Breakfast: our favourite meal of the day

Breakfast: our favourite meal of the day

This article was featured in the One Handed Cooks Magazine Launch Issue. Yep, you can buy it online while stocks last here. For more great recipe ideas pick up the latest mag today in Coles and all good Newsagents. 

Do your children enjoy their breakfast or is it a daily challenge to get them to eat a healthy morning meal to start the day?  Are they happy to eat a bowl of porridge or will they only accept sugary cereals or even refuse altogether?

Eating a nutritious breakfast every day would have to be one of the best food habits your children could have. It’s as simple as that.

Here are 6 good reasons why.

1. After a long goodnight sleep and hours of fasting their little bodies need to be refuelled.
2. A nutritious breakfast provides a significant amount of the day’s vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron, B vitamins, and fibre.
3. Eating breakfast gives their metabolism a daily kick-start helping them to better use the food they eat for energy.
4. Breakfast aids their concentration and helps them focus on playing, learning and remembering.
5. Older children who eat breakfast better every day tend to have better attendance at school, improved concentration and mental performance.
6. Children who eat breakfast are more likely to eat a nutritious diet overall and be more physically active reducing their risk of being overweight and obese.

If you lead by example and eat breakfast daily you are more likely to have a more nutritious diet and make better food choices throughout the day, not only for yourself but also for your children.  And it’s not just eating breakfast that counts, it’s what you eat that is important. Skip the sugary cereals.  The key ingredients to a delicious breakfast low in added sugars and salt include:

• A wholegrain bread, cereal or grain e.g. mulitgrain bread, oats, quinoa.
• A serve of dairy or dairy alternative e.g. milk, yoghurt or cheese.
• Fruit or vegetables e.g. sliced banana, chopped strawberries, grated apple.

Try these tips to encourage breakfast part of your morning ritual:

• We all lead busy lives, but try setting the alarm clock 10 minutes earlier to allow time to prepare a quick breakfast.
• Sit down to eat breakfast together with your children. If they see you eating they may want to do the same.
• Try offering something small, like a tub of yoghurt or some fruit, if breakfast is a rare occasion or your child usually complains they are not hungry.  It may help encourage the habit of eating breakfast regularly.
• If you offer the same breakfast every morning, try something different for a change.

Recipe ideas:

Wholegrain, fibre rich cereals with milk

Homemade bircher style muesli

Wholegrain toast with boiled egg

Mango smoothie (or other fruits)

Toasted pick ‘n’ mix muesli 

Banana toast 

Fresh seasonal fruit and yoghurt

Fruit n yoghurt fondue

Blueberry pancakes

French toast

Homemade baked beans

Ricotta on wholegrain toast topped with banana or berries

Hazelnut and almond baby muesli

Pick n mix savoury pancakes

Classic porridge

Corn fritters with salmon ricotta

Pick n mix quinoa, oat & cacao cereal