Breakfast

We know it’s a cliche, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true: breakfast is the most important meal of the day for growing kids. Sadly, though, 30-48% of American children skip breakfast every day. To us this is a crime. Getting your kids to eat that mighty little meal is about the simplest way we know to set them up for better grades, better health, and better energy. Kids who eat a regular breakfast score better on standardized tests, they get sick less frequently and they’re less likely to become obese.

But the quality of that breakfast matters: it needs to be made from real food from plants and animals, not the chemicalized, artificial sugary stuff that still passes for food in this country. Eating “toaster pastries” or some other junky “breakfast” will just start him out on the blood sugar roller coaster where the more sugary stuff he eats, the more he’ll want.

If your child eats and drinks enough sugar, we can pretty much guarantee you he’ll totally refuse that broccoli at dinner. Besides what it does to their waistlines, sugar will change your child’s taste buds ~ it can actually turn them off of vegetables altogether.

But kids do love sweet, especially in the morning, so give them something gently sweet, like fruit. And pair it with some protein or healthy fat to give it staying power and keep them off that blood sugar roller coaster. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be real food that tastes good.

Following are some ideas for delicious, super-quick breakfasts that include some protein, fiber and fat…