The Importance of Breakfast; Why Kids Need A Healthy One Every Day!!

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breakfast on the stove, blueberry oatmeal that a child made by themselves

In this article, you’ll learn about the importance of breakfast for us as moms and for our kids! And, (towards the end), the best way to get our kids eating a healthy, balanced breakfast!

I don’t know about you, but what I eat during the day is more likely than not, dependent on the first few things I put into my body.

The food I eat for breakfast basically sets the tone for the rest of the day; for what I eat and how I feel!

Think back to what you ate this morning; did the food you eat after seem similar to what you ate for breakfast?

How did you feel?

If you ate a healthy breakfast, then you probably ate healthy for most of the rest of the day.

But, having that coffee and donut for breakfast, that probably caused a sugar craving later in the day, possibly a headache, and maybe even fatigue from the caffeine and sugar crash! (I know this all too well.)

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kid making their own breakfast, strawberry, peanut butter, tortilla

Why Breakfast is so Important

It’s said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

And, if you think about it, it makes sense.

It’s the first thing our body is going to consume after fasting while we sleep.

Our body needs nutrients, carbs, protein, and fat, to help replenish itself, get ready and energized for the day.

And, as easy as it would be to simply pour a bowl of cereal with milk on it for our kids in the morning; is that going to keep their energy levels, and mood, up until they eat again?

Or, will they be cranky and asking for more food within an hour?

Even myplate shows that we should all have protein and grains be half of each meal, and fruits and veggies as the other half.

This includes breakfast.

So, make sure you include some type of produce in your childs breakfast, whether it be chopped up strawberries or bananas, or even a smoothie!

My girls and I try to have a large smoothie for breakfast every morning; it’s a great way to start the day with plenty of nutrients.

It may not be the first thing I eat everyday, because I wake up before my kids, but you better bet my blender is being used after they’re awake!

It’s super important that kids get a healthy breakfast, as well. There have even been studies showing that kids who ate breakfast regularly had higher IQ’s and did better academically!

But, if they refuse to eat anything but cereal in the morning, be sure to at least check the nutritional facts: focus on high protein, low sugar, high fiber, and then read the ingredient list!

Also, try to add some fruit on top, on the side, or in a smoothie. Now that you know the importance of breakfast, or at least a slight overview of it’s importance, let’s get to how to help kids make it themselves!

Because, really, depending on their age, they’re probably capable of doing so, and that’ll give us extra time to keep heads on straight in the morning!

Start Your Day with Water

Everyone should start the day off with a cup of water.

It can be infused with fruit, maybe tea, but the body just fasted for however long everyone was sleeping for; it needs to re-hydrate.

And, don’t even think about re-hydrating with coffee! I have done that so many times and regret it every single time! Sometimes we just don’t learn our lessons right away. Just do yourself, your body and your mind, a favor; drink your water first!

Reasons to Drink Water Every Day — Drink Water Every Day

Don’t Make Your Body Do More Work Than it Has to!

By this I mean, don’t start the day with cereal and milk. Or, other processed foods that your body has to figure out what to do with because they aren’t natural foods for humans to eat.

Your body just woke up, try to ease it into the day.

Don’t force food in it that will take more effort to digest. If you absolutely believe that you need it, then try waiting an hour or so after eating your simpler breakfast and water.

Plus, if you’re anything like me, then eating carbs first thing in the morning will awaken your sweet tooth, and it’s not that easy to put it back to sleep! Which is another good reason to not have coffee first!

Your Breakfast Affects What You Eat and How You Feel For the Rest of the DAY!!

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on the way you look at it, what you eat can affect how you feel throughout the day, along with what you crave.

Remember the coffee and donut example from earlier? The sugar crash? Well, it may also cause you to go looking for more caffeine and sugar to replace the food that’s about to make you crash, to prolong the time before the crash.

Ultimately, you will crash and have other side effects from the sugar and caffeine, so try to avoid them if you can, especially in the morning!

And, yes, I know that is much easier said than done, even more so for us moms.

See the Food Mood Connection in Yourself

Not many people realizes the food and mood connection; but it’s so real it’s not even funny. Especially when you’re changing your eating habits!

*Try a little experiment so you can see just how real this theory is.

Start your day out with some water or tea and a piece of fruit.
Do this for a few days to start to get used to it.
Write down how you feel.
If you had not so ideal eating habits before, go back to them for one day.
See how you feel again.

Do you have as much energy?

Are you in a good mood most the day, or bad?

How do your eating habits and food choices for the rest of the day differ from when you started your day with fruit and water?

You can even go a step further if you don’t graze through out the day, like I used to. Add some protein and fats to your breakfast!

Some easy proteins and fats could be;

nuts & seeds (like flax or chia seeds in smoothies)
tofu (such as in tofu scramble)
avocado (on toast or in smoothie)
nut & seed butters (on toast, in smoothies, or just on a spoon!)
non dairy milk
or anything else you can think of!

This is really important if you don’t work from home or home school your kids! You and your kids need to be able to make it through til lunch on the one meal you have before you leave home.

How to Get Your Kids (& You) Eating a Healthy Balanced Breakfast EVERY SINGLE DAY!

First, you have to figure out what everyone already likes to eat for breakfast. If you’re not sure how to do that, read The Easiest Way to Find Out What Food Kids Will Eat!
Plan out your breakfasts for the week, or have the same thing everyday, whichever you prefer.
Stock up.
Get your kids to help!

One of the best things you can do to ensure your kids eat a healthy breakfast every morning is by teaching them how to make it themselves!

If they are old enough to go to school; they are old enough to make their own breakfast! And, not just cereal from a box with some milk, they are capable of so much more than that, you just have to give them a chance!

For example, teach them how to make a little healthy ‘fruity cereal’ with fruits, nuts, and some non-dairy milk; surprisingly, banana, strawberries, kiwi, a couple handful of nuts, and some almond milk go great together.

This is really easy for kids to make.

By the time they are 4 they should be able to cut soft fruits with a butter knife (chop up the strawberries and kiwi ahead of time if you’re nervous). Sprinkling on some nuts is probably something fun they’d love to do. And, if you’re nervous about them pouring too much milk, just pour some in a cup for them to pour into their ‘cereal’.

Unsure how to teach your kids to make their own breakfast? Or, don’t have the time? We’re all super busy, and that’s perfectly fine! Keep reading to find out how to get your kids making breakfast without you teaching them!

Kids Cook Real Food Has a Solution for YOU!

Katie Kimball, mom of four and founder of Kids Cook Real Food, has created a quick 4 lesson course to teach your school aged kids how to make their own breakfast!

In the course she shows your kids how to make their own breakfast and gives them the confidence to do so by letting her kids do the cooking!

It won’t only demonstrate what your kids will need to do, but also explains the importance of eating a healthy breakfast, and will inspire them to start making breakfast themselves.

My 4 and 7 year olds started going through it last week, they have only watched the first 2 lessons, so far; I haven’t made breakfast since they started the course. Not even for myself!

They’re eager to help keep the kitchen clean and get started making breakfast as soon as they wake up.

And, the course is about REAL FOOD, no processed or sugary foods that will leave your kids headed for a sugar crash mid morning.

Honestly, the ONLY downside to this kids online course is that it’s not 100% plant based. So, if you eat a vegan or plant based diet, you’ll need to help your kids adjust the recipes for that.

If you want your kids, and yourself, to eat a healthy breakfast EVERY SINGLE DAY, and never lift a finger in the kitchen, you NEED to go check out this course!