healthy cooking

Easy Family-Friendly Breakfast Recipes

Cooking, Health & Wellness, kids

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It’s back-to-school season, so mornings are early and rushed! Unfortunately, this often leaves little time to feed our families a nutritious breakfast. But, as the saying goes, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” and its imperative that our kiddos get a healthy start before their long day at school and activities.

I know that with the early mornings’ limited time, plus a house full of picky eaters and different taste preferences, it feels much easier to resort to packaged donuts and pastries or swing through the fast food drive-through for a chicken biscuit for a quick breakfast. However, I’m here to assure you that making a fast, healthful breakfast for your family does not have to be hard, time consuming or expensive. As long as you’re willing to put in just a little prep work, you and your family can eat a variety of delicious and nutritious every day of the week! Plus, you’ll save money from avoiding coffee shops and fast food restaurants!

Check out my top family-friendly breakfast recipe ideas below!

Apple “Donuts”

Recipe: Food Network

Not only do Apple “Donuts” encourage your children to eat more fruit — it’s also a great recipe for little hands to get involved in making! Slice apples into 1/2-inch circles, and use a small circular cookie cutter or small melon baller to cut a hole in the center of each to make a “donut.” Top apples with better-for-you “frosting,” like peanut butter, cream cheese and greek yogurt. Add more fun with additional toppings, like sprinkles, sliced strawberries, granola and chocolate chips.

One-Bowl, Multi-Flavor Mini Muffins

Recipe: The Baker Mama

This one-bowl muffin batter recipe is easy to make. After adding the batter to muffin tins, simply drop in your favorite mix-ins, like blueberries, chocolate chips, cinnamon sugar, bananas or sprinkles, to create multiple flavors in one batch. This recipe is perfect for all the different taste preferences in your house or if your kiddos get bored of eating the same flavor every morning. 

Super Pancakes

Don’t settle for boring regular pancakes when you can have “Super Pancakes” filled with superpower ingredients! This recipe is especially beneficial for kids who need help eating more protein, fruits and vegetables. I make these pancakes with Kodiak Protein-Packed Flapjack and Waffle Mix and mix in milk and egg instead of water for added protein! After the batter is made, I mix in mashed banana and grated zucchini (you can’t even taste the zucchini, I promise!). Make a large batch of these Super Pancakes on Sunday morning to quickly heat up for breakfast for 3-4 days!

Photo credit: Confessions of a Midnight Baker

Coffee Shop Dupe Egg Bites

Recipe: Once Upon a Chef

Save time and money by skipping the coffee shop for your favorite egg bites and making them at home! The secret ingredient in these egg, bacon and cheese egg bites is cottage cheese and tabasco sauce! They’re so flavorful and easy to make ahead of time. Store in the fridge for 3 days or freezer for 2 months. You won’t miss your pricey store-bought egg bites!

Quick Caprese Breakfast Sandwich

Recipe: Jones Dairy Farm

This sandwich is low on prep time but full on flavor! Most breakfast sandwiches are time consuming to make, but not this Caprese Breakfast Sandwich with the help of Jones Dairy Farm Canadian Bacon, Egg Life Egg White Wraps and pre-sliced BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella. Cut the egg wrap down into 4-6 pieces. Lightly toast the English muffin. Top one half with basil leaves, 2-3 slices of mozzarella, 2-3 slices of tomato. Finish with 2-3 egg slices and 2 slices of Canadian bacon.  

Protein Yogurt Parfait

Recipe: Created by ME! My full recipe is available in a previous blog post here

When you’re challenged with food allergies and diet restrictions but still want a high-protein breakfast, this make-ahead dairy, egg and gluten free yogurt parfait is a delectable choice! It’s made with my favorite Super Granola and Vanilla Cinnamon Protein Powder from Kroma Wellness, along with creamy Coconut Yogurt and Berries. You could add more toppings, too, like honey, chia seeds, hemp seeds, nut butter, etc. Customize it to your preference! This is a great recipe to make ahead in a mason jar to bring on-the-go during busy mornings!

Which of these recipes do you want to try? Let me know in the comments below! For more family-friendly products, activities and recipe ideas, be sure to follow me on Instagram and TikTok!

XO Maggie

One-Pan Chicken Fajita Skillet with Quick Avocado Dip – Healthy Recipe!

Cooking, Health & Wellness

At the beginning of this year, I took a poll asking my Instagram followers what kind of recipes they’d like me to share. I asked my followers if they want to see: 1) Healthy meals; 2) Kids meals; 3) Party food to serve a crowd; 4) Quick meals (30 minutes or less). The majority requested to see “healthy meals” with “quick meals” falling shortly behind. Ask and you shall receive!! Or, in this case, vote in my poll and you shall receive! So, here I am, sharing a dinner recipe that is both healthy AND quick: One-Pan Chicken Fajitas!!

My chicken fajita topped with quick avocado dip and Siete Habanero Botana Sauce

Where did this One-Pan Chicken Fajita Skillet recipe come from?

My husband and I are both originally from Texas, so Tex-Mex cuisine is a favorite in our household. However, Tex-Mex isn’t necessarily known for being healthy with its flour tortillas, extra cheese, butter and extremely large portions. When my husband and I started dating over a decade ago, we were relatively new to California and missed authentic Tex-Mex food. When I moved to Los Angeles, I was surprised to find that the Mexican restaurants here didn’t all serve sizzling skillet fajitas with flour tortillas, cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream, a side of charro beans with bacon, and our favorite… queso dip! In fact, when I arrived here in 2009, I could not find a Mexican restaurant that even knew what queso dip was! Most all of the restaurants only served corn tortillas and they rarely had the melty combinations of cheese in their fajitas and tacos, like monterey jack, queso blanco and colby jack. Compared to Tex-Mex, I thought Cali-Mex was, well, bland! I had to recreate our beloved Tex-Mex flavors at home, but there was another problem… My husband and I like to eat healthy! Okay, so that’s necessarily a problem, but it can be challenging when you love traditional Tex-Mex food! So, I was determined to create a healthy-ish version of some of our favorite Tex-Mex dishes, like chicken fajitas, and that’s how this recipe came about! We honestly eat this one-pan chicken fajitas meal at least 3-4 times per month… Actually, we eat it even more than that, because I’ll switch out the protein for carne asada, ground beef or ground turkey! You can make it even healthier by omitting or limiting the cheese. And, I always opt for a healthier tortilla, like Siete Foods Almond Flour Tortillas or Ole Xtreme Wellness Tortillas.

All the authentic Tex-Mex flavored goodness wrapped in a tortilla!

What kitchen equipment do I need to make One-Pan Chicken Fajitas?

Just as the recipe name implies, all you really need is one pan! For this recipe, I use the 10.5″ Caraway Fry Pan. Last year, I upgraded my cookware to Caraway, and it’s one of the best home investments I’ve made in a long time! I was worried about spending so much on cookware, but let me tell you, Caraway is worth it! It has a non-toxic coating, so you can feel good about making dinner for your family with the cookware without worrying about harmful chemicals. Plus, it’s non-stick and so easy to clean! Another thing that majorly separates Caraway from other cookware brands is its storage capabilities. I love that the 4-piece cookware set comes with pan racks and a lid holder to free up space in my cabinets and keep my kitchen organized and aesthetically pleasing. Practicality aside, I also adore how chic this cookware looks on my stove! I purchased the “iconic black” color, and the gold hardware is beautiful! It looks perfect in my modern black and white kitchen.

Caraway Fry Pan

Another tool I loved adding to my kitchen this last year is this 8-Blade Chopper – perfect for chopping, dicing, mincing and julienning vegetables! My kids often like to help make dinner, and I like having this tool so they can help cut vegetables without using a big, sharp knife. And, it helps save time when you need to chop lots of vegetables! You can also use it to cut or crate cheese, fruit and eggs!

8-Blade Chopper

Okay, this next tool is a MUST-HAVE if you love guacamole or avocado toast: Williams-Sonoma Avocado Pitter & Masher! It’s designed to help you cut, pit and mash your avocados perfectly. Before I had this tool, I’d use a fork to mash my avocados, which was such a pain! I use this tool multiple times per week and consider it one of my kitchen essentials!

Avocado Masher

What Ingredients Do I Need for One-Pan Chicken Fajitas?

You can’t make chicken fajitas without, well, CHICKEN! I prefer to use chicken thighs for this recipe, but I’ve used chicken breasts plenty of times. Chicken thighs are a bit more flavorful. They’re also more affordable! You’ll also need a fresh bell pepper (my favorite is orange, but a red, green or yellow bell pepper works, too!) and red onion.

To give the chicken in this is recipe it’s authentic Tex-Mex flavor, I use Siete Mild Taco Seasoning. I love how versatile this seasoning is! I’ve used it for dips, and I’ve used it to make beef and turkey tacos, too!

To make authentic Tex-Mex fajitas, you need to wrap your chicken and veggies in a flour tortilla, but I like to swap out the flour tortillas for healthier options. My favorite tortillas are Siete Almond Flour Tortillas or Siete Cassava Flour Tortillas. Use Cassava Flour if you want a tortilla that’s closer to the taste of an original flour tortilla. However, I prefer Almond Flour tortillas because it has a faintly sweeter taste and it has more protein (6 grams!) per tortilla. Another favorite tortilla brand that I use often is Ole Xtreme Wellness Tortillas. I love that their high in fiber!

Watch me make One-Pan Chicken Fajitas on Instagram:

RECIPE: One-Pan Chicken Fajitas with Quick Avocado Dip

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cooking Time: 20 minutes | Yields: 4-6 fajita tacos

For the Chicken Fajita Skillet:

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Add 2 tbsp avocado oil in skillet over medium-high heat, then add bell pepper and onion strips. Season with light salt if desired. Cook until soft, about 5-8 minutes. Remove veggies from pan and save for later.
  2. Add remaining avocado oil to skillet if necessary. Add chicken to pan and cook through, about 8-10 minutes.
  3. Add packet of Siete Mild Taco seasoning to chicken and 1/3 cup water. Stir to combine well.
  4. Add bell pepper and onion back to skilett with chicken and stir to combine.
  5. Add chicken to warmed tortilla. Top with cheese, avocado dip, salsa, taco sauce and any other preferred toppings. Enjoy!

For Quick Avocado Dip:

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Mash avocados in a medium sized bowl.
  2. Add lime juice, salsa, garlic powder, cumin and salt to the bowl. Stir to combine well with avocados. Serve immediately.

Let me know if you try this recipe in the comments below. For more healthy, easy recipe ideas, be sure to follow me on Instagram and TikTok!