During the summer my guys love to sleep in & then start their day with a big breakfast.Now that we are back at school I don’t want them to miss out on the big breakfast that starts their day off right, but we don’t have the kind of time it takes to leisurely make a large 1st meal either.
So to solve this problem I have a few tricks that have made sure my guys get a great healthy hearty start to their day & I don’t have to get up at 5 am to do it.
*Plan ahead!
I make up a menu at the beginning of the week & post it on the fridge so that my family knows what’s available to choose from. I don’t assign a day to each meal-we aren’t that scheduled & the lack of choice never has worked with my boys. But this takes the Uhhh what’s for breakfast today, that usually leads to coffee & a donut.
*Make ahead
Protein is the most important part of a healthy breakfast & often times the most time consuming. So I buy sausage or bacon & cook it all on Monday so it is ready to go for the week. You can also do this with eggs & taters. One of our favs is breakfast burritos, you can make a mess of them & freeze or refrigerate them for later. They are easy & can be grab & go too.
I alos cut fruit ahead of time for wasy grab & go!
*Forzen if from your toater is still homemade!
That’s right! I do frozen waffles or you can make your own on Sunday & save some to freeze and toast later if you prefer. But this is quick, easy & still hot & ready to go with out the mess of waffle or pancake prep to worry about. I also do biscuits this way & my guys eat em up!
*Enjoy
By taking as much work out of breakfast as you can you know have a few minutes to sit with your kids. Often schedules are so crazy this might be the only time you see each other today, so take advantage of it. Feed yourself & sit down to a hot, home cooked meal with your kids! You will be amazed how this helps your day get off on the right foot too.
September 10th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Those are great ideas. I always find it helpful to think ahead to the next meal, pre or par-cook items and assemble all that is needed. It makes the morning so much less frantic.
If you’re trying to get protein into growing kid’s diets, perhaps there are alternatives to bacon and sausage burritos.
One of the easiest ways to start with fruit and plant proteins is with a breakfast smoothie. Kids love a peanut butter and banana smoothie. (Plus, you can put 1/2 an avocado in it without them looking, it makes it very creamy and adds good protein).
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup frozen fruit
1/2 cup fresh fruit
1/2 cup OJ
Put it in a to-go cup for the bus. Much better than bacon.
Chef Todd Mohr
September 11th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
You can make big whole-wheat-and-fruit muffins, too, and freeze them. Microwave each one about 40 secs and they’re great for breakfast.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
What a great BF idea!! I will pass this on to my wife
Thanks for sharing.