Healthy Breakfast – Kids on Eggs and Sandwich Delights

For some, children and nutrition needs can be addressed by the first meal of the day – breakfast.

According to “Yummy Healthy Tummy: The Secrets of Raising Healthy Kids Every Parent Needs to Know”, this meal is the most important as it decides all your eating patterns for the rest of the day. If you eat less than the necessary nutrients which should be enough to equip you until lunch (or at least until the mid-morning snack), then you would get hungry at an earlier time, putting your system and eating habits out of whack.

For this article, I asked my kids and their friends (mostly the neighbor kids) as to what they really wanted for breakfast. They unanimously said that they are partial to eggs and sandwiches because it’s not messy to eat, easy to prepare and if there’s no more time, they can usually bring it to the school bus so that they could just eat it there.

Letting them browse through my recipe directory, here are their top picks:

Frittatas.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat oven-safe skillet over medium high heat.
3. Fry 1 lb of mild Italian turkey sausage (sold at your local deli), and brown on all sides.
4. Add 2 cups of frozen hash browns, some onions and bell peppers. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes.
5. In a bowl, whisk 6 eggs, ½ cup of milk, ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Pour over hash browns and sausage. Cook until almost set.
6. Sprinkle with 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and transfer to preheated oven. Cook until the cheese has melted.

Bacon Sandwich.

1. Split English muffins in half and toast.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add 2 pieces of bacon. (Beware the oil splatter.) Cook until crisp, turning once. Drain bacon on paper towels.
3. Scramble 2 eggs. (Don’t forget to add some salt and pepper to taste!) Cook eggs in pan until eggs are set. Remove from heat.
4. Put a slice of cheese, a piece of bacon and half of the egg on top of one English muffin half. Cover with the other half of the muffin for a perfect sandwich.

Egg sandwich.

1. Mix 1 tablespoon of cream cheese, 1 teaspoon of mustard, and ½ teaspoon of chopped fresh dill. Spread over toasted bread.
2. On one slice, layer with some sliced hard-boiled egg, a tomato slice, and a dash of salt and pepper. Cover using the other slice of bread. My daughter has a variation of this as she wants to add a slice of cheese and a romaine lettuce leaf to it before eating.
Having a healthy breakfast is no big deal. Allow your child to decide on what to eat (as long as you pre-screened the choices) – this will ensure that she won’t go to class with an empty, growling tummy.
Looking for more tips like these on cooking healthy for kids? Head on over to yummyhealthytummy.com to get more tips and information not only on how you can serve healthy food to your kids, but more importantly, on how you can get your kids to LOVE eating healthy.

Remember, healthy eating is the best weapon we can leave our children with that will help them live longer and healthier lives free from diseases like obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart attacks. Start now while your kids are still young!