Everyone’s talking about the approaching “bathing suit” season, and it’s hard to escape it. Someone we know is in Orlando this week, where tank tops and shorts abound. For some of us (and by ‘us’ I mean ‘me’), we’re thinking now is a good time to say goodbye to some winter pounds and start preparing for summer.

Looking good in a bathing suit isn’t the only reason to start eating healthy. More importantly, being healthy on the inside makes us feel good and gives us more energy. And what better way to start than with a healthy breakfast. After all, everyone seems to be in agreement that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Unfortunately, it’s also the most neglected or skipped meal of the day. But having a balanced breakfast helps you perform better at work, home or in school. It helps fight distraction because it makes you feel more alert.

Having a healthy breakfast doesn’t mean oatmeal everyday, although if you follow this link and look at eastcolomom’s Baked Apple & Peanut Butter Steel Cut Oats, oatmeal everyday might strike you as a great idea. You can also pour yourself a bowl of healthy cereal and top that with some fruit. Or you can take an extra minute or two and assemble a lovely parfait of yogurt, granola, and berries as a nice morning treat, like mybakingaddiction’s presentation of Homemade Granola below. You can even change it up by trying different flavors of granola to add a little variation. We’ve got a few ideas below, like Great Granola with Cherries and Almonds from ThreeManyCooks. Eating raw, vegan or gluten-free doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy granola too, as elanaspantry shows us in her Raw Vegan Gluten Free Granola on the bottom right.

 
 
Sometimes, it just feels like a pancake kind of morning. Or at least maybe toast and something sweet to spread on it. We’ve got healthy options for that, too! From whole wheat pancakes with flax meal and a dairy-free French toast that uses coconut milk instead of milk and butter, you can enjoy a healthy breakfast that almost feels like you’re cheating.

Clockwise from top left: Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes from zoedawn, Delicious Dairy Free French Toast from Woven & Spun, Favorite 100% Whole Wheat Bread from ericalea that you can top with Ree’s Pumpkin Butter, Lemon Cottage Cheese Pancakes with Strawberries from twopeasandtheirpod, and Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes from mrnate.

 
 
Maybe you’re more into a hearty, savory breakfast with eggs. And you want more than the usual ways to prepare them. Take a look at the different egg recipes below and take your pick! They look so good, I’m thinking I wouldn’t mind any of these for lunch, too.

Clockwise from top left: Eggs with Tomato on Toast from A Cozy Kitchen, Perfect Poached Eggs and Sauteed Kale on Toast from foodwoolf, Turkish Eggs from ioh10, Spinach & Portobello Mushroom Frittata from bell’alimento.

 
 
There’s no question that even serial breakfast-skippers (serial … cereal … oh, puns are already swimming in my head!) might change their ways if only someone would take the time to get breakfast ready for them. The main reason for this widespread breakfast brushoff is time. Often, we’re just too rushed and too pressed for time. If it’s that kind of morning for you, how about parking your blender on the counter and keeping containers of cut up fruit and vegetables in the refrigerator so you can throw together a quick smoothie?

Clockwise from top left: Mango Orange Smoothie from savorysweetlife, Green Smoothie from bzarbee2, Katy’s “I Love You” Smoothie from iloveyoufood, Sunrise Breakfast Smoothies from myrecessionkitchen, Pumpkin Smoothie from ChristineA, and a Blueberry Yogurt Smoothie from Ree.

 
 
What’s that, you say? Sometimes you don’t even have the time to make a smoothie? I hear you. Instead of picking up a power bar at the newsstand, or a muffin at the bagel store, how about making a batch of grab-and-go breakfast options instead? After all, you still have to take the time to grab your keys on your way out. It won’t take extra time to grab one of these too, and because you can make them ahead of time, you can simply plan to prepare them whenever you can fit it in your schedule.

Clockwise from top left: Lemon Blueberry Spelt Muffins from jillscleankitchen, Homemade Granola Bars from Karly Campbell, Granola Blueberry Muffins from A Cozy Kitchen, Homemade Protein Bars from Cooking Ventures, and awesome Raw Goji Cacao Energy Bars from rawmazing.

 
 
And there you have it! Just a few suggestions to get your day off to a healthy start. Breakfast jump starts your metabolism, helps curb your hunger and keeps you from binge eating later in the day. And if you’re going to start making the effort to eat breakfast, then why not do it right?

 
Okay, your turn. Do you have trouble getting into the habit of having a healthy breakfast? Or do you already have a well-planned breakfast game plan? If so, I’m sure you’ve got great ideas and suggestions. We’d love to hear them!

 
As we approach the weekend, many people are turning their thoughts to their dear mothers, either visiting them, having them over, taking them out for a special meal, or if none of those are feasible, calling them on the phone. This weekend is the weekend that typically sees the highest call volumes of the year, which is not to mean many of us don’t pick up the phone to call mom all those other times we need help with something, asking her how she makes her pie crust so flaky, telling her about what that mean person said to us this morning, or calling just to hear her voice and see how she’s doing.

 
I thought that for this week’s theme, we’d do something special and personal. We could have done a post about brunch ideas, and that would have been great too. We have tons of breakfast and brunch recipes here at Tasty Kitchen, and some of the suggestions we had in our recent Bridal Showers and Spring theme posts work beautifully for Sunday brunch as well. But today, let’s get all nostalgic and talk about the foods that remind us of our Mamas (and Nanas too!). And because there are as many possible answers to that as there are mothers and grandmothers, we’ll make it personal and poll the throngs of people behind the scenes here at Tasty Kitchen. (And by “throngs,” I mean all three of us.)

 
Let’s start with Ree. I asked her what foods remind her most of her mom and grandmother, and she quickly answered that for her grandmother, it’s biscuits and homemade jam. “Oh, dear. Best drop biscuits ever, and I’ll never be able to replicate them.” If it’s any consolation to you, Ree, Alton Brown said the same thing about his grandmother’s biscuits.

Clockwise from top left: Basic Buttermilk Biscuits from loveandbutter (Jamie), Grape Harvest Jam from italianfoodforever, Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits from madisonmayberry, Cinnamon Peach Jam from bertscannery, Easy Drop Biscuits from cookingfromscratch, Apple Pie Jam – Jelly from Mommy’s Kitchen, Biscuits, The Cheater Way from sarahhope, and Easy Homemade Plum Jam from nicoled.

 
 
For her mom, Ree’s reply was just as quick: Cinnamon Rolls. I’m sure many of you have become quite intimate with those luscious Cinnamon Rolls that Ree shared with us in one of her earliest cooking posts. It’s that sinful-looking dish you see in the top photo, and just for kicks, I thought I’d show you a couple of variations that we have here, including a gluten-free version.

Clockwise from left: Gluten-free Cinnamon Rolls from glutenfreegirl, Amazing Short Cut Cinnamon Rolls from sprucehill, Caramel Sticky Buns from Heather.

 
 
As for me, I seem to be an anomaly, because the dishes that remind me most of my mom are savory, main dish offerings. My all-time favorite is my mom’s spaghetti meat sauce, and it was always a treat when she made it. And the one, ultra-special once-in-a-while fancy meal that’s so memorable that I can clearly picture in my mind our old dining room and where I sat as my mom brought out the food was a steak dinner served with cream of mushroom soup and buttered corn. To this day, that combination always instantly brings me back to my childhood.

Clockwise from top left: Pepper Encrusted Steak from bell’alimento, Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup from steamykitchen, Corn with Bacon and Green Onions, Oh My from Karly Campbell, and Pastor Ryan’s Bolognese Sauce.

 
 
As for Nanci, the lovely lady who answers your support questions and helps you with anything and everything, she says that her mom makes the greatest cobblers ever, using her great-grandmother’s crust. And her paternal grandmother? She was a master candy maker, and people would travel far and wide to purchase little bags of her peanut brittle every time she would make them for church bake sales.

Clockwise from top left: Old-Fashioned Microwave Peanut Brittle from bitesizebaker, Nectarine and Cream Cobbler from joythebaker, Spicy Peanut Brittle from uwharrie, Blackberry Cobbler from Karly Campbell, The McNally Pie Crust from Courtney.

 
 
She also shared that her grandmother always made a roast when they came over, and that for both her mom and grandmother, pie was a big thing. A really big thing. And as I looked through the pie recipes here, I realized something: pie is a big thing for many, many people. So many of you have shared family favorite pies that have been passed on from mom, or grandma. And it’s so lovely that many of you are determined to continue the tradition, or start one of your own.

Top row, from left to right: Cherry Cream Crumble Pie from sugarnspice, Southern Sweet Potato Pie from bsherrill, and MaMaw Burkett’s Chess Pie from ace75. Center row, from left to right: Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie from Mommy’s Kitchen, Super Healthy Banana Pie from rawmazing, and Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie from A Cozy Kitchen. Bottom row, from left to right: “Just In Case” Pie from jaymielo, Grandma Inez’s Pineapple Pie from Natalie (Perry’s Plate), Blackberry Wine Glaze Pie with Ginger Crust from gastronomicgold.

 
 
And those are all the special Mama and Nana dishes for us here at Tasty Kitchen!

 
We want to hear from you, too. Is there something that your mom makes that you think no one else in the world can replicate? Something special and soothing that she’d make for you when you were sick that made you feel all better? What did Nana make for you every time you came over for a visit? We’ve love to hear it all!

 
And now, if you’ll excuse me for a moment, I think I’ll go look at old photos and find some Jean Nate to sniff.