that today.

TIP:  Make breakfast the night before. I do this almost every day, making our mornings go so much more smoothly!

100+ Money Saving (and Healthy, shh!) Breakfast Recipes

You will find 90 real food breakfast recipes on my Bread and Breakfast page. I add more to it all the time. There are so many great breakfast options!

90+ Real Food Breakfast Recipes

We also have a free eBook for you:  Healthy Breakfast Made Simple. Download and enjoy!

breakfast_e-book cover_sm

Or, it’s as simple as scrambling or frying an egg, making a smoothie, or spreading natural peanut butter on toast. Make a homemade breakfast!! You will save all kinds of cash (and feel better too, but we’re supposedly not talking about that today).

What are your favorite homemade breakfast foods to make?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Homemade Instant Oatmeal in a Jar With Printable Gift Tags ~ A Great Gift For Less Than $5

by 5 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

oatmeal gift

What’s more exciting than receiving a sock full of dry rice for Christmas? Getting a jar full of oatmeal, of course.

I wish you could have seen my 12 year old’s face when I told him we were going to make Instant Oatmeal as gifts for our church ministry staff. After all, in a land full of chocolate, candy canes, and marshmallow snowmen – why in the world would we want to give someone instant oatmeal? I reminded my son that our minister has had heart surgery and would likely not appreciate a gift of sugar covered corn syrup. I told him that our office administrator loves to eat healthy food, and that the others on staff would surely appreciate a convenient, warm breakfast.

I also reminded him how delicious this Instant Oatmeal is and assured him that it would look adorable in the jars I’d gotten on clearance after Christmas last year. I lost him after the word adorable. Ahhhh, boys. It’s okay though. He still helped me, and even if he doesn’t get why oatmeal in a jar is a great gift idea, I hold to the belief that our office staff will be thrilled. It comes in a jar, after all. What’s not to love?

Homemade Instant Oatmeal in a Jar Gift Idea

If you haven’t made this Instant Oatmeal for your own family yet, I highly recommend that you get right on it. You’ll especially find it helpful this holiday season as you may be just a little bit busy with extra jobs like stuffing rice into socks, pounding nails into boards, and frosting homemade mint oreo cookies. Not only is this a very convenient and quick breakfast, it’ll warm you right up.

Find our Instant Oatmeal Recipe here.

Skip the individual bags and instead fill up gift jars with Instant Oatmeal Mix. Download and print these fun gift tags, then attach them to the jar so your recipient will know how to make their oatmeal.

Instant Oatmeal Recipe and Free Printable Gift Tags

Download Our Free Printable Instant Oatmeal Gift Tags

I may be in the running for the “Most Practical Gift Giver Award.” Who’s with me?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!