Since I started my $5 per week food budget, I’ve developed an odd habit: dinner for breakfast. Yes, I’m eating my dinner foods first thing in the morning, odd as that may seem.

Before I started conserving on my food budget I started each day with a tall mug of sweetened tea and a Clif Bar. The Clif Bars cost $1.50 or so here in the one supermarket in our remote mountain town. My favorite flavor was “Peanut Toffee Buzz” which has a bit of caffeine in it. Unfortunately the Clif Bars, which cost me a minimum of $10.50 per week, were the first things to go from my food budget. I say minimum because I liked them so much, I often ate them for snacks later in the day as well.

When I ran out of Clif Bars I started making oatmeal for breakfast but my supply has dwindled. Though I’m an avid food storage advocate, I hadn’t stored oatmeal. Big mistake! I plan to make a food storage shopping trip after my six-week $5/wk. budgeting experiment is over. Oatmeal is one thing I’ll stock up on. It is a great way to get a filling breakfast in the morning.

I know a lot of people reading this will be groaning because they think oatmeal is the worst breakfast ever, but it has its uses. It digests slowly and come to think of it, Avena Sativa (oat) is a popular herb for various reasons… energy being one of them. Google “Avena Sativa” and you’ll get other ideas on what people are buying this herb for. I have some in capsule form that I’ve taken as part of my regimen to get off hypothyroid medications.

Since I like to eat a substantial breakfast, and am a total vegetarian, I’ve started eating my rice, lentils, potatoes and carrots for breakfast. I cook them once or twice weekly in my rice steamer; rice and lentils in the bottom and veggies on top. I cut my potatoes in half and eat them like baked potatoes when the rice steamer opens. For breakfast I chop the steamed potatoes and carrots into small pieces, warm in olive oil with sliced fresh garlic, and then add the rice and lentil mixture on top. Spices I add are simply salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I like lots of garlic as you can see, and believe it has great health benefits for my circulatory system.

It is nearly 4am as I write this and I’ve just had two small plates of this wonderful breakfast. Though I also eat the same for dinner I’m fully satisfied with this and know I won’t be hungry for a while.

I’m developing another breakfast… with vegan pancakes and a variety of toppings. More on that another time. The recipe isn’t perfected enough to share yet. Meanwhile, I can say I’m still eating well though I’ve reached week three of my $5/wk. food budgeting experiment.

Food purchases last week were $1.99 for a bag of potatoes, $.35 for carrots, and $.98 for fresh broccoli. That gave me $1.68 left over which I’m adding to this week’s food budget. I haven’t decided yet what I’ll spend it on. I’m considering olive oil as I’m almost out. I do have a couple pounds of butter I could use instead. I’ll probably wait until later in the week to make a decision on what to buy next. Oatmeal comes to mind.

I’ve been continuing my experiment that started with Peanut Butter Granola Rounds. A while back I told you I was eating Clif Bars for breakfast every morning. Well, I’ve recovered from that addiction, and now am putting together my own early-morning grainy treats. Here’s the newest recipe:

Granola Breakfast Bars

2 cups granola
Put into the blender a little at a time; it will become powdery.

Add:
5 tablespoons real maple syrup
3 tablespoons tahini (sesame butter)
2 tablespoons natural peanut butter (I use Adams)

Blend until this is the consistency of cookie dough.

Prepare a plate covered with rice flour and cinnamon, blended. Place the dough on the plate and flatten it to about 1 inch thickness. Cut circles with the lid of a mason jar, and wrap them in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until you need them. I made six of these tonight and will eat one each morning for energy before work.

It is product day here at Country Kitchen Pantry, and today I’m going to tell you what I’ve been eating for breakfast every day lately.

Clif Bars are perfect for taking on a long hike, and eating in the woods. Alternatively, they’re great for a quick, nutritious breakfast when you’re in a hurry to blog then get ready for work. They are clean and neat to eat right at the computer keyboard. No crumbs! And they taste wonderful. At least I like them, especially my current favorite flavor, “Peanut Toffee Buzz”.

The buzz comes from a bit of green tea content. Not a lot, but it is a bit of a pick-me-up which I appreciate due to the fact I quit drinking coffee over a year ago. Green tea is much better for us than coffee. We all know that!

Here are the ingredients for the Clif Bar I ate this morning:

Organic Brown Rice Syrup, ClifPro: (Soy Rice Crisps [Soy Protein Isolate, Rice Flour, Malt Extract], Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Soy Flour), Organic Rolled Oats, Dry Roasted Peanuts, ClifCrunch: (Apple Fiber, Organic Oat Fiber, Organic Milled Flaxseed, Inulin [Chicory Extract], Psyllium), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Peanut Toffee (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Peanuts, Cocoa Butter, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Dry Roasted Peanuts, Natural Flavors, Salt, Soy Lecithin), Organic Peanut Butter (Organic Dry Roasted Peanuts, Salt), Icing (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Cocoa Butter, Soy Milk, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavors), Peanut Flour, Natural Flavors, Sea Salt, Green Tea Extract (50mg caffeine equivalent).

There’s a warning for allergic people: Contains soy and peanuts. May contain traces of dairy and tree nuts. We source ingredients which do not contain wheat, dairy, and are not genetically engineered.

As you can see, Clif Bars use lots of organic ingredients. The label says, “70% Organic Ingredients”. I think that’s pretty good. Sure tastes good, anyhow.

There’s also a cute story on the label about how the founder of Clif Bars had an epiphany in 1990 when he was eating an energy bar, and realized he could make better energy bars at home. He experimented for two years in his mother’s kitchen. His business is an incredible success because his products are outstandingly good. If you haven’t tried a Clif Bar yet, maybe you will now that you’ve read about how much I’m enjoying them.

[Note: I'm not being paid for my recommendation. I don't do pay-per-post blogging.]

[Update, 12/5/08 - I just looked this post up as I intend to use it as a link on my page about Natural and Artificial Sweeteners because Clif Bars use Brown Rice Syrup to sweeten naturally. I noticed that the date on this post is from eighteen months ago, and I'm still eating Clif Bars for breakfast every day! I found some Clif Bars links on Amazon and am adding those here today.]