Are you stuck in a rut when it comes to breakfast?

 

Do you keep telling yourself that you want to eat a better breakfast to prevent that mid-morning sluggishness?

 

Or maybe you would love for your kids to get a healthier start in the morning?

 

We all know that healthy breakfasts are a challenge because, let’s be honest, breakfast is a processed food paradise!  Highly-processed and ultra-convenient options are all around us!  You know the ones — sugar-loaded cereals, Pop-Tarts, frozen waffles, donuts, pastries…how in the world can we overcome all these temptations?  

Don’t throw your hands up and say “I give up!”  We have great news…with a little thought and planning, it’s realistic and super-simple to have great-tasting, grab-and-go, REAL food breakfasts every morning of the week.  And, we guarantee that once you experience this trick, you won’t miss the “junk” food that may be part of your current breakfast routine. 

In previous coaching tips, we have discussed smoothies, mug o’ eggs, overnight oats, baked oatmeal cups, sweet potato toast, homemade granola, mini frittatas, and more.  Today, we want to add another solution to the stuck-in-a-rut-for-breakfast challenge…breakfast burritos!

Breakfast burritos (or wraps) are nothing more than a variety of ingredients rolled into a tortilla.  Like anything, that means breakfast burritos can either be REALLY REALLY good for you or they can be a landmine for refined carbs, too many unhealthy fats, high sodium levels and a variety of ingredients that reduce years in our lives and life in our years.

 

Think about traditional breakfast burritos.

 

We bet we can read your mind here — they often include scrambled eggs, potatoes, cheese, meat (like sausage or bacon), peppers, onions and perhaps some salsa or sour cream.  These are often the typical ingredients you will find in the breakfast burritos served up at McDonald’s, Sonic, Taco Bell, Dunkin Donuts and other places where your breakfast solution arrives through your car window.

 

Get ready to expand your horizons!

 

Remember, a breakfast burrito is simply a “variety of ingredients rolled into a tortilla.”

That means you can take just about any combination of REAL ingredients, roll it into a flour tortilla and, within minutes, you can have a nutritious and delicious breakfast (or lunch or dinner) that is ready to grab-and-go as you head out the door!

Plus, with the right combination of healthy REAL ingredients, believe it or not, these will keep you fully energized until lunchtime!

 

Of course, scrambled eggs are the staple ingredient in a breakfast burrito, but what kind of flavor combinations are we talking about? 

 

• Roasted veggies and basil pesto in the Pesto Veggie Breakfast Burrito give it mind-blowing flavor!
• Cajun Inspired Breakfast Burrito – a Cajun kick (think jambalaya all wrapped up)!
• Try the Chicken Bulgogi Breakfast Burrito for a Korean-inspired version (can you say Bulgogi for breakfast?!)
• Cuban (you read right, a cuban sandwich in a breakfast burrito!)
• Mediterranean flavors in the Mediterranean Breakfast Burrito include spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and feta cheese — delicious!
• Mexican flair with sweet potatoes, black beans and avocado — perfect with your favorite salsa!

Put those leftovers to good use!  Scrambled eggs, along with just about any leftovers, can be transformed into absolutely delicious breakfast burritos!  Let your imagination run wild!

 

The best part about breakfast burritos?  

 

They are portable, just in case you need to eat breakfast on the run, in the car or at the office. Plus, you can make them up ahead of time and keep them in the fridge or freezer to make an ideal grab-and-go option all week long!

 

Tips to get the most out of your fantastic creations:

 

• Quality tortillas!  Look for whole grain or whole wheat tortillas with a short list of REAL ingredients.  It probably won’t surprise you, instead of whole grains, McDonald’s breakfast burritos are made from enriched flour and shortening (hydrogenated oils).
• Large works best.  10″ or 12″ whole wheat tortillas work well to hold burrito fillings.
• Warm them up!  Slightly warm your tortillas to make them easier to fold.  A quick way to do this is wrap them in damp paper towels and place them in the microwave for 15 seconds.
• Avoid soggy tortillas.  Let your filling ingredients cool for 5-10 minutes before assembling.  Also, if you are using scrambled eggs, consider layering another ingredient first to create a barrier between the moist eggs and the tortilla.
• Eggs just right.  If using scrambled eggs, slightly undercook the eggs if you are planning to reheat them.  This will keep them from becoming too dry and rubbery.
• A good rule of thumb is 1 egg per burrito.
• Stock up!  If you are preparing burritos to enjoy during the week, wrap them tightly in foil and store them in the fridge or the freezer.  They will stay good in the fridge for a week and in the freezer for about 3 months. 
• Reheating 3 ways!  1) In the oven: keep the burrito in the foil, but loosen it slightly, and place it on a baking sheet.  Warm in the oven at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes until heated through.  If you want it slightly crispy on the outside, remove it from the foil, place it back on the baking sheet and bake for 2-3 minutes more.  2) In the microwave (fastest method): remove it from the foil and warm it up in the microwave from 30 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on whether it is coming out of the fridge or freezer.  3) On the stove (best from fridge or at room temperature): remove the burrito from the foil, and place it in a covered skillet on medium heat, and cook until lightly browned and warm in the middle.  (If frozen, we recommend letting it thaw some at room temperature before cooking on the stove to ensure the middle gets cooked before the outside browns too much.)
• Some ingredients don’t freeze as well (like fresh tomatoes and avocado).
• Scrambled eggs, meats, cheese, most cooked veggies and pesto usually freeze well.

 

Here’s some random trivia for you to impress your family and friends:

 

1. Some believe that the breakfast burrito was first put on a menu at a cafe in Santa Fe, NM in the mid-1970s.
2. The largest burrito ever made allegedly weighed over 12,000 lbs.  It was made with a single tortilla that weighed over two tons and took 54 restaurants and over 3,000 volunteers working collaboratively to assemble it.
3. The fastest time to eat a burrito is 44 seconds.  (We’re not so sure about this one, as we have seen our teenage son and his friends eat burritos and we think they have actually broken this record!)

 

Give breakfast burritos a try!

Make up a batch of flavor-bursting breakfast burritos and then please let us know what you think!  

We would love to share your ideas, and your favorite flavor combinations, with all of our Eat REAL America members!