On Your Marks, Get Breakfast, Go!

Looking for a great way to start the day once school begins?  Everyone knows that breakfast is key.  Nonetheless, when I see students in the mornings for sports physicals, or when I talk with patients in my office, I am struck by how frequently they confess to never eating breakfast.

I am seldom accused of being a helicopter parent and strongly believe in kids' independence and self reliance, but I think parents can and should go a long way to making breakfast happen in the morning.  It can be as simple as a bowl of cereal, but there are many other quick, fun, delicious ways to start the day.  Since I drive my kids to school, I frequently pack a small picnic basket (it's literally a small basket) with foil-wrapped warm goodies, a water bottle of milk or hot chocolate, and napkins.

Although it does require a bit of extra time on mom's part, the rewards are huge, and the effort is well worth it.   Here I share with you my recipe for breakfast bread which comes to mind right now because I have some monster zucchini in my garden that need a destination.  Breakfast bread can be made on the weekend and can last the whole week  (in theory anyway--you'll see, it's a real hit.) It is highly nutritious, easy to slice and can be supplemented with butter, jam, nut butter or cheese.  My group tends to like it just plain.

Breakfast Bread Recipe

Makes two 8-inch or three 6-inch loaves
Ingredients:

• 5 eggs
• 1 cup oil (safflower or canola)
• 1 TB fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups flour (half whole wheat, half white)
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 TB cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 ½ cups grated veggies (zucchini, carrot, squash, apple, in any combinations)
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (better if roasted before adding)
• ¼ cup raisins (better if soaked in OJ or even water)

Method:
Prepare loaf pans: spray with oil and coat with demerara (coarse) sugar. Pat to empty. (This gives the breads a sweet, crunchy crust that also acts to keep the bread moist.)
Preheat oven to 350.
In large mixing bowl, beat eggs, oil, lemon and vanilla until foamy.
In separate bowl, sift flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, soda and salt. Mix in veggies, nuts and raisins. Gradually add egg mixture, beating until smooth, but not over-beating. Pour batter into pans. Sprinkle cinnamon and coarse sugar on top of batter.
Bake about one hour until tester just comes out clean. Cool a bit, then invert carefully, and continue cooling.
May be wrapped in foil and kept in refrigerator or sliced and frozen.

Watch here for more breakfast options.  Soon it will be a happy habit!
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