Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Put a New Spin on Breakfast with the Target Breakfast Twist Project {#PlatefullCoOp}

Target logo
In my ideal morning, I wake up well-rested and happily go into the kitchen with plenty of time to make a full, nutritious, filling breakfast for my family (who then proceed to eat it cheerfully and politely).

In reality, even though I know that breakfast is an important start to the day, the time spent before my children head off to school and my husband goes to work is rushed, a bit hectic, and filled with stress and monotony. The same hurried bowl of cereal or toasted bagel is eaten (with multiple reminders) while the same lunch is packed before everyone piles out the door with no time to spare.

So where is the happy medium? How can breakfast be more creative and fun, yet not involve complex recipes and hours of extra time?

The answer can be found from one of our favorite retailers, Target, with their ideas for incorporating simple changes to traditional breakfasts in the Target Breakfast Twist Project.


Easy, delicious meal ideas that anyone can recreate, the Target Breakfast Twist Project is all about putting new twists on classic favorites. With recipes that take anywhere from 2 — 35 minutes (with the majority taking 10 minutes or less), each one includes ingredients that the whole family know and love.

I love the variety and creativity in these recipes! We've got peanut butter, apples and granola, but would I have ever thought to combine them with a little honey and cinnamon to make these amazing Peanut Butter Apple Rings?

peanut-butter-apple-rings

While I don't consider myself quite as inventive as Target, when we received a selection of yummy foods, I was inspired to attempt to create our own unique spins on breakfast.

breakfast foods

Although I had some ideas for the Nature Valley Protein Granola, Big Sister E laid claim to that bag as soon as she saw it and managed to devour it all on its own. It's one of her favorites!

However, it didn't take long before we had used many of the remaining ingredients to come up with unique, tasty and quick ways to add a little twist to our breakfasts around here.

First up, we combined the Nature Valley Granola Bars with the Nutella mini cups and some blueberries for a fruity, chocolatey, crunchy way to start the morning.

granola bars nutella

I love how quick and easy these were to make, yet what a difference they made for my kids! No complaints about anything being boring when these are around!

Next, we took a few more minutes to make a crunchy, sticky, flavorful snack by mixing Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch cereal and Jif peanut butter into peanut butter balls.

peanut butter cereal balls

These were a little ooey gooey to make, but once we chilled them in the fridge for a little while, they were good to go!

Finally, my kids are huge fans of smoothies, so I decided to try something new and include Quaker Oats in with the frozen fruit, milk and yogurt.

fruit oats smoothie

I added a few dashes of cinnamon along with the vanilla yogurt, mixed frozen fruit and milk and blended until smooth, but I honestly wasn't sure how this smoothie would turn out. Fortunately, after a few sips, Little Sister B quickly declared it her favorite so I'll be sure to make it again!

We've already got plans to try Grandma Hoerner's Big Slice apples snack in a tasty parfait and, if my kids don't eat them all with milk, we'll see what we can come up with to add a twist to the Trix cereal!

Can your family's breakfast ideas use a little creativity? Be sure to head over to Target.com/BreakfastTwist to find tons of tasty inspiration as well as special savings on many of their delicious products!

Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by General Mills through Platefull Co-Op.

9 comments:

slehan said...

I think the peanut butter balls look yummy. It all is a break from boring.

slehan at juno dot com

Unknown said...

These are all great ideas, the Peanut Butter Apple Rings look like something I would make. After visiting the Target.com/BreakfastTwist website I would love to try the Nutella-Stuffes French toast, yum!!

wen budro said...

Those are some great ideas for adding some novelty to the kids' breakfasts....I run out of ideas sometimes.

Liz Mays said...

I'm coming over for breakfast! You've stepped it up over there.

Betty Roberts said...

Great post! I'm definitely trying the peanut butter apple rings tomorrow i think my kids will love it! Its time to step it up for breakfast!

Yona Williams said...

Oh wow - I really like the suggestions in this post of how to elevate your snacking in a healthy way.

slehan said...

I do morning smoothies and now I'll add some oats to it.

slehan at juno dot com

slehan said...

More and different fruit in my smoothies to keep it interesting.

slehan at juno dot com

Sarah Matos said...

These ideas are all great. I like the apple rings since you can change it up daily.