Feeding Frenzy

By Stan

March 26, 2008 10:37 AM | Link to this

We have no kids at this point. I manage to feed myself a serving of egg beaters about once or twice a week. SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) is on her own for a hot breakfast unless she wants some egg like product as well.

Other wise I count the yogurt and fruit I have around 10 as breakfast.

Stan

By Lisa

March 26, 2008 1:20 PM | Link to this

My kids have always gotten a good breakfast before school. My husband works from home and prepares a full breakfast each day. My oldest (18)just told us the other day that breakfast is his favorite meal of the day, that there is nothing better than to wake up and come down the stairs to the smell of bacon/egss or whatever it may be that day. That comment and appreciation makes it all worth the effort!

By Brian O'Shea

March 26, 2008 1:22 PM | Link to this

Here’s an interesting link to add to the discussion from the AJC’s Health section about the benefits of breakfast.

A snippet from the article:

Researchers have found evidence that Mom was right: Breakfast may really be the most important meal of all. A new study reports that the more often adolescents eat breakfast, the less likely they are to be overweight.

The researchers examined the eating and exercise habits of 1,007 boys and 1,215 girls, with an average age of 15 at the start of the five-year study — a racially and economically diverse sample from public schools in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

By Amy

March 26, 2008 1:47 PM | Link to this

I know that breakfast is important, but we are usually way too rushed to have a hot breakfast. It is usually frozen waffles, poptarts or cereal bars and milk for my 2 elementary aged kids.

By FCM

March 26, 2008 3:53 PM | Link to this

My eldest recently took over this task….I have veto rights…Typically its something from the toaster oven or warmed up in microwave….I cook big breakfasts on Sundays and pack up the ‘extras’ to be used in the aforementioned ways all week.

By Lisa

March 27, 2008 9:51 AM | Link to this

With two parents working full time our mornings are hectic. We manage to have cereal, fruit, yogurt or frozen waffles saving the eggs/bacon/hash browns/pancakes for the weekend. What is most important to us is that we all sit down and eat something and that includes dinner most every night. There is definitely no gourmet cooking going on but it is quality time spent establishing good habits for a lifetime.

By rik

March 27, 2008 12:42 PM | Link to this

I’m in charge of feeding the kids in the morning, since my wife has to be at work at 5 a.m. There’s no way we can get it together to cook breakfast every day, or even most days. I have to get breakfast, such as it is, get ready for work, make nutritious lunches for all of us, get them dressed and drive them to school, and then drive to work. I’m afraid we often resort to cereal and orange juice, and maybe toast with peanut butter. We don’t allow them the REALLY sugary cereals. A few times a year I get them up early and take them to the doughnut shop for a nutrition-free experience.

By Ann

March 27, 2008 12:50 PM | Link to this

I have a toddler who I try to make a solid breakfast for each morning. She eats it while watching Seasame Street as I take a shower and get dressed. It works well. She usually has something hot, but that only really involves micowaving it or putting something in the toaster oven and some fruit. I wouldn’t want to feed her eggs every morning anyway, as they are high in cholesterol.

By Troi

March 27, 2008 1:54 PM | Link to this

Yes, I cook a full breakfast every single morning. I work full time and have 4 children. It’s really not that difficult. Get up an extra 10-15 minutes early in the morning and put something together.

There are a lot of things you can prepare at night alongside dinner and heat up in the morning (my favorite egg/sausage casserole).

• Make a double batch of pancake/waffle batter on the weekend and use it during the week.
• Butter bread at night and keep in the fridge for easy toasting in the morning. Same goes for french toast.
• Cook a double batch of bacon/sausage one morning and reuse it the next by microwaving.

In my opinion, most people don’t cook breakfast because their lives are simply unorganized. You have to make it a part of your routine.

By Lois

March 27, 2008 3:16 PM | Link to this

Hot Oatmeal and toast with juice is an amazing breakfast. It’s quick, easy and very heathtly at any age.

By Darrell

March 27, 2008 4:30 PM | Link to this

My wife and I get up quit early and I will cook an egg sandwich or bagel for us. The kids are alot easier because they would rather have cold cerial. My point is that we work together in the morning to get us all out the door on time but if everyone wanted a hot breakfast it would not be a problem.

By kara

March 27, 2008 5:21 PM | Link to this

My poor third child, age 5, is often sent off to school in her car pool with a little bag of goldfish and raisens for breakfast.

How bad is THAT? But she hates getting up and it doesn’t matter what time I put her to bed. (7:30 p.m.) It’s awful. On a good morning, she gets a bagel AND has time to brush her teeth.

I think I would pay my kids to eat oatmeal in the morning if I thought it would work. They hate it. The older boys have bagels. At least no pop tarts. :)

By fer

March 27, 2008 5:52 PM | Link to this

GOOD breakfast does NOT equal COOKED breakfast. Those of us not in the running for supermom learned that LONG ago. There are so many ways to have a nutritious breakfast without cooking. Plus kids can fix breakfast themselves with a little supervision.

By Angela

March 27, 2008 6:20 PM | Link to this

When my girls were growing up, I would get up every morning, begging them out of bed. While they were waking up I would go get their breakfast ready which would be oatmeal, toast and fruit, cereal or waffles. They would eat while I got ready and then both girls would watch tv until time to go, 7am. Today, both my grandkids live with me and my husband. It is unfortunate that I don’t have the energy as I did 26 yrs ago but I still manage to cook them both a hot breakfast at least 2 or 3 days during the week and always on the weekend. On the other days during the week they usually will eat cereal or fruit. I also work full time and do find it to be difficult at times but I love to make sure that my kids are fed well when starting their day. It make them smile.

By Angela

March 27, 2008 6:22 PM | Link to this

When my girls were growing up, I would get up every morning, begging them out of bed. While they were waking up I would go get their breakfast ready which would be oatmeal, toast and fruit, cereal or waffles. They would eat while I got ready and then both girls would watch tv until time to go, 7am. Today, both my grandkids live with me and my husband. It is unfortunate that I don’t have the energy as I did 26 yrs ago but I still manage to cook them both a hot breakfast at least 2 or 3 days during the week and always on the weekend. On the other days during the week they usually will eat cereal or fruit. I also work full time and do find it to be difficult at times but I love to make sure that my kids are fed well when starting their day. It makes them smile and that makes me happy.

By Erin

March 27, 2008 9:23 PM | Link to this

When I was growing up, my mom always cooked breakfast, which was usually eggs and either bacon or sausage and more often than not, grits. During the weekends, we might also have hashbrowns or do waffles or pancakes.

Now that I’m an adult? Yeah, right. Usually I do eat something not terribly un-healthful … I’ll have cereal and orange juice, a bowl of grits or maybe some instant oatmeal. Sometimes I’ll get whole-wheat bagels and put some type of jam (usually raspberry, my favorite!) on top instead of cream cheese.

I’ve always had to eat something in the mornings … I’m impossibly cranky until lunchtime if I don’t!

By cc

March 28, 2008 5:46 AM | Link to this

Try to combat ADHD symptons with a high protein breakfast. A George Washington University School of Medicine study found that hyperactive children who ate a meal high in protein did equally well, and sometimes better, in school than non-hyperactive kids.

By Mo's Mom

March 28, 2008 6:33 AM | Link to this

My five year old gets a FULL breakfast every morning but it’s mostly for me. If I don’t eat something in the mornings, I’m pretty much done for the rest of the day. Breakfast could be anything from pancakes, grits, or omelets with eggs, bacon, & juice.

Look at the time (6:30 AM)…..time to eat!

By Mo's Mom

March 28, 2008 6:33 AM | Link to this

My five year old gets a FULL breakfast every morning but it’s mostly for me. If I don’t eat something in the mornings, I’m pretty much done for the rest of the day. Breakfast could be anything from pancakes, grits, or omelets with eggs, bacon, & juice.

Look at the time (6:30 AM)…..time to eat!

By ron

March 28, 2008 6:46 AM | Link to this

When the kids were small the breakfasts were legendary.The neighbors came,friends dropped in,family members attended.Crabmeat omelettes,walnut french toast,fried grits and gravy,breakfast pizzas,pancakes with peppers,onioons,bacon,mushrooms,in them.The list goes on and on.There were about 50 different item we would make.Lunch and dinner were mere shadows.

By Matt

March 28, 2008 8:11 AM | Link to this

Ron, Are you serious?

By Louisville Dawg

March 28, 2008 8:26 AM | Link to this

A hot breakfast for our 21-month old means hot oatmeal. We mix it ourselves so we control the sugar while adding in raisins and cinnamon. After he hits age 2, we will add nuts. Two minutes in the microwave gets him a healthier meal than processed food. His old man eats the same thing, and we’ll continue until the child revolts. Weekends often consist of waffles while mommy sleeps in.

By Momoftwo

March 28, 2008 8:46 AM | Link to this

I alternate days when my kids get a hot breakfast. We ALWAYS start off Monday with a hot breakfast and if that means me getting up at 5 to get myself ready, then so be it. I’ll usually do waffles (make the batter night before, just plug in the waffle maker and dump the batter) or pancakes. The thing is being organized. I bought one of those long skillets for camping that can go across two burners and do pancakes AND sausage or something at the same time, it only takes 20 minutes. I make batter the evening before (just add water, folks!). The next day, they get their choice of oatmeal (which my son (10) hates, daughter (8) loves) or cereal. If they get cereal, they also have to have a piece of wheat toast or fresh fruit. I’ve told them since they were little their bodies were like cars… they need FUEL! I’ve told them their bodies are so busy growing at night that when they wake up, they need gas in their tanks. And boy do they grow! My 10 year old son is taller than I am (I’m 5’4”) and he weighs 110. Now when one of them is thinking about skipping breakfast, the other reminds them that by 10:00 they’re going to be tired and sleepy because they didn’t eat. If I’m already dressed, I’ll sit down and discuss the day’s plans, give instructions for afterschool, listen to the wild dreams they had, or turn on the news and explain current events — like the election. (My 10 year old son is for Obama, and my 8 year daughter is for Hillary. Makes for interesting conversation!)

It’s a bonding time folks… enjoy it while you can because once they’re old enough to run out of the house without a goodbye, you’re going to kick yourself.

By LB

March 28, 2008 8:47 AM | Link to this

While the kids were in elementary school I gave them homemade muffins or sweetbreads I made over the weekend, along with fruit and milk. Middle school and cereal (fixed the night before w/o the milk) was the mainstay. High school - fruit bars. At least I thought so until recently I learned my girls are stopping by Waffle House with their friends (and some teachers) in the morning!

By jm

March 28, 2008 11:48 AM | Link to this

I’m a single dad and I get up an hour or so before my kids (12 and 9) I fix their lunch, then a hot breakfast every morning. The part they like best is that it is presented on the plate. Their grandparents say I’m spoiling them. LOL Always expect the best.

By Anne

March 28, 2008 12:00 PM | Link to this

My new favorite breakfast: Low fat vanilla yogurt with fresh berries, granola, and walnuts. Delicious, easy and good for you!

By CD

March 28, 2008 2:07 PM | Link to this

I wake up early each morning to fix my daughter a hot breakfast (pancakes, oatmeal, etc.). It’s something I’ve always done. It’s just apart of the morning routine. I also manage to fix lunch too.

By momof10

March 28, 2008 2:54 PM | Link to this

My oldest 7 kids got hot breakfasts every school morning. While I fixed breakfast they fixed their lunches. It didn’t have to be extravagant, but it was usually something warm and nutritious and different each a.m. Oatmeal, grits, egg sandwich, sausage biscuits, french toast, grilled cheese sandwiches or cheese toast, hot soup, boiled eggs, any hot breads: muffins, bagels, biscuits, loaf. Just one hot item with a fruit or juice and milk. With my pantry all I needed to do was get up 10 minutes ahead of them. That was when we lived in a school district that everyone was out the door and on a bus by 8 a.m. But when we moved to a staggered school system where elementary is on the bus at 7, high school at 7:45 and middle school at 8:45, I wasted so much food trying to feed everyone a hot breakfast, no matter how I did it: make one and warm it up for each set, or make one for each group. Between before school activities and meetings etc. there was no making one and we all sat down to eat unless we were eating at 6 a.m. and no one wanted to be up to eat that early. So this last set of the younger 3 have fixed themselves granola, oatmeal, grits, toaster waffles, hot breads in toaster oven, yogurt. Plus now with me back in school (for my RN), they have to be more self reliant!

I will tell you I have seen a nutritious breakfast make a difference in my kids and in myself——I do much better on tests that I have when I eat my bowl of oatmeal and flax seed and milk than just a bowl of wheat chex!!! It’s not right to expect our bodies or our kids’ bodies to run on no fuel or bad quality fuel from the start of a day. I think a consistently healthy breakfast for everyone would fix a lot of behavior problems both in kids and adults and cure a lot of illness and disease.

By kam

March 29, 2008 12:38 PM | Link to this

Mom of 10 you are on the money! no breakfast in the morning is even worse for an adult. i learned this week that the cortisol that is released at night actually eats our muscles if we don’t replenish the protein immediately in the morning. this is one reason why you loose muscle mass (gaining fat) when you get older and also why our faces start to SAG. you can start with a good protein shake or eggs. too much cholesterol in eggs is a myth. we have cholesterol in our bodies - we have to. eggs are a perfect protein. the problem is not the cholesterol. pharmaceutical companies make money on cholesterol lowering drugs and supposedly cholesterol was never the culprit - it’s the homecysteine level that is actually dangerous. the kids need protein in the morn for growing bodies and good fats like cod liver oil, flax oil - or even from walnuts, for proper brain function. not eating breakfast makes it harder to perform and LOSE or MAINTAIN WEIGHT. we cannot be so concerned with achievement for our kids at the expense of health. if we pay big bucks to maintain a vehicle, why would we not take the time to maintain our bodies and teach our kids, while they are young and teachable how to maintain their health. what good is an A+ if disease could be breeding in their little bodies. what good is a great job if we are making our selves sick in the process and will have to pay the doctor to “manage our diseases” when we could have paid the farmer to MAINTAIN our health.

By love to eat good food

March 29, 2008 12:53 PM | Link to this

eatwild.com breadandmoney.com westonprice.org nutritionexpress.com

these are good sites for info about the misleading health info that masquerades as truth to the benefit of agribusiness and big pharma. yes we need some agribusiness and big pharma, but not to the degree that we have been led to believe.

By kam

March 29, 2008 1:03 PM | Link to this

“Get lean Protein: A must first thing in the morning. It helps to reduce cortisol, which is a stress hormone, which stores fat. A good protein powder is designed to slowly deliver a sustained release of energy to the brain the heart and the muscles. Using it first thing in the morning prevents a blood sugar or glucose spike. This helps prevent insulin from spiking. When your insulin spikes your blood sugar plummets. When this happens you begin an insulin roller coaster with your energy going up and down. You feel terrible most of the day. Plus you store fat like crazy.

Eat six small meals a day. Take your ideal body weight multiply it by 10 and divide it by 6. Example; if you are a women and you want to weigh 120 pounds, 120 x 10 = 1200, divide by 6 = 200 calories per meal. After it has used the calories that it needs the body stores the extra calories as fat. Eating one large meal a day is extremely unhealthy and fattening.

Don’t eat a lot of high glycemic carbohydrates i.e.: bread, rice, pasta, white sugar, potatoes, dried fruit or fruit juices. These types of foods spike your blood sugar, which then spikes your insulin levels. Insulin is a storage hormone. Guess what the extra calories from these high glycemic foods are stored as: FAT!

Don’t eat fat-free meals. Fat helps to keep you full. Because it slows down the digestive process. GOOD fat is necessary to help you burn fat. Plus, the body in many of the metabolic processes uses fat. Take a fat supplement daily (cod liver or flax oil) and get good fats from grass fed dairy, grass fed meats, (not a little grass fed then a lot of grain - mostly grass fed. corn grain makes animals fat and does the same for us when we eat them) and nuts and seeds.”

By michelle

March 29, 2008 6:00 PM | Link to this

my kids don’t do breakfast in the morning but if they do it’s usually something quick such as; cereal and anything that goes in the toaster or microwave. The weekends are a different story, my kids are looking for a hot full breakfast. I usually cook grits, eggs, jimmy dean sausage, and toast.

By momof10

March 30, 2008 6:41 PM | Link to this

Thanks for the reminder Kam. You too know your stuff. Knowing good fats, good proteins and if you can know where/how your food was grown/raised so you know the quality of the nutrients your body is getting is the difference between good health and bad; good performance and bad; good moods and bad; good behavior and bad.

If people really could see inside the body, the difference between one fueled well at the beginning of a day and how it performs throughout and one that isn’t I doubt there would be anyone who would opt to not eat and allow their kids to not eat, nor do I think they would reach for the ready cereals, donuts, poptarts, etc, but rather the higher quality foods.

I would be curious to see what those countries who have higher scoring students than USA’s have for breakfast. I wonder how they start their day? So many say it is the school systems, I wonder if it is not the breakfast?

By JJ

March 31, 2008 7:42 AM | Link to this

I make a ton of pancakes on Sundays, and freeze them in stacks of three. My daughter takes a stack out of the freezer, sticks them in the microwave, syrups them, and off we go. She eats them in the car (like finger food) and throws the foil away when she gets to school.

I’ve never been a breakfast eater, even as a child. I cannot eat first thing in the morning. I start my day off with a huge glass of ice water, and I’m good till lunch.