The most important meal of the day: Look forward to breakfast every morning with these recipes

Cheese and herb pancakes

• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt, depending on how salty you like your food
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ⅓ cups whole milk ricotta
• ¾ cup grated sharp cheddar, or a hard cheese like Parmesan
• ½ to 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, depending on how lemony you like it
• ¾ cup buttermilk (or ¾ cup milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice)
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped combination of rosemary, chives, thyme (1 tablespoon of each)
• 1 to 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil, or butter

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup finely chopped fresh herbs, like rosemary, thyme and chives
• ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

1. Place the egg whites in a large bowl.
2. Place the yolks in a medium bowl.
3. In a third large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
4. Whisk the egg yolks with the ricotta, grated cheese, lemon zest and buttermilk. Gently fold this mixture into the flour mixture.
5. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold ¼ of the egg whites to the flour/ricotta mixture to lighten the mixture. Then fold in the remaining egg whites until fully incorporated.
6. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.
7. Make the lemon-herb butter: place all the ingredients into a small pot or skillet and heat until bubbling.
8. Heat a griddle or large heavy skillet with 1 tablespoon of the oil or butter over medium heat. Add about ⅓ cup of the batter to the hot skillet, repeating with a few more pancakes; be careful not to crowd the skillet or the pancakes will steam. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until bubbles form. Gently flip the pancakes over and cook for another 2 to 4 minutes, until cooked through. Place on a heatproof platter and keep warm in the oven. Repeat adding more oil or butter as needed and cook all the pancake batter.
9. Serve hot with the lemon-herb butter and/or maple syrup.

Sweet potato and chorizo hash

• 1 large sweet potato, Japanese white sweet potato or regular white potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch size cubes
• 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons minced chives or scallions
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, or 1 ½ teaspoons dried and crumbled
• 11 ounces fresh chorizo sausage, or spicy Italian sausage, removed from the casing
• 2 to 4 eggs
• 2 to 4 slices toast for serving
• Maple syrup, optional

1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring once or twice, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until almost tender but still maintaining its shape. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 ½ tablespoons of the oil over low heat. Add the onions, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in the chives (or scallions) and thyme. Increase the heat to medium and add the chorizo meat squeezed out of the casing (discard the casing); cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes. The potatoes should be tender and the meat cooked through. Season to taste.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Crack 2 eggs in the skillet and cook for 3 minutes. Spoon the oil from the pan on top of the egg and cook until the whites are set and the yolk is beginning to cook, another 1 to 2 minutes. If you like you can flip the egg and cook for 30 seconds on the yolk side. Repeat with 2 additional eggs if you like.
4. To serve, place some of the hash on a plate, top with 1 or 2 fried eggs and serve with toast.

DIY yogurt breakfast bar

• Yogurt: Greek, full fat, skim, etc. I prefer plain yogurt so the toppings will really shine through but if you have a favorite flavor, go for it. Click here for more recipes that use yogurt.
• Granola: homemade or store-bought. Click here for a recipe for homemade granola.
• Fruit: Cut up apples, pears, bananas, oranges, berries, kiwi, persimmon, pomegranate seeds, tangerines, etc.
• Slices or cubes of ripe avocado
• Thin slices of cherry tomatoes
• Grated carrot very lightly mixed with honey or maple syrup
• Chopped nuts: almonds, walnuts, pistachios, etc. For optimal flavor, lightly toast them in a 350-degree oven for about 6 minutes.
• Dried fruit like sun-dried cranberries, raisins, currants, figs, etc.
• Seeds: Pumpkin seeds (pepitas), sunflower seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, etc.
• Thinly sliced candied ginger
• Shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
• Honey or maple syrup
• Blood orange or orange syrup. See recipe below.
• Sea salt

1. To serve: place a large bowl of yogurt in the center of your spread. Surround with small bowls of seeds, nuts, fruits, etc. Let everyone create their own yogurt bowl. Drizzle the top of the yogurt bowl with the blood orange syrup, if you like.

Blood orange or orange syrup

• 1 cup water
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 3 blood or juice oranges, juiced, about ½ cup juice

1. Bring water to a boil over high heat. Add sugar and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes until sugar is dissolved and slightly thickened. Add orange juice and simmer over medium-low heat for another 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Cool, place in a sealed jar, and refrigerate. The syrup will last for 2 to 5 days.

Other breakfast ideas

• Click here for recipes to make whole grain blueberry pancakes and breakfast salad with bacon, fried eggs and croutes.
• Click here for recipes to make chai and challah.