Does anyone have a recipe for quick make ahead breakfast treats? My kids love granola bars and poptarts, but since we can go through one box for each meal with four kids, I would like something a little less expensive. Anyone have any ideas??

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Theresa
Mom of 3 boys and 1 girl

you can always make your own granola bars!!!

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Avoid Fruits~N~Nuts....you are what you eat!!!

3/4 c flour
3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c ground walnuts
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c shortening
1 3/4 c packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 c granola
1/2 c dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350
Lightly grease a 9 inch square pan.

Cream shortening, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat well after the addition of each ingredient.

Cover the cranberries in water and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and chop into small pieces. Add to egg mixture.
Slowly add in white and wheat flours, walnuts, salt and baking powder. Mix until well blended. Fold in granola and mix well.
Spread dough into baking pan and bake 20-25 minutes.
Cool before cutting.Store in airtight container. :happy dance:


I also bumped a recipe for you in desserts

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Avoid Fruits~N~Nuts....you are what you eat!!!

If they are that into them it might pay you to invest in one of those sandwich makers...ya know the ones I mean?It seals the edges and stuff?!Thos come out alot like a poptart if you just put a thin layer of jam in them...plus you could use a healthier bread and maybe get em to try some new ingred.

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Avoid Fruits~N~Nuts....you are what you eat!!!

Too bad that I think I got rid of my sandwich maker when we moved last year. I will have to check...

Thanks for the ideas! I just bought three boxes until I can get my act together to make something! $6!!

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Theresa
Mom of 3 boys and 1 girl

I need to get back into doing this!

Once a month I would bake 2-3 lbs of bacon, 2-3 lbs sausage patties, a Lb of Canadian bacon and 4 dozen eggs.

I use muffin pans for the eggs. 1 used 2 12 cup nonstick pans, and sometimes a sprits of Pam. For the first batch I cracked 2 dozen eggs a half cup of milk and a pinch each of salt and pepper in to the blender. I pored this in the the pans and bake it about 6-8 mins till they are just set. (this makes 2 dozen egg rounds)

If you want to cut down on cholesterol you can use 8 egg whites and 4 whole eggs per dozen.

I cracked another dozen eggs in the pans one in each well. Add a 1/4 teaspoon water to each of these cover the pan with foil, and bake till set about 6-7 min. (these are shirred eggs kind of like lower fat fried eggs)

The last dozen eggs get mixed again in the blender with some milk, and shredded cheese, plus a bit of onion powder, and some times some ham or peppers. These go in the last muffin tin and cooked for again 6-7 mins till well set.

This takes about a total of 30-40 mins. Let things cool, and freeze. (I freeze on a cookie sheet and then thrown in a zip top bag.) these can then be combined in the microwave - one egg type & one meat type - and put on an English muffin, bagel, biscuit or wrapped in a tortilla. You can add things like salsa or cheese.

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:love:

I like to make muffin batter the night before, then have them bake while I am getting ready.

I have a couple of overnight oatmeal recipes my kids love!

This is from Lorna Sass' Short-cut Vegetarian:
Overnight Pineapple Oats

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 (8-oz) can unsweetened crushed pineapple
1-1/2 cups rice milk or soy milk (I'm sure you could use cow's milk too)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground cardamom (cinnamon would be good too)
1/8 tsp salt
1 to 2 ripe bananas, sliced
1/4 cup chopped toasted nuts (we used walnuts), sunflower seeds, or untoasted ground flax seeds (great source of fiber and omega-3's!)

In a medium glass bowl or other non-reactive storage container, combine the oats, pineapple, milk, cardamom, and salt. Stir well, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, stir in the sliced bananas. Divide evenly between four bowls, and top each serving with 1 tbs of toasted nuts.

You could also top with additional fruit if you chose to, like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or peaches.

And this one, I found online:
BRYANNA'S BIRCHER MEUSLI
Serves 4

From the book "The Fiber for Life Cookbook"

Bircher Meusli was invented by Dr. Bircher in Switzerland as a nutritious, raw, but digestible breakfast cereal. You can buy expensive commercial versions, but the original is very cheap and very easy, as long as you remember to start the night before.

THE NIGHT BEFORE, soak in a bowl overnight in the refrigerator:
1-1/2 cups rolled oats (or other rolled whole grain cereal like barley)
1-1/2 cups nondairy milk (or cow's milk would be fine too)

**Note: I also added 1/2 tsp cinnamon to the soaking mixture

JUST BEFORE SERVING, ADD:
2 tbs wheat bran or raw wheat germ, could also use rice bran or corn germ (I just used toasted wheat germ because that's what I had on hand)
2 tbs currants, raisins or other dried fruit
1/4 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds, hazelnuts, or sunflower seeds (I used sliced raw almonds because that's what was easiest to grab)
2 shredded unpeeled apples (I ended up adding a handful of raisins, so I just used 1 med-large apple, and I chopped it up into small, but coarse pieces)
3 tbs lemon juice
maple syrup to taste

Serve with non-dairy (or cow's) milk, yogurt (soy or regular), maple syrup, or brown sugar (Sucanat), and more fresh fruit (such as berries) if desired. The girls and I just ate ours without garnishes, and it was really yummy!

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Breakfast is always quick and pretty nutritious here. I don't buy a lot of prepackaged things though because I like to stay away from corn surup and dyes.

We have:

smoothies w/ yogart w/ fresh and frozen fruit and I sneak in flax seed for protein.

eggs and toast usually with a veggie, broccoli or zucchini and/or cheese.

pancakes w/ blueberries

muffins (not often, only as a treat)

Fruit parfeits (sp) ice cream glass, mixed fresh fruit on the bottom, vanilla yogart in the middle, more fruit on top then granola.