Breakfasts You Can Make in Five Minutes Before Work

Microwave scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast The fastest hot breakfast on the list, and the one that changes minds. Whisk two eggs with a couple of tablespoons of milk in a jug, give them a minute on high, whisk again, then another 30 seconds and a minute's rest while the toast pops. No pan to scrub, only a jug to rinse. Microwaves vary, so give a firmer scramble another 20 to 30 seconds. A handful of spinach stirred in before cooking adds greens for no extra time.

Peanut butter and sliced banana on toast Two minutes, one knife and no cooking beyond the toaster. The peanut butter brings richness and some protein, the banana brings sweetness, so there is no need for jam or honey on top. Wholegrain bread makes it more filling than white. Peanut butters vary more than the jars suggest: some are just peanuts, or peanuts and salt, while others add sugar and oils, and the ingredients list tells you which in seconds. It also eats well with one hand on the way out of the door.

Cottage cheese on rye toast with sliced tomato and black pepper A savoury option that needs only a toaster and a knife. Dense rye bread holds the spoonfuls of cottage cheese without going soggy, and a sliced tomato with plenty of black pepper keeps it from tasting bland. Reduced-fat cottage cheese is among the lowest-fat cheeses, at 3g of fat per 100g or less, yet it still feels like a proper breakfast. If plain cottage cheese leaves you cold, a few chilli flakes or chopped chives change it completely.

Microwave porridge with rolled oats and milk The cheapest warm breakfast here. Ordinary porridge oats cook in the microwave in a few minutes: one well-known brand's packet gives 40g of oats to 275ml of milk or water for three and a half minutes on high, uncovered. Use a deep bowl, because it rises and can boil over. Oats are cheap and bring fibre, vitamins and minerals, and a sliced banana or chopped pear sweetens it in place of sugar or syrup. Plain oats from a big bag beat flavoured sachets such as golden syrup, which bring the sweetness you were trying to leave out.

Plain yoghurt bowl with chopped fruit, seeds and a spoonful of muesli Nothing to cook at all: spoon plain yoghurt into a bowl, chop whatever is in the fruit bowl over it, then add a sprinkle of seeds and a little low-sugar muesli for crunch. Plain lower-fat yoghurts usually have no added sugar, which is exactly where flavoured pots can fall down, so check the label if you buy those. Thick Greek-style yoghurt makes a more substantial bowl than a runny one, and a handful of frozen berries starts to soften while the kettle boils.

Smashed avocado on wholegrain toast with lemon and chilli flakes Ripe avocado mashed straight onto hot toast with a fork, a squeeze of lemon, salt and chilli flakes: four minutes, and it feels like a café breakfast for a fraction of the price. Add a microwave-poached or scrambled egg if you want it to last longer. The catch is ripeness. A hard avocado will not mash and an overripe one is brown inside, so buy a couple at different stages and keep the ripe one in the fridge to slow it down. Half an avocado per person is plenty.

Reduced-sugar and salt baked beans on wholemeal toast A British standby that is more useful at breakfast than its reputation suggests. Half a tin heats in a covered bowl in the microwave while the toast is in; stir partway and make sure they are piping hot. Baked beans count as one of your daily portions of vegetables, and the reduced-sugar and salt tins are the better everyday choice over the standard ones. Keep the other half of the tin in a covered container in the fridge for tomorrow, and the second breakfast is already started.

Two wheat biscuits with cold milk and a sliced banana The thirty-second breakfast for mornings that have gone wrong. Plain wholegrain wheat biscuits are one of the recommended swaps for chocolate and frosted cereals, and a sliced banana on top sweetens them without a spoonful of sugar. Pour the milk on just before eating if you like some bite left in them, or let them sit for a soft, porridge-like bowl. Plain shredded wholegrain cereal works the same way if you prefer the texture.

No-added-sugar muesli with milk and grated apple Pour, grate and eat: muesli needs no soaking when you eat it straight away with cold milk, and a grated apple stirred through makes it juicier and sweeter. Choose a no-added-sugar muesli and still glance at the label, because dried fruit is high in sugar even when none has been added. A plain base with a handful of nuts or seeds keeps the sweetness in your control and gives it more staying power.

Tinned sardines on toast with lemon and black pepper The bold choice, and a very cheap one. Tip a tin, in oil or tomato sauce, onto hot toast, mash lightly with a fork and finish with black pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Sardines are an oily fish, and a balanced diet should include at least one portion of oily fish a week; the soft bones in tinned ones are edible, bringing calcium and phosphorus. No cooking at all beyond the toaster. It is not for everyone first thing, and the smell lingers in a shared office kitchen, so this one is best eaten at home.

Toasted bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon trimmings A weekday version of a weekend treat. Packs of smoked salmon trimmings are the offcuts from slicing, so they look less neat but taste the same once they are piled on a bagel, and they usually cost less. Toast it, spread with light cream cheese, add the salmon, black pepper and lemon, and it is done in the time it takes a kettle to boil. Salmon is an oily fish, so this counts towards the portion of oily fish a week a balanced diet should include. Pregnant readers should skip smoked fish unless it has been thoroughly cooked.