It has been said before and will be said again, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A good nourishing meal at the beginning of the day gets you up and ready to face what is coming your way.

Add a great cup of coffee and you are set.

Far too many people either skip breakfast or grab something at a drive thru on the way to work. This is not only unhealthy it is also a waste of money.

You can wake up each morning to a hearty breakfast just waiting for you to put it in a bowl or on your plate.

Use your slow cooker to prepare a meal the night before and let it cook on low over night so your breakfast is being prepared while you sleep.

Omelet casserole:

Preparation time is ten minutes

You cook this meal overnight and will serve six.

Ingredients:

1 32 oz bag of frozen hash browns, thawed partially

¾ cup diced onions

½ lb, shredded extra old cheddar cheese ( any cheddar is on)

7 eggs

½ cup milk

Optional ¼ tsp dry mustard

Sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Preparation:

1. Put one half has browns in slow cooker
2. Add one half of the onions
3. add one half shredded cheese
4. repeat in layers
5. Whisk together eggs, milk, dry mustard, sea salt, black pepper
6. Pour mixture over ingredients in slow cooker
7. Cover and cook on low for ten hours.

Serve.

This next dish is one of my favourites not only is it simple to prepare, it tastes great and is quite healthy.

Slow Cooker Porridge

Preparation time five minutes.

Cook over night about ten hours.

Serves four.

Ingredients

1- ¼ cup cracked wheat (organic)

2- ¾ cup slow cooking rolled oats (organic)

3- 3 cups water

4- ½ cup raisins or ¼ cup dried cranberries

5- 1 tbsp wheat germ

6- ½ cup grated granny smith apples but any apple will do

7- ¼ tsp cinnamon

8- Honey option

9- Skim milk to taste.

Preparation:

1- Combine cracked wheat, rolled oats (This is a good dish for organic products), water, raisins, wheat germ, apples and cinnamon

2- Mix

3- Cover and cook for ten hours.

Serve with honey if desired and a touch of milk.

These two dishes will help you get your day off to a great start and will help you avoid the high calorie and high fat snack that far too many of us call breakfast.

If you like cranberries give this version some thought.

Cranberry Oatmeal Hot Cereal

Preparation; five minutes

Cook time ten hours

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

11/4 cup slow cooking (old fashion) rolled oats

1 cup dried cranberries

½ cup dried figs

4 cups water

Skim milk to taste.

Preparation:

1- Place rolled oats, dried cranberries, water in slow cooker

2- Mix until well combined

3- Cover and cook on low for ten hours

4- Stir and serve adding skim milk as desired.

A very tiny bit of advanced planning and preparation can help you have a great breakfast each morning.