Not sure how the children in your life are, but mine wake up like hibernating bears that have not ate in months. My youngest especially is predictably irrational until we get food in him. *insert eye roll*
Many adults can wake up with a similar disposition, but it is usually more to do with their coffee than their food needs…. Or maybe it’s the food but we think it’s the coffee??
A typical breakfast in our home for the kids is a big bowl of oatmeal dressed to the nines. This is 90% of their mornings, when I do a shake or juice they usually end up having a bit of that too, but it is a stark contrast to what I eat every morning.
But give kids straight up carbs (especially if those carbs are from sugars) and boom crash, they bottom out within an hour. High performing digestive systems need to have their carbs AND their proteins together. In another post I can get into the nerdy details of it all, but here’s the short version: eating carbs and proteins together for high metabolisms will slow the digestion down just enough that their bodies can absorb the nutrients in the food, and last a bit longer (this has to do with the types of digestive juices needed to breakdown carbs vs proteins. I know – I know. I warned you it might get a little nerdy here). If you are a high metabolism person that can’t seem to keep weight on…. this could be a piece to the puzzle, make sure you’re eating your carbs and proteins together.
For myself on the AIP diet (auto-immune paleo) and currently breastfeeding, I make sure that I have a starchy vegetable at every meal, otherwise I’m hungry 30min after eating and I lose weight too quickly. This applies to every meal of the day, but especially for those little ones first thing in the morning.
My husband is the morning parent with our boys and will get their breakfast prepared, this is the deal we have going while I am still getting up in the night with our 9 month old baby girl. I’d say it’s fair. Most times. Except when she’s up 4x. Then nothing is fair. Ha. I kid.
This is generally the Children’s Breakfast Routine that we follow:
(Every day? ha. no. we are human).
- FRUIT: Serve fruit of some kind, helps take the edge off (and it can be an EDGE some mornings), this also provides a cleansing affect for their little bodies as well.
- MAIN DISH: BIG bowl of oatmeal, they easily eat twice what I could when I used to eat oatmeal
- DRINKS: Glass of juice with barley greens and beet powder, whatever I’ve juiced OR a bit of smoothie if that’s what I’m having
- SUPPLEMENTS: Vitamins, ‘vitamin juice’, and probiotics, I’ll do a separate post on supplements for children…like where to start cause there are SO many.
Why certain ingredients?
- Fresh ground flax: For fiber and loads of healthy omega 3’s for their busy, developing brains
- Dash of milk: Adds protein and if fortified, extra nutrients. And really, what’s oatmeal without milk? We usually prefer almond.
- Drizzle of maple syrup or honey: Cause yummy and honey is especially good for its antimicrobial agents
- Fruit: Raisins, berries, bananas or any fruits your kids like, good for boosting fiber, vitamins and antioxidants (especially when you go with berries)
- Scoop of nut butter: This is where you can get your protein in
A full recipe is outlined below if you’d like specifics, but really anything goes. Comment your go-to-oatmeal combo in the notes below!
Hearty Classic Oatmeal
A simple favorite with a few key ingredients to boost the nutrition value of this classic breakfast.
Gluten free, Dairy free optional
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups GF rolled oats
- 2.5 cups water
- pinch of salt TOPPINGS
- almond milk
- berries (frozen helps to cool down the oatmeal for kids)
- 2 tsp of fresh ground flax for each bowl
- Maple syrup or honey to taste
- 2tbsp of your favorite nut butter for each bowl
Directions
- Add oatmeal, water and salt to pot
- Bring to boil and turn down to simmer for 10 min.
- Dish into bowls, add toppings and enjoy!
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