Here are more than 22 healthy bread and breakfast recipes, most of which have been our family's cornerstone recipes, including the whole wheat sandwich bread that helped me to stop buying store bought bread.

Do you think breads - and breakfasts - can be healthy? I think today we tend to think of breakfasts as indulgent (French toast, eggs with lots of sausage or bacon, etc.) and breads as simply carb overloads. But as we talked about in the first part of this Healthy Eating series, there are no bad or good foods when you're striving for a balanced, nourishing lifetime of eating healthily.

We're not aiming for feast-or-famine, deprivation-or-gluttony, or even yo-yo-ing up and down the scale. It's a goal of balance. Feeling good about your body and your choices. The occasional splurge. Enjoying food without it ruling your life and thoughts.

There are foods you would do better to avoid (packaged foods with long lists of ingredients, lots of sugars, dyes and preservatives) and those you should try and get more of (whole foods, vegetables in all the colors of the rainbow, healthy fats, etc.). But to really work for the long-haul there are not many foods that are off-limits permanently, unless you have no desire for a certain food (and if you're anything like me, the longer you eat good, nourishing, simple, homemade food, the more things you'll lose a taste for - really! I  can tell in the first bite if brownies or cakes came from a box and many packaged items have an 'off' flavor to me that make them easy to pass by).

Healthy Bread and Breakfast Recipes

So, what makes these recipes healthy? The breads use just a few ingredients, are made with whole grains and are lightly sweetened (if at all) - many times with nature's sweetener's like honey or maple syrup. I've included sourdough recipes for any of you who keep a starter since sourdough uses naturally occurring wild yeast and a longer rise time for more of a 'soaking' effect. And the breakfasts are either full of vegetables or use whole grains as well.

These recipes are our go-to bread and breakfast recipes and I hope that you'll find they become yours, too!

Bread Recipes

The Original Soft, 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls - yes, it is possible to have tender and soft rolls using only whole wheat flour!

Soft, 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread- AND it's possible to have a tender sandwich loaf made with all whole wheat flour, too.

Whole Wheat Flaky Biscuits - this recipe uses whole wheat pastry flour to add whole grain goodness and still keep it light and fluffy.

Easy Artisan Bread - simple ingredients and a recipe you can keep in the fridge.

Simple French Baguettes - easily made in a food processor (just one minute to knead!), this produces a loaf that goes with everything.

Quick & Tender Breadsticks and Hamburger Buns - you won't believe how fast this recipe is - or how amazing the bread turns out. No need to buy buns again!

Whole Grain Pita Bread - with just 20 minutes hands-on time, it's so fun to see these breads puff up.

Easy No-Knead, No-Rise Soft Pretzels - so quick & yummy I used this as a perfect kid's activity when my kids were younger.

Zucchini-Cinnamon Freezer Muffins- perfect way to use up zucchini and store it for the winter unbaked to have warm, healthy muffins anytime.

Make Ahead 10-Grain Berry Nut Freezer Muffins- multigrain goodness for breakfast or snacks ready when you want them.

Healthy, Whole Wheat, No-Fail Zucchini Bread- a go-to zucchini bread with less sugar and oil than many others, but still all the moist loveliness.

Honey Sweetened Lemon Flaxseed Muffins (Gluten Free)- lightly sweet lemony muffins made with oat and almond flour are such a great snack.

Honey Sweetened Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread - yes dark chocolate & cocoa are good for you, lol - especially when sweetened with honey.

Sourdough Recipes

Homemade Sourdough Bagel Tutorial - surprisingly easy to make, the freshness of homemade bagels is to die for.

Whole Wheat Sourdough English Muffins - yes, you really can make English muffins at home - and they're surprisingly easy!

Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread - maybe the easiest sourdough artisan bread recipe out there (all the 5-star ratings can't be wrong).

Perfect, Amazing Sourdough Waffles - THIS is the way you want to use up your sourdough discard.

Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread - here is a true, no yeast added, sourdough loaf that is tender and soft.

Sourdough Artisan Rolls with Everything Topping - crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, these rolls work for small buns, too, with topping or without.

Easy No Knead Sourdough Focaccia (Long Ferment) - get all the gut health of long fermented sourdough bread in this easy no-knead recipe.

Breakfast Recipes

Mediterranean Scramble with Spinach & Bacon - this is my favorite egg scramble of all time, and the fact that it's healthier with the veggies added is just a bonus.

Roasted Vegetable Hash with Eggs, Bacon, Feta & Walnuts - super flavorful way to get vegetables at breakfast, plus it's great for dinner, too!

Gluten Free Buckwheat Oat Maple Cinnamon Pancakes - buckwheat and pancakes were made to go together.

Freezer Mediterranean Breakfast Wraps - a better on-the-go breakfast you won't find.

Quick & Easy Maple Honey Granola "Bark" or

Simple Healthy Buckwheat Oat Granola Bark with Nuts & Seeds - either of these recipes are my standards that is our daily breakfast. Once you make it you'll wonder why you ever bought granola.

What from this list will you be adding to your recipes-to-make?

Be sure the check out all of An Oregon Cottage’s breads and breakfasts here in the recipe index.