Thinking creatively about breakfast

I really want to get away from cold cereals as much as possible for breakfast. Even with trying to get options that have less sugar in them and drinking them with fresh raw milk, cereal has so little in it that it doesn't make for a good start to your day. Let me put it this way. Daimeian tells this story about his mom. He would come to her for something to eat and say, "Mom, make me a sandwhich." To which she would promptly reply, "Poof, you're a sandwhich." When I see most cold cereal options I hear this little voice saying "Poof, your something to eat." Then there is a smaller voice that say, "Don't tell anyone that you're just disguised to look like something GOOD to eat when really, POOF, there's nothing there!" So, what shall I make for breakfast? It's time to break out of the cold cereal rut!

There are the stand-bys; pancakes, eggs (scrambled and fried) or toast. For some people yogurt might be a typical morning start but it is too high in sugar for me. I have to start my day with something that has more substance to it, and less sugar, or I feel awful . It is already a rare thing to have donuts or other store bought pastries on hand for breakfast. No pop-tarts and rarely a "Toaster Strudel" without icing. I used to really enjoy Amy's organic whole wheat pastries but they have doubled in price and I haven't found the recipe that I saw somewhere in this house to make my own. When I do, I will by trying to make my own with fresh ground flour, cr cheese and good preserves.
What I consider to be secondary stand-bys are bagels and english muffins (topped with peanut butter and honey or cream cheese) and oatmeal. BTW - I don't very often get the oatmeal packets. They are too pricey and have sugar that I can't control.Finally, while I keep searching my mind I come to further options; breakfast tacos, scones and muffins.
So what options do I choose and how can I make it more interesting? What I really need to do is keep an index card in my recipe card holder that just lists various breakfast ideas. There are few things I've tried recently but many more recipes that I'd like to try.

POACHED EGGS w/ SPINACH : The other day I poached eggs in some chickenstock that I had had frozen. I sauteed a bag of frozen spinach with a small amount of EVOO and salt and pepper. I put the spinach in the bottom of the bowl and put a poached egg on top of the spinach. Then I ladled some of the left-over poaching broth into the spinach. To counter some of the richness of flavors I threw in some tomatoes and cooked canadian bacon, but it could be just the spinach and poached egg too. Even though I cooked the tomatoes on the griddle I could have just spooned up some salsa. Should you use one bag of frozen spinach ($.99-$ 1.49) and four eggs ($ .50 - $ 2) for four healthy portions, you would have spent under $ .38-$ 1.80 per person. This would depend on what type of eggs you buy and where you get your groceries. You would have also had a great vegetable and protein source to start off your day!

MUFFINS : One of my goals is to try to make muffins more often. Maybe once a week? I'd like to keep trying a variety. I have a bran recipe I like from Sue Gregg that includes raisins. Recently I made blueberry muffins from Liana's Strawberry Shortcake recipe. Of course I substituted. :) I used 1/3 organic all-purpose flour, 1/3 ground kamut flour that was stored in the freezer and 1/3 coconut flour. I also substituted 2/3 of the sugar with sucanat and 1/2 of the butter with coconut oil. They were a little too crumbly, but wonderful!
There is another muffin recipe from Cooking Light that I've really enjoyed. It includes a little jam or preserves in the middle of the muffin. These are great to grab and go!
CREPES/BLINTZES : One thing I made for a time and have forgotten to try again are cream cheese blintzes. These require an easy drippy crepe batter that you cook on one side (like a thin pancake) and then flip. Once flipped add a little cream cheese (or cottage cheese, or ricotta, or kefir cheese) and a little jam or preserves right in the middle. Take off the heat and fold bottom over the cheese portion, then the left and the right and cover everything with the top fold.

WHEY PROTEIN SHAKES : We have used a fabulous whey protein powder from Mercola.com to make shakes for breakfast. I used the strawberry powder with kefir and milk and it was very filling. None of us have liked the chocolate one. The other day I found another source of what appears to be whey powder in very much the same level of quality (no hydrolyzed anything, no soy etc.) for half the price. I'm going to try these guys soon. http://www.swansonvitamins.com/

OATMEAL : How to dress up your oatmeal? This morning I had fabulous oatmeal! That's not something I've said more than one other time when my sister made baked oatmeal dish that I loved. I cooked oatmeal with a little added salt and added a few dried blueberries, home dried strawberries, a dab of butter and a drizzle of maple syrup. I even ground up some flax seed to throw on top for extra health benefits. YUMILICIOUS!

WAFFLES : I have two waffle makers and don't use them a whole lot. However, I'd like to make a goal to do it maybe once a month. I like to make large batches at one time and freeze as many as I can for later use. I use Sue Gregg's recipe, http://www.suegregg.com/, and use oatmeal and brown rice. No wheat. they come out crisp and yet moist. So delicious.

RUSTIC BREAKFAST : I LOVE to saute up rough chopped zuccini, onions and garlic with a little butter and Canadian Steak Seasoning (from Sams Club). I toss in a few cherry tomatoes to roast on the griddle at the same time. Then I cook up some over easy eggs and Canadian Bacon (best price to date is Sam's Club). Top the zucchini mix with cooked and chopped bacon and then the egg.

BREAKFAST TACOS : Why do we get these when we go out places but forget to make them at home? So easy and tons of possiblities. Refried beans, black beans, ranch beans, potatoes (not my favorite), eggs, bacon, sausage, chorizo, salsa, tomatoes, onions, green salsa....

Other tips and thoughts : think about different dried fruits and nuts you might be able to add to oatmeal or to top off pancakes or waffles with. What about fresh fruits that might be around? To stretch your money on using pure maple syrup, without resorting the syrup sold on the shelves, make your own and mix it with the pure stuff. I make it with water, Sucanat a dash of salt and little maple and vanilla extracts.

Those are a few of my thoughts. I'll share more as they come to me!