By Guest Blogger Amy W
My girlfriend Angie asked this question via email to a group of mommies :
“Thought I would ask some of you mommies what you guys do for breakfast on school days, I am looking for ideas for fast and easy but nutritious things for breakfast, seems like it can be such a battle in the morning to find something that he will eat fast that does not take forever to make and not loaded with bad stuff. Would love to hear some suggestions if you have time.”
Very interesting inquiry. Quick? Nutritious? Can you have both? Right now, I consider it a good day if they just eat!!!
Crash refuses to go in carpool, he’s a 5th grader and he FINALLY gets to sit in the back seats of the bus, and he is not going to miss this golden opportunity. So he gets himself up at 5:45 AM!!! To get a quick shower (because that’s what 5th graders do MOM…) then he wakes me up at 6…I wake up Pootie and Lola. Peanut, the baby, thankfully will stay asleep for a tad longer.
Crash and I go downstairs, and while I fix 4 lunches (Hubby takes his lunch because he is driving to Cleveland County every day right now and leaving to eat lunch would just waste time….) Crash scarf’s something down. Anything…bagel, English muffin, cereal (it’s fortified for goodness sakes, and has the recommended daily allowances and that’s controlled by the government…so it has to be healthy, right?). I figure if he slathers a bit of jelly on the bagel or English muffin that’s a fruit…has a glass of milk or OJ. He has covered one or two of the food groups for the day. And he races out the door at 6:25 to catch the bus that comes at 6:33 AM!!!
One down, two to go. Lola hates eating breakfast (she’s a girl.) I keep waiting for the day when she tells me she’ll just have a diet coke or cup of coffee; she is my child after all. I think I’ve accomplished something major if I can get her to take a couple of bites of anything. Instant oatmeal is top on her short list of things she’ll eat for breakfast. One food group if we are lucky!!!! She rides in carpool with one of the neighbors and doesn’t have to leave until 6:50. She says the bus in the morning is over rated.
One more left, Jack, the middle school man-child. He eats a minimum of two bowls of cereal AND occasionally an English muffin or bagel. Of course, he is at the stage of eating anything that is not tied down. So after wolfing down his box, I mean bowls, of fortified government controlled cereal, he heads out the door.
All by 7 a.m.!
Thanks, Amy for sharing your story – TOTALLY made me laugh out loud! I can certainly relate, as I’m sure many of our Smarty readers can as well. But to your friend’s original question: ” what’s for breakfast?” I would love to hear any quick and easy ideas you might have for breakfast options … and hey, if they’re ultra nutritious to boot, all the better! You can find more of Amy’s Smarty humor on her blog, www.momcani.blogspot.com. Enjoy! — TS
8 comments
Angie is my neighbor and all of the cute little "my kids eat scrambled eggs" or "granola bar roadie" or "cereal w/fruit" replies came back, then Amy chimed in with her oh-so-Smarty humor! This cracked me up to no end that we had to find out more and ask her to prepare her answer for a guest blog. Love it!
waffles are great – easy to eat on the go. and there are a few brands that have fiber in them too.
LOVE the post, Amy you are awesome. We are pretty much still at frozen waffles, although I did the other day make a sandwich out of them and put in peanut butter and bananas and both boys ate them up! Also found some blueberry muffins that are by fiber one that have a good dose of fiber in them and both boys like them, so made a bunch and froze them so I can zap them quick in the morning. My favorite smarty idea for me and hubby is I make a huge batch of stone cut oatmeal, put half cup sections in cupcake muffin tins, freeze them and then put them in a storage bag in the freezer, then in the morning I take them out, throw them in the microwave to warm it back up, add a little brown sugar and bam, breakfast with the "good" kind of oatmeal for me and hubby without having to cook it for 45 minutes each morning. Cant wait to see what other ideas people have!!!LoveAngie
I make my son a fruit and yogurt smoothie. Loaded with yougurt, milk, OJ, and fruit it is a great start for him and healthy. It takes me all of 3 minutes to make and he drinks on his way to school. He may nibble on some cereal or a healthy cereal bar too.
I need protein in the AM and so does my LO. We've had to resort to eating foods not typical for breakfast – turkey meatballs from trader joe's, turkey wraps. Fruit, yogurt smoothies with protein powder is another fave.
We add cream cheese & fresh or frozen (warmed up) blueberries or strawberries or bananas and walnuts to the top of waffles, french toast, bagels, or pancakes. Adds so much more heft, protein, and omega 3s and sticks with 'em (Mom too…b/c I crash hard if I don't eat the right breakfast). No don't go screw it up with syrup though 🙂 If they have to have syrup use agave nectar. We try to make whole grain pancakes early and put in the freezer for a quick breakfast.Omelets are always great too. If you have everything ready they don't take long to whip up.
Another mom showed me this and it's too easy: get a muffin tin and spray with Pam. Put a piece of ham in each cup, crack an egg in there and top with a dollop of cream cheese, flavored ones are good with it. Bake at 350 till eggs are cooked how you like them. Just add whole wheat toast or an english muffin. Yum!
try pancakes where you hide the fruit in like bananas or applesauce. these can be made the day before or even a couple days before then reheated but fresh still can b made in under 10 mins.also you can hide caulifour in scrambled eggs but not too much or they will detect it. mixing in cheese adds extra healthy calories, fat and flavor to hide the cauliflour.