Breakfast and Eggs

Internet Shaquille approaches breakfast with practicality in mind, focusing on strategies that reduce daily decision fatigue while delivering satisfying, nutritious meals. His breakfast philosophy centers on batch preparation and techniques that eliminate the need to cook from scratch every morning.

Make-Ahead Strategies

Baked Oatmeal

For those looking to eliminate daily breakfast cooking, baked oatmeal offers a week's worth of meals with minimal effort. This approach involves preparing a large batch on Sunday that can be portioned and reheated throughout the week (How I Stopped Cooking Breakfast Every Day, 0:00).

Basic Baked Oatmeal Recipe: - 4 cups milk - 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons melted butter or olive oil - 2 teaspoons vanilla (or substitute with bourbon or Licor43) - 4 cups rolled oats - 1½ teaspoons baking powder - 1 teaspoon kosher salt - 1 cup wild blueberries

The mixture requires a 15-minute soak before baking at 350°F for 40-50 minutes. The creator emphasizes using wild blueberries over conventional ones, noting they're "smaller and taste sweeter and fruitier" without the "molten hot diluted juice flavor" of larger berries (How I Stopped Cooking Breakfast Every Day, 1:25).

A key modification involves reducing sugar from traditional recipes, as the creator argues that milk and blueberries already provide sufficient sweetness, especially when topped with a cream cheese mixture (How I Stopped Cooking Breakfast Every Day, 2:13).

Cream Cheese Topping: - 1 egg - ½ cup sugar - 8 oz softened neufchâtel (or cream cheese) - Up to ½ cup blueberry preserves

The topping is spooned over the oats and swirled with preserves to create marbling before baking. Once cooled, the oatmeal can be portioned into containers for grab-and-go breakfasts throughout the week.

Yogurt Bowls with Granola and Chia Pudding

For a lighter, more customizable option, yogurt bowls can be assembled in advance using homemade components. This approach involves mixing full-fat Greek yogurt with organic jam, then building layers with granola and chia pudding (Yogurt Chia Pudding Granola Bowls, 0:22).

The chia pudding component requires minimal preparation: one tablespoon of chia seeds hydrated overnight in flavorful liquid like kombucha, pomegranate juice, or almond milk (Yogurt Chia Pudding Granola Bowls, 1:13). This method allows for significant batching potential, with granola lasting weeks and chia pudding keeping for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.

The assembled bowls offer substantial customization potential — with two jams, two chia pudding flavors, and two granola types, you can create eight different combinations without additional ingredients (Yogurt Chia Pudding Granola Bowls, 1:55).

Polenta and Poached Eggs

For those seeking a substantial, protein-rich breakfast that can be prepared quickly in office settings, polenta with poached eggs offers a sophisticated solution. The technique involves preparing runny polenta (using a 4:1 water-to-grain ratio) and sous vide eggs in advance (2-Minute Polenta & Poached Eggs, 0:57).

Eggs are cooked sous vide at 167°F for 12 minutes, then shocked in ice water for storage. This method pasteurizes the eggs while maintaining a poached texture (2-Minute Polenta & Poached Eggs, 1:22). The breakfast assembles quickly by reheating polenta in a microwave, cracking the pre-cooked eggs into the hot polenta, and reheating briefly.

The creator portions the polenta into five containers, storing two in the refrigerator and three in the freezer, creating a rotation system for weekday breakfasts (2-Minute Polenta & Poached Eggs, 2:44). While acknowledging the American-heavy ingredient list of corn, dairy, and eggs, he suggests adding cooked vegetables to improve nutritional balance.

Fresh Breakfast Options

French Toast Variations

When time allows for fresh preparation, French toast offers flexibility in both effort and presentation. The simplest approach uses melted ice cream as custard base, eliminating the need to prepare eggs, cream, and sugar separately (Easier Tastier Prettier - French Toast, 0:18). This method works with premium ice cream made from real cream and eggs, creating an instant custard when melted.

For traditional preparation, the custard combines eggs with equal parts milk and cream, sugar, and warming spices including vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom (Easier Tastier Prettier - French Toast, 1:23). The creator recommends using day-old bread for better absorption and suggests dusting with powdered sugar before flipping for enhanced caramelization.

For Instagram-worthy presentation, bread can be cut on a bias, soaked in custard, then pressed with crushed cereal for a colorful, textured crust (Easier Tastier Prettier - French Toast, 2:10). Despite the non-traditional approach, the creator notes that "authenticity is a farce and nothing has to be real for it to be real good."

Crepes

Despite their sophisticated appearance, crepes are presented as easier than pancakes because they benefit from overmixing, which develops necessary gluten for structural integrity (Crepes are the easiest brunch. Don't @ me., 0:14).

Basic Crepe Batter: - 1 cup flour - 1½ cups whole milk - 2 eggs - Pinch each of kosher salt and sugar

The batter benefits from overnight refrigeration to allow gluten relaxation, though 30 minutes suffices if time is limited (Crepes are the easiest brunch. Don't @ me., 1:13). Cooking requires swirling the batter immediately upon contact with the pan to create an even, thin layer.

The creator emphasizes that crepes are "really more about the fillings and what's inside," offering both sweet options (Nutella, walnut, banana) and savory combinations (ham, Gruyere cheese, sautéed mushrooms) (Crepes are the easiest brunch. Don't @ me., 2:24).

Tamago Kake Gohan

For a more complex breakfast incorporating multiple techniques, tamago kake gohan represents what the creator calls a "cumulative exam" of cooking skills (Cumulative Exam - Tamago Kake Gohan, 0:19). This Japanese-inspired breakfast combines hot rice with raw egg, soy sauce, and MSG, creating a creamy coating around each grain.

The dish emphasizes egg safety, with detailed instructions for home pasteurization using sous vide techniques at 135°F for 90 minutes (Cumulative Exam - Tamago Kake Gohan, 1:28). The meal typically includes complementary elements like miso soup and grilled fish, demonstrating how a well-stocked pantry enables complex meals with minimal active cooking time.

Assembly: 1. Spoon hot rice into a bowl with a divot in the center 2. Crack a raw egg into the divot 3. Add ½ teaspoon soy sauce and a pinch of MSG 4. Stir quickly to coat each grain 5. Make another divot, sprinkle with furikake 6. Add a second egg yolk to the center

The breakfast showcases how multiple prepared components (homemade stock, slow-roasted fish leftovers, quality rice) can combine into a substantial, varied meal (Cumulative Exam - Tamago Kake Gohan, 2:53).

Eggs for Travel and Limited Kitchens

For cooking in unfamiliar kitchens or with limited equipment, eggs remain the most reliable breakfast option. As the creator notes, "What's the one thing everybody cooks when they're on vacation at a friend's house or an airbnb? Eggs, obviously" (What I Cook When I'm Not at Home, 0:00). While he acknowledges that "breakfast is too easy," eggs provide a foundation that works with minimal ingredients and equipment in any kitchen setting.

Key Principles

Throughout these breakfast approaches, several principles emerge: front-loading preparation work, using quality ingredients strategically, and developing systems that reduce daily decision-making while maintaining variety and nutrition. The creator emphasizes that "by becoming comfortable with a handful of basic techniques and practices, you can make some really fulfilling meals with readily available ingredients and pantry basics" (Cumulative Exam - Tamago Kake Gohan, 4:03).

The breakfast strategies range from minimal-effort baked oatmeal requiring just weekend preparation to sophisticated Japanese-style meals that demonstrate mastery of multiple cooking techniques. Whether prioritizing convenience, nutrition, or culinary complexity, each approach aims to create satisfying morning meals without the stress of daily cooking decisions.