Pantry Challenge Breakfasts

I'm not going to call these ideas. Idea round ups are about appealing presentation and new and exciting things. But here are some breakfasts I had when I was in the midst of my pantry challenge that may be inspiring in other ways. I hope you enjoy seeing what I've started my days with lately.

1. Casserole, Biscuit, and Apple Cider

I found a packet of instant apple cider, and I remembered one of my favorite hot drinks: Apple cider steeped with a cinnamon stick with a bit of orange juice. So I made that, and had it alongside a leftover breakfast casserole (veggies with a chickpea flour "eggy" base) and a biscuit I found in my freezer from some mysterious past (I usually label things with the date in my freezer, but not these, apparently). I added some margarine to the biscuit. It was a pretty great breakfast!

2. Stuffing Waffle with Gravy, Veggie Sausage, and Mixed Berry Smoothie

This one felt inspired, but I know I'm not the only person who has ever made stuffing waffles. Here we have a leftover stuffing waffle with leftover gravy and a veggie sausage patty (for protein). Is it all brown and beige? Yes. But also delicious. I was still hungry after this, though, so I made a smoothie.

The smoothie was a very basic one--frozen berries, frozen banana, soy milk, some non-dairy yogurt, and a squeeze of vegan honey. It was delicious, but I knew it would be. It was too cold, though on a chilly morning; I had to alternate sips with hot herbal tea.

3. Bran Muffin, Clementine, and Salted Peanut Butter Latte

There's nothing particularly creative about this--you see me eat some variation of this breakfast pretty often, probably--but it does the job in a satisfying way! Bran muffins have always gotten such a bad rap, probably because they're associated with late-20th century low-fat "health" foods, but sometimes, especially spread with some margarine, they really hit the spot. The latte adds protein from peanut butter and soy milk, and we get freshness from the clementine. (Citrus fruits are great if you're an infrequent shopper; they tend to last a while in the fridge. Though they do get a bit more dry over time, they're still tasty for a month or so, so far as I'm concerned.)

4. Buttery Farina, Salted Chocolate Tahini Yogurt, and a Clementine

A favorite of mine: farina cooked in soy milk served with some vegan butter melting into it, some salted chocolate tahini mixed with Siggi's plant-based yogurt, and clementine segments. I adore mixing salted chocolate tahini with yogurt, and it goes perfectly alongside citrus fruits. The farina? It's delicious and comforting on a cold morning.

5. Chocolate Rice Porridge and a Breakfast Sandwich

I had some leftover cooked brown rice, so I gave it the pudding treatment, but I added too much liquid, and quickly concluded this was going to be porridge instead. I added cocoa powder to the soy milk, spices, and maple syrup to make it chocolatey, then topped it with a clementine and mini chocolate chips. It was good, but not quite enough for this morning.

So I warmed up a mini baguette and a veggie sausage, added some margarine, and had a sausage sandwich. it was delicious, if a bit odd.

The pantry challenge has a reprieve for a bit, because I did visit the grocery store recently. But I'm still in avoiding stores mode, and you can probably expect another round of pantry challenging soon.