Expert QA on SingleDad.com. My Kids are bored with the traditional breakfast foods like oatmeal and eggs. whate are some healthy alternatives for my Single Parent Family?
Your Single Parent Family Today Topic- Alternative Breakfast foods
| Author: From the Editors of Your Family Today | Posted: 07/25/10 | ||
|
|||
Q: My kids are bored with traditional breakfast foods like eggs and oatmeal. What are some fun things I could serve that would still get them off to a good start?
A: For a growing child, this is the most important meal of the day. Without a nutritious breakfast -- or worse, nothing at all -- kids quickly run out of energy and have a much harder time learning. But the right fuel can boost concentration and help general brain development. To give kids a good start, combine complex carbohydrates, such as fruit or whole grains (for long-lasting energy) with calcium-rich dairy (to promote strong bones and teeth). With that in mind, here are some fun breakfast ideas your family won’t even realize are good for them:
- Serve pizza It contains all the right components for a healthy breakfast (freeze slices from your child’s favorite pizzeria, then simply microwave for a few minutes).
- Have a fiesta Melt cheese on a whole-wheat tortilla and serve with salsa.
- Shake it up For kids who hate breakfast, try this cool treat. Combine 1 cup low-fat milk or vanilla yogurt with 1 banana, a handful of frozen berries and 1 packet of instant breakfast powder, and blend until smooth.
- Skip the sweets Besides leading to weight gain and diabetes, sugary foods like donuts cause your child’s energy to plummet, leaving him cranky and tired. A better choice: cereals that have less than 4 grams of sugar per serving (read the labels!). Not sweet enough? Mix it half-and-half with your child’s favorite sweet cereal. That way, you reduce the overall sugar, but he’ll still eat it.
Expert Manuel Villacorta, M.S., is a registered dietitian and a pediatric nutritionist in San Francisco.
