http://www.care2.com/greenliving/breakfast-a-smart-start.html
Breakfast: A Smart Start
We all know that eating breakfast is important, but it is still the meal that is the first to be squeezed out due to the morning rush. Starting the day with a healthy meal is especially important for children heading out for a busy school day; they can’t pop open the fridge or grab a snack if they decide they’re hungry half an hour after leaving home. A healthful breakfast provides energy, promotes concentration, and supports children’s metabolism which affects their ability to maintain a healthy body weight.
Some children wake up starving while others don’t want to eat as early as they have to in order to make it to school on time. Eating breakfast is a habit that some kids need to practice before it comes naturally to them. To support the breakfast habit in your home, try the following suggestions:
1. Set the table before going to bed. This saves precious minutes on school mornings, reducing rush and stress.
2. Establish a few healthful, go-to breakfasts that require little thought and preparation. Whole-grain toast with almond or peanut butter, fresh fruit, cold cereals, low-fat granola, nuts or yogurts can be on the table in a few short minutes, and many children can prepare these easy meals themselves.
3. Develop a repertoire of simple dishes that add diversity to what can become a cereal or frozen-waffle rut. Breakfast burritos are quick and easy to prepare, and the stuffing can include eggs, turkey bacon, tofu, salsa, potatoes…endless possibilities. They’re warm and filling — a nice way to start the day.
4. Keep pre-made foods on hand that can be served up quickly: eggs boiled the day before, wholegrain muffins, cereal bars or breads.
5. Think outside the box. Breakfast can include brown rice, warm veggies, soups and other items we usually don’t associate with morning meals. As long as it’s nutritious, fairly easy on the body, sustaining, and will be eaten (most important!), why not give it a try.
6. If you’re always rushed in the morning, you might have to accept the fact that your family needs to wake up 15-30 minutes earlier than you currently do. That may seem painful at first, but once you get used to having less tension in the morning, and you’re all leaving the house fed and calmer, it may seem like a small sacrifice.
If you have any favorite school morning recipes or tips for getting kids fed in the morning, let us know.
Robyn
Melissa
Deepak
Eric
Dave
Dr. Brent
Isha
Susan
Delia
Michelle
Wendy
Megan
Hilary
Ann
Judi
Ronnie
Kelly
Lily
Terri
Betsy
Cait
Andrew
Jana
Annie B.
Veronica
9 comments
add your comment »In holland we have these shakes you can buy; milk, fruit and wheat all together!
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Interesting article and ideas from the comments, but I can't help but thinking, if you wake up earlier, you can have a nice nutritious breakfast, and you only have to go to bed earlier the night before to offset this, and you'll still wake up fresh if you have the right amount of sleep time.
Eating on the go, while you drive or ride on a train, or walk, is not healthy, you tend to swallow too quickly, you don't chew enough, and you end up wasting all the nutrition. Also, eating while you drive can be almost as dangerous as talking on the cell phone while you drive, you can't concentrate properly on your driving. Take care, ladies!
For me breakfast is really the most important meal of the day, and if I don't eat properly at breakfast, and especially eat a bit of protein at that time, I'm a mess all day long, no energy at all. In winter months it's easy to warm up left over soup from the night before. In cold weather, it is better for the body to start with something hot and comforting. Just my two cents.
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Make a big batch of whole wheat pancake batter, you can also use a blend of whatever your favorite fours are. Keep in a sealed container in the fridge for a quick go-to in the mornings. Usually last for 5 days. Serve with Maple syrup and fresh berries or other fruit. You can also spread a nut butter and honey on them. Yum!
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An early commuting schedule and brownbagging lunch means I want to eat something quick and nourishing for breakfast at home, though I haven't much time or appetite. Solution: while I'm packing my lunch, I eat a piece of fresh fruit, a big spoonful or two of hoummous or tehina with a few olives on the side, and a small cup of chilled coffee (brewed earlier and kept in a bottle in the fridge) with milk. This tides me over till mid- or late morning and keeps my glycemic load in check.
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my favorite go-to power breakfast is also one of the quickest breakfasts i make: spread 1-2 tbsp of nut butter on a whole grain tortilla, and wrap it around a banana. i have this on mornings before my marathon training long runs and it sustains me through the 14-plus mile distances.
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Breakfast can be quick and easy by making a shake! Kids often like it. Add fruit juice, bananas and/or blueberries and/or strawberries, frozen or fresh. Add some protien powder (I like 100% non GMO sprouted Rice pdr).
For extra nutrition add Greens powder, Flax Seed Oil, Bee Pollen or your own inspirations.
For sweet tooth kids and adults, add Honey. For less sugar, use Grapefruit Juice.
Have to-go cups and everyone can eat on the run.
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Quick and simple... and yummy; toast a cinnamon raisin or whole grain English Muffin, smear with good peanut butter (I like chunky but YMMV) and top with sliced banana and a drizzle of honey. If you put the honey on before the banana and smear it into the peanut butter it won't drip and the combo is nutritious filling and energizing. Other nut butters work as well.
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You can cut down 48% chances of getting ill. Alot of heart attacks take place by noon cause if you dont eat and work your heart is working so hard without nourishment, that it gives way.
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There is another method which is also economic-accept a really healthy rut- boil a couple of eggs while dressing and put some coffee on with last nights coffee to heat.Then take wholemeal bread and butter and a thermos with you when you leave. You can eat this on the move or in a hidden corner of work when you arrive. For kids fill thermos with fruitjuice day before . Or let them add water- This is quick -easy and saves that precious sleep in time
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