Do you struggle with getting everyone a good breakfast in the morning before you head out the door or start school? Breakfast themes are the answer to your problem! Know what to make every day.
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Creating Breakfast Themes
You probably already know this but, I love meal planning. I love it so much that I wrote an ebook about it, Meal Planning Made Simple. I don’t think meal planning needs to be complicated or stressful but when done properly, it can greatly reduce mealtime stress in your home.
More recently I’ve ventured from solely planning dinners to planning breakfast as well. Lunches don’t usually take much planning since I either throw together one of these Frugal Lunch Ideas or we have leftovers. But breakfast is a different story. Unless I have something planned, breakfast seems to be hard to dig up.
And I have BIG breakfast eaters in our home, it’s going to take more than a bowl of cereal to keep them full until lunchtime. Anyone else in the same position?
One thing that I’ve done with dinners was to create weekly theme nights, ie: Pizza Night, Taco Night, Chicken Night, Slow Cooker Night, etc. This makes my supper planning so easy! When I was looking to come up with a plan for making breakfast planning simple, I thought that the “themes” method was the perfect solution. If you are in need of planning breakfasts, you need to get on this Breakfast Themes train!
Here are some Breakfast Themes that we’ve come up with and some ideas on what to make under these themes. I’m sure you can add to this list!
Oatmeal Breakfast Theme
Oatmeal is such a wonderful frugal staple. I have one child that would eat oatmeal every single day if we let him! If you have a copy of my book, Little House Living: The Make Your Own Guide to a Frugal, Simple, and Self-Sufficient Life, there is a great recipe for Baked Oatmeal that you can prepare in advance. That’s a great warm breakfast! You could also make these Instant Oatmeal Packets and here is a big list with SO many flavored oatmeal ideas.
There’s more too!
- Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars (could be a good quick breakfast on the go)
- 20 Delicious Oatmeal Breakfasts
- Homemade Oatmeal Bars
Breakfast with Eggs Theme
If you have backyard chickens then you always have plenty of eggs for breakfasts! Of course, breakfast can simple be eggs with toast or fruit or something like that, but you can make some yummy egg dishes as well. Here are a few recipes and ideas:
- Ham and Cheese Quiche
- Scrambled Eggs with Toast from Homemade Bread
- Omelets
- Breakfast Burritos
- Homemade Egg “McMuffins” (Fried egg on an English Muffin with cheese)
Smoothies Breakfast Theme
I’ve been a big smoothie fan for a long time and especially love having them on the menu in the summer. I add in some collagen peptides to add healthy amino acids and to keep fuller longer. Here are my favorite recipes:
- Easy Strawberry Smoothie Recipe
- Orange Julius Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe
- Rhubarb Smoothies
- Strawberry Orange Smoothie
- Strawberry Blueberry Smoothie
- 25 Healthy Breakfast Smoothies
- Frozen Yogurt Smoothie Recipe
- Banana Raspberry Blueberry Smoothie
Hearty Breakfast Theme
Hearty Breakfasts are for those mornings when you know that you need some extra energy to get through the day. For us, this usually means a combination of things such as a platter with fried sweet potatoes, sausage, eggs, and fruit, or more.
Savory Breakfasts Theme
At our home, a savory breakfast is generally code for a hash. What is a hash? Some kind of starch fried up with meat or sausage along with some other veggies. It could also include bacon instead of sausage. These tend to be a “kitchen sink” type of breakfast where we throw things together. This Zucchini Garden Fry is a good example of what a has or savory breakfast might look like to us.
Fruity Breakfasts Theme
Another one of my middle child’s favorite breakfasts…a fruity breakfast. This one consists of anything where fruit is the main star (but it’s not a smoothie). Here are some recipes to try that feature fruit.
- Strawberry Apple Crepes
- Peach Kuchen
- Simple Blueberry Sauce (to top whatever you like!)
- Fruit Breakfast Bowls
Casseroles Breakfast Theme
Casseroles can provide a night hearty breakfast and many of them can be made in advance so you don’t have to do so much prep work in the morning when you get up! Casseroles for breakfast can also be a great way to feed a crowd. Here are some yummy casserole breakfast ideas.
- Christmas Brunch Casserole
- Breakfast Hashbrown Casserole
- Make Ahead French Toast Casserole
Hot or Cold Cereals Breakfast Theme
Not every household likes to have cereals, but sometimes it’s nice to have them on hand for something fast with zero prep. Plus if you don’t want to buy cereals, it’s actually quite easy to make your own like this recipe for Homemade Cinnamon Toast Crunch! Hot cereals are nice to have on hand too like a hearty cream of wheat.
Breakfast BreadsTheme
One of my personal favorite breakfast themes! Breads can be made ahead of time or on a baking day and then frozen until you need them. Plus there are just so many varieties to make!If you have a copy of my book, Little House Living: The Make Your Own Guide to a Frugal, Simple, and Self-Sufficient Life, there is a yummy quick bread base recipe that you can make and then add lots of fun variations for the same recipe. Here are some of my other favorites:
- Cranberry Orange Mini Loaves
- Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Bread
- Creamy Banana Bread
- Pumpkin Bread or Muffins
- Easy Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- Pumpkin Zucchini Bread
- Sour Cream Banana Bread
- Tried and True Banana Bread
- Zucchini Bread
- 18 Quick Sweet Bread Recipes
- Blueberry Zucchini Bread
- Chocolate Buttermilk Bread Recipe
- Cream Cheese Danish
Muffins Breakfast Theme
Another big favorite in our home, probably one of the breakfasts that we make most often! Again, muffins are wonderful since they can be made in advance and frozen.If you have a copy of my book, Little House Living: The Make Your Own Guide to a Frugal, Simple, and Self-Sufficient Life, there is a yummy Muffin Mix recipe that has SO many variations. That’s the recipe that we make the most often! Here are some other good muffin recipes too:
- Banana Zucchini Wheat Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Healthy Muffin Recipes(25 Recipes!)
- Peach Cobbler Muffins
- Pumpkin Bread or Muffins
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins Recipe
- Homemade Muffin Mix
- Double Chocolate Muffins
Pancakes Breakfast Theme
We have pancakes every Saturday morning at our home to celebrate the weekend. Our personal favorite recipe to use is in my ebook, Frugal Gluten Free. If you don’t already have a favorite pancake recipe, here are some to try:
- Pancake and Waffle Bulk Mix
- Pancake Recipe from Scratch
- Greek Pancake Waffles
- Applesauce Pancakes
Leftovers Breakfast Theme
Yes, just like with our dinner themes, I include a leftovers breakfast theme as well! If you are making homemade breakfasts every day of the week, you are bound to have leftovers once in a while, even if it’s just some muffins that need to be eaten up. Plus it gives you a break from having to make something.
Want to make meal planning breakfasts easy on you? Scroll to the bottom of this post and put your email address in the form to get a free printable Breakfast Themes worksheet!
Here are even more Breakfast Themes suggested by other Little House Living readers.
- Hardtime Breakfasts
- Breakfasts from History
- Vegan/Vegetarian Breakfast
- Special Occasion Breakfasts
- Breakfasts for a Crowd
- Slow Cooker Breakfasts
- Breakfast Cookies
- Special Dietary Restrictions Breakfasts (low carb, low sodium, etc)
- Breakfast Buffet
- Grab N Go Breakfast
- Sunday Breakfasts
Trying to plan better, more frugal meals for your family so that you aren’t wasting money at the grocery store? You’ve got to check out my ebookMeal Planning Made Simple. Even if you thought meal planning didn’t work for your family, this ebook will help you find the perfect fit for your family style.
Find even more breakfast recipes here on my Breakfasts from Scratch page.
Do you use breakfast themes? Do you think they could help you plan out your week?
