Breakfast for Kindergartener

Great tips to be found here from the wonderful Dr. Sears

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T040401.asp

we too do a lot of breakfast smoothies

I had a hard time with my daughter last year. It's not that she's a picky eater, but she only eats when she's hungry and apparently she's not usually hungry in the mornings. I finally had to go with Carnation Instant Breakfast, at the suggestion of my pediatrician. It worked really well. Then even if I couldn't get her to eat anything else, she could at least drink that in the car on the way to school. She seemed to do fine with it and it held her until snack time at school.

I have some "Toddler recipes" that a friend sent. I can't attach the whole document on Mamasource, but here is the one I have tried and really like:

Apple Breakfast Bars
1 1/2 cups quick rolled oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup dates, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup orange juice (can experiment with milk/other juice)
1 1/2 cups raw apples, shredded

Combine all ingredients. Let stand 10 minutes. Press mixture into 8" x 8" baking dish. Bake at 375? until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Loosen with spatula, and cut into bars while warm. Serve hot for breakfast or snack **Freezes Well**
Note: I also add things like wheat germ, flaxseed meal, and cinnamon to make it more nutritious and flavorful. You can make them ahead of time and either freeze them or refrigerate them (if you'll use them in about a week).

Here's a recipe that is also in the document that can be made ahead of time:
Pumpkin Pancakes
1 C whole wheat pastry flour - 3/4 C unbleached white flour
1 Tbs baking powder - 1/2 tsp salt (I omitted)
2 tsp cinnamon -1/2 tsp ground ginger -1/4 tsp allspice - 1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1 C pureed pumpkin or winter squash
1 tsp vanilla
2 C milk
3 Tbs canola oil

Stir (and sift) together all the dry ingredients in a med. size
bowl. In another bowl, beat the eggs with the pumpkin & vanilla.
Beat in the milk & oil until smooth. Add to flour mixture. Cook as usual! These smelled *wonderful* while cooking....like Christmas! SOURCE: "Beyond the
Moon" cookbook by Ginny Callan **Freezes Well**

And one more unique one that looked nutritious and tasty:

Breakfast Soup with Toast Fingers
8 oz vanilla yogurt
1 tsp honey**
1/2 Cup cubed banana
1/2 Cup peaches, peeled
1/4 cup wheat germ

Blend together and top with additional wheat germ. Serve with avocado blended with cream cheese on whole grain toast.
Please note that Honey is appropriate only for those who have reached the age of 1 year old and older! For more information regarding Honey and the Infant under 12 months old, please visit our Honey, What's the Fuss topic at wholesomebabyfood.com

Hope you find these to be helpful. I myself have been enjoying the breakfast bars as a healthy alternative to cereal.

--R.

I have a friend who is very into nutrition and writes a blog - she has some great kid-friendly recipes, check it out!
http://themommychef.blogspot.com/search?q=breakfast

Hi K., I have 3 boys, 2 are light breakfast eaters. The small cups of yogurt from Trader Joe's are good because they like them and they are a bit higher in calories than the other kids brands (yoplait etc)but the "kid" yogurts and mini smoothies can be good if paired with something else, like a bit of crunchies (granola) and/or chopped fruit or berries (tiny portions)One of my sons likes Sara lee whole grain white buns )hamburger or hot dog) he will eat 1/2 bun with cream cheese or a small amt of scrambled egg and cheese as a sandwich and maybe a strawberry. But you could use any toast or English muffin with the same or how about peanut butter (with honey, jelly or banana) since so many kids cannot eat this at school. It has healthy fat and protein so it would stay with them and is high calorie even if not much quantity is eaten. Did I mention I am a dietitian:) We also struggle at times with feeding our kids... My pet peeve is food marketed to kids that has partially hydrogenated oils (have to watch ingredient labels) and tons of artificial stuff (poptarts or yogos anyone?) But off my soap box and on to passing on some ideas to try-my kids love blueberries and one of my sons was known to go to kindergarten with a breakfast of 1 slice of cheese and a small bowl of blueberries. I also make muffins when its not 110 degrees outside. I make them in the pampered chef mini muffin tin so that the portion is small. Great with milk or yogurt drink. When all else fails, I sometimes resort to instant breakfast drink by carnation.
Hope you get some good ideas, maybe I will us them too:)

We use oatmeal but not the regular rolled oats - they taste smushy. Try Irish oats. You can cook them at the beginning of the week and just heat them up. They have a nuttier texture and my 3 year old loves them. We actually eat them salted, not sweetened and add raisins and butter or cream. Trader Joe's sells them for a reasonable price.

Also, eggs and toast are a big favorite in our house. Bacon or Canadian bacon are good.

You can try a good full fat yogurt as well - like Fage. I think they only do the whole milk yogurt in plain. You can always add flavor like honey or organic fruit preserves.

Good luck!!

M.

Grind up some nuts on the weekend (sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, almonds, etc) and sprinkle that on whatever you want. Cereal, yogurt, smoothies. That is very filling and healthy. I use a vita mix or a magic bullet. And store the nuts in the fridge.

Start with a cereal you know she would like-seems to be the quickest way to get them to eat. Z bar by Cliff for Kids at Trader Joe's has three different varieties and she could have with milk for a quick breakfast in a pinch for time. String cheese and a yogurt, Trader Joe's has a yummy yogurt(like Go Gurt) by Stoney Brook farms that you can freeze for fun, and or the little cup version 4 oz by Trader Joe's, that is a nice size for the AM routine. Nectarine and string cheese, cheese and crackers, slice of turkey with a tortilla, applesauce with a straw. FInd out if your child will have a snack before lunch that is provided by the school? The night before I would make hard boiled eggs and then they were ready for the AM if your daughter likes hard boiled eggs? Waffles are a mess, but that could work too, pancakes in the toaster, pop tarts and milk. You will find that your child will be so hungry for a snack after school (they don't seem to eat that much at lunch from all the talking and socializing they do. Plan on an early dinner so they can get plenty of sleep. It''s a LONG day and a ton of adjustment.

I dont really have an answer - I struggled with this, and still will I'm sure with my soon to be 2nd grader but I did want to add that I haven't had any problems with oatmeal being eaten once I called it "3 Bear Porridge" and to this day he still calls it that. LOL.

Fruit and yogurt? Maybe some toast w/ peanut butter? Oatmeal? These are things along w/ cereal that my kiddos eat. Best wishes.

My son doesn't like to eat in the mornings. I make smoothies with plain yogurt, V8 Fruit Fusion, frozen fruit (strawberries, blueberries, mangos, etc.), fresh banana. It's packed with all sorts of nutrients and he feels like he's getting a treat. He can even drink it in the car on the way to school.

I buy the frozen toaster mini waffles or mini pancakes, then make peanut butter or PB&J "sandwiches" out of them. Serve with milk or calcium-fortified OJ, and some fruit for "dessert", plus of course a "dino" (Flintstone vitamin).

I also use this as an opportunity for lots of Love & Logic decisions my kiddo can make: Do you want pancakes or waffles? Do you want just PB or PB&J? Milk or OJ?

Oh, boy, getting hungry for breakfast now! Good luck! :)

Some schools feed breakfast to the students in class.
I know our elementary school does.
So feeding them is no worry for parents there.

You are so wise to start thinking about this now. As a teacher, I've learned that it is important for children to have protien in the morning. It stays with them much longer than carbs (pancakes, waffles, etc.). The easiest way I've found to do this is peanut butter. Even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the morning is a good breakfast. Also, eggs, cheese on an english muffin, scrambled egg burrito, etc. Just be sure to get the protien in her. I have a student whose mom is so time challenged in the morning that she makes a pbj sandwich the night before and the little girl eats it in the car on the way to school with a sippy cup of milk. It's nutritious and will keep her going until lunchtime. Blessings!

I put Flaxseed in Pancakes and Waffles and make fruit smoothies with frozen fruit

Smoothies! Apple juice/banana/frozen strawberries (big bag from Costco)/honey/vanilla yogurt/flax seed (Costco already ground up)/liquidmax vitamins (Costco)/handful of ice. My kids LOVE it :)

Breakfast burritos are easy and fun for kids too. They can build their own.

What we call yogurt crunchies...vanilla yogurt with granola on top (flax granola from Costco) I serve it in a fancy glass bowl to make it special.

I have one daughter who is just not hungry in the mornings and will sometimes just grap a granola bar (I like Trader Joe's) on her way out the door.

One big tip...when you go to pick him up after school, have a snack and drink ready for him. My kids were sooo grumpy and tired after school the first few months of Kindergarten and the food helps! Good luck!

Here are a few ideas that I have done:

-Make pancakes or waffles from scratch at the beginning of the week. You can add whatever you want in yours, but I make mine with whole wheat flour and flaxseed. You can add chocolate chips, blueberries, mashed bananas, etc. My kids LOVE them. When I make them, I make at least two batches. That way I have leftovers and I stick them in a ziploc and put them in the freezer. I then have them on hand for the rest of the week. Sometimes my kids eat them without syrup, the rest of the time I give them a dish and they dip them in syrup. So easy and nutritious.

-Cold Cereal

-Oatmeal-my kids have not eaten oatmeal in two years. A few weeks ago I bought the cinnamon roll flavor at the store. Not the most nutritious, but it has gotten them to eat it! I made a tiny bit of powdered sugar frosting and swirled it on the top. They love it!

-Eggs, toast or bagel, and Turkey Bacon (my sister just gave me a tip last night-cook the bacon all at once at the beginning of the week and then you will have it on hand for the rest of the week)

My kids always eat a fruit with their breakfast. Their favorites are bananas, blueberries, and apples. I hope this helps. My kids are picky and they have recently started trying more for breakfast, maybe they got tired of the cold cereal every morning.

My son often eats a eggo waffle, french toast, or pancake with milk. To me thats more filling than cereal. he just started 1st grade. SOmetimes he has toast with fruit or egss with toast but typically its a waffle.

Whole grains will nourish her and fill her up. How about whole grain muffins made with applesauce(to cut down on the sugar)and other good stuff. You can freeze a bunch then take one out each night for the morning. Here's a link to a really good recipe: allrecipes.com/Recipe/Whole-Grain-Banana-Muffins/Detail.aspx