Breakfast has picked up a reputation it does not deserve. Somewhere along the way it became a thing to be planned, layered, photographed and prepared the night before, and a great many people responded to that by skipping it altogether and standing at the bench with a coffee instead.
A good breakfast does not need to be elaborate. It needs to be warm or fresh, it needs to hold you until lunch, and it needs to be possible on a Tuesday when you have already lost ten minutes looking for someone's other shoe. All five of these are made in the morning, from ingredients that live in an ordinary kitchen, and none of them takes longer than about ten minutes.
1. Warm apple cinnamon oats
Oats cooked with a grated apple stirred through them. The apple disappears into the oats as they cook and makes the whole bowl sweeter and softer without any sugar, which is the reason this one is worth knowing.
You need rolled oats, one apple, cinnamon, plant milk or water, a pinch of salt.
Method Grate the apple straight into the pan, skin and all. Add the oats, milk, cinnamon and salt and simmer gently for about eight minutes, stirring now and then, until thick.
Variation A spoonful of peanut butter melting into the top turns it into something that will hold you well past eleven.
The full version is written out in Warm Apple Cinnamon Oats, including a make-ahead jar you can leave in the fridge overnight.
2. Banana and peanut butter toast
The simplest thing on this list, and the one most likely to be eaten standing up. There is nothing wrong with that.
You need wholegrain bread, peanut butter, one banana, cinnamon.
Method Toast the bread. Spread the peanut butter while it is still warm so it softens. Slice the banana over the top and dust with cinnamon.
Variation A few chopped walnuts or a scatter of seeds gives it more to hold onto, and both keep in the cupboard for months.
3. Smashed chickpea toast
This is the one that surprises people. Chickpeas mashed roughly with lemon and salt make a savoury breakfast that feels like a proper meal, and it takes about four minutes.
You need wholegrain bread, half a tin of chickpeas, half a lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Method Drain the chickpeas and tip them into a bowl. Mash roughly with a fork, leaving plenty of texture. Add a squeeze of lemon, a little olive oil, salt and plenty of pepper. Pile onto toast.
Variation Sliced tomato, a few rocket leaves, or a spoonful of hummus underneath. Any of them work and none of them are necessary.
4. Berry oats with plant yoghurt
Cold, quick, and good in warmer weather when a hot bowl of anything feels like too much.
You need rolled oats, frozen berries, plant yoghurt, a little plant milk, maple syrup if you want it.
Method Put the oats in a bowl with a splash of milk and stir. Spoon the yoghurt over the top and scatter the frozen berries straight from the freezer. They soften in a few minutes and colour the yoghurt as they go.
Variation If you have five minutes rather than two, warm the berries in a small pan first with a spoonful of water until they collapse into a rough compote.
5. Quick tofu scramble
The savoury breakfast for a morning when sweet will not do. Firm tofu crumbled into a hot pan takes about six minutes and does not need anything unusual.
You need firm tofu, olive oil, turmeric, garlic powder or one crushed clove, salt and pepper, and a handful of spinach if you have some.
Method Crumble the tofu into a hot oiled pan with your fingers, in rough pieces rather than fine crumbs. Cook for four minutes without stirring too much so it colours. Add the turmeric, garlic, salt and pepper, then the spinach at the very end until it wilts. Serve on toast.
Variation Chopped tomato or mushrooms added with the tofu, or a pinch of smoked paprika, which gives it a savoury depth that turmeric alone does not.
What to keep on hand
None of these five need a special shop. What they need is for a small number of ordinary things to be in the house before the morning arrives, which is most of the work.
Rolled oats, not instant, because instant turns to paste. A loaf of decent wholegrain bread, half of it in the freezer so you never run out. Bananas and apples, because they keep and need no preparation. A jar of peanut butter or another nut butter. A tin or two of chickpeas. A block of firm tofu in the fridge. A tub of plain plant yoghurt. Cinnamon, which lifts almost anything sweet. And a bag of frozen berries, which is the most useful thing in this list, because it does not go off and it is ready the moment you need it.
That is nine things, and between them they cover every breakfast above, in any combination, for weeks.
If mornings themselves are the harder part rather than the food, A Gentle Morning Rhythm has a few small habits that make the first half hour of the day feel less like a scramble.