Office Breakfast ideas

dani21496

Cathlete
What do you usually eat for breakfast when you have to get up really early for work? Do you eat at your desk, or before you leave in the morning?

I leave so early that I'm usually not hungry until I get to work and I'm sitting at my desk. I usually will have a packet of oatmeal and an apple.

Today, I'm just having a handful of pretzels and an apple. I'm looking for more ideas.


Since breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal, I'm thinking I should be doing better.

:)
 
Low fat cottage cheese and fruit. It's yummy and it can be easily packed up and taken with you to work in the morning. :)
 
I usually have breakfast before I leave for work. I usually have scrambled egg whites with some cheese and a piece of whole wheat toast.

Here are some ideas for you~

Maple Berry Waffle
1 frozen whole-grain waffle
½ cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 cup fresh berries or frozen mixed berries, thawed
1 tablespoon maple syrup
MAKE IT – Toast waffle and top with yogurt, berries and maple syrup

Cinnamon Apples w/ Creamy Oats
1 packet plain instant oatmeal
½ cup skim milk
1 small apple, chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon walnuts
MAKE IT – Prepare oatmeal with milk. Microwave apple, cinnamon and brown sugar for 1 to 2 minutes. Top oatmeal with apples and walnuts.

Spicy Breakfast Scramble
1 egg plus 2 egg whites
¼ cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons spicy salsa
2 tablespoons cheddar cheese
1 whole-grain tortilla
MAKE IT – In a pan over medium heat, scramble all ingredients together. Fill tortilla with mixture.

Vanilla Peach Cottage Toast
1 slice whole-grain bread
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces low-fat cottage cheese
1 cup sliced peaches
MAKE IT – Toast bread. Stir vanilla into cottage cheese. Top toast with cottage cheese and peaches.


Apricot & Honey Greek Yogurt
5 ounces fat-free Greek yogurt
¼ cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup whole-grain cereal
1 tablespoon honey
MAKE IT – Top yogurt with apricots, cereal and honey.


Whole-Grain Waffles with Berry & Walnut Compote
2 frozen low-fat whole-grain waffles
¼ cup blackberries
¼ cup strawberries
1 ounce (14 halves) walnuts
MAKE IT – Toast waffles. Top with mashed fresh berries and walnuts.

Florentine Egg Scramble on an English Muffin
2 eggs
½ cup cooked fresh spinach
1 whole-grain English muffin, toasted
1 cup cut cantaloupe
MAKE IT – Scramble eggs with spinach. Serve on English muffin with cantaloupe on the side.

Slice Pear & Almond-Butter Toast
2 slices whole-grain bread
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 medium pear, sliced
MAKE IT – Toast whole-grain bread. Spread almond butter on toast and top with fresh pear slices.

Banana & Honey Smoothie
1 cup light vanilla soy milk
1 small banana
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons old-fashioned oatmeal
1 tablespoon flaxseeds, ground
MAKE IT – Blend all ingredients until smooth.
 
Thank you! That sounds really good! I'm thinking strawberries/blueberries/nectarines? Yum!

You're welcome. I usually will use strawberries, blueberries and/or raspberries and sometimes red or black seedless grapes too!

ETA: I also like natural pb on whole grain bread or a bagel. I eat breakfast home every morning so I will usual eat healthy cereals or oatmeal (not instant) with pb/banana/protein powder in it.
 
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Jane! Wow! Thank you so much for all those fantastic ideas! Awesome! We have a microwave/toaster/fridge at work, and I'm going to try these out. I'm going to try the egg ones on the weekends. :) Smoothies too!

You're welcome. I usually will use strawberries, blueberries and/or raspberries and sometimes red or black seedless grapes too!

ETA: I also like natural pb on whole grain bread or a bagel. I eat breakfast home every morning so I will usual eat healthy cereals or oatmeal (not instant) with pb/banana/protein powder in it.


Yum, thanks so much! I also like natural pb! :)
 
Yogurt and fruit can be packed the night before. I like plain yogurt with fresh fruit (or frozen works too-it will thaw by the time you eat it). I add a spoonful of ground flax and some vanilla or almond extract too. This can be packed in an insulated container if you don't have a fridge at work. And I bring a separate container with nuts, usually almonds, to put on top.

If you have a slow-cooker with a timer, or a rice maker with a "porridge" setting, you can make steel-cut oats that will be hot and ready in the morning (by putting in the ingredients when you go to bed). Just spoon into your insulated container when you wake up and it will be great to eat later in the morning when you are ready. You can add flavorings or fruit, too (I like cutting up an apple and adding cinnamon, when it's all soft and cooked it's like having a really healthy apple pie for breakfast).

Healthy homemade muffins or quickbreads are very portable. I also like leftover whole-grain pancakes, either plain or spread with all-fruit spread or peanut butter.

Fresh fruit by itself is perfect, by itself or with other things, and often has its own natural wrapper making it easy to transport...a banana, orange, apple, grapes...
 
DH and I love this- it's from Tosca Reno's Clean Eating Cookbook. I make it on Sunday and then put it in single serving containers and he just grabs one on his way to work.

Dutch Muesli

½ cup barley flakes
2 cups oats (not instant)
¼ cup flax seed
¼ cup wheat germ
¼ cup oat bran
3 cups boiling water
¼ cup almonds, raw, unsalted and chopped
Juice of one fresh orange (or just a little OJ you have on hand)
¼ cup agave nectar or whatever sweetener you prefer
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 apple, unpeeled, grated
¼ cup raisins
½ cup chopped, pitted dates

Place barley, oatmeal, flax seed, wheat germ and oat bran in a glass bowl. Pour boiling water over it and let it sit until water is absorbed (I usually wait about 20-30 minutes). In another glass bowl, put remaining ingredients (I keep raisins and dates out and put them on the top when I eat it, but to each his own) and mix. Combine with oatmeal mixture. Stores in fridge for up to a week.
 
Dani, maybe you're all idea'ed out, but..... you could always put scrambled eggs in a thermos -- I do that for my boys' lunches occasionally......

-Beth
 
How about the Big Breakfast Cookie? You can freeze them, then microwave for about 30 seconds when you are ready to eat:

1 1/4 C. oatmeal
1/4 C. raisins
1/4 C. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 C. Fat-free dry milk
1 C. Unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup Sugar or Splenda
Optional: 1/4 C. each walnuts and/or chocolate chips

Preheat over to 350. Spray a large cookie sheet with Pam. Mix all ingredients together and spoon into 4 large mounts on sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Nutritional info: (per cookie, made with Splenda): 270 calories, 2 g. fat, 4.2 g. fiber (5 points) (Using sugar instead of Splenda adds 1 point per cookie, for a total of 6 points per cookie)

I don't care for cinnamon/raisins so I have some variations....

My favorite is this one: I ommit the cinnamon and raisins, add orange zest, about 1/2 tsp orange extract, the juice from the zested orange and cranberries.

Or this might be my favorite: I add 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder, omit the same amount of the milk, add 1 T of cocoa powder. Sometimes I add the cinnamon and sometimes leave it out. I also increased the sweetener some.

Also: I add almond extract and slivered almonds (omit the cinnamon and raisins of course).

And just one more. I add the zest of a lemmon, 2tsp lemon extract and ommit the cinnamon.

Actually, variations seem endless. I've left out the applesauce and used canned pumpkin and maple syrup.

For the sweetener I have used Splenda but also stevia and date sugar.
 
I make my breakfast (2 eggs over medium) the night before, pack them in a microwavable container, and then reheat them at work the next morning. The yolks are still soft and the whites are not rubbery-taste like I just made them.

Depending on the day I will either have a piece of whole wheat toast or some sort of fruit-usually pineapple-with my eggs.

Very simple but it works for me! :)
 
I do cottage cheese too. I LOVE cottage cheese!

I also have a desk drawer w/my backups in it--basically crackers (I have a thing for Saltines) & rice cakes. Cinnamon & apple being my current favorite.

As you can see, I'm a no-fuss, on the run breakfast kind of girl (I think that translates into "lazy" LOL).
 
How about the Big Breakfast Cookie? You can freeze them, then microwave for about 30 seconds when you are ready to eat:

1 1/4 C. oatmeal
1/4 C. raisins
1/4 C. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 C. Fat-free dry milk
1 C. Unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup Sugar or Splenda
Optional: 1/4 C. each walnuts and/or chocolate chips

Preheat over to 350. Spray a large cookie sheet with Pam. Mix all ingredients together and spoon into 4 large mounts on sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Nutritional info: (per cookie, made with Splenda): 270 calories, 2 g. fat, 4.2 g. fiber (5 points) (Using sugar instead of Splenda adds 1 point per cookie, for a total of 6 points per cookie)

I don't care for cinnamon/raisins so I have some variations....

My favorite is this one: I ommit the cinnamon and raisins, add orange zest, about 1/2 tsp orange extract, the juice from the zested orange and cranberries.

Or this might be my favorite: I add 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder, omit the same amount of the milk, add 1 T of cocoa powder. Sometimes I add the cinnamon and sometimes leave it out. I also increased the sweetener some.

Also: I add almond extract and slivered almonds (omit the cinnamon and raisins of course).

And just one more. I add the zest of a lemmon, 2tsp lemon extract and ommit the cinnamon.

Actually, variations seem endless. I've left out the applesauce and used canned pumpkin and maple syrup.

For the sweetener I have used Splenda but also stevia and date sugar.

Sounds HEAVENLY!! I can't do Splenda though because I always get headaches when I have it. This sounds so good! I've never heard of date sugar. I should try it.

I make my breakfast (2 eggs over medium) the night before, pack them in a microwavable container, and then reheat them at work the next morning. The yolks are still soft and the whites are not rubbery-taste like I just made them.

Depending on the day I will either have a piece of whole wheat toast or some sort of fruit-usually pineapple-with my eggs.

Very simple but it works for me! :)

I would have never thought to do that! Great idea!

I do cottage cheese too. I LOVE cottage cheese!

I also have a desk drawer w/my backups in it--basically crackers (I have a thing for Saltines) & rice cakes. Cinnamon & apple being my current favorite.

As you can see, I'm a no-fuss, on the run breakfast kind of girl (I think that translates into "lazy" LOL).

LOL! That is me lately!!!
 
You know what's the strangest thing? This morning I got an email from Sparkpeople titled, "Heatly and Quick breakfast ideas"

Too funny!

Here's an excerpt:
So what are some unhealthy breakfast ideas? Scratch that – healthy and quick ideas? Here are some of our favorites:

Prepare a casserole the night before. Pop it in the microwave when you wake up and it will be ready to go when you are.

Incorporate complex carbohydrates, such as whole wheat toast and bagels. Spread peanut butter and raisins on top of either for added flavor.

Bake bran muffins early in the week, then grab one or two each morning. Or check out a local bakery for healthy varieties.

Make waffles Sunday morning and freeze the leftovers. You can pop ‘em in the toaster for a homemade breakfast. Also, grocery stores sell frozen whole grain selections.

Have you ever tried a tortilla for breakfast? Wrap up cold turkey and cheese, grab an apple and you’re on your way.

Don’t forget cold cereal. We’re not talking about those covered with sugar, but the healthy variety. Items such as Wheaties and Cheerios are always good choices.

Whole-egg or egg white omelets with fresh or frozen veggies (carrots, broccoli, celery, peppers, onions and even black beans make great additions).

Make a shake or a smoothie. Blend fruit and yogurt and then drink it in the car. A side option is a small bag of finger foods, such as a mixture of granola and grapes.
 
I eat yogurt and string cheese at my desk every day. It's a light breakfast, but it works.

anne
 
I eat a slice of toasted cinnamon raisin ezekiel bread with peanut butter and a banana most mornings. I rotate that between fage mixed with a little kashi golean crunch and strawberries, or just a bowl of kashi cereal.
 
I am definitely not a morning person so I eat bfast when I get to work. Some ideas:

~ make a big batch of Fiber 1 pancakes over the weekend and freeze them. The night before work, take out to thaw and pack with strawberries or any fresh fruit to put on top!
~ I'm on WW so I eat Better N Eggs instead of regular eggs to keep the points low. I pack peppers & mushrooms in a baggie and when I get to work, pour the "eggs" into a large mug, microwave for 1 min, take out and stir in veggies and 1 slice of Laughing cow cheese. Nuke for 45 sec and you have a mini omlette! I eat with a Fiber 1 English Muffin.
~ Chocolite protein bars (sugar free and only 95 calories--you can get them at netrition.com) with a piece of fruit or a small yogurt
~ Greek Fage low fat PLAIN yogurt with fruit mixed in and some vanilla for taste and a small amt of cereal on top to give it some crunch

ENJOY!! :D
 

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