What is a Balanced Breakfast?

No, it's not coffee in one hand, cinnamon roll in the other. Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day and 31 million of us skip it. Here are a few quick, easy and healthy breakfast ideas that you can throw together in minutes and one that's a little more involved, but nonetheless, it's quite tasty. 

I get up at 4:30am every day. Well, sometimes it's 4:45, but still. That's really early and I don't have a lot of time in the morning to make breakfast. I try and eat something before I go on the air, but sometimes I only have time for coffee and an apple. That's a far cry from a healthy, balanced breakfast. Well, it took some blending, processing chopping and taste-testing, but my fantastical brain has come up with a few healthy and yummy breakfast options.

Oats and Milk - Put 1/2 cup of quick oats, a dash or two of cinnamon, a handful of Craisins and a handful of slivered almonds into a microwave safe container. Add 1 cup of skim milk and microwave until hot. Oats have B vitamins for energy, Craisins add antioxidants, almonds add protein and milk adds calcium and D vitamins which is good for your skin.

Greek Yogurt Smoothie with Fruit and Walnuts - Greek yogurt is not good just plain. I learned that one the hard way. I am a huge fan of fruit and I know Greek yogurt is good for you, so I put the two together. I take one cup of low fat vanilla Greek yogurt and mix it with a few blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. Then I add about a half cup of skim milk and finally some honey for a little sweetness. Blend it and pour into a travel tumbler. Top with chopped walnuts if you want extra protein for a sweet and tasty breakfast. Another good one is one cup of low fat plain Greek yogurt, cocoa powder, a half a cup of skim milk, honey and strawberries blended together. It tastes like you're being bad, but you're not.

This last one is my favorite. It's a little more involved, but you can make it Sunday night so it's ready for you to take to work Monday morning. It's also fantastic for a brunch and goes great with a mimosa. Plus it's kind of like pizza. I have to admit something with this one, though. I stole it from Paul McCartney's Meat Free Monday cookbook, but I doctored it a little bit.

Spinach Tart - You'll need a 9 inch tart pan lined with pie dough, 9 ounces of baby spinach, small tomato chopped and drained, 4 tablespoons of sunflower oil, 1 onion finely chopped, extra lean ground turkey, sage, low fat cheddar cheese, four egg whites, 2/3 cup cream, salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place tart pan in oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a non stick pan brown turkey and add sage, salt and pepper to flavor. It should taste just like breakfast sausage. Set turkey aside and heat two tablespoons of sunflower oil on medium low heat. Gently wilt spinach. Drain spinach and chop it. Set aside. Heat two tablespoons of sunflower oil on medium high heat and brown the onions. Mix onions, spinach, tomatoes and turkey together and spread over the bottom of the pie crust. Next, take your food processor and put in cheese, egg whites and cream. Pulse until well mixed. Pour over turkey/spinach mixture and stick it back in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. It will be done when the top is golden brown. Turn off the heat, but leave the tart in the oven for another five minutes. Place the pan on a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature. Slice it and place it in microwave safe containers. In the morning, they're super easy to grab and go!