For everyone, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For children, it is even more important. Research indicates that children who have breakfast are more likely to excel academically. Having breakfast helps improve focus and memory. Children who have breakfast are less likely to be absent-minded.
Children who eat breakfast also experience enhanced moods. The body needs sufficient calories to burn for energy, and skipping breakfast provides a less optimal start to the day. Consuming breakfast helps children remain alert and boosts their energy levels throughout the day.
However, having just anything for breakfast would not cut it. A healthy breakfast should comprise a healthy balance of favorable nutrients. A good mix of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates makes a healthy meal for kids. Here are 13 healthy breakfast ideas for kids. The meals are simple to prepare and promise to be a yummy delight for your child.
Smoothie
Some children find it challenging to eat in the morning, especially if they have to wake up early for school. Skipping breakfast isn’t an alternative. What is an alternative is a cup of freshly blended fruit juice. If you have a child who doesn’t like to eat much, blending some apple slices, bananas, watermelon, and pineapple to make a fruit smoothie will help.
Fruits are rich in nutrients that help proper body function. A cup of fruit smoothie gives your child a nutritious start to his day.
Oats
Wherever the word healthy is mentioned, oatmeal will make the list. It is rich in fiber and proteins, ensuring that your child is full for a longer period. This meal is fast and easy to prepare. Adding grapes or slicing bananas into it is one way to make it more pleasing to your child’s tastebuds.
Overnight oats are also a tasty option for your kids. It is prepared the same way regular oatmeal is prepared but is left in the fridge overnight. It ends up forming a gooey mass that kids love.
Fruit salad
Being overweight puts an unhealthy stress on your child’s bones and muscles. Having fruit salad for breakfast could help. Fruits give your child a healthy dose of vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants. Fruit salad is helpful for weight management, ensuring your child’s weight is healthy.
Sweet potato
This carbohydrate meal is one of the few that will not make your child too heavy to participate in school activities. It usually has a soft texture when sufficiently boiled. Sweet potato contains vitamin A, which helps to support and improve vision. It also helps maintain the growth of healthy bones. Sweet potato goes well with vegetable soup or fried eggs.
Whole grain cereal
Consumption of whole grains by kids has been associated with better cognitive function. Children who consume more whole grains are more likely to have better mental capability in understanding, reasoning, and problem-solving.
Whole grain cereals like Cheerios contain almost no saturated fat per serving. A quantifiable amount of this cereal is enough to keep your child full until lunch time.
Whole grain pancake
Pancakes usually always fall into every kid’s most loved meal, maybe because of the syrup or the texture of the pancake itself. Whatever the case, the fact remains that it is one of kid’s favourites. However, white flour is not very healthy, especially as a breakfast option for kids.
Using whole grain flour instead ensures you are not substituting nutritious and healthy meals for tasty but unhealthy ones. Instead of using sugar-based syrup which is not a good choice for breakfast, honey is better.
You can vary this meal by making waffles
Boiled plantain
Particularly during school season, children often come down with one sickness or the other. Therefore, their diet must contain meals that can help boost their immunity and help fight off these diseases.
Plantains contain antioxidants, a class of compounds that help reduce the risk of diseases. They also help control fluid circulation and maintain a healthy heart rate. Starting your kid’s day with this kind of meal will help you worry less about your child falling sick.
Fried yam and fish sauce
Fried foods are not always bad for your health. A good diet provides for a healthy amount of fat and oil intake. Yam is a food that doesn’t just counter inflammation; it also boosts brain function and metabolism. Moreover, it contains up to 300% of your body’s daily vitamin A requirement.
Fish like sardines contain omega-3 oils which help the brain, heart, and eye function better. This combination perfectly exemplifies a balanced breakfast, providing a blend of carbs, protein fat, and oil.
Pap and milk
If you’re looking for something light for your child to start the day with, a warm bowl of pap is your best bet.
This gluten-free meal is also safe for children with sensitive stomachs because it does not strain the digestive system. That is, it is easy to digest. If your child is vomiting or is finding it hard to keep food down, this is one of the best options for your child.
Moreover, it has a wide range of nutrient content, from vitamins to minerals to protein and carbohydrates.
Noodles
Dieticians say it is not what you remove from your diet that can make it healthy, but what you add to it. The general conception is that noodles are not healthy foods. This is not totally wrong. But with a few extra garnishing, you could turn it into a nutritious breakfast for your child.
For starters, reducing the amount of seasoning you add can help. Secondly, try garnishing the noodles with vegetables like carrots, sweet corn, red pepper, and spring onions. This increases the meal’s nutritional value to ensure it is healthy enough for your child.
Banana oatmeal pancakes
Food allergies can make variations in your kid’s diet very tasking. For lactose-intolerant children, it is more tasking. Children like this are usually unable to take traditionally made pancakes. Banana oatmeal pancakes are a great alternative in such cases.
This meal is dairy and gluten-free and contains no added sugars or flour. It also serves as a healthy choice to start the day.
Apart from the satisfying feeling of fullness oats give, they are also perfect for children because they aid the digestion of food and prevent constipation. Oatmeal also adds a healthy weight to your child.
Banana, on the other hand, is a natural energy bar. Having a banana for breakfast gives children an energetic boost for the day. It also contains vitamins that aid brain function and eyesight. And like oatmeal, it aids the smooth running of the digestive system.
You can make this meal by blending the oats into powder to serve as the flour, and mixing it with blended banana to make batter.
Toast and baked beans
Most children do not like beans but the truth is, they need it. It contains micronutrients required for healthy growth.
Beans are presently the only plant source for the amino acid lysine. This amino acid is needed for proper body growth and maintenance of healthy cholesterol levels.
Nausea, frequent fatigue, and general weakness are symptoms your child may present with if deficient in lysine.
Baked beans, in particular, have been found to improve gut health in children and are usually tastier than regular beans. Pairing it with toast bread could make it more appealing to your child.
For a healthier choice, wholegrain wheat bread instead of white bread is recommended.
Yogurt
For going-to-school kids, yogurt is a great breakfast choice. It helps them start the day with the right amount of energy and keeps them satisfied throughout the day. Plus, it makes a good choice for that child with a sweet tooth.
Yogurt is a natural probiotic that helps maintain your child’s gut health. A cup of yogurt also gives the body half the daily calcium requirement. It is also a very light meal option.
A fruit-yogurt parfait or wholegrain cereal-yogurt parfait makes a perfect combination. This mix contains proteins, natural sugars, fiber, and healthy fats. This combination includes all the nutrients a child needs to fuel the body and brain throughout the day.
You can also blend it into a smoothie, your choice.
As a bonus, some of the foods to NOT give your kids for breakfast include sugary foods, pastries, soft drinks, and granola bars. Apart from these foods not containing enough nutritional value for a child, they are also very unhealthy choices…even for adults. They increase the chances of obesity and high cholesterol levels in people who consume them.
Sometimes, having a balanced breakfast can keep your child going, even if he has to miss lunch. Introducing children to healthy eating helps them become adults who eat healthy.
