I really hate marketing aimed at children, and I try to avoid it by only letting my kids watch TV or movies without advertising. But it is hard to avoid all forms of marketing, so I've tried to teach my kids that if a company is trying to convince a kid that they need something, it is more than likely JUNK (whether it be food or toys).
OK, that seemed really off topic, but it seems breakfast foods are one of the most highly marketed products to kids (or maybe it just seems that way to me because my kids watch cartoons during breakfast time). But I rarely see anything advertised that isn't glorified candy. For instance, one frosted blueberry Pop-Tart contains 17 grams of sugar (and a list of ingredients a mile long). Your kids would be just as well off eating Oreos! A lot of popular kids cereals have about 12+ grams of sugar in them as well.
Breakfast is the meal that gets you going for the day and gives you the fuel you need to get going. Sending a child to school with a tummy full of empty calories and sugar is not going to help them do their best at school or have a healthy body. There are plenty of quick and healthy options that can fill your child up properly and still get you out of the door quickly. Here are some things that our kids have for breakfast on school days (we try to always incorporate whole grains, dairy, protein, and fruit):
-Whole grain toast or English muffin with natural peanut butter/soy nut butter
-Whole grain bagel with light cream cheese
-Whole grain cereals (we love Kashi, and they even have a cereal with kids in mind
-Fruit
-Yogurt
-Whole grain waffles/pancakes
-Light cottage cheese
-Healthy cereal/granola bars
-Oatmeal
-Grits
-Cream of Wheat
Start their day out right and send them to school ready to focus and learn!
We have finally broken ourselves and the kids of the cereal bar for snacks/breakfast. We stopped buying them completely. It was so hard to find any that were low in sugar. I might look into the ones you posted, but I don't want to reintroduce the habit! I might try the kashi cereal - it's got some protein. We don't usually have protein at breakfast, but we probably should! thanks kelly!
ReplyDeleteKelly, I was curious how you guys do oatmeal. I assume you don't buy the quaker - I bought some last weekend without checking the label (I know, I know...) and each packet has 12g of sugar. I didn't even realize it until after Mary asked for a second bowl and I was making it for her. We've had the plain oats before, but I wondered if you had discovered any homemade yummy flavors that make it palatable to the kids? Or are there flavored brands that are better?
ReplyDeleteI get the instant Quaker packs, plain. It does have caramel color added to it, but you can't beat the convenience and we're so pressed for time in the morning. We'll add in tiny bit of honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, chocolate syrup, peanut butter, or fruit to it (or a combo of those things).
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look for the Quaker plain. Never even noticed it on the shelf before! Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteoften i'll buy a container of the rolled oats (less consumer waste) and have found that if you cover the bowl after adding boiling water the oats are cooked in less then five minutes. in the winter i'll add a little ghee in place of butter, strawberry preserves and fennel. frozen berries would be a good alternative, and they'll thaw w the boiling water.
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