Breakfast Inventions You Need In Your Life

We've always been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but there are a lot of us who can only manage to hit the start button on the Keurig and grab a protein bar on the way out the door. It doesn't have to be that way. 

Whether it's a lack of time, or just lack of interest, there are some really cool breakfast gadgets out there that could change the way you feel about your first meal of the day. For chaotic weekdays when you only have minutes to spare, lean on an automatic omelet maker or a breakfast sandwich maker to take away the stress of cooking. And on leisurely weekends, 3D printed pancakes and selfie toast will actually make you look forward to getting out of bed.

Are these breakfast inventions absolutely essential to making a better meal? No. But will they save you time, or make your mornings easier, or just put a smile on your face? Definitely. And that's why you need them in your life.

Does this sound familiar? You pour yourself a cup of coffee, take one sip, marvel at how incredible it tastes, then get distracted by kids, email, pets, laundry, or all of the above, and when you finally get back to that once piping hot cup of joe 30 minutes later it's gone stone cold. Nothing a minute in the microwave won't fix, right? Repeat this cycle five times and your coffee is no longer delightful, it's disgusting. 

That all changes with the Cauldryn Coffee Travel Mug. It's a temperature controlled vessel that keeps your hot beverages hot for hours. Because you can set the heat anywhere from room temperature to boiling, not only can you keep already brewed coffee and tea at the just-right temperature, you can also brew drinks directly inside of it. The mug holds 16 ounces, is made of stainless steel, has a rechargeable battery, and even comes complete with its own app. 

Your days of burnt microwaved coffee are officially over.

Hands down, one of the most frustrating things about making breakfast is that moment you realize that you forgot to take your butter out to soften. But you try to mash the cold butter onto your toast anyway, and the end result is a sad slice of bread that's been ripped apart in the middle and is dotted with clumpy butter patches. There's got to be a better way, and since you know you will never actually remember to take the butter out, you definitely need this handy device. 

A butter mill takes your cold butter and turns it into fine shavings that easily spread and melt, whether your bread is warm, cold, toasted, or even super soft. After loading it with a stick of butter, just twist up as much as you need, spread effortlessly, and then store the whole thing in the refrigerator. Not only will a butter mill will save your toast, it'll do wonders for your morning-time sanity. 

If you're the type of person who prefers a hot protein-rich breakfast over a cold bowl of Cheerios, but rarely has the time to whip up scrambled eggs or omelets, this is the breakfast gadget for you. 

Forget frying pans and spending even five minutes in front of the stove — the Rollie Eggmaster boasts that with its help you can "prepare eggs, omelets, frittatas and more in just 2 easy steps." Step one: Spray with cooking oil. Step two: Crack one or two eggs into the chamber. It's that easy. Once you load your raw eggs into this magical device, it's hands off, and after 8 to 9 minutes, your cooked eggs rise up and out of the machine, ready to be enjoyed. And even though it might take a little longer for Rollie to do its thing compared to traditional cooking methods, don't forget that while your eggs are making themselves, you don't even need to be in the kitchen. 

You know you're a social media addict if you can't get through even one breakfast without doing two things: 1. Taking a photo of your meal that happens to be staged just so, with just the right lighting, and just the right filters to make it worthy of its #foodporn and #nom hashtags; and 2. Taking a selfie, whether you're in your home kitchen, the work cafeteria, or a fancy restaurant. Pics or it didn't happen, right? 

If that sounds like your standard breakfast routine, then you definitely need the Selfie Toaster in your life. Never has there been a breakfast gadget more perfect for social media lovers. By etching your likeness into stainless steel plates that fit into the toaster, each slice of bread that comes out will satisfy all your social media posting needs in one: Food? Check. Selfie? Check. Just make sure to get your snaps before you smear avocado all over your face. 

It's Saturday morning and you're all amped up for homemade waffles. The batter comes together easily, and you're wondering why you don't do this more often. As soon as you pour your first ladleful of batter into the waffle iron,  though, you remember. Making waffles creates one of the biggest messes of any breakfast. Ever. It is nearly impossible to pour the just-right amount of batter in so that it doesn't ooze out the sides, onto the counter, and somehow onto every other surface in the kitchen. 

Enter the Perfect Pour Volcano Belgian Waffle Maker. This ingenious contraption comes complete with a pour spout on top of the waffle iron, which allows the batter to run down into the wells for complete coverage without seeping out the sides, and any overflow is contained in the top compartment. Once the waffle is cooked, you twist off the spout, and boom, perfect waffles every time with zero mess.  

Okay, fine, nobody really needs a bowl made out of bacon, but why in the world wouldn't you want one? If there was an option to have plates, forks, heck, even orange juice glasses made out of bacon, we'd be all for it. But for now, we have the Perfect Bacon Bowl, and that's enough.

While bacon bowls might be a slightly silly gimmick, nobody can argue that they aren't super fun. And the good news is, since they're microwavable, they won't add any extra time to your breakfast routine, silly or not. (As an added bonus, since the fat drains into a channel, the bacon bowls won't be as greasy as traditionally made bacon, either.) 

Just line the plastic molds with bacon, nuke them for a few minutes, and by the time your eggs are done they'll have the perfect landing spot. Pile in some hash browns and cheese and you've got a classic diner breakfast all loaded up in one perfectly porky package.

Iced coffee is all the rage these days, but there are a few problems with the decidedly delicious drink. If you're buying it, iced coffee is more expensive than hot coffee. And if you decide to save money and make it at home, you run into a new set of problems. You have to either plan ahead to make your cold brew, which needs to sit for at least 18 longs hours before being strained in a painfully slow manner, or bite the bullet and pour your hot coffee over ice, which results diluted coffee-water. None of these are great options. 

That's where the Zoku Iced Coffee Maker comes in. This cup takes your straight-from-the-pot coffee and turns it into iced coffee in less than five minutes. The magical transformation occurs thanks to the frozen stainless steel inner mug that chills the hot beverage down fast. All that's required of you is to remember to keep the mug in your freezer, which is way easier than waiting on a batch of homemade cold brew.

There's something so right about a fast food breakfast sandwich, but as convenient (and tempting) as the drive-thru may be, we all know by now that we probably shouldn't eat Sausage McMuffins every day. But what if you could make those breakfast sandwiches at home, in less than five minutes, and pick whatever organic, gluten-free, cage-free ingredients you wanted? 

This breakfast sandwich maker lets you do just that, and because it features double compartments, you're cranking out two sandwiches at once. Time saver! All you have to do is load in the bread, meat, cheese, and eggs, let the machine do its thing, and come back when the timer dings. Swing out the egg cooking plates, and voila, your breakfast sandwich is perfectly toasty and ready to eat. And don't worry about cleanup, either — the removable parts are dishwasher safe. Admit it... that's just about as easy as the drive-thru, isn't it?

No matter what kind of cereal you're eating, whether it's flakes or loops or squares, it will no doubt go from "so crunchy you'll rip up the roof of your mouth" to "mushy mess" in just a few seconds. The window of perfect cereal sogginess is a short one, and nothing ruins your breakfast faster than a mistimed bowl. Clearly this is a widespread problem, because someone invented a bowl that solves the soggy cereal problem once and for all.

Obol, The Original Never Soggy Cereal Bowl, is here to ensure your morning cereal experience is perfect every time. The unique bowl has two almost separate compartments — one for cereal, and one for milk, with an opening at the edge that allows you to slide the cereal over into the milk at your own pace. Now, even long distractions won't result in your breakfast going down the drain.

Imagine being able to brew a shot of espresso anytime, anywhere. Campsite breakfasts would be much improved. You'd no longer need to sneak out of the office to get your caffeine fix. And you could finally do away with that monstrosity sitting on your kitchen counter. You know the one... That ginormous espresso machine that you swore you would use every single day, but it's been about five years since you've touched it, and at this point you don't even remember how to use it? Yeah, that one.

Toss the counter hog, and get yourself a Wacaco Minipresso. This portable espresso machine lets you satisfy your espresso craving literally anywhere (provided you have access to hot water) since it's manually operated, no electricity required. That's right... One tiny machine weighing in at less than one pound is all you need, and there's even a coffee scoop and espresso cup included. 

If you've ever found yourself deep down a Pinterest or Instagram rabbit-hole looking at all the amazingly creative things that parents do with their kids' food, it's easy to feel a bit inadequate about plopping a stack of plain ol' pancakes down in front of your own kids. Sure, you can maybe manage to make something basic out of batter — a Mickey Mouse head or a snowman — but anything more detailed than that? Forget it.

Unless, of course, you have a handy dandy PancakeBot 2.0. This 3D printer for pancakes lets you whip up elaborate art in flapjack form with the help of its free software — you can either draw your own design or choose from their library —  and you'll never have to ladle mouse ears onto a griddle again. As an added bonus, you'll now be the parent that everyone is fawning over on Pinterest, and nobody needs to know your PancakeBot secret. 

Tiny house dwellers (and inhabitants of New York City apartments), this one's for you. Every one of your basic breakfast cooking needs will be met with this wonder machine that packs three appliances into one. And when counter space is so precious, this is a huge space-saver. 

Considering that the all-in-one breakfast maker comes in at just 19 by 12 inches, it's surprising that it houses a four-cup coffee maker, a four-slice toaster oven, and an electric non-stick griddle. Without ever moving your feet, you'll be brewing a cup of joe, and whipping up a full breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. And there's even more good news for those of you who like pizza for breakfast — the toaster oven is even big enough to cook a 7-inch frozen pie. Think about it: A sad cheese pizza will be instantly transformed into a drool-worthy breakfast once it's topped with bacon crumbles and runny fried eggs.