6 Simple Healthy Breakfasts For Kids
Disclaimer: I am not a professional, just a mom sharing her experiences. Please do your own research and talk to a professional to figure out what is best for you. To see my full disclaimer go to my Disclaimer & Disclosure Page.
My kids are super picky. Especially my 6 and 3 year olds. This has made moving to more plant-based meals very difficult. Having 5 kids, I also don’t really get up early enough to actually cook them breakfast every single day. I have found a few breakfasts that are super easy and my oldest ones can make most of them themselves AND more importantly ALL my kids will eat them. The great thing is that all of these are super easy to change up flavors so they won’t get bored eating the same thing each morning.
1. Smoothies
Smoothies have sooooo many different combinations and they are super easy to hide veggies in. The only downside is that you might have to convince some kids if the smoothie turns green. While I keep fresh fruit in the house for the kids to snack on, currently we use frozen fruit for smoothies. What’s even more great is if you are trying to be plant-based, just don’t use milk or yogurt for the creamy texture. I use a bag of mixed frozen fruit and orange juice instead of milk for our smoothies. You could also use plant-based milk or yogurt, or other types of juices. Fruit does have more sugar in it. So if you are worried about your kids having balanced nutrition, just make sure you do your research and have a good mix of fruits and vegetables.
2. Oatmeal
Not only are there several ways to flavour oatmeal, there are also different ways to make it. It can be made in the microwave, stove, instant pot, slow cooker, and fridge. The slow cooker and fridge are usually done overnight. Besides adding different fruits like apples and strawberries to change up the flavor of your oatmeal, you can also experiment with different spices. My kids LOVE cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. Toast
While I don’t really use this one much with my kids because we go through enough bread with sandwiches for lunch, This can be fun every now and then. I grew up with butter on toast. As I was looking up healthy breakfast alternatives for my kids I came across some posts showing different ways to do toast. You can put peanut butter and banana slices on it, avocado and raisins, hummus and strawberries and many more. If you’re looking to eat healthier, it is worth noting that you’ll want to look at the type of bread you are getting. Yes, healthier bread is more expensive. So you probably don’t want to make toast for your kids breakfast everyday. UPDATE: I have been eating avocado toast most mornings with my youngest. After about a month the rest of my kids started eating avocado toast as well, at least some mornings.
4. Bulgur
This is a new one for us. I had originally bought a bag of bulgur to use in a recipe and never ended up making it. So I finally looked up how to make it and found it was very similar to oatmeal. I was primarily making overnight bulgur because the first time I made it on the stove it became glued to the sides of the pot and was a pain to clean. Then I read somewhere that if you spray the inside of your pot with a non-stick spray it wont stick. I tried this and in fact it did not stick! I’m sure if you don’t want to use the spray version you could just wipe a very thin layer of olive oil or coconut oil on the inside of the pot instead.
5. Chia Pudding
I think every chia pudding recipe I’ve found is overnight because the chia seeds have to soak up the liquid. I have just recently tried this with my kids, and they LOVE it! There are loads of recipes out there for any kind of flavor mixture you’re looking for. Personally, I’m still getting used to the texture. It really does taste like pudding though. I made our chia pudding in a large mason jar and it made enough for all 4 of my oldest kids. I haven’t given this to my 1 year old yet. I’m more concerned about the mess than her not eating it.
6. Fruit Bowl
My kids ALWAYS forget about this option. I usually always have fruit in the house for them to snack on during the day anyway, so it’s not like it’d take much for them to just grab a few different kinds and put them in a bowl. Yet, they still forget. Don’t forget that if there’s any raw veggies your kids like, those can be added in as well. Again, super simple, quick breakfast. I will add that this may not fill them up quite like the others will, but still nutritious.
So there you have it! 6 very simple healthier breakfast options that kids will enjoy. There are some awesome charts and recipe combinations that I’ve found on pinterest that can help put some of these breakfasts together. If you have any other suggestions, I’d love to hear them!
Here are some recipes to start you off. Some are Pinterest links to create your own type posters. I haven’t tried all of these and some I altered slightly depending on taste/what we had on hand, but I have them saved to try new flavors as we go:
Smoothie
Foolproof Green Smoothie
Add Protein to Smoothies
6 Steps to Spectacular Smoothies
The Perfect Green Smoothie Formula
Oatmeal
Apple Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal
Oatmeal Toppings
Overnight Oats 8 Ways
Toast
Bulgur
How to cook Bulgur
Cinnamon Banana Bulgur
Overnight Bulgur
Chia Pudding
How to Make Chia Pudding 6 Delicious Ways
32 Chia Pudding Recipes
