Healthy Breakfasts Before School

Make sure the breakfast has protein, complex carbohydrates, and fats (the good kinds, of course). The proteins will help keep her feeling fuller longer and the complex carbs will provide her energy but not energy that is gone in 30 minutes. The complex carbs will be released more slowly thus creating a steady stream. Also, can she pack snacks to eat mid-morning so she doesn't have to wait so long for lunch?

breakfasts:
-whole grain english muffin or toast, topped with peanut butter and a banana (or other fruit)
-greek yogurt (or other if preferred) topped with a little bit of whole grain cereal and fruit like blueberries or raspberries
-Apple slices dipped in peanut butter served with a mozzarella (or other white) cheese stick
-breakfast wrap: whole grain tortilla with yogurt, berries, sliced almonds...or scrambled egg whites, browned ground turkey, and chopped red/green peppers

I have two boys and always require them to eat a breakfast before school. they both like eggs and bacon(turkey bacon) we often make a bacon egg sandwich. we microwave the turkey bacon (about 3 minutes) scramble the egg and microwave that too!(47 seconds) all while the toast is toasting! breakfast quick and less than 5 minutes. also, my younger son will eat all kinds of food for breakfast. he loves spaghetti, so if we have leftovers, he is all over that! My theory is it doesn't matter what they eat, just as long as they eat.

The key to keeping them full is lots of fiber. My son is 4 and loves Fiber 1 and Frosted Mini Wheats. He also loves it because he is able to pour everything himself. Slice up a banana and put it on top of the cereal, along with some toast with a fun type of spread, and you are ready to go.

On the mornings we do not have an extra 15 min to sit and eat, we grab ready made snacks. We always have yogurt, string cheese, fruit cut up and put into baggies, muffins, etc.

Best wishes!

I think the key is to not worry if it is "breakfast" food or not. What does it matter if your kid eats it and it works? My son went through a long period of eating peanut butter sandwichs for breakfast, and another where he ate chicken soup! He also will eat leftovers from dinner for breakfast! Protein of some kind is a good idea for sticking with them throughout the morning. The whole breakfast cereal thing is really bogus anyway....

A., all the items the previous poster put in are good. But so is a slice of left over pizza a pbj sandwich or a torilla rolled up with cheese or cream cheese and fruit. a banana an peanut butter toast sandwich. something they can grab and eat is always a bigger hit with out middle school son. if he can just grab it he is more likely to take it. our daughter on the other hand would eat the left overs from supper. so if there was chili or beefstew she was in heaven before school.
good luck
S.

Hi A.: my girls get bored with breakfast foods as well. We sometimes have grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly. We have, on occasion, had something left over from dinner. Who says breakfast, lunch and dinner have to be specific foods. I usually serve the grilled cheese with fruit, yogurt and milk. We do the traditional pancakes, waffles and things, but sometimes you just need a change. Hope this helps!

if they don't like "breakfasts" give them dinner leftovers...great protien and complex carbs...plus protien in the am helps them learn better and retain more.

I use "butters" pumpkin and apple on bagels, in oatmeal, waffles and even pancakes.
We ALWAYS have either a cheese stick or nitrate free sausages in the morn. Sometimes it's a yogurt and sausages and off we go. Plus if running late travels well in a small container.

I provide some fun examples in my family health column: http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam...

Some other tricks is to premake pancakes, replace the milk/water with pureed fruit, make all at once, she can pop them into the toaster, spread some PB on it and she has herself a nice healthy b-fast.

But the ideas in the article will be fun.

Good Luck and good for you!

J. W. MPH
Maternal and Child Health Educator
Chicago Examiner Family Health Expert

lots of great ideas...but a favorite in our house is a peanut butter banana. you can slice the banana and put pb on each slice, or peel the banana and let your kids grab a spoonful of pb to put some on each bite. Maybe add a yogurt or glass of milk.

Hi A.,

Last night's leftovers always are popular, especially if last night's dinner was tacos, pizza or a stir-fry that they like. Mine also love anything with mashed potatoes and gravy, even when when reheated. I make a lot of extra pancakes when we have breakfast night (Mom! which meal is this?! keep 'em guessing!), so they can heat them up by themselves, maybe with those little sausages. Fruit-wise, I settle for orange juice and maybe a banana. Smoothies are great if you have the patience, but the kid will be hungry long before lunch. Natural Ovens bagels with cream cheese are excellent and portable if you have to grab and go.
Good luck and bon appetit!
Mama S.

You've already got a lot of good suggestions, but I wanted to add a few. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches on wheat bread or even in a wheat hot dog bun are a favorite around here. Also, smoothies are great. I make them with a hand blender (or a stick blender?- best $10 I ever spent) in the same cup we'll it drink from. I usually add vanilla yogurt, 1/2 banana, some frozen fruit, like mango or berries, and a splash of OJ. I have even added some soft tofu when I didn't feel like the kids were eating well, and you can't even tell it's there. These are both things that are good on the go too. Hope this helps!

Last year we had appetizer breakfast. We made them together on Sunday and they could either be eaten cold or heated quick. We did veggie pizza which was croissant, cream cheese mixture and veggies all over the top with favorite shredded cheese this was cut into small shapes and gotten from the fridge for the week. We also did popovers and fill them with either PB and J or chicken salad with veggies and fruit in it like grapes and pineapple. We did twice baked potatoes that had chili or barbeque chicken and cheese. These could be heated quickly in the microwave. cheese filled pretzels and apples and peanutbutter. Stuffed apples, everything from chicken salad to cheese and ham. Stuffed pancakes made from scratch with her favorite toppings. Most of these things are fairly portable. Have fun with back to school.

Hi A.,

Here is link to a list of recipes for back to school breakfast. Hopefully you can find a few that your children will enjoy.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/quick-and-healthy-bre...

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/family/specialfeature/bac...

You may also want to just "goggle" healthy back to school breakfast.

Good luck and healthy eating!

Usually I give Connor a bananna and a cup of milk which is pretty filling and then either oatmeal or cinnamon raisin toast or yogurt.