Get the kids excited about coming to the breakfast table with these simple, practical tips for stress-free, smooth morning breakfasts!
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“The most important meal of the day.”
It was a marketing phrase that caught on quick in the early 1900’s as the convenience of boxed breakfast cereals was becoming every parent’s dream solution to a busy morning. Dr. Kellogg was a genius to market his cereal this way. A breakfast that didn’t have to be cooked?! Less than a minute from pantry to table?! Brilliant! Our culture quite quickly embraced this idea of breakfast from a box that just needed a splash of milk. And during those early and mid-1900’s where we went from one world war to another, the lure of these cereals also being extremely affordable made way for the bowl of breakfast cereal not just a convenience but a budget staple.
Simple breakfast turned commercial money maker…
Fast forward to the generation that I grew up in. Decades later, as television and media became a prominent part of society, kids that grew up in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s were inundated with commercials boasting of every different kind of cereal you could imagine. Grocery stores converted entire isles to house cereals from every color of the rainbow, and of course, using popular cartoon characters to reel in the youngest of consumers just begging mom to try this box.
A new generation of parents asking hard questions
So many parents today are wondering how to just get back to the basics. They want to return to a way of feeding their kids a little more like how our great-grandparents would have fed their kids, using whole foods. I love that about young parents today. Our society has a lot to say about young people, but if you are a young parent reading this today, hold your head high. I see you. You are asking questions, wondering why your generation is sicker at younger ages than your grandparents. I see you reading, researching, and wondering how to do it better. I see you wanting to get back to the basics and just eat food that doesn’t have mile long ingredient lists. And I think you are cycle breakers!
Whole foods breakfasts are so worth it!
My now household full of teenagers is proof that making real food breakfasts is worth it. It doesn’t matter if you have a toddler or a teen, their brains and bodies need real fuel to function. It matters for their day in and day out play and learning. But also, shifting the focus in our kitchens back to whole foods, the year in and year out health of our kids as they enter into their teenage years and young adult years is dependent on those daily choices.
Smooth morning breakfasts in the real world!
The reality is, we do live in a faster paced society, though. While we can make some conscious efforts to slow lifestyle and schedules down, there is an element of needing to keep this pace in the world we live in today. So how do we get a real food breakfast on the table in this real world we live in? Here are some tips for making the switch from processed breakfasts to real food and still have a smooth morning!
Smooth Morning Breakfasts Tip #1 :: Make a plan as a family (kids included!)
Talk about your “why” on the kids’ level. Tell your little ones about the nutrients needed for their brain to focus at school. Help your teens understand that there are certain nutrients needed for hormones to function correctly so moods and sleep are stable. If you have a football player or a dancer in the house, talk to them about how the right kind of fuel will help him keep up with their rigorous practice routine after a long day of school. And let them know that we can meal plan these breakfasts together. Let them know that you want their input on what kind of breakfasts are working for them, and also what is not.
Smooth Morning Breakfasts Tip #2 :: Utilize a rotation
As a mom of 3 busy older kids, I cannot emphasize this enough. Winging it or trying new things every day is sure to set you up for burn out. Once you figure out a rhythm of what works for your family, your breakfast can be on autopilot! You can still get variety within the same theme by switching seasonal fruit and veggies and flavors within the same theme. For example, “Muffin Monday,” “Oatmeal Surprise Wednesday,” “Frittata Friday,” or “Smoothie Saturday’s.” You are also totally allowed to serve the same thing more than one day of the week! Don’t overthink it, and you can walk confidently into your week with a framework!
Smooth Morning Breakfasts Tip #3 :: Get ahead!
Plan an hour on one day of the week to get your game plan started. Maybe you are making a couple trays of granola so that the kids have a filling, nutrient dense “cereal” for the week. Or make a loaded breakfast casserole on a weekend for breakfast, and slice the leftover squares to use during the school week. Making a big pan of baked oatmeal or batch of breakfast cookies or muffins to go in the freezer could also set you up for easy to grab breakfast options. Another way to approach getting ahead is to use weekend morning breakfast as your batch up time. Instead of making one batch of egg cups, make 2. You don’t even have to use everything you make in that week. Maybe you stash things away in the freezer for weeks where you don’t have time at all to cook.
Smooth Morning Breakfasts Tip #4 :: Don’t change everything overnight
Taking away all their favorites is a sure fire way to get pushback. If they love cereal let’s make granola or oatmeal and make them a part of the flavor choice. Or maybe your kids aren’t breakfast eaters at all! If they gravitate toward savory foods, try breakfast sandwiches or an egg cup. If they like sweeter things, try smoothies and smoothie bowls. Or let them bake some muffins on a weekend just for them! Sometimes getting them to eat it is all a matter of letting them pick the recipe and letting them be the cook!
Smooth Morning Breakfasts Tip #5 :: It’s game day!
So you made a plan and prepped ahead…now how do we have an actual smooth morning?! Pantry storage items like granola and muesli can be pulled off the shelf just like a box of cereal! If you have freezer stash items planned, set them out on the counter overnight to thaw, or in the fridge for 2 days to thaw. I usually take freezer bags out before I go to bed. Then, you can pop the muffins, baked oatmeal, or egg squares, etc onto a sheet pan to warm in the oven. I put them in the oven cold, then pre-heat the oven to 250-350 degrees. By the time it pre-heats the food is warmed through! Make any side items fast and easy like fried eggs and/or sausage, and/or quite fruit like bananas or berries.
Need some healthy and kid approved breakfast ideas?
There are a ton of breakfast ideas right here on the blog! If you prefer to have a hard copy cookbook in your hands, you’re in luck! My third cookbook, Nourished Mornings is shipping this week! You can let the kids put sticky note bookmarks in all the recipes they want to try, and use the cookbook as your meal planning guide!
