For years, I have eaten breakfast while driving to work. I am not a morning person in the least little bit, so sitting around eating breakfast would never be my choice over another 15 minutes of sleep. Ever.
After struggling to figure out a quick breakfast I can make in the mornings before work, I have finally found what works for me.
If you think it’s going to be too time-consuming, I feel ya. I have to admit it drives me crazy when I read about someone with a “quick breakfast idea” and it involves more than 5 minutes. If this person doesn’t have a job outside of their home, I have to confess to thinking some not so gracious thoughts as well. I have worked inside the home and outside the home, and the demands on my time were hugely different. Just saying.
Now that I’ve alienated most of the blogging world, here’s the time frame I’m looking at in the mornings:
- I can have this cooking in the microwave in less than a minute after I walk into the kitchen.
- During the three minutes it’s in the microwave, I put the cold stuff (ice pack, yogurt, etc.) in my lunch bag, gather my water bottle, and take my medicine. If I was a good girl the night before, my lunch is already made and ready. Then I pour my coffee. Also, if I was good the night before, then I made the coffee and set the timer so it started at 5:30 am. It shouldn’t be a surprise that I have found that I can make it a lot faster at night before bed than in the morning when I’m all bleary-eyed!
- The oatmeal comes out of the microwave, obviously way too hot to eat right away. So, I take it to my room and iron clothes while it cools. I’m a pretty lazy iron-er, so that means 5 minutes, tops. This is actually enough time for it to cool. I settle in to read my daily devotional (affiliate link) and check out Bible Gateway’s verse of the day on the app while I eat breakfast in bed. Happy place.
Wait a minute, you say, that’s more than 5 minutes! Yep, but it truly is only 4 minutes of prep time in the morning. I have to iron anyway, as I can never motivate myself to do it at night. Also, the actual eating-at-home-and-not-on-the-road time is a forced necessity for me right now, because of health reasons (and it’s better for me, anyway). So, if you can make yourself allot 10 minutes to eat while you’re at home, it might work for you, too.
Here’s the prep work involved. There’s always prep work.
At some point during the weekend, usually Sunday night, I measure 1/2 cup of oatmeal and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar each into 5 individual pyrex or plastic containers. I also measure out approximately 1 teaspoon of butter pieces.
This is probably the biggest time saver during the week for me.
OK, the steps for the butter pieces. (Will anyone IN THE WHOLE BLOGOSPHERE care at all about how I cut up pieces of butter? Seriously?) …
I use a stick of butter. Yes, the real thing. I know I’m supposed to be eating healthier. And I am. But at least I know what’s in this. Please explain to me how chemicals I can’t pronounce would be better than this.
Focus, Mary.
OK, slice off a tablespoon from the stick of butter. Lay it on its side and cut that into thirds. Each third is about a teaspoon of butter. Ah, the wonders of math. I am not anywhere near a perfectionist with this. I slice, cut, and move on. Next, I place all the ones I’m doing (I usually do a stick at a time.) on a sheet of wax paper that I place on a plate. Stick the plate in the freezer for 15 minutes (or until you look in the freezer again and remember you were being all home-maker-y earlier). This keeps the pieces from sticking together later. Once frozen, I gently place shove all the pieces of butter into a ziploc bag that I keep in the door of the freezer.
This all sounds like a crazed, control freak to me even as I write this. But trust me, I know a control freak, and I’m not her. 🙂
I promise, this is a really fast process. Seriously, if you don’t take it seriously, you’ll be done in no time.
In the mornings, I just dump the pre-measured oatmeal and brown sugar into a (huge) bowl….trust me, my fellow non-chef people, oatmeal expands tremendously, so you need a much bigger bowl than you think. I add 1 cup of water. Then I grab one piece of butter from the freezer, throw it in the oatmeal, and stick it in the microwave for 3 minutes. Voila! Breakfast is served!
In case you’re wondering…No, I don’t stir it. At all. Before I put it in the microwave. No, I don’t cover it. Yes, I like it just like this. Kinda bland to some, but early in the morning, it’s what works for me.
Thankfully, my kids have their own morning routines that work great for them, and I am no longer feeding babies AND trying to make it out the door on time. If this is your stage of life, know that I have said a prayer just for you as I wrote this post!
I love a good system, and this one is working well for me!
Have any suggestions for making it even better? How about good butter alternatives that actually taste good and don’t have weird stuff in them?
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Many thanks to minimography for the use of their photo on this post. Check them out!