Healthy Breakfast Calendar- For Busy Kids

I asked my 11 year old daughter the other morning what she ate for breakfast.  She told me every item she ate without blinking an eye and she acted like it was totally normal and healthy.  I almost fell over and then I thought to myself I need to buy one of those locks or key pads for my pantry so my kids can’t get into the pantry and eat whatever they want.

But then I thought if I don’t teach her what to eat for breakfast when she is young then she will keep those bad habits when I am not around.  So here is what she had for breakfast on that particular morning when I decided to hit snooze on my alarm.

SCARY right????

I told her that those are treats for lunches and I normally only give them one treat per day.  She literally ate 5 days of treats for her breakfast.

She knew that she was in trouble but I didn’t want to yell at her.  So I told her I hoped she didn’t get sick and puke at school.

That day when she came home I printed out some personalized calendars. I got this one off of Microsoft Word on my computer. I made her write down a breakfast menu for the entire month and I am making her stick to it.  Even if I happen to hit the snooze button on my alarm.

Izzy got to help me pick the color and quote for her calendar and it was so easy to make.

“Eat Good Feel Good” is her motto now.

The first thing we talked about is how important breakfast is.  It is the most important meal of the day.  Kids actually need a healthier breakfast than adults.  They are developing brains and growing bodies need refueling often from food.  Studies show that kids who skip breakfast are absent from school more often than kids who eat breakfast on a regular basis.

I then set out all of her favorite foods on the table so she could fill in her Breakfast Calendar all by her self.

Here are some of her favorite breakfast foods.

Bagels and light creme cheese

Boiled eggs

Grapefruit

Wheat toast

Mango or green juice

Lara bars

Greek Yogurt

Fresh fruit

Peppermint or Acai tea

Oatmeal

Cereal

These are all healthy and quick breakfast options.

  I failed to tell you she is also very slow moving in the morning so I like to have the Mango or green juice  so she can drink them in the car.  The Lara bars are also nice to have for kids who are super busy with activities and homework.

I am lucky because my girls will actually eat anything I make so I try to always keep grapefruit sliced in the fridge so all they have to do is put it on the plate in the morning and eat it with a slice of toast.

We have been using the calendar for a couple of weeks now and it is really helping.  She has a good routine now and she is staying out of the pantry and I didn’t have to buy a lock.

Here are 3 reasons your children need to eat breakfast in the morning.

1. Memory

If children don’t get breakfast it is harder for them to take a tests.  My mom always made me eat oatmeal before a test because she told me it was brain food.  I still eat a lot of oatmeal.

2. Concentration

If your children are having hunger pains and getting headaches before lunch it is probably because they didn’t eat breakfast.  This is a problem because they will also start to lose their concentration during class and think about food when they should be learning math.

3. Energy

If you don’t eat breakfast you will slowly lose energy throughout the day.  So it would be harder to take a test or write an essay at the end of the day if you skip meals.  You also need to have a healthy breakfast to have good energy through out the day.

What is your child’s favorite food to eat for breakfast?

What do you do to keep your kids moving in the morning?

 For more healthy breakfast options to add to your breakfast calendar, try some of these great ideas:

How to Make Twice Baked Potatoes with Egg on Top

Perfectly Pumpkin Protein Shake

21 Make Ahead Breakfast Recipes