Breakfast on the Go Suggestions

My kids don't eat breakfast early like me or my husband. I get to work at 6am (meaning up at 445/5) and I don't eat until 8 or so. They are all able to eat at school, which lets them eat a little later, but limits their options.

We don't much care what they eat as long as the eat. If that makes sense. I don't care if it's leftover steak and potatoes or scrambled eggs. Pop-tarts and sausage biscuits are favorite grab and go things. My youngest likes English muffins with peanut butter and my oldest likes mini cinnamon raisin bagels with grape jelly. Honestly though, whatever they put in the break the fasting is fine with us!

One of mine isn't big on breakfast but scrambled egg Sammie w/cheese on toasted bread work & travels well at my house. Takes 5 mins, tops!

I would stick with foods he will eat even if it isn't a "breakfast" food. Who cares if he has p/b&j for breakfast? Or a tuna fish sandwich? My 3 yr old granddaughter would only eat popcorn for breakfast for a whole week (sigh), but my daughter pops her own and makes it healthy (no butter, etc). She was still able to get her to drink a yogurt smoothie :)

The more you fight it, the worse it will get. Oh, is he a mouth breather when he sleeps? That will cause some serious dragon breath in the morning (assuming that he has no other health issues and not eating after brushing teeth at bedtime).

Good luck!

Have you tried Carnation Breakfast Essentials? My boys often drink this instead of eating something. It fills them up, and it can be easier on their stomachs than food. I'm like them. I often don't care for food until I've been awake for an hour or more, but none of us want to get up that early :-)

Hard boiled eggs, cheese and crackers, yogurt tubes, fruit, Eggos, granola bars, dry cereal, muffins, bagels, English muffins or toast with peanut butter, jam, Nutella, honey, cream cheese, protein shakes, smoothies, instant breakfast are all pretty portable and good for picky eaters.

Cream cheese on a bagel works well.
So will peanut butter if he has no nut issues.

I have a little one like this - and I'm like this myself - and I've found that it's easier to last until lunch if we have something with some protein in the morning, not just straight carbs.

It's not really on the go, but would he eat some Greek yogurt in the morning?

What about a smoothy made with Greek yogurt (that's my favorite and the recipe is simply plain Greek yogurt, a banana, a little milk and a little honey)?

Will he eat anything that is more breakfast-like? My LO went through a phase where I could get him to eat 1 scrambled egg before school.

ETA: Oh, MilitaryMom 6 has a great point. Sometimes I eat a sandwich for breakfast if I know it's going to be a while before lunch and a smoothie won't be enough, because I just don't like traditional breakfast foods. Who cares if it's "breakfast food" as long as it's healthy and he likes it.

(As an aside, when I was a teen, I remember wanting cake for breakfast. My parents understandably said no it's not healthy. But then the rest of the family ate waffles with syrup. I remember thinking - what the heck is the difference? My point is that people get really stuck in the "breakfast food" box unnecessarily.)

My kids are not that hungry at breakfast time...like me actually. They like smoothies, z-bars, and a "breakfast snack tray". I will give them a plate with a variety of things such as a banana, cut up strawberries, cheese, nuts, yogurt, hard boiled egg, small slices of toast or toaster waffle, etc. They like yogurt. My daughter does like cereal with milk or oatmeal, but my son who is picky does not.

I'd work on protein and not worry about typical breakfast foods like cereal.

Have you seen those little hand-held egg "muffins" that are basically scrambled eggs or mini-omelets cooked in a muffin tin? They are great for little hands, and you can put anything in them that he will eat: eggs with typical omelet veggies (peppers, onions), with bits of ham or bacon, cheese, even pizza flavored with mini-pepperoni and mozzarella. They bake up quickly so it won't add a lot of time to your morning. Google recipes from a zillion websites. They keep until the next day just as a quiche would so you don't have to make them fresh every day.

Peanut butter between 2 halves of a whole wheat English muffin, held like a sandwich? Or if he doesn't eat the whole thing, make 1/2 a muffin and spread with PB or Cashew/Almond butter, then cut in half and make a half-moon shaped sandwich.

A friend makes quinoa/peanut butter bars with a thin layer of dark chocolate on top - make in a big pan and cut into bars. I used to make bars for my son that had oats, dried fruit, almond butter, honey, nuts and flax seed.

French toast sticks? Make with whole grain bread and add protein powder to the egg mixture. I used really "holey" bread to soak up the batter inside and not just coat the outside of the bread. I made a batch and frozen them between sheets of wax paper, then popped out what I needed to heat for one breakfast. Syrup in a tiny dipping bowl solves the problem of a plate swimming in it. If there's only a little, then real maple syrup is affordable and far better for him than the corn syrup stuff that's just maple flavored.

Will he eat trail mix if he thinks it's a snack? Whole wheat Chex, raisins/craisins, nuts, etc.? He needs a lot of nuts to get the protein he needs.

Mix in healthy protein powder to that milk? You can put in a little plain cocoa powder which has few calories to kind of sweeten the deal. Put it in a cup with a lid & straw so it can be swirled around a little.

Quesadilla wedges? Use a whole wheat or corn tortilla, spread with refried beans and grated cheese, and fold over and heat (microwave, in a small amount of spray oil in a frying pan, or in foil in the toaster oven). The melting cheese helps seal it into a sandwich. Cut in half giving you 2 wedges. Or use slices of cheese and some turkey or ham or the spread of refried beans, and roll up like a burrito, no heating.

Healthy fats help keep him satisfied longer, far better than carbs. Sneak those in where you can.

Updated

I'd work on protein and not worry about typical breakfast foods like cereal.

Have you seen those little hand-held egg "muffins" that are basically scrambled eggs or mini-omelets cooked in a muffin tin? They are great for little hands, and you can put anything in them that he will eat: eggs with typical omelet veggies (peppers, onions), with bits of ham or bacon, cheese, even pizza flavored with mini-pepperoni and mozzarella. They bake up quickly so it won't add a lot of time to your morning. Google recipes from a zillion websites. They keep until the next day just as a quiche would so you don't have to make them fresh every day.

Peanut butter between 2 halves of a whole wheat English muffin, held like a sandwich? Or if he doesn't eat the whole thing, make 1/2 a muffin and spread with PB or Cashew/Almond butter, then cut in half and make a half-moon shaped sandwich.

A friend makes quinoa/peanut butter bars with a thin layer of dark chocolate on top - make in a big pan and cut into bars. I used to make bars for my son that had oats, dried fruit, almond butter, honey, nuts and flax seed.

French toast sticks? Make with whole grain bread and add protein powder to the egg mixture. I used really "holey" bread to soak up the batter inside and not just coat the outside of the bread. I made a batch and frozen them between sheets of wax paper, then popped out what I needed to heat for one breakfast. Syrup in a tiny dipping bowl solves the problem of a plate swimming in it. If there's only a little, then real maple syrup is affordable and far better for him than the corn syrup stuff that's just maple flavored.

Will he eat trail mix if he thinks it's a snack? Whole wheat Chex, raisins/craisins, nuts, etc.? He needs a lot of nuts to get the protein he needs.

Mix in healthy protein powder to that milk? You can put in a little plain cocoa powder which has few calories to kind of sweeten the deal. Put it in a cup with a lid & straw so it can be swirled around a little.

Quesadilla wedges? Use a whole wheat or corn tortilla, spread with refried beans and grated cheese, and fold over and heat (microwave, in a small amount of spray oil in a frying pan, or in foil in the toaster oven). The melting cheese helps seal it into a sandwich. Cut in half giving you 2 wedges. Or use slices of cheese and some turkey or ham or the spread of refried beans, and roll up like a burrito, no heating.

Healthy fats help keep him satisfied longer, far better than carbs. Sneak those in where you can.

Our favorite "to go" breakfast was always a toasted english muffin with scrambled egg and cheese. Or a peanut butter sandwich.
But honestly, my kids, and me, and my ex husband, none of us really liked eating first thing in the morning. It's nauseating for a lot of people.
Think OUTSIDE the breakfast box. What does he actually LIKE to eat? PB and J? soup? leftover pizza or pasta for chicken from the night before?
Offer a small amount of THAT and then send him to school with healthy mid morning snacks like fruit, cheese, nuts, half a sandwich, etc.

When my kids were younger they would "love" something, eat it for 3 months straight and then all of a sudden "hate" it and never want it again. LOL

So now that they are older and get their own stuff ready, they eat whatever we have and they can make. Most of it isn't even "breakfast" food. It's some kind of sandwich (my son currently has a grilled cheese every morning), chicken nuggets, cheese sticks, yogurts, cold cereal, bagels or even left overs.

Any food to go will work like go-gurts, cereal bars, granola bars, bagels with whatever toppings, sandwich, frozen waffles with pb&j, cheese sticks, beef sticks, jerky or anything you can put in a zip baggie like dry cereal, granola, trail mix and crackers. Good luck.

Thanks for telling us about Aussie Bites. I'd never heard of them.

Would he eat muffins? A relative of mine is a dietitian and she is always baking these amazing easy muffins - but they are loaded with the good stuff, and fiber - so they fill her kids up. They're not your average cakey-type muffins.

One of mine went through a phase of oatmeal in a cup. Another was into bagels. One would make eggs in the microwave. Scrambled in a measuring cup with some milk, and they'd puff up to a nice consistency he would eat.

Thought of another - yogurt with granola on top? And some berries?

I get that not all people are hungry for breakfast but it makes it hard when it's a first grader and he needs to eat so he doesn't get grumpy! My first grader is kind of a picky eater, so I get it. We also go through phases of one thing for months.

My kids really like the pancake on a stick and little frozen sausage biscuits. At first I tried to only get them sometimes because they are so processed, etc., but you know what, I got over it when it supplied some protein and my kid would actually eat it. They fill my little guy up pretty well. He eats the pancake on a stick without syrup (because I at least put my foot down about him having syrup every day before school! ;) ) and they are easily eaten on the go.

Other things might be whole milk yogurt cups (Trader Joes, Annie's Organic, and Yoplait Kids), Go-Gurts, string cheese, Baby Bell cheese, cut up fruit, PB Toast, Fiber One granola bars.

B.,

Sorry - you created this when you catered to his tastes...I guess I'm lucky. I never allowed my kids to dictate what they would eat. They had to try everything at least once. My daughter HATES French Onion Soup - but she had to try it. I also have asked my kids their input on meals/menus.

Celery and peanut butter
Celery, peanut butter and raisins
breakfast burrito (great for on the run)
bagels and cream cheese
english muffin with butter, sugar and cinnamon
waffle with butter, sugar and cinnamon

IF he has bad breath? There might be something else going on. Why not have him checked out for any mineral deficiencies?

give him anything he'll actually eat. if it's leftover taco meat, or a piece of cheese, or reheated lasagna, who cares?
my older was never a breakfast person. still isn't at age 30. i didn't have MP to guide me, so wrangled with him until he wore me down and we compromised on carnation instant breakfast. it got some protein and nutrients into him and that had to be that.
surely there's something comparable on the market now.
khairete
S.

How about a breakfast cookie made with oatmeal etc (some great ones on Pinterest)?? Some people just dislike breakfast food. How about string cheese and a little fruit?

breakfast cereal bars? home made granola bars? carnation breakfast essentials.. homemade fruit and veggie smoothies with added protein and such?

My son won't eat eggs unless I put it in a flour tortilla. I'm able to sneak some veggies in there with the bacon and cheese.

Our kids eat cereal with milk. They have a good variety and eat something different every day. Even though they get breakfast at school they want to eat early so they're hungry by lunch.

I would do some oatmeal cookies or something. I know you want to do healthy but if he's not eating it then he's not getting anything. They have all sorts of bars he could eat. They have oats and honey and sometimes nuts and more choices. I even let the kids have a rice crispy treat sometimes. Even though it's not a great choice it is something in their stomach.

You could also do fruit. Half a banana is a full serving. I know we eat the whole thing but that's 2 servings of fruit. Won't hurt except bananas are constipating. If he'll eat some apple or orange slices or a peach, that would be good along with a granola bar.

I was never a breakfast eater. I didn't get hungry til mid morning so I planned around that. I took a big snack/small meal to eat on break/recess. It helped. It also made me not so hungry at lunch but I had a small meal/snack when I got home from school. Then dinner was around 6pm.