Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for many reasons and DEFINITELY for kids. Kids need breakfast to get fueled up for a day of learning and growing. Those are two very important jobs that should NOT be fueled by Fruit Loops and Kool Aid!
Many of you know that I ate junk, junk and more junk as a kid. I was overweight as a result. I ate “kid” food – mac n cheese, tator tots, Doritos, Chips Ahoy, Kraft Singles, Nestle Quik chocolate milk. . . . just to mention a few of my faves. I loved these foods. But, was it worth the trade off of being an overweight kid? NOPE. Not one single bit.
YOU ARE NOT DOING YOUR KIDS ANY FAVORS FEEDING THEM “KID” FOODS.
In fact, there is a growing movement of parents who won’t let their kids eat of kids menus in restaurants. Why? Well, what’s on the kids menu? Grilled cheese, burgers, fries, pizza. Anything with any nutritional value? Nope, not really.
I love to see what my sister gives my nephew for lunch. His plate is full of avocado, berries, whole wheat toast and peanut butter and string cheese. To drink? Water. AWESOME! Clean foods, pure and simple.
Last week I have the opportunity to participate in Seattle’s Lawton Elementary Family Fitness Fun Night. It was a super cool event (shout out to FHM and Lawton PE Teacher, Cheryl Parks, for heading up the awesomeness!) At my table I had a few super cool attention getters – my replica of 5 lbs of fat (which every kid wanted to carry around like as if it was a babydoll) and a sugar demo (I’ll be posting on that ASAP – it was amazing!) Lastly, I had suggestions for healthy meal options for kids. So I’ll be sharing these with you this week and next.
You’ll note that I do not include “kid” foods on here, as I do not think they are necessary. I don’t believe in giving your kids junk. I wish I wasn’t given junk. I wouldn’t have spent years and years overweight, hating my body and developing a lifetime of negative self image talk.
That said, if you pull the junk from your house, there could be a revolt. So you may need to do this over time with some major education along the way. And their may be a tantrum or two involved. (Confession: I had a food tantrum at 22 YEARS old when my sister and mom out voted me on what restaurant we should go to for dinner.) So, tantrums may ensue for kids of all ages.
But, I would venture to say that keeping your kids at a healthy weight, educating them on a lifetime of healthy habits and decreasing their risk of diabetes, cancer and other chronic health concerns is well worth a bit of a meltdown (or all out tantrum if you have a redhead like me….)
Kid Friendly Breakfast Options:
*Quick Oats with fruit, nuts, maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, canned pumpkin (INSTEAD OF artificially flavored oatmeal packets)
*Plain Greek Yogurt with berries, nuts and/or granola (INSTEAD OF regular high sugar yogurt)
*Whey Protein shake with fruit, berries, peanut butter (or PB2), cocoa powder(INSTEAD OF juice)
*Eggs with veggies and cheese
*Breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs, avocado, sprouted grain tortilla,cheese
*Sprouted grain toast topped with butter, eggs and avocado
*Protein Pancakes with protein powder, egg white, and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Mix (or your whole grain flour of choice) with berries/banana/real maple syrup/honey (INSTEAD OF regular high sugar pancakes)
*Brown Rice Cakes with any nut butter and sliced strawberries or bananas(INSTEAD OF white bread toast and jam)
*Hard boiled eggs and a piece of fruit
*Zing Bars (made by Seattle nutritionist, loved by kids)
*Lara Bars (all raw ingredients)
What are your kids fave breakie foods???
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