What My Family Eats - For Breakfast

During the week we either grab breakfast as we are running out the door or take something to heat up at the office. The kiddos eat at their daycare and I'm pretty impressed with their menu. They make sure there is a fruit and fairly healthy option for the kids. 

So what do Scott and I eat?

• Waffles with peanut butter. Don't knock it until you try it! Now, I know frozen waffles are not the best option, but they work. I prefer to eat the Van's Power Protein Waffles, but since they haven't been BOGO in a while, I'll settle for some homestyle.This is an easy breakfast for me to make while I'm doing Jill's hair in the morning.

• Oatmeal. I usually make oatmeal in the slow cooker and then heat it up at the office. I haven't made any in a while, mainly since it has been a million degrees outside. My favorite is this apple oatmeal, but I also love this banana nut oatmeal. I top both of these with some brown sugar and raisins (for the apple) or blueberries (for the banana).

• Scott normally has grits for breakfast. He's Southern.

• On the weekends we make scrambled eggs (or egg beaters) with a little bit of cheese, some fruit and wheat toast. 

• On weekends we sometimes make pancakes with turkey bacon (nom nom nom).

• If there's a long run thrown in the mix, breakfast is usually a protein shake (with a scoop of PB2 in it).

• Another favorite around here is greek yogurt with some granola and fruit on the side. 

I'll be adding our snacks this week, too. Stay tuned!

Cinnamon Roll Casserole

One of my best memories from childhood is having a big weekend breakfast. Either Saturday or Sunday my parents would make breakfast while awesome tunes were blasting from the stereo (anything from Fleetwood Mac, to Ricky Martin, to Polka).  When I was really little my Grandma would make pancakes for me in whatever shape or letter that I wanted, something I cannot do to save my life. That or I just don't have the patience for it.

I really want this tradition to continue in my family, so this morning I made this cinnamon roll casserole that I found on The Dishy Decorator. I made a few changes to it, and I think when I make it again I'll probably cut it in half.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of melted butter or baking spray (I just sprayed the pan because the casserole is decadent enough, I didn't think it needed the butter)
• 2 cans (12.4 oz each) refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (next time I am going to sub this for evaporated skim milk, it's the same consistency but with less fat and calories)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla (I have a heavy hand with vanilla, so it was probably more)
• 1 cup chopped Pecans (I just grabbed 2 handfuls of pecans and chopped them, didn't measure)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup 

Garnish: 

• Icing from cinnamon rolls 

Directions: 

• Heat oven to 375°F. 
• Pour melted butter into ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Or, spray it with baking spray.
• Separate both cans of dough into 16 rolls; set icing aside. 
• Cut each roll into 8 pieces; place pieces over butter in dish. 
• In a medium bowl, beat eggs. 
• Beat in cream, cinnamon and vanilla until well blended; gently pour over roll pieces. 
• Sprinkle with pecans; drizzle with 1/4 cup syrup. 
• Bake 20 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Mine was golden in 25 minutes.
• Cool 15 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, remove covers from icing; microwave 10 to 15 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle. 
• Drizzle icing over top. 

This was crazy delicious and a definite crowd pleaser. Since it's just the four of us, I will probably cut the recipe in half next time I make it. 

Kid Friendly Eggnog French Toast

I really wanted to make eggnog French toast for Christmas morning but all of the recipes I found called for rum and weren't really kid friendly, until I found this recipe. Now, I know when you look at the amount of spices that go in you may be like me and think 'this cannot be right', but I assure you it is and this is sooooo yummy!



What you need:

• 2 eggs, beaten slightly
• 1 1/2 cups eggnog1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups eggnog
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice12 slices French bread

What to do:

1. Whisk the eggs. eggnog, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together in a mixing bowl until well blended. Pour the mixture into a shallow dish.

2. Preheat an electric skillet to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly grease the skillet. (or just use a frying pan like I did)

3. Dip one slice of bread at a time into the eggnog mixture, being sure to coat each side of the bread thoroughly.

4. Place the prepared bread slices into the preheated skillet, and cook, turning once, until golden brown on each side. Place cooked slices on a serving plate and cover with foil to keep warm until all French toast is cooked. Serve immediately.

Seriously, this was sooooooo good! Since I still have some eggnog left over I'm going to try and make it again. Hope you enjoy!

Van's Natural Foods Giveaway

The kids and I had the chance to try some of the latest products from Van's Natural Foods this past week and cannot wait to tell you about them!


One of the newest products are the Muffin Crowns, basically the part without the stump (go ahead, insert that episode of Seinfeld, I know I did!). There are two flavors, wild blueberry and triple chocolate. I, personally, love the wild blueberry and Scott is a fan of the triple chocolate. The Muffin Crowns are made with at least 7 grams of whole grains and pack 6 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein per serving, in only 120 calories or less. They’re individually packaged and can be eaten oven toasted or simply thawed, so they’re great as a quick, portable breakfast or snack. For Scott this is a perfect, quick breakfast that he can eat on his way into work.


Another new product is the waffle sticks, which come in two flavors, vanilla and chocolate. We tried the vanilla sticks and the kids loved them. Van’s new Waffle Sticks have only 70 calories per serving and they are sized perfectly to fit in kids' hands, so they're a great treat on-the-go. You can either microwave these, put them in a toaster oven or toast them in the oven. We did them in the microwave and I'm happy to say they were not soggy at all! The vanilla flavor is sweet, but not overpowering, which is perfect for the kids.

I haven't been able to find these at the Publix by my house yet, but thanks to the handy store locator feature on Van's website I was able to find them at my nearby Whole Foods Market. I'm a huge fan of the whole line of Van's products (the french toast sticks are without a doubt one of my favorites, followed closely by the apple cinnamon waffles and now the wild blueberry muffin crowns) and the fact that they are nutritious while still being delicious. A huge thank you to the wonderful people from Van's for allowing me to sample these new products!

One lucky reader will have a chance to try out these new products as well! Simply visit Van's Natural Foods website, check out their list of goods and tell me which product you'd like to try the most.

For additional entries:
Follow Twice the Love...Half the Sleep
Like Twice the Love...Half the Sleep on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Like Van's Natural Foods on Facebook
Tweet about this giveaway (be sure to include @amandanethero in your tweet)

The winner will be announced Friday August 12th! Good luck everyone!

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet! I make these pancakes for the kiddos all the time with a variety of fruits, but usually cinnamon sugar apples.

What you need:

• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon of sugar (I use Splenda)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter (unsalted)
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• fruit if you want fruit filing

What to do:

• Mix your dry and wet ingredients
• When I use cinnamon apples I dice my apple and sprinkle with cinnamon and Splenda and heat in the microwave for one minute
• Mix the fruit into the batter
• Heat in a griddle pan until done (heart shaped pancakes are totally optional)

My kiddos love these pancakes! If you don't like whole wheat you can use regular white flour. Enjoy!