Making healthy choices for you and your family is no easy task. Wondering what those boxes of dry cereal really have in them, and if a pastry can be considered a fruit and grain. It's tough to determine, especially in our fast-paced lives, where breakfast is a special occasion. Your children can get sluggish before lunchtime without the proper foods to start their day. So, how do we find which ones to feed them?
The Dry Cereal Dilemna
One of the quickest breakfasts to make is dry cereal. The problem is that most cereals that are made appealing to children contain loads of sugar. It's important to have the right balance of nutrients for your child's growing body. Proper nutrition is not only important for physical growth, but brain development, too. Before you send your little ones off to school or daycare, make sure that they have a filling, healthy start to their day. Some dry cereals you may want to consider are General Mills Cheerios with 3g of fiber, 1g of sugar, and only 103 calories per cup. Post Shredded Wheat has 6g of fiber, 0g of sugar, and 167 calories per cup. General Mills Kix has 3g of fiber, 3g of sugar, and 110 calories per cup.
The key to healthy cereals is to pay attention to the fiber and sugar contents. More sugar will boost calorie content and increase the risk for that empty feeling mid morning. Fiber content is the ingredient to your breakfast cereal that will stave off that emptiness and give you longer lasting energy.
Fun Breakfast Ideas
Try a banana dog (peanut butter, a banana and raisins in a long whole-grain bun). Make a breakfast taco with shredded cheese on a tortilla, folded in half, microwaved and top with salsa). Create a waffle cone made of rolled whole-wheat waffles to look like an ice cream cone. Add a flavored cream cheese middle and top with fresh fruit. A pancake sausage roll can be made with link sausages rolled up in pancakes and served with a side of sugar-free syrup and topped with fresh fruit.
Hot Breakfast, Warm Heart
Some alternatives to classic family breakfasts, without sacrificing the taste, are foods such as turkey bacon, which is lower in saturated fat than pork bacon, whole-wheat flour for making pancakes and biscuits, broiled sausage instead of fried, and egg substitutes that are lower in fat and cholesterol with the same great taste as real eggs.
When it comes to syrups, jams and jellies, the best alternative is to opt for the low-sugar variety. This cuts out unnecessary calories. When choosing a buttery spread, real butter is the way to go. Margarine contains vegetable oil, which contains high amounts of saturated fats.
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