• Topics: Family Youth and Community Sciences | Breakfast | Clinton, Rebecca A | Shelnutt, Karla P | Raising Healthy Children series

Raising Healthy Children: Begin with Breakfast¹

With all the running around that happens in the morning as you are trying to get yourself and the kids ready for the day and out the door, it can be easy to forget about breakfast. Think about your mornings—does your routine include a healthy breakfast for the whole family? Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, and you should try your best to start your days and your kids' days off right by finding the time to eat this meal.

This publication is a guide to help you choose healthful breakfast foods for your family and to give you tips on how to make breakfast a healthy habit.

The Benefits of Breakfast

Breakfast is important for everyone. When you wake up in the morning, your body has undergone a long fast. Eating breakfast not only provides your body with the energy it needs to start your day, but also contains important vitamins and minerals needed to help with the growth and development of children and adolescents. Kids who eat a healthy breakfast regularly tend to have better concentration and are more prepared to learn.

Eating breakfast more often is associated with a higher quality diet and better food choices, since many breakfast foods are nutrient dense. Choosing healthy breakfast foods can also help to maintain healthy weight and prevent obesity later in life.

Recommended Intake

Breakfast should provide about one-fourth of your daily recommended intake of calories, vitamins, and minerals. For children, this means that about 400–600 calories should be consumed at breakfast.

When feeding your family breakfast, let MyPyramid be your guide. MyPyramid includes five food groups: Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, Milk, and Meats and Beans. Breakfast is a great time to include a variety of healthy options. Aim for eating foods from at least three of the five MyPyramid food groups. This includes providing your child with whole grains, low-fat/fat-free milk products, fruits, vegetables, and lean meats or beans.

Whole Grains

Breakfast is a great way to add whole grains into your diet. At least half of your daily grains should be whole grains. Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel and are important for lowering your risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, as well as helping with weight maintenance. Many breakfast foods contain whole grains, such as cereal, granola, oatmeal, waffles, pancakes, and toast. Not all brands offer whole grains, so read the ingredient list to help you determine which breakfast foods contain whole grains. Foods that are whole grain bear a yellow and black stamp that contains a grain symbol. This stamp lets you know that at least half of the grains in your breakfast item are whole.

Cereals

You may ask, what's so great about cereal? You see ads on TV highlighting different brands of cereals and showing happy faces of children, but are cereals really the healthier options? Actually, when chosen well, they are! Research has shown that eating healthy cereal is associated with higher intakes of fiber and calcium as well as with lower blood cholesterol and lower body mass index (BMI). Although a bowl of cereal is a simple breakfast, it really does have many nutritional benefits. When buying cereals, choose those made from whole grains with little or no added sugar. In general, cereals that contain about 100–200 calories per serving, at least three grams of fiber, and eight or less grams of sugar are good choices. Also, choose cereals that meet 10–25% of your daily needs for vitamins and minerals. The Nutrition Facts label on the cereal box can help guide you in your choices.

Healthy types of cold cereals include:

• toasted oats

• whole grain flakes

• bran flakes

• shredded wheat

Cereal is quick and easy to prepare, which makes it a great option for busy families, and it is something that your child can do on his own. If your work schedule makes it hard for you to be there at breakfast time, you can help your child learn how much cereal to serve himself—have him measure one serving of cereal into a measuring cup and pour it into a bowl so he can see what that amount looks like in a bowl. If your child is old enough to pour his own milk, you can use the same method to show him how much to use for a proper portion.

Cooked cereals are also great choices for children in the morning. There are many types of cooked cereal including oatmeal, cream of wheat, and grits. These cereals can be quick options in the morning, as there are many "instant," microwaveable varieties.

Breakfast at School

School breakfast is a great alternative to serving breakfast at home. Schools provide affordable meals that must provide at least one-fourth of the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for protein, iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C. Children may even be eligible for free or reduced-price breakfasts depending on the family income level. Check with your local school district to find out about your child's eligibility and how to apply.

Barriers to Eating Breakfast

It's important to get your children in the habit of eating breakfast early. The results of national surveys have shown that many children stop eating breakfast as they get older for many reasons. Children and adolescents may not enjoy typical breakfast foods so just skip the meal. Many feel like they don't have the time or they're not hungry first thing in the morning. Another common reason for breakfast skipping is that they would rather get the extra sleep than wake up early. Some teenage girls might skip breakfast because they incorrectly think it will help them lose weight. Regardless of their reasons, breakfast is an important meal that should be eaten by everyone. There are many ways to overcome these barriers, including thinking outside of the box, grab-and-go meals, and choosing wisely.

Thinking Outside the Box...

Maybe your children do not enjoy the typical breakfast foods like ready-to-eat or cooked cereals like oatmeal. That does not need to be a reason to skip breakfast. The idea behind eating breakfast is to get your body ready for a new day. There are many foods that can be eaten for breakfast, whether they are leftovers from the night before or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. What's important is that you provide your children with healthy choices that will give them the fuel and nutrients they need to get their day off to a good start.

Grab-and-Go

Grab-and-go breakfasts are ideal for families who are tight on time in the morning or for children who are not hungry first thing in the morning. Yogurt parfaits, fresh fruit salads, or hard boiled eggs can be prepared the night before, packed, and ready to go in the morning. Other grab-and-go breakfast ideas include a baggie with cereal in it for the car trip to school, or breakfast bars that just need to be tucked in the backpack. Many fresh fruits are also very simple for traveling purposes on days when there is little time to enjoy a sit down meal. Bananas, apples, and grapes are all great examples of fruits that can be transported relatively easily. Drink choices, such as low-fat milk and orange juice can also be transported easily in individual serving sizes. Pair some of these options together so your child can have a well-rounded breakfast even when there is only time to grab...and go!

Choose Wisely

Skipping breakfast is often associated with a desire to control weight. This is not an effective way to control weight as people tend to eat more at other meals and have more snacks throughout the day when they skip breakfast. Breakfast is also an important way to get nutrients as many breakfast foods are very nutrient dense. People who skip breakfast often do not make up the nutrients they lost by not consuming this meal. Therefore, for people who want to control their weight, it is a better idea to choose wisely for breakfast foods than to skip breakfast.

Sticking to MyPyramid is a great way to overcome this barrier. MyPyramid can be a guide to help you choose whole grains, fruits and vegetables, low-fat or fat-free milk, and lean meats. The important part of controlling your weight is looking at what types of foods you are eating. If you are consuming nutrient-dense foods with MyPyramid as your guide, then you are probably consuming healthy choices.

Boost Boring Breakfasts

Breakfast may seem like a boring meal to some people, especially if they eat the same foods day after day. Try these tips to keep breakfast fun for the whole family:

• Switch it up every once in a while and have your child eat breakfast at school.

• Make your own parfaits together the night before. Add your favorite fresh or frozen fruits to low-fat yogurt. Sprinkle with low-fat granola in the morning right before eating.

• Make breakfast smoothies together. Combine orange juice, bananas, pineapple, and strawberries in a blender and blend until smooth. For a little bit of a calcium and protein boost, you can add low-fat milk or milk powder, or fat-free plain or vanilla yogurt to your ingredients.

• By adding variety to cereals with a banana, berries, or raisins to cereals, you'll instantly include a serving of fruit at the meal!

• Top whole-wheat toast and whole-grain pancakes, English muffins, or waffles with a serving of fruit and add 1% milk, skim milk, or orange juice as a healthy beverage.

• Leftovers for breakfast? Last night's rice and black beans plus some scrambled eggs wrapped in a whole-grain tortilla make quick and easy breakfast burritos!

Learn More

For more information about breakfast, or nutrition in general, contact one of the following reliable sources in your county:

• Cooperative Extension Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Educator (look in the blue pages of your telephone book). Florida Extension offices are listed online by UF|IFAS at http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu or http://SolutionsForYourLife.com/map.

• WIC nutritionist at your county Health Department (also in the blue pages of your telephone book).

• For referral to a registered dietitian (RD) in your area, can call the Florida Dietetic Association at (850) 386–8850 or check the yellow pages of your phone book.

Summary

While there are many reasons why people do not consume breakfast in the morning, there are many more reasons why people should consume breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and provides you with essential nutrients and calories to start your day in the right direction. Small steps to a healthier breakfast can help your family in the long-term, whether it is increasing the number of days you eat breakfast a week or adding a more nutritious food choice to your breakfast. The benefits of breakfast will continue throughout life, so help your children start this habit today!

Recommended Reading

Clemson Cooperative Extension (2009). Choosing Breakfast Cereals. Offers tips to choose a healthful breakfast cereal. http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/food/nutrition/food_shop_prep/food_shop/hgic4224.html.

Recommended Websites

Kids a Cookin' – This program developed by Kansas State University focuses on child involvement in the kitchen. Offers meal suggestions and overall tips about eating healthy for all meals including breakfast. http://www.kidsacookin.ksu.edu/

KidsHealth – This Web site developed by Nemours Center for Children's Health Media (part of the nonprofit organization, The Nemours Foundation) provides parents and children with useful information about health, nutrition, and physical activity. http://kidshealth.org/

United States Department of Agriculture – EAT SMART, PLAY HARD.™ – A program launched by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to encourage and teach children, parents, and caregivers to eat healthy and be physically active every day. http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhardhealthylifestyle/

Whole Grains Council –Developed by the Whole Grains Council to provide consumers with information about whole grains. Includes background on whole grains, the importance of whole grains, and resources to help consumers purchase whole-grain products. http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org/

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.

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