I admit, my eye-catching title sure doesn’t make it sound simple, but trust me, this is the easiest healthy breakfast you could possibly create. You can plan ahead a little, right? It’s that simple.

I’ve been experimenting with oatmeal in the slow cooker and I’ve gotten it down to a science. It’s not only convenient, but it’s also the healthiest way to cook oatmeal to get all of the nutritional benefits. I didn’t think I’d ever say this, but it’s not just about the ingredients here: the process is important in boosting the nutrition of this yummy breakfast. Yeah, I admit it — there’s a place for technique.

We’re not talking some snobby French cooking school technique … just follow these three simple steps and you’ll have your healthy oatmeal.

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It’s no secret that we love pancakes in our house (chocolate chip banana pancakes, buttermilk pancakes, all good things about pancakes….), especially for a weekend breakfast. It’s pretty much a tradition that every Saturday morning, Keith whips up a batch of the-flavor-of-the-week pancakes, often involving chocolate chips. We can’t change who we are, even at breakfast time.

In fact, we’re so set in our ways, you could probably walk into our house on any given Saturday morning and find the following things going on: Keith slaving away over a hot griddle, carefully tending to the pancake-of-the-week; Owen, with a giant grilling spatula, safely helping Keith flip the pancakes from a distance; Debbie cleaning up around and in-between Keith and Owen, determined not to spend the rest of Saturday in the kitchen. You might also hear Owen grumbling at his well-meaning mother for cleaning the batter bowl before he finished licking it….

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There’s nothing like starting the day with a warm breakfast … except maybe smelling it cooking while you’re still in bed. That’s the beauty of this crock pot breakfast cobbler.

Another thing I like about this recipe is that it is so easy to prepare the night before. Let’s face it, no one really wants to be making a gourmet breakfast at ten-o-clock at night. What Keith and I do is dump all the ingredients into the crock pot when we are cleaning the kitchen from dinner, then we push the start button before we head to bed.

This is a recipe we’ve made for years, especially when we have lots of apples to use up. I’ve based it on this recipe for breakfast cobbler, but it has morphed throughout the years and we actually make it different every time … and there’s not really a whole lot of measuring going on these days.

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One of my favorite healthy baking cookbooks is Uprisings: The Whole Grain Bakers’ Book. You’re probably wondering why, since I always substitute sprouted spelt flour for everything anyway, but the real reason is because these treats are creatively sweetened. In fact, this cookbook has made me think even beyond itself. Most of the recipes are sweetened either with honey or maple syrup, which I’ll do, but I like to venture out into other territories as well. Sucanat, agave syrup and different fruits are all sweetening options I think about when baking these days.

Like making this pumpkin cornbread, for instance. The recipe my pumpkin cornbread was based on used a whopping 2/3 cup of brown sugar. To me, that’s gross on so many levels. First of all, I can’t stand a sicky-sweet baked good. Cornbread should be mostly savory, in my opinion, and that much sugar would seem out of place. Did I mention how offended my liver would be, at being asked to process all of that sugar? I’m apologizing to the livers of the world, or at least to anyone who has eaten that pumpkin cornbread.

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When you go ugly-apple picking, you’re bound to have to find something to do with your apples besides just eating them whole (well, take bites) as an afternoon snack. I’m a big fan of the breakfast muffin, as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now since I’ve shared recipes for peachy flax molasses muffins, berry muffins sweetened with agave, oatmeal strawberry muffins and even banana coconut muffins. Yes, a daring choice beloved by one and all.

So it’s probably no surprise to you that I dreamed up a little apple cinnamon muffin recipe to use up an apple or two. As most of my muffin recipes are, I based this one on the Better Homes and Gardens basic muffin recipe from my beloved red plaid cookbook, and then I changed pretty much everything about it.

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I admit it — I’m in a breakfast rut. Pancakes are the pinnacle of our weekend existence (though we did branch out and make apple cinnamon pancakes this weekend), leaving room for the occasional muffin and frittata, but not much else.

So I took it upon myself to find some unique breakfast recipes that excited me, that made me want to break out of my weekend breakfast routine and shout, “No more pancakes!” I suppose I need to clear that with the four-year-old, but I found two recipes that I’m very excited to try.

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The blueberry muffin: part healthy, fruity breakfast; part delicious, cakey dessert for breakfast. It’s been a staple for many folks ever since Al Gore invented it in the late 20th century. However, there are probably times that you get somewhat tired of the same taste day after long, hellish day and want to do something  to spice it up a bit.

Not spice as in, say, red pepper flakes, or one of the Spice Girls. Rather, something to give your muffin the kick it needs to make you fall in love again with the bluest of berries and yellowest of muffin. Perhaps something cinnamony like…oh, I don’t know…cinnamon! Yes, it’s true — just like it did for Deb’s raspberry and strawberry muffins, a little cinnamon can go a long way in reviving your blueberry muffin.

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