Morning rituals + a giveaway
I absolutely love my mornings with Livi. She’ll wake up happy as can be singing in her crib, and I’ll go upstairs to get her. Usually she’ll hand me whatever doll she slept with last night and we’ll sing the “Good morning” song before going downstairs to begin the AM rituals. Breakfast is probably our favorite meal, and we’ll have a mix of fruit, eggs, and oatmeal or pancakes most mornings. While I make our meal, I’ll usually pack up our snacks and water if I haven’t done so the night before. This way, as soon as we’re done, we can get dressed and set off on the day’s adventures. This is usually our routine, unless groceries are getting low… then we’ll have a little breakfast date together. 
Panera is one of our standard options. We frequent there for lunch – especially on the days they have black bean soup – but we also love the breakfast menu. Bagel and smoothie for the little miss: 
and egg sandwich for me.
We share everything. 😉 
I especially love the fact that the ingredients are fresh. The breads are baked that morning by a baker and they crack the eggs as the breakfast sandwiches are ordered. (No microwaved eggs!) Even though I love the food, the company is even better. 
Looking around the restaurant most mornings, you’ll see many types of people. Families, students, professionals, grandmothers, athletes, and in our booth: a mom and her baby laughing with some friends.
Panera was kind to offer a $100 gift card to a lucky reader. Here are the details for this fun giveaway:
Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
Leave a comment with your usual morning rituals. What is your favorite way to start the day?
Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 11/13/13 – 12/8/13.
Be sure to visit the Panera Bread’s page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!
<3 xoxo Gina
Thank you to our friend Matt (Sasha‘s husband) for taking these photos!
This post was sponsored by Panera through a campaign with BlogHer. To learn more about the fresh meals at Panera, check out Panera’s head baker backstory. You can also enter The Panera Breakfast Backstory Challenge, which allows you to learn about Panera’s passion for baking while you gain chances to win great prizes, including a chance to win an all-inclusive, culinary experience trip to New York City for two. Thank you so much for supporting my blog and the sponsors who help make it possible. xo
713 Comments
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
My morning ritual: wake up at 5:30am, do some sort of workout (now that it’s cold, going to a hot yoga class is usually on the docket), make breakfast with my husband, then take him to school and get my butt to work. Someone has to support the 31-year-old-getting-a-new-degree college boy. 😉
My morning routine involves showering, getting dressed, then enjoying breakfast and coffee. I try to get in a work-out – that just depends on the day. 🙂 Panera is my favorite breakfast: the egg and cheese on ciabatta is my favorite!
I start out with a run then drop the kids off to daycare and then on to my work as a hospice social worker!
My morning ritual is to wake up and get in a workout. Then it’s shower time, followed by breakfast. I drink my coffee at the office. I love weekends when I get to laze around a bit more and have coffee with my hubby. Our whole routine is going to change soon once this baby makes his way in to our world!
I am now an early riser. I love it.
I get up have coffee and get a workout in before the kids wake up. Totally sets the tone for my day!
My morning routine is getting my girls up and
ready for school and myself to work. I get everything
ready lunch & breakfast then wake the girls up.
I try to drink 2 big glasses of water and do about 15 mins of yoga to start my day. After that it’s a whirlwind of sweat sessions, coffee, showering, and oatmeal before heading to the office.
My favorite way to start the day is a big smile from my 10 month old daughter. How can you be in a bad mood after seeing her smiling face??
On weekend mornings when we have no plans, my boyfriend and I love to turn on some great music; he makes coffee and I’ll make a new breakfast recipe. We sit and lounge with the paper, a good book, or just each other!
I also LOVE Panera! I spend wayyy too much money there but it’s delicious! My weekday morning routine = wake up at 5:30 am/6:00am crossfit… 7:00am feed/walk dog 7:30am-8:15am shower/get ready – 8:20 am out the door for work! Whew! 🙂
I wake up around 6am every morning. First, I walk my dog Chico and then I head to the gym for an hour to workout and stretch. After that it’s back home for a smoothie and a quick shower before heading to work. My morning workout gives me the energy and focus I need to make the rest of the day an enjoyable one.
Coffee is an immediate morning ritual. 🙂
I love Panera (and have since high school when it was still known as St. Louis Bread Co.)
Our morning ritual changes by the day depending on if my husband doing his run early or if our 18 month old wakes up early. Our alarms start going off at 6. If the husband is running, he’s out of bed and out the door and I start my morning slowly. If not, we cuddle and chat until about 6:30. Then he showers, I make oatmeal, eggs and tea for breakfast and start packing lunches. The baby is usually up by the time he’s done showering, so he gets her and brings her downstairs to me. She always asks for milk right away, so her and I spend about 15 minutes nursing and cuddling, which is my favorite part of the morning. We wave goodbye from the window as my husband leaves for work. I get her changed and dressed, we eat breakfast and brush our teeth together. We do any last minute things that need to be done and then it’s off to daycare for her and work for me.
My morning ritual usually consists of waking up between 6-7, getting my butt straight to the gym and then coming home and enjoying coffee and breakfast before heading to work! Love Panera!
My morning ritual is coffee and reading blogs. It’s a slow way to start the day without jumping into the shower first thing.
I usually wake-up around 7:30, shower and then relax on the couch with my coffee and overnight oats while watching the Today Show for a bit before heading to work.
My morning ritual: Wake up at 6:00, relax with coffee and my husband while watching TV until 7:00, and then get up and ready for my day!
A large cup of iced coffee!
My dogs start whining first.
Then they come and pounce up on our bed.. they are not LAP dogs, either!
Then I have to take them out to go to the BR and then they are ready for their breakfast- dog food mixed in with pumpkin… 🙂 I try to make pot of coffee while I am taking care of their needs first.. it can be a challenage but I wouldnt have it any other way!
I have an active start to the day! I do 15 minutes of yoga (some form of sun salutations on my own or guided by rodney yee) then head outside for a walk with my dog.
I love to eat a big, healthy breakfast. It varies every morning. Sometimes eggs, sometimes oatmeal and fruit, and green tea. Then I get a workout in and some meditation. I love Panera!! 🙂
Favorite way to start my morning is by having a cup of coffee in bed!
i always start my day with a workout!
My dog and I have our set morning ritual. We start by playing outside for a few minutes. Inside, he watches me cook my standard eggs breakfast – he knows that once I’m done cooking, it’s time for us both to eat breakfast!
i start the day with my son coming into bed to snuggle and then hanging out with me while i get ready for work.
I’m not much of a morning person either. I set my alarm earlier than I plan to get up because I know I’m going to hit snooze a couple times. I don’t like coffee though I’m definitely a tea person! I love Panera especially now the it’s getting chilly here. The Mediterranean veggie sandwich is so good.
My favorite morning ritual is smiling as soon as I get out of bed and then going downstairs and cooking up some eggs and toast with a side of hot tea. 🙂
I start every morning at the gym before my family wakes up then head home to get them off to school!
My favorite morning ritual is coffee! I have a hard time waking up so I prep everything, even my breakfast the night before. that way I can sleep until the last possible moment. Then I rely on a hot shower and a big mug of coffee to rev me up for the day.
Hit the snooze button, take the dog out, feed the cats, and finally stumble toward the coffee pot.
Getting up just 30 minutes earlier than I need to, to make breakfast and catch up on blogs and enjoy a leisurely morning. Other mornings, I get up at the absolute very latest before I become late for work, and I feel very rushed.
i love starting the day with crossfit!
Tweeted! https://twitter.com/liltiff917/status/401419196208144384
I never used to eat b-fast, but now I don’t start a day without it!
My favorite way to start the day is with a big bowl of coffee and catching up with hockey news and blogs. 🙂
My morning ritual involves my dog jumping on me in bed, me attempting to appease him with sleep-pets, then finally getting up and going for a walk to wake us both up 🙂
My morning routine varies, but I usually get up around 5 and do a workout video or head to the gym. Then I shower, get dressed, start my coffee and breakfast, before getting my one year old daughter up. Once she’s ready we eat breakfast together before rushing out the door to work and day care… There’s a Panera on the way!
As of late my morning ritual has included going to the gym with my husband. It is a lot of fun to work out together. Perfect start to the day (except for the fact that he thought I cheated on my reps this morning – punk)!
During the week, I start my mornings with Pure Barre, followed by the world’s fastest shower and coffee making (I only have 25 min by the time I get home and have to leave for class!) On the weekends I absolute LOVE making coffee and lounging, catching up on blogs etc, before I start studying.
And just so you know, there is a Panera less than 1 mile from my school 😉
Sadly, mornings are not my thing. When I can rouse myself “dreadedly” from bed, I put on my boots and a coat and take my dog outside. Then, when he’s done, we come back in and I feed him and get a morning protein shake blended. I drink it on the way to work. I drink my coffee at work.
About Panera, the black bean soup is the bomb.com!!!! Love it. I wish I could replicate the recipe. They must blend some of the black beans and add back in to make it so thick and lucious. 🙂
Panera is a regular thing for you guys? Funny, never seen it mentioned before on the blog. Also interesting to see that you eat an egg sandwich since you avoid real cheese and regular bread. Interesting!
Love Panera and productive mornings! Unfortunately mine have become wake up as late as I can, shower quick, make coffee add white peppermint mocha and get my hiney to work.
I am a HUGE coffee drinker during the week, but my favorite relaxing way to start the morning is a mug of tea (hot or iced depending on the season!), curled up on the couch.
I start the day by getting a coffee for me and a ‘bubba’ for my little one. Then we have breakfast at home and pack our stuff for the gym/playgroup/church/swim lessons depending on the day. Then we go, go, go til nap and then relax the afternoon away. 🙂
Ideally, I like to wake at 7, have coffee while watching the news, and head to the gym. more realistically, wake at 720, and rush around like a madwoman!
Most mornings- wake up at 440 to hit the gym, home by 630a and get ready for work. My favorite breakfast to make is a black bean and salsa omelet- so easy (no veggies to chop) but more substantial that just regular eggs!
I am definitely not a morning person! I am a fat kid at heart, so anytime I get a real breakfast, is a great morning. Usually I settle for oatmeal with various things mixed in. Lately I have been adding pumpkin puree, cinnamon and pecans to my oats.
I LOVE mornings and am a total 100% morning person. Overnight oats is my bfast of choice every day of the work week.
My morning rituals depend on the day, because sometimes “morning” actually occurs in the afternoon–I’m in my pediatrics residency, and often switch back and forth between day and night shift. Even then, though, things tend to look the same–I like to get up, check my email in bed via iPhone, roll out of bed into workout clothes and start the day with a run or a weightlifting session, followed by a yummy breakfast! Lately I’ve been particularly digging omelets with lots of veggies or protein pancakes with fruit.
Definitely a LOT of coffee.