The world is hard, breakfast doesn't have to be...

Part three in a three-part series I didn't plan!

In July, I shared some thoughts on how I go about figuring out what to make for dinner + some easy, go-to meal ideas. Then a couple of weeks ago I did a similar thing for lunch. So today I figured we’d talk breakfast. (I guess this is what they call a series?!)

Below are some ideas for breakfasts, including some notes on how to make many of the ideas ahead!! I hope this is helpful if you’re in a breakfast slump.

Melina Hammer took this photo for Simply Julia :)

Before I share those breakfast ideas! A quick reminder about my class this coming Sunday (2p EST) which is a Rosh Hashanah Dinner. The menu is:

• Apple Cider Old Fashioned Cocktails

• Sesame Chicken Schnitzel

• Shaved Apple + Fennel Salad

• Gingery Date Cake

Celebrating Rosh Hashanah? Or just interested in some of my all-time favorite autumnal Jewish recipes? Join me on the holiday to prepare a wonderful menu that would be welcome not only on your holiday table, but also on just any table. » » SIGN UP HERE!!!! « «

And speaking of classes! I just posted all of my October classes!!

Sunday 10/2: A Cozy Vegetarian Dinner / » SIGN UP HERE!!!!

Sunday 10/9: 3 Favorite No Pressure! Pressure Cooker Meals / » SIGN UP HERE!!!!

Sunday 10/23: A Fun Mexican-Inspired Dinner / » SIGN UP HERE!!!!

SATURDAY 10/29: A Happens-to-be-Vegan Halloween Meal / » SIGN UP HERE!!!!

Okay, onto breakfast ideas. In no particular order…

THE THINGS I EAT MOST REGULARLY:

• Plain yogurt with granola + a diced apple or berries

• Yogurt with jam + nuts

• Buttered toast

• Toast with peanut butter + sliced banana

  • I also love this topping on a toaster waffle…either way, a great thing to take in the car on a paper towel since it’s not messy!!!

• Grainy toast or toaster waffles (these are my fave) with cottage cheese (this is my fave) and a little bit of maple syrup or jam

• Toast with something creamy (cream cheese, ricotta, melted cheese, or avocado) + a ton of sauerkraut

• Scrambled eggs + buttered toast

• A cheese omelet + toast and/or a little salad

• An omelet with leftovers as filling

• A breakfast sandwich with an over-medium egg, cheese (usually cheddar or swiss), lettuce + mayo on toast or an English muffin.

  • Minus lettuce, breakfast sandwiches are great to make in batches, wrap up securely, and freeze. You can take them out the night before and reheat in the microwave, toaster oven or air fryer. Like your own personal, homemade drive-thru.

• Oatmeal (I keep my 1/2 cup scoop in the bag, put that in a bowl, add a cup of water + pinch of salt and microwave for two minutes, let it sit a few minutes + usually top with a spoonful of jam + some walnuts).

  • You can also make oatmeal in big batches, refrigerate it, and heat it in a pot or microwave with a little extra milk or water and then have with nuts and berries or whatever you like it with...this way you don't have to make it from scratch each time.

  • You can also make oatmeal in a big batch, put it in a greased loaf pan, and then cut it in slices each morning and warm those slices in a buttered skillet which is really delicious!!!!!!!!

THINGS I EAT SOMETIMES THAT I GET EXCITED ABOUT:

• Egg in a hole! Grace is the best at making this and does it with extra cheese on the outside so that it gets a crispy cheese ‘shell’— it’s amazing. I’ll see if Grace is up for doing a demo sometime!

• Breakfast quesadilla a.k.a. a cheese quesadilla with scrambled eggs inside

• Breakfast tacos: charred corn tortillas, scrambled eggs, sour cream + pickled jalapeños

• A breakfast burrito with eggs, cheese, salsa + beans.

  • Just like breakfast sandwiches, breakfast burritos are great to make in batches, wrap up securely, and freeze. You can take them out the night before and reheat in the microwave, toaster oven or air fryer. Like your own personal, homemade drive-thru!!

• Hardboiled eggs with spicy mayo + furikake on top of toast or some rice

  • A stash of hardboiled eggs in your fridge means breakfast is always going to be satisfying and quick

• my farm breakfast: rice + beans (reheat in microwave) with a spoonful of sour cream + LOTS of hot sauce (I ate this every morning for MONTHS last year and felt so satisfied and set up for success)

  • I would make a pot of rice and a pot of beans every weekend and just put them side-by-side in a bowl every morning and microwave them until steaming hot…was very little work for a lot of reward!

• Grace’s favorite breakfast: a breakfast board! which is just a cutting board filled with delicious things such as sliced cheese, fruit, nuts drizzled with honey, vegetables, ham, salami, crackers, etc. 

  • this is my preferred way to clean out our fridge!!

• the sour cream pancakes with roasted blueberries from Small Victories— they’re seriously so good!!!

  • The recipe is at the bottom of this newsletter for paid subscribers!!!

• French toast! When was the last time you had French toast??

• A toasted sesame bagel with sharp cheddar cheese melted on top + a glass of orange juice on ice (my favorite childhood breakfast and one of my top 5 comfort meals)

• A toasted everything bagel with the works (cream cheese, lox, red onion sliced paper thin, capers, sliced cucumbers, a squeeze of lemon)

• A toasted bagel with whitefish salad

• Miso soup, rice, a piece of fish

• Kimchi fried rice with a runny fried egg on top but just the yolk is runny, not the egg white please and thanks

• Warm, soft grits or polenta with butter + honey or maple syrup hits the same cozy spot as oatmeal but always feels more novel to me…

Paid subscribers with the ability to comment, please please please feel free to tell me what you had for breakfast today and/or what you’re excited to have tomorrow morning!!! Yesterday when I wrote the first draft of this list, I had plain yogurt (full fat or bust) with a chopped up apple + some granola from Bread Alone (the apricot pistachio kind). Today I had a very satisfying breakfast open-faced sandwich situation consisting of toast that I spread with the White Bean + Pimentón dip from Simply Julia (I had some in the fridge that I made the other day— recipe is below for paid subscribers) and on top of that I put some grilled tofu my friend Emmet cooked the other day + I drizzled his tahini dressing on top (Emmet and I have just started a prepared meal service in Kingston, NY and the grilled tofu + tahini dressing were from our first day this week! If you’re in the area and want to learn more about it, head here!!).

I ate both of these breakfasts while Grace and I played Wordle together, which we do every morning before Spelling Bee. xo, Julia