a better breakfast

image via {marthastewart}

Let's talk about building a better breakfast.

I love breakfast. Period. Perhaps it is because I wake up at 4:30 in the morning and am in desperate need of energy. Maybe. I, however like to attribute this affection to the utter deliciousness of some familiar breakfast items (admittedly most of these being sweet dishes). In fact, I enjoy them at most any time of the day.

Below, I have separated my favorite breakfast recipes/ideas into classifications. You'll notice there are no egg recipes. This is not because eggs are unhealthy (actually, they are pretty awesome in some ways), but because I am weird and get freaked out by eggs in most egg-y forms (unless they're just baked into something).

Smoothies
Any combo of fruit, plain yogurt, flax, wheat germ, and sometimes a dab of spinach. My current favorite has cranberries, oranges, plain yogurt, flax, wheat germ, and a bit of honey.
Muffins*
No Oil/Egg Pumpkin Pecan
Gnarley Muffins
Blueberry Muffins
Butternut Squash Muffins- a little more labor intensive, but very good
Pumpkin Pomegranate Muffins -a little chopped chocolate is pretty fantastic as well...one of my faves
Grains
Cream of Wheat...the lumps are the best part
Baked Oatmeal -I like to use mashed bananas/applesauce instead of the butter with 3/4c brown sugar for 25-30min
Or just regular oatmeal topped with plain yogurt and berries
Random
Breakfast Bars- I usually just spray the pan with Pam instead of buying expensive walnut oil and sometimes will just use rolled oats for the spelt flakes when I don't have those on hand.
Nonfat vanilla or plain yogurt with fruit and granola (I like this, this, and this recipe)
Any favorite healthy breakfasts out there? Maybe some more savory ideas?

*A note about substitutions:
Don't want to use eggs? I have had much success with this recipe. It won't give you that same egg-y taste, but does act a bit like a binder, not to mention adding some yummy omega-3s.
You can also try substituting half the white flour for whole wheat flour. Or try whole wheat pastry flour.
Try substituting yogurt, applesauce, mashed bananas or squash for oil if you like.
Keep in mind that these substitutions may not always result in the exact same muffin the original recipe yielded, but these do add extra vitamins to your muffins and you may end up liking the new version even better!