My recent post about 5 Healthy Ways to Start Your Day sparked some conversations in our waiting room this week. As we shared our experiences and passed on tips, some parents spoke about how they get their kids to start the day in a healthy way. My own daughter, Emma, is 17 now and my days of being able to influence her breakfast choices are long past. However, I distinctly remember chopping kale into her breakfast oatmeal when she was smaller and what’s more, I remember my own Mum doing the same thing. I guess Moms have been trying to sneak healthy food into their kid’s meals forever. Recently, Jessica Seinfeld wrote a bestselling book on the subject which confirmed that another generation of Moms have discovered the same old tricks.
Research has shown that kids who eat breakfast do better in school and are also less likely to be overweight.
Many of the parents I talked to spoke about how hard it is to organize breakfast during the morning rush. So we pooled our knowledge and here from The Yinova Center waiting room are some suggestions from busy working parents for healthy breakfast foods that kids will actually eat.
- Fruit and yogurt parfaits with granola
- Wholegrain pancakes either frozen, from a prepackaged mix or from scratch with one of the toppings listed below
- Breakfast burritos with wholegrain tortillas filled with eggs and veggies
- Oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit
- A yogurt, half a bagel with peanut butter and fruit juice
- A whole-grain granola bar such as these from Kashi with a glass of milk and a banana
- Healthy frozen waffles with fruit or one of the toppings listed below.
- French toast fingers made with whole-grain bread and dipped into one of the toppings listed below
- A breakfast taco made with a tortilla, scrambled eggs, salsa, and low-fat cheddar cheese
- Scrambled eggs with veggies
- A sliced apple with nut butter and some wholegrain toast
- A banana with cereal that is high in fiber and low in sugar such as Weetabix Organic Crispy Flakes, Cascadian Farm Clifford Crunch, Barbara’s Puffins, Post Spoon Sized Shredded Wheat, Nature’s Path Heritage Granola, Kix, Wheaties, Kashi Organic Promise.
- Brown rice cakes with nut butter and fruit
- A fruit and yogurt smoothie. Frozen organic berries make this particularly easy to whip up in a blender.
- The following are toppings for pancakes and waffles suggested by some of our patients – nut butter, unsweetened apple sauce, low-fat yogurt, honey, low-fat cream cheese, fruit syrup, agave nectar, sliced fruit.
