Five minute homecooked breakfast

A nice, hot breakfast does not have to take up your whole morning. I literally don't have a minute to spare in the mornings, because I'm certainly not getting up any earlier than I already do! Here is a hot, healthy breakfast you can have on the table in about 5 minutes.

Scrambled eggs with 2% cheese on a whole wheat wrap, gala apple slices, and a Simply Gogurt.

Frog in a hole!

Have 5 minutes to spare for a fun, quick, and healthy breakfast? Frog in a hole is just that! I'm sure most of you have seen this recipe before, but kids love it, and nothing could be easier.

Take a piece of whole wheat/grain bread and cut a hole in the middle using a biscuit cutter or small glass. Put a small amount of butter in a pan and melt. Place the bread in the pan and carefully crack an egg in the hole. When it is done on that side, gently flip the egg/bread over and cook the other side. That's it! Harper thinks this is the coolest breakfast ever.

(Oh, and don't waste the hole! My kids think it is fun to eat it as-is.)

Omelets!

During the week, there isn't much extra time to cook a hot breakfast before school so I try to be sure to make a more home-cooked meal on the weekends. Today I made omelets, another easy food to make that has tons of variations to make everyone happy.

Harper wanted her omelet with turkey, cheese, and spinach -a nice balance of protein, veggies, and dairy. You could do any sort of meat, cheese, veggies, peppers, and/or salsas to make a quick and healthy omelet.

Looks pretty good...and she approves! (This child has become a bottomless pit lately! This morning, she ate a 2 egg omelet, whole wheat toast, and blueberries, then asked for an apple, then asked for yogurt!)

Adventures in smoothie making!

My kids love smoothies. They are easy to make and the flavor combinations are endless! Last night we had a special "breakfast for dinner" night, and I made smoothies with frozen strawberries, blueberries, banana, plain Greek yogurt, spinach (easily blends right in unnoticed - trust me!), and enough orange juice to make it blend well together. Note - if you don't use any frozen fruit, you'll need to add ice.

Then the bottom fell out. Literally. I didn't screw something together right in the blender and I made the biggest mess ever. Harper thought it was hilarious. Me? Not so much. That was not fun to clean up.

So I started over. Harper thinks the blender is too loud. She's right. 

This time I have everything screwed on right, and the smoothies were a success! They ended up in the cups, just as I had planned! FYI - the little pieces you see are from the blueberries, not the spinach.

The kids loved them! Right down to the last drop. :)

Annoying commercial #5

Ah, Capri Sun. I think all kids love the pouch. I know I did when I was little. My mom would buy them when I was going on a field trip, freezing them to keep the rest of my lunch cold during the day. It was a very special treat! But for breakfast? Why do you need a pouch of "juice" at home? That seems wasteful.



Not to mention the added sugar in this. Sugar is listed in the ingredients list before any actual juice is. Don't get sucked in by the added nutrients. A piece of whole fruit and a glass of milk would give the same benefits in a much healthier and natural way.

Don't even get me started on the Roarin' Waters they advertise...sugar water for your kids and trying to pass it off as a good way to drink water? Oh for shame!!!

But if you want to offer Capri Sun sometimes, they do make a 100% juice version.  I'm not sure why they can't just do this and nothing else!

Breakfast = the most important meal of the day!

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!

Breakfast time again!

This morning...

Nature's Own whole wheat toast w/soy nut butter and no-sugar added jelly
Granny Smith apple slices
Organic skim milk



Short and sweet, but healthy and easy!

Breakfast - 1/15/10

Grayson - Chocolate Little Bites Shredded Wheat w/milk, pineapple


Harper - Cheese grits, pineapple, milk



So maybe not the absolute healthiest morning, but fairly good choices for the morning rush! Quick, convenient, and balanced.