Breakfast is a meal often neglected and surrounded with excuses. Parents may hear: "Can't Mom, I'm late." "I don't like bacon and eggs." "That cereal tastes like cardboard." "I'm not hungry." On the other hand, kids are popping pastries in the toaster, or eating cereal so loaded with sugar it is a wonder they don't fly to school on all those empty calories. A healthy breakfast sets the tone for the day; it keeps blood sugar even and the mind alert. It's like stoking a furnace: Without the fuel, the fire goes out.
Brown Bag Breakfast
Even though sitting down for breakfast is unquestionably the best solution, for those kids who can't be tamed, stuff a brown "breakfast bag" in their hand as they head out the door. Breakfast doesn't have to include traditional breakfast foods to be healthy. Expand a little. A nutritious grab-n-go breakfast can include a hardboiled egg, a no-sugar or light syrup fruit cup, string cheese and whole-wheat crackers, single-serve peanut butter and celery sticks. Try giving them a handful of freshly washed strawberries and a peanut butter sandwich.
Sit and Stay Awhile
One of the reasons breakfast has fallen by the wayside is that both parents often work, leaving little time in the morning for preparing a healthy breakfast. So to offset that time crunch, prepare breakfast before going to bed. Buy an inexpensive six-section serving tray with top. Fill two sections with a variety of fresh fruits such as strawberries, blueberries or melon balls. Fill two more sections with cheese cubes, chunks of ham, chicken or beef. Fill the two remaining sections with blueberry mini-muffins, blue corn crackers, oat bran bread squares or granola. Set the table the night before.
Hot and Healthy
Nothing is more satisfying than a hot breakfast on a cold winter morning. Power pancakes and Canadian bacon hit the spot and fuel the brain when made with wheat germ and blueberries and topped with a touch of real maple syrup. Moisten the Canadian bacon, and dip in corn meal before cooking. Add a slice of melon, glass of no-sugar-added fruit juice, or a cup of hot cocoa and you have a delicious, nutritious breakfast.
Do-It-Yourself
Oatmeal in itself offers a full serving of soluble fiber, and when combined with do-it-yourself toppings, it can be so much more. Fill a sectioned tray with an assortment of raisins, dried apples, bananas or cranberries. Add a bit of protein with ham chunks. Try fresh fruit such as blueberries, strawberry or pineapple chunks. Prepare the oatmeal and spoon into custard cups. Let each child decorate their own oatmeal. Place a small bowl of dark brown sugar and a small pitcher of 2 percent milk for the final touches and your kids will be quite pleased with their oatmeal masterpieces.
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