School started for us this week so it’s time to say goodbye to our leisurely summer breakfasts or even eating breakfast together at all…at least in my family. There is no way I could stomach food at 6 A.M. in order to eat with my daughter, but if she’s going to have a good day at school she has no choice. According to Parade Magazine, “Children who eat breakfast perform at nearly a grade level higher than those who do not.” So don’t even consider allowing your kids (or yourself!) to skip and instead implement some of these non-processed “on-the-go” breakfast ideas, which have been broken down into three categories:
Make, Freeze, Reheat…
There are quite a lot of breakfast foods you can make in advance, store in the freezer between sheets of wax paper, and then quickly reheat on a busy weekday morning. Just be sure to supplement these homemade breakfast ideas with some fresh fruit!
- Whole-grain banana pancakes
Whole-Wheat Banana Bread…Yum - Whole-grain waffles (make it into a waffle sandwich with cream cheese, raisins, & cinnamon in the middle!)
- Whole-grain biscuits with pieces of cooked bacon & cheddar added to batter
- Homemade breakfast burritos (with scrambled eggs and cheese on whole-wheat or corn tortillas) frozen in individual bags or containers
- Whole-grain breakfast cookies made with pecans (or pumpkin seeds as a nut substitution)
- Whole-grain fruit muffins or zucchini muffins
- Whole-grain banana bread (pictured)
- Smoothies frozen in reusable freezie pop holders (these are an exception in this list because they don’t have to be heated up!)
Prepare Night Before…
With a little preparation the night before these breakfast ideas could come together fairly quickly before running out the door.
- Hard boiled eggs
- Little baggies of fresh berries, sliced apples or other fresh fruit
- Homemade granola bars
- Fruit smoothies (with or without peanut butter) that you can store in an insulated Thermos cup in fridge
- Oatmeal that you reheat in morning
- Cereal with milk if you set out all the supplies at night including bowl, spoon, napkin, cup and a whole-grain cereal like homemade granola
- Individual portions of homemade trail mix (nuts, seeds, raisins, dried apple rings, and dried apricots)
- Little baggies of whole-grain cereal like store-bought corn puffs or shredded wheat
Grab and Go Morning of…
These are some great pre-packaged “real food” items to have on hand for those mornings where there is literally not a second to spare. Hopefully these ideas will convince you to leave those highly processed “milk and cereal bars” at the store!
Lara Bars (pictured – these bars have no added sweeteners and the “cashew cookie” variety only has two ingredients!)- Bananas or apples (with or without those store-bought individual packets of peanut butter)
- Little boxes of raisins
- Individual pre-packaged bags of freeze dried fruit (like Funky Monkey brand from Target or Crispy Green from Earth Fare)
- Small prepackaged bags of nuts found in baking aisle
- Applesauce squeeze packets
Lara Bars (pictured – these bars have no added sweeteners and the “cashew cookie” variety only has two ingredients!)For some “real food” school lunch ideas check out this link: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/category/children-adapting/school-lunches/
I can’t have the kids do anything peanut or tree nut related due to both being banned at their school. I do love some of these for giving them to eat in the car on the way to school though.
I know this is a really late comment, but with a little one that has severe nut/peanut and egg allergies, the granola and some whole wheat items are out due to cross contamination! She loves her pancakes in the mornings, so I am pretty sure that I can wing that one.
Thanks for the suggestions!
I woukd be mindful about oromoting lara bars. I believe they are owned by kelloggs or general mills- big companies pro gmo
General Mills purchased them in 2008
I saw this recipe on the Kitchen Aid site, too, that fits in the real food lifestyle. It looks delicious. Pancake Muffins!
http://blog.kitchenaid.com/grab-and-go-pancake-muffins-back-to-school-recipe/
These all look delicious but I choose to eat low-carb, and one of those muffins would be my entire days worth of carbs. Any low-carb ideas?
I’m on low carb also. How can bread and tortillas be real food?
Hard boiled eggs or mini quiches baked in muffin tins would be a good low-carb option. If your diet allows sweet potatoes, a pre-baked sweet potato could be heated up quickly in the morning.
Where do you recommend grocery shopping? I live Southeast of Charlotte, NC in Union county and am looking for the best places to get fresh meat and produce.
Hi Maria. The Matthews Farmer’s Market is a great resource. Stores that we frequent the most are probably Earth Fare, Whole Foods, and Trader Joes. I am also a fan of the new Matthews Publix. They have a good amount of organic produce and will replace anything that isn’t good. ~Amy
We just made our first real food meal plan. My fiancé is a truck driver and often eats two meals a day on the road. These are perfect considering he is often tempted with easy to hold gas station junk food. Why just yesterday I though to myself how I wish you had a post like this for breakfast! Meal planning just became so much easier!
Best pancakes
2 eggs
1 banana
2 tbsp – real peanut/almond butter – real means not kid but only ground peanuts or almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
Great with blueberries
Makes enough for about 2 people.
Multiply
Pancakes , without any flour?
I wanted to be sure before I tried.
Deepa
Hi! I am wondering if it was your website/blog where I saw a recipe for your own version of pop tarts. I’m hoping it was you because I can’t remember who else it would be. If it was you, could you post the link to the recipe? Thanks :)
Michelle
Hi Michelle. Here ya go: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/05/30/recipe-whole-wheat-toaster-pastries-a-k-a-pop-tarts/. :)
Hello Christine. You can find one ingredient whole grain cereals such as puffed rice or wheat as well as shredded wheat. Lisa finds organic versions at Earth Fare. ~Amy
Do you recommend any cereals for my young children? They’ve only been exposed to Cheerios, but I just read that Cheerios used to have GMOs.
I need something quick and easy for my 3 young children that I don’t have to cook.
http://www.vitacost.com/natures-path-envirokidz-organic-panda-puffs-cereal?csrc=GPF-PA-Foods%20%26%20Beverages-058449860044&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=058449860044&gclid=CjwKEAjw9qafBRCRiYrL4-fpuFkSJACvocQ1DSUPmlj9tcGmGt9m_JwysAM8yi_e_y6vl6NTAQ5mURoCq_nw_wcB
My kids LOVE these. We pick them up at our local whole food market.
I love this hearty gluten free breakfast bread-
sift together
1 cup gram flour, 1/2 cup ground almonds, 1/4 cup ground flax, 1/4 coconut flour, 1 tsp sat, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Add
4 eggs, 1/4 cup coconut oil, 2 tbsp honey, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Bake in a 9″ bread pan for 30 – 40minutes at 350.
Its rich and nourishing but wont give you a sugar hangover.
Graham flour contains gluten.
I used to make peanut butter cookies that were just whole wheat flour, p.b., butter and honey. Must have been an egg or a few other little things. Super easy. ..Think the recipe was in an old family circle mag…might be able to find it online.
Trader joes has little prepackaged bags of almonds, cashews, and a trail mix I think. Called “just a handful”. They are not the most Eco friendly choice, but they can’t be beat convenience wise. I also find they stay fresh a lot longer in my purse/backpack as an emergency backup snack than ones you package yourself.
Thanks for putting this together! Mornings are definitely challenging in our family!
One thing that we find works well for our no-time-gotta-dash mornings is frozen French toast:
Whenever I make a batch of FT I purposely make lots extra and freeze the extra slices in gallon freezer bags with wax paper separating the slices to prevent them sticking together. Pop the frozen slices in the toaster on the ‘defrost’ setting and then spread with all-fruit jam. I make it into little sandwiches and my kids eat it on the way to the bus or in the car on the way to school. Because I’m making the FT rather than using store-bought it’s totally customizable to our family’s needs. Just choose your favorite loaf of homemade or store-bought bread and dunk each slice in a mixture of beaten eggs and cinnamon. Cook in a lightly greased frying pan until each side is lightly browned and done! You can swap in gluten free bread and play with the egg mixture until it suits your taste buds.
I do this too and it works great! Our toaster doesn’t have a defrost setting but they warm up just fine in the microwave. One thing I do is keep an eye on the reduced price bread shelf- when they have a loaf there with good ingredients I buy it and make the whole loaf into french toast- stale actually is better for FT, and I feel like I’m helping reduce waste and save money :)
I love Lara Bars – especially for traveling. It’s great to have a packaged snack with ingredients I recognize. The pecan pie flavor is my favorite.
Hi there, Karan! First of all give yourself a break. A newborn requires pretty much everything we have to give and then 2 other little ones on top of that pretty much guarantees exhaustion! Here is a list of healthy snacks which can go a long way to fuel you and your family when full-on meals becomes a challenge: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/07/31/85-snacks-for-kids-and-adults/. And here are some very simple go-to meals that you can throw together pretty quickly: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/08/28/recipe-easy-jambalaya/, https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/03/28/fried-rice-recipe-quick-and-easy/, and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/04/10/real-food-tips-4-super-quick-wholesome-dinners/. Also, and this is coming from a mom that had some serious baby blues, a quick brisk 10-minute walk can completely energize your day…even, and perhaps especially, on days that you can barely muster the energy to breathe. Be kind to yourself. :) ~Amy