Breakfast on the go
Portable options help ensure kids eat that all-important first meal of the day.
It’s the start of another school year and for some parents, getting the kids out the door on time with their teeth brushed and lunches packed is only one of many schoolrelated headaches.
It also can be a challenge to get your little one or teen to eat some breakfast.
Maybe he or she is feeling rushed. Often your child is just too sleepy to feel all that hungry. If your student is a teenager who’s started to worry about appearances, perhaps she thinks (incorrectly) that she will maintain or lose weight by forgoing that plate of eggs.
For whatever reason, studies show more than 10 percent of schoolchildren regularly skip breakfast. And it gets worse as they grow older; according to the American Dietetic Association, more than two-thirds of teenage girls and half of teenage boys head to class on an empty stomach.
Why is this a concern? Kids who eat breakfast do better in school. Not only do they work faster and do better on math problems, they perform better on vocabulary tests than those who ate only a partial breakfast. They also have better concentration and are more alert.
Your body goes a long time between bedtime and rise time without food, and those who skip breakfast have trouble stabilizing their blood sugar for the day. Not only does missing this most important meal make for cranky children, it also makes them tired and restless.
It’s probably unrealistic to get them to sit down for a full breakfast. But if there’s something sitting on the counter they can grab as they run out the door, you might just win the breakfast battle.
Here, we offer three portable breakfast dishes that also will make a nutritious after-school snack for kids who go from the classroom to the sports field or other activities. An added plus: All are easy enough that little hands can lend a hand in making them — making it more likely they’ll want to eat them.