I have found, in my humble opinion, a hearty and healthy breakfast that is easy to make and inexpensive. The impetus to find such a meal has a longer back story than I'll get into here, but it boils down to a focused effort to improve my eating habits; meal by meal. I had a list of requirements for my breakfast:
- Low sugar, high protein - So many prepackaged foods are packed with sugar and lack other important nutrients.
- Simple to make - I should spend less time making the meal than eating it.
- Completely dry, just add water - I almost always drive to work and eat while gearing up for the day, I need to be able to make it at the office.
- Stable - I wanted something with a reasonable shelf-life, make a week's worth ahead of time.
- Cannot break the bank - Should cost a couple of dollars per meal.
I've never found something I could just buy that met the above criteria, so I started searching the web. I found Monica Matheny's blog about Healthy Instant Oatmeal Packets and was inspired to experiment with my own recipes. Below is a recipe that I really enjoy.
Ingredient Breakdown
| Ingredient | Amount (grams) | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Oats | 30 | $0.14 |
| Whey Protein Powder (Chocolate) | 30 | $0.73 |
| Almonds (sliced, raw) | 11 | $0.18 |
| Walnuts (raw) | 19 | $0.27 |
| Raisins | 27 | $0.21 |
| Coconut (chips) | 8 | $0.19 |
| Powereded Peanut Butter (P2B) | 12 | $0.18 |
| Flax Seed (ground) | 24 | $0.19 |
| Sunflower Seeds (raw) | 5 | $0.05 |
| Instant Coffee | ~0.25 | $0.10 |
| Ground Cinnomon | ~0.1 | ~$0.0 |
| Ground Nutmeg | ~0.1 | ~$0.0 |
| Total | 169 | $2.15 |
Nutritional Information
In true nerd fashion, I wrote a basic Ruby application that allowed me define a pantry of usable items and then make a recipe to calculate the complete nutritional data... I called it NerdTrition.
==========================================
| Nutrition Facts |
| 1 serving |
| Serving Size 169g|
|========================================|
|Mocha Oats |
|----------------------------------------|
|Calories 778.309 |
|Calories from Fat 390.692 |
|Total Fat 41.133 |
|Saturated Fat 9.723 |
|Trans Fat 0.0 |
|Polyunsaturated Fat 16.587 |
|Monounsaturated Fat 7.686 |
|Cholesterol 0.053 |
|Sodium 0.192 |
|Potassium 0.254 |
|Total Carbohydrate 68.379 |
|Dietary Fiber 19.358 |
|Soluble Fiber 1.5 |
|Insoluble Fiber 1.5 |
|Sugars 25.388 |
|Protein 41.995 |
==========================================
Parting Thoughts
Sitting down with a bowl of my oat meal and a cup of coffee is one of my favorite ways to start a morning. Whether I then go outdoors for a high-energy activity or keep it low key with some coding, I'm often full and energized for 3 to 4 hours.
If you have been searching for a healthy breakfast solution that is easy to prepare, fills you with energy, and doesn't empty your wallet, then I suggest giving this a try. The recipe is very flexible and I encourage you to experiment with your favorite flavors and share them in the comments!