7 Days: to 7 Breakfasts - For the next 7 days I will be posting a healthy breakfast meal each day to help start your day!

Posted on Beachbody

By Joe Wilkes

"It's hard to work good nutrition into our days. We're working longer and longer hours and still trying to fit in 30 to 60 minutes of exercise, not to mention all the studies coming out that say we're not getting nearly enough sleep. The hours run out. The snooze button gets pushed. Breakfast often turns into eating last night's leftover takeout during the morning commute. Or worse, it turns into no breakfast at all.

People often skip breakfast in hopes of getting more sleep or losing more weight, but in fact, people who replace breakfast with extra sleep end up having less energy. Breakfast skippers also tend to gain more weight. They start the day with a slow metabolism and then overeat at lunch because they're hungry. You're much better off trying to eat something nutritious in the morning so your brain and body rev up and you don't start the day with cravings that often get relieved by donuts in the break room. Here are seven breakfasts that you can squeeze into the busiest schedule.

Note: Some of the recipes call for eggs. You can use egg substitutes like Egg Beaters^® (1/4 cup per egg), two egg whites per whole egg, or tofu, depending on the recipe and your dietary concerns. Additionally, some recipes call for whole wheat ingredients. Gluten-free versions can be substituted in every case (but no white-flour substitutes!). All nutritional information is per serving. Recipes are for one serving unless otherwise noted."

Sunday: Mom's Pancake Recipe

Like so many of my family's "secret" recipes, this one began life on the side of a package of food. In this case, it was a carton of eggs (no surprise when you see the second ingredient). But this is a pretty good way of sneaking extra protein to your kids—it'll definitely get a better reaction than a boiled egg and a scoop of cottage cheese. For the grownups who are watching their cholesterol, my brother came up with an alternative; substituting six egg whites and half an avocado for the six eggs. The pancakes turn out a bit green, but if you can get past that, they're quite tasty. You can top them with your favorite fresh fruit. If you can't live without maple syrup, go for grade B or grade C. Those syrups contain more of the natural minerals that are filtered out of the grade A syrup. And they're cheaper!

• 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or 1/4 cup whole wheat and 1/4 cup barley flour)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• Pinch of salt
• Dash of vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk

Blend or food-process the first six ingredients on high until smooth. Add milk slowly to reach batter consistency. Cook on a hot, nonstick griddle. Number of pancakes varies depending on size. Serves 6.

Preparation time: 15 to 20 minutes