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Breakfast
A New Twist on an Old Theme
by Alice Osborne
Studies show that children who eat a wholesome breakfast do better in school, adults who eat breakfast do better at work, and everyone is healthier from it.
Whether you work at home, on the farm, at the office, at school, or on the road, it is not a good idea to skip breakfast. Eating a good breakfast gets the day off to a great start and sets the tone for the rest of the day.
And with the holidays on the way, we thought it might be fun to have a few special recipes ready for the upcoming special mornings — Thanksgiving and Christmas mornings are even more exciting when we have a yummy breakfast to kick the day off. That said, here are a few healthy recipes to give this important meal a new attraction.
Banana Cheese Pie
I use my food processor to make this nutritious and tasty-but-light pie, but if you don't have a food processor, you can use a blender. In that case, you'll probably need to mix the ingredients in a bowl first, then blend them in two or three batches. A stick blender could also be used. And consider adding raspberries or strawberries for an added antioxidant boost.
 2 medium-sized ripe bananas
1 cup non-fat or low-fat cottage cheese
1 cup plain non-fat or low-fat yogurt
2 eggs
Juice of 1/2 lemon (1 tablespoon of lemon juice)
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9-inch pie pan lightly with cooking spray or oil the pan. Put all ingredients in a food processor and process until very, very smooth, turning off the processor and scraping down the sides occasionally. Pour mixture into the pie pan and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate several hours, at least, or overnight.
 Download this recipe.
Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding
The ingredient list calls for bread cubes, but I just tear the bread up into little pieces with my hands. This is simple and fast. Whole-wheat bread makes a more nutritious pudding, but a mixture of white and whole-wheat is good too. Bread pudding is equally good warm or cold.
 2 slightly beaten eggs
2 1/4 cups milk (lowfat milk is fine)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups whole wheat bread cubes
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a round glass casserole dish lightly with cooking spray, or oil it. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk until well-blended. Stir in bread cubes, brown sugar, and raisins. Pour mixture into a round casserole dish. Place casserole in a large shallow baking dish and pour hot water into the baking dish to a depth of about one inch. Bake about 45 minutes or until knife inserted in the middle of the pudding comes out clean. Let cool, then refrigerate.
Download this recipe.
Bran Muffins
This recipe makes about 30 muffins. You can bake, cool, then freeze them, and reheat in the microwave when you want to serve fresh hot muffins. I microwave the frozen muffins about 30 seconds for each muffin. They're best eaten warm, and spread with ricotta or cream cheese.
 3 cups bran (plain wheat bran, not a cereal)
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs
3/4 cup honey
2 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup oil
2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray, or oil them. In a large bowl, mix the bran and boiling water, and let it stand. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, honey, buttermilk and oil. Add this mixture to the bowl with the bran and water. Stir the flour and baking soda together, and stir this into the bran mixture. Stir, then add the raisins, and stir again. Fill the muffin tins and bake for about 15 minutes. Let stand in the muffin tins for a few minutes, then remove, and let the muffins cool on a rack.
Download this recipe.
Sweet Potato Hash Browns
Courtesy of Mr. Breakfast
Serves 4
 1 pound sweet potatoes (roughly 3 medium spuds), peeled and grated
1/4 pound diced bacon
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet, fry the bacon until crispy, about 8 minutes.
In the same pan, add the onions. Season with salt and pepper. Saute the onions until soft, about 2 minutes.
Then add the garlic and sweet potatoes. Saute for about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve warm. This is great for dinner as well as breakfast -- a nice twist on regular browns.
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