Fruit. Eggs. Oatmeal. Yogurt. Smoothie. These are the staples for our breakfasts to go. Because we both work, we usually take breakfast with us to the office. I was not a breakfast fan until I learned how it played into my weight loss and my weight maintenance. I used to eat as little as possible for breakfast because I thought there were better ways to spend points or calories (hello, wine?!) throughout the day. Then my weight loss stalled the closer I got to my goal weight and I was always hungry. At that point, I incorporated breakfast just to see what would happen. Amazing! So now I eat breakfast and I highly encourage everyone to eat breakfast. Needless to say when Steve and I moved into our house and established our routine, I planned breakfast. For a very long time, breakfast meant protein bars, oatmeal bars or some other pre-made, processed food that we could just grab and go. Then, as the Weight Watchers’ program changed, I became very conscious about added sugar – sugar became a component in the SmartPoint calculation. And frankly, the more I read, the more it mattered. We adjusted. We planned breakfast. And we began to make our own breakfasts. It’s not at all hard and it takes virtually no time at all.
Protein + Fruit or Vegetable: 2 hard boiled eggs and a banana or other piece of fruit. We usually hard boil at least eight eggs each week and just keep them in our refrigerator, ready to go. A cheese stick and an apple work, too. Turkey, a cheese stick and carrots or celery. Essentially pair a protein with a fruit or vegetable.
Overnight Oatmeal with Fruit (For my WW people, 2SP with almond milk and 4SP with skim milk)
1/4c oats (instant or regular)
1/2c milk, almond milk, soy milk (your choice)(Note: only use 1/3c if you do not like your oatmeal with as much liquid)
1-2tsp vanilla
Splenda packet (1-2tsp sugar for Steve’s oatmeal)
1-2tsp cinnamon (left off of Steve’s oatmeal)
Fruit (banana, berries, etc.)
Mix all of the ingredients in the Tupperware container that you are going to take with you. Refrigerate overnight. Microwave for 1 to 1:30 minutes (Steve prefers his microwaved for only 40 seconds since it takes him 38 seconds to make his office coffee and he doesn’t like waiting!!). Stir and Enjoy!
Yogurt Parfaits (3SP when I use 2T of homemade granola)
Simply layer the following: fruit, yogurt, fruit, yogurt, sweetener (sugar for Steve, Splenda for me) and then granola. We make our granola and just leave it in mason jars so we have it to add to whatever foods we would like.
Smoothies (3SP when made with WW smoothies and almond milk plus the fruit!)
Blend together one WW smoothie packet (2SP Although you could use any type of protein base, I am a huge fan of the French Vanilla as it allows you to taste your other additions) 1c milk (almond (1SP) or skim milk (3SP), and then any variety of fruit. I do not add more than one cup of fruit to the smoothie. I also usually limit the smoothie to one half of a frozen banana. This is common sense – do not add more fruit than you would sit down and eat in any one sitting. Smoothies make it very easy to overdo fruit – no need to chew, just swallow. So add carefully! Note that the frozen banana in the place of ice will help to thicken the smoothie and not water it down. Then just pour into a shaker cup as the ball in the shaker cup will help the smoothie to remain shaken as you drink it. Enjoy!