Breakfast

[PeacefulChaos]

Ugh. I know I've asked before.

 

But what do your kids eat for breakfast?

 

Requirements:

Not cereal

Can be made by them in the morning

No prep by me

Not oatmeal

 

Sigh. I get so annoyed by this one. :p :lol:

[SparklyUnicorn]

often time eggs

 

That's not no prep though.  It is low prep.  Takes a few minutes. 

 

You could do something like quiche ahead of time.  Doesn't really satisfy the no prep.

 

What about sandwiches?  You could have rolls or bread and whatever can go on a sandwich and they put together their own. 

 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Toast with various toppings

Cheese toast

Bagels with various toppings (rare, but if they're here, they're fair game)

PB&J

Yogurt with granola/fruit

Fried/scrambled eggs (DD10 will make omelets)

Pretty much anything quick they can get their hands on, if they're not in the mood for breakfast food

Muffins or quick bread if I've made them in advance and they just need to be served

Frozen waffles, or a pancake or two reheated in the toaster oven if I've made them in advance

 

Oh, and "chia pods" (I don't know why we call them that, I must have seen it somewhere). That's equal parts "healthy" juice (we use Naked Juice Berry Blast because it's cheap at BJ's) and plain yogurt (oldest DD likes yogurt, so she goes heavier on that), with a tablespoon of chia seeds mixed in. We make it the night before, and by the morning it makes a kind of chia pudding. Both kids like it, even my yogurt hater.

 

Does "no prep by you" mean even that you can't make a lot of something in advance and they heat it up? 

Edited January 24, 2016 by ILiveInFlipFlops

[Guest]

Plain yogurt with berries and honey on top. Yum. I have this often myself.

[Lady Marmalade]

We are really not big breakfast eaters at all in our house.  I have things like cereal on hand, but realistically, DS prefers to eat a couple of graham crackers, and DD prefers one piece of fresh fruit.  Unless the fresh fruit on hand is kiwi, and then she has two.   They get themselves a cup of juice or milk to go with. 

 

If we've had pancakes for lunch or dinner, DD will take one leftover and eat it plain.  

 

No one has an appetite before lunch.

[marbel]

Make hard boiled eggs the night before?

 

Bagel with peanut butter is a favorite with one of my kids.

 

Hummus and pita.

 

Yogurt and fruit (I know, it's been said).

 

I used to eat this weight watchers recipe from years ago:  bread, topped with some cottage cheese, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, toasted till it's a little bit melty. 

 

May sounds weird but I used to eat ham sandwiches on toast. 

 

 

 

[PeacefulChaos]

Unfortunately the kids do have quite an appetite in the morning. I, on the other hand, do not.

 

They can make scrambled eggs - Link is almost 12, so there are things they can do, just nothing too involved (more just for the convenience factor than their capability - no one wants to get up in the morning and work on breakfast for 30 minutes).

 

And yes, no prep by me means exactly that. I've tried things before that require such, and I usually never get it done. I generally forget all about it, and I don't particularly love cooking (read: I hate it :lol: ) so remembering to go into the kitchen to make something just isn't something I do.

On the rare occasions I have remembered, the food itself is disappointing - the kids hate oatmeal anyway, but I tried some refrigerator oatmeal, some make-ahead muffins or breads, etc - and nothing was very good, or it just wasn't a particularly good breakfast.

 

They'd eat cereal all the time if I'd allow it, but there's no way. The 3 of them go through a box in two days, and it's nothing substantial so it just feels like a total waste.

[SparklyUnicorn]

They'd eat cereal all the time if I'd allow it, but there's no way. The 3 of them go through a box in two days, and it's nothing substantial so it just feels like a total waste.

 

So true!

 

Here in the PS they give out free breakfast (and lunch).  They give them these tiny boxes of cereal with skim milk.  They must be starved in 10 minutes after that!  Cereal is not filling.

[Carrie12345]

My younger two lean toward cereal/granola and oatmeal, but they'll also do fruit and toast, hard boiled eggs, leftovers, or sandwiches.  The girls have been making pancakes, eggs, french toast, etc. for years.  My 8yo could, but his sisters tend to kick him out of the kitchen most of the time.

[bettyandbob]

Peanut butter and toast/bagel

Cheese and toast/bagel

Hummus and toast

Yogurt

Eggs

[Prairie~Phlox]

Make a big batch of homemade granola & keep on hand.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Unfortunately the kids do have quite an appetite in the morning. I, on the other hand, do not.

 

They can make scrambled eggs - Link is almost 12, so there are things they can do, just nothing too involved (more just for the convenience factor than their capability - no one wants to get up in the morning and work on breakfast for 30 minutes).

 

And yes, no prep by me means exactly that. I've tried things before that require such, and I usually never get it done. I generally forget all about it, and I don't particularly love cooking (read: I hate it :lol: ) so remembering to go into the kitchen to make something just isn't something I do.

On the rare occasions I have remembered, the food itself is disappointing - the kids hate oatmeal anyway, but I tried some refrigerator oatmeal, some make-ahead muffins or breads, etc - and nothing was very good, or it just wasn't a particularly good breakfast.

 

They'd eat cereal all the time if I'd allow it, but there's no way. The 3 of them go through a box in two days, and it's nothing substantial so it just feels like a total waste.

 

Gotcha. Yeah, in that case, oldest would rely on mostly yogurt in various forms, toasted bread products of some kind, and occasionally eggs. Youngest would rely heavily on eggs and cheese in various forms and toasted bread products. I hope you find something that works!

[HeWillSoar]

My youngest is a big breakfast eater.  He loves a fried or microwaved egg on an english muffin with ham, cheese or bacon.  Whatever we have.  He also likes breakfast burritos so if your kids can make scrambled eggs, then they can make that. 

[solascriptura]

Toast, milk, and a hard boiled egg.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

My youngest is a big breakfast eater.  He loves a fried or microwaved egg on an english muffin with ham, cheese or bacon.  Whatever we have.  He also likes breakfast burritos so if your kids can make scrambled eggs, then they can make that. 

 

Oh, that reminds me! We've been buying Arnold Pocket Thins instead of our regular flat rounds (same amount of carbs/fiber, but more functional), and they're fantastic for sticking eggs in! They sturdy enough enough for even a fried egg with a wet yolk--the yolk breaks inside and makes for a yummy sandwich with less mess than other bread would be. I think they may have more sugar than I like, but since the carb count is the same as our old bread, I don't worry too much. They make egg sammiches SO easy :D

[SKL]

To meet all your requirements and given my kids' abilities, here's a short list:

• Always a yogurt drink and a whole-foods vitamin.
• Cinnamon toast.  Or toast and jelly.  Or toasted raisin bread.  Or just toast.
• Hard-boiled eggs already in the fridge - can be made into a sandwich with toasted or un-toasted bread, with or without cheese.
• Fresh fruit of their choice.
• Yogurt with mixed-in fruit and granola.
• Tentatively - fried egg.  They "can" fry an egg, but they generally don't choose to, and they need supervision still.
• French toast - again, they "can" do this but generally have it made for them.
• Paratha or chapati can be substituted for bread.  They know how to prep these on the stove.

[SKL]

I've also allowed my kids to have leftovers for breakfast if they want.  Or soup.  Whatever floats their boat if there is time for that.

[Sarah CB]

I keep a bag full of frozen berries in the freezer.  Two of my boys love yogurt with berries, one of them adds granola to that as well.  

 

One ds loves "toad in the hole" and that's pretty easy to make.  

 

One ds eats toast with peanut butter and jam along with a kiwi or a banana and a glass of milk just about every day.

 

I cook bacon ahead of time and put it in a container in the fridge.  That way the kids can make BLT's for breakfast.  

 

My favourite breakfast (which I'm not eating right now bc of Whole 30) is cut up fruit (usually 1/2 an apple, 1/2 a banana and some of whatever else we have on hand), plain Greek yogurt, and then I sprinkle that with a mixture of shredded coconut, almond slivers, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and walnut pieces.  It's good and filling.

[redsquirrel]

Egg and veggie sausage sandwiches.  I cook eggs and the veg sausage in the microwave the night before (it takes 5 mins at most) and I leave it in the fridge. Then they toast an english muffin in the morning. While it is toasting they gently warm up the egg and sausage (at least I assume they do, I'm not there) and make a sandwich. 

 

It does require a few mins of me in the evening, but it's hardly difficult. I usually do it while I am making dinner.  It would be possible to do it all at once for the week, but I don't want to take up the space in the fridge. 

 

It's cold here and I like them to have a warm breakfast, but I also don't like having to wake up to cook, so it's worth it to me.

[Baseball mom]

Frozen sausage & biscuits

Hot pockets

Pizza rolls

Hamburgers -- make some at night with supper for easy heat and eat in morning

Pork chop sandwiches -- same as burgers

Pancakes -- made on weekend & just reheated

 

We are not big on breakfast foods.

 

[IfIOnly]

I didn't think my kids liked oatmeal either until I figure out how to make it like the instant oatmeal packets at the store. http://www.momables.com/diy-homemade-instant-oatmeal-packets-recipe/

 

We use nondairy creamer rather than powdered milk  and blend all the oatmeal finer rather than just some.  I buy dried fruit from Trader Joes.  Our favorite combos are apricot cranberry, banana cream (dried banana chip blended until powder), apple and pumpkin spice, cinnamon raisin. I put a half cup of oatmeal plus fruit in snack size Ziploc bags that we reuse. I make about 180 bags at a time. It's nice on oatmeal morning because they just pour hot water from the electric kettle in a bowl, and then they're done, they rinse and put their dish in the dishwasher. So I get a morning off. :) The oatmeal is great to have on hand for snacks and if someone doesn't want dinner (rare, but it happens). My kids do not get tired of this oatmeal!

 

When we could do dairy, eggs, and gluten, I would buy a huge pack or flour tortillas, 5 dozen eggs, a huge jar of salsa, and cheese from Costco. Breakfast burritos are great to have in the freezer and are so economical. Frozen waffles were great too. Waffles won't work without at least one of our 3 allergens though, which is a bummer!

Edited January 24, 2016 by ifIonlyhadabrain

[Alice]

My boys like "McBagels" a lot which is just scrambled eggs and a slice of cheese on a toasted bagel. That really fills them up. They also like eggs inside a tortilla with cheese and salsa. 

 

Others...peanut butter on a bagel or English muffin. Yogurt with fruit and granola. My guys like oatmeal so we do a lot of that but they like to add in a ton of toppings: almonds or nuts, raisins, dried coconut, honey...If they don't like oatmeal you could dry instant grits. They can be good with cheese and ham. 

 

Think outside the breakfast box....sandwiches of any kind, leftovers from the night before. My daughter isn't much of a breakfast eater but I've found she does better with things like leftover chicken soup. One day she ate a big bowl of tzatziki I had made the night before. My husband also likes non-breakfast foods and is as likely to eat a salad or leftover rice and meat as he would anything else. 

[IfIOnly]

My boys like "McBagels" a lot which is just scrambled eggs and a slice of cheese on a toasted bagel. That really fills them up. They also like eggs inside a tortilla with cheese and salsa. 

 

Others...peanut butter on a bagel or English muffin. Yogurt with fruit and granola. My guys like oatmeal so we do a lot of that but they like to add in a ton of toppings: almonds or nuts, raisins, dried coconut, honey...If they don't like oatmeal you could dry instant grits. They can be good with cheese and ham. 

 

Think outside the breakfast box....sandwiches of any kind, leftovers from the night before. My daughter isn't much of a breakfast eater but I've found she does better with things like leftover chicken soup. One day she ate a big bowl of tzatziki I had made the night before. My husband also likes non-breakfast foods and is as likely to eat a salad or leftover rice and meat as he would anything else. 

Yes, how could I forget. Nuts can make oatmeal appetizing too, and def. add fat and some protein. Trader Joe's is where we get our nuts from because they're just so much cheaper there than anywhere else. 

[need2read]

My son will fry a couple of eggs and make a sandwich with them. I've also been keeping frozen waffles in the freezer.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wathe]

Mine will microwave eggs in a glass dish.   Then eat them out of the same dish.  Almost instant, no prep by me.

They also help themselves to bread for toast, and fruit.  Breakfast done!

 

 

 

[Spryte]

Make ahead muffins

 

Dinner leftovers (particularly chili - DS will eat chili for breakfast, lunch and dinner)

 

Toast and sunbutter

[Hoot]

Fruit

 

Toast w/butter, jelly, peanut butter, or cheese

 

Frozen waffles, pancakes, French toast topped w/syrup, jam, peanut butter, nutella, etc.

 

Breakfast burritos

 

Egg McMuffin

 

Bagel w/cream cheese, egg & cheese, nutella, ham & cheese

 

Yogurt w/fruit & granola

 

Smoothie

 

Omlet - put everything in a jar the night before & just pour in the pan in the morning

 

Grits w/butter or cheese

 

Frozen individual biscuits

 

Cinnamon rolls

 

Muffins

 

Cornbread

 

Granola bars - homemade or otherwise

 

Frozen banana covered in yogurt and chopped nuts

 

Steamed veggies (squash, zucchini, green beans or anything left over from dinner) topped with sunny side up eggs

 

Sweet potato topped w/any kind of grains, beans, veggies, cheese etc. Add an egg too, or not.

 

Grilled cheese

 

Rice pudding - leftover rice mixed with kefir, Cinnamon etc.

 

Chia pudding - chia seeds mixed with kefir overnight.

 

Rice cakes or Graham crackers with peanut butter, Sun butter, almond butter, or cookie butter

 

Cottage or ricotta cheese with fruit on top

 

A few weeks ago DH bought breakfast hot pockets (puke). DS liked them, but it's not something I would let him have frequently.

 

I eat refrigerator oatmeal almost every morning. It's a packet of oats mixed with different grains and chia seeds. I add 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup kefir, Cinnamon, and nutmeg. Refrigerate overnight. Microwave 30 seconds in the morning to take the chill off, add 1/2 sliced banana, blueberries, and 1 ounce Save the Forest granola. I've hated oatmeal my entire life but I never get tired of this. It's amazing.

 

 

 

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

Edited January 25, 2016 by Hoot

[QueenCat]

Here's what's available here......... but we do have cereal available (not the non-filling sugary kind). Breakfast is an eat it when you're ready for it meal here.

 

 

Cereal (I buy 1-2 boxes/week of whole grain based cereals)

Oatmeal

Muffins (usually make one of the following each week and then freeze: banana nut, pumpkin, blueberry)

Eggs (make them how you like them)

Cheese (often cooked into the eggs)

Frozen whole grain waffles

Frozen whole grain pancakes

Whole Wheat Bagels

Whole Wheat English Muffins

Almond and peanut butter are available to put on any of the above (well,not the eggs or cereal)

Fresh fruit (varies by season and desire)

Edited January 24, 2016 by QueenCat

[reign]

my kids eat fruit first. Then I make smoothies and two eat Nutella on some kind of bread. Oldest eats a cliff bar.

 

Once in awhile I make pancakes for the two Nutella eaters.

Edited January 24, 2016 by reign

[Ethel Mertz]

(Frozen) waffles (toasted, of course) with PB on them.

 

Eggs and Toast

 

That's all I've got. Must read previous responses.

[QueenCat]

my kids eat fruit first. Then I make smoothies and two eat Nutella on some kind of bread. Oldest eats a cliff bar.

 

Once in awhile I make pancakes for the two Nutella eaters.

 

Fruit........... I forgot to list that........ but there is fruit available. Need to go edit my list.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

What kind of oats do you use for this? Have you ever made it without kefir? I would need to make a non-dairy version, and I'm not sure if it would still be good.

 

I've made it with almond milk, and it was yummy. You can use any liquid, even water. The bonus is that I was comfortable leaving it on the counter overnight, whereas with dairy milk I'd have wanted to put it in the fridge, and I don't have a microwave to warm it up. 

 

I used regular rolled oats (not quick oats) and added a little maple syrup and some pecans the next morning. It was really good.

[Hoot]

What kind of oats do you use for this? Have you ever made it without kefir? I would need to make a non-dairy version, and I'm not sure if it would still be good.

I use Better Oats Raw oatmeal pouches. The one I use most often is called Plain Grain, which has no sweetener. I sometimes also just use regular oats and add flax seeds.

 

I only recently started using kefir. I've always used non- dairy milks in the past - almond, cashew, coconut etc. I find that the kefir does make it a bit creamier, but both ways are delicious. Cashew milk tends to be rich, so it would likely be closest in texture to the kefir. You could also do an almond or coconut creamer instead or even a non- dairy yogurt.

 

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

Edited January 25, 2016 by Hoot

[lllll]

nm

Edited February 2, 2016 by - 8 95

[KungFuPanda]

A few ideas you may find acceptable:

 

Precook a big tray of sausage links, then they can get themselves some sausage (zap it) a cheese stick, and a piece of fruit.

 

Jimmy Dean's breakfast scrambles are easy, filling, make six servings. You just add eggs and it takes 15 minutes. (This is also a great breakfast burrito filling)

 

Yogurt, berries, and granola

 

Cheesy hash town crockpot thing with ham added

 

Frozen breakfast sandwiches

 

Prepackage smoothie ingredients so they just pull a bag from the freezer and just add water. You (they) can assembly line this.

 

Bagels with cheese and meat (ham? Smoked salmon?)

 

Give up on the cereal ban but insist they have fruit and nuts with it? Honestly, $4 for six meals isn't THAT bad.

 

Try again with crockpot steel cut oats but add apples and raisins or bananas and walnuts. Served with a little cream and brown sugar it's hot in the morning, tasty, and way more filling than the Quaker stuff.

 

Buy pastries? If you have a kid who gets wonky without protien, buy cheese Danish or insist they have a spoon of peanut butter or a handful of nuts with it.

 

Leftovers, canned soup, non-breakfast foods, ???

 

 

I get it. I hate breakfast too. I just like to drink my tea then deal with food at lunchtime. At the ages of your kids, I sucked it up and made their breakfast, but I rarely spent more than 10 minutes on the task. Yes, I KNOW how to make a proper scrambled egg, but the kids just didn't care if it was scrambled in the pan and cooked in 5 minutes. Scrambled eggs, toast, and a piece of fruit is a 5 minute commitment if you don't let the Chef Shame get to you.

 

Now that they're older, one makes her own breakfast and the other has joined me on the tea-as-breakfast bandwagon so I'm off the hook. If I want a real breakfast I make it for dinner. Honestly, breakfast can be about surviving until lunch when you are awake enough to care about nutrition. Do you let them have a snack later? Let them have it for breakfast instead. Banana walnut muffins and a glass of milk sound good enough for me before noon.

Edited January 25, 2016 by KungFuPanda

[knoxinsox]

Such good ideas!!  I need to write all these down for future reference.  One I didn't see mentioned is quesadillas.  My 6 year old makes her own.  Super easy with cheese, cheese and ham, Nutella or PB&J.

 I tend to batch cook small pancakes, waffles, muffins, or breakfast cookies for the freezer. Homemade granola bars granola, and Baked Oatmeal are favorites.  Fruit cobblers/crumbles are yummy too. 

[Suzanne in ABQ]

My dd eats a pot pie, or a cheeseburger, or a quesadilla, or a turkey sandwich for breakfast.  She prepares it herself.  

 

She might eat some cereal later in the day, as a snack, but she really doesn't like "breakfast food" very much.

[happypamama]

Other than oatmeal, mine eat eggs. They can cook them, or I do. They like breakfast casseroles too, and those are easily prepped the night before (eggs/meat/veggies, French toast, baked oatmeal). Often we add fruit, toast/bagels/English muffins, and/or yogurt to eggs. They like hot drinks too, like milk with a little stevia and a splash of almond or vanilla extract, and in the summer, smoothies.

[mom2samlibby]

My daughter eats 1/2 a bagel with peanut butter every morning.

If we have bananas, she eats one of those also.

 

[Elfknitter.#]

Does breakfast have to be a breakfast meal? Could it be leftover dinner items or a soup or turkey sandwich, for example?

[Ottakee]

We do a lot of left overs.

 

You mention they like cereal. Our local Walmart carries 10oz bags if malt o meal brand cereals (knock offs of the major types) for $1/bag. That makes it pretty economical. Add in a cheese stick, hard boiled egg, some meat, etc and a piece of fruit and it isn't too bad of a breakfast and super easy.

[catz]

My kids have toast with peanut butter, or bagels with cream cheese and some sort of fruit. My oldest drinks black tea. I will occasionally put together an egg bake or quiche ahead of time.

Edited January 25, 2016 by WoolySocks

[Jacquelyn in NC]

My son is a big breakfast eater, too.  We got him a breakfast sandwich maker for Christmas and he loves it!  And the best part is he can do it by himself - all I have to do is make sure I have the ingredients on hand (english muffins, eggs, cheese, some sort of meat).

 

 

[kewb]

Typical breakfast:

Leftovers

Yogurt and fruit

Quesidilla

Eggs

[Tanaqui]

I try to vary what I serve, but using your requirements:

 

1. Eggs with a side of fruit

 

2. French toast with sausage and a side of fruit

 

3. Yogurt or cottage cheese (with fruit!)

 

4. Eggs scrambled with vegetables, fruit optional

 

5. English muffins or toast with a side of fruit

 

6. Hummus and peppers or carrot sticks (yes, for breakfast)

 

7. Potato hash with peppers and carrots

 

8. Peanut butter jelly sandwiches with fruit and carrot sticks

 

9. Bread with butter and honey and... you guessed it... fruit!

 

I try to have fruit or vegetables at every meal, as you may have guessed :)

[clementine]

If you could prep on Sunday afternoons, you could be hands-off during the week.  

 

Make a couple muffin pans of various muffins - blueberry, bran, oatmeal, etc.   Refrigerate or freeze for later.  

 

Hardboil a dozen eggs - the kids can slice and put on toast, bagel, english muffin.

 

I have an inexpensive smoothie maker & always have bags of frozen fruit in the freezer.  The kids can mix with yogurt, milk, and/or juice.  

 

A bowl of grapefruit, apples, oranges, bananas on the counter - grab & go.  

[Tap]

DD9 is having:

 

Banana bread that I made 2 nights ago

yogurt 

oj

[Guest]

Egg and veggie sausage sandwiches.  I cook eggs and the veg sausage in the microwave the night before (it takes 5 mins at most) and I leave it in the fridge. Then they toast an english muffin in the morning. While it is toasting they gently warm up the egg and sausage (at least I assume they do, I'm not there) and make a sandwich. 

 

It does require a few mins of me in the evening, but it's hardly difficult. I usually do it while I am making dinner.  It would be possible to do it all at once for the week, but I don't want to take up the space in the fridge. 

 

It's cold here and I like them to have a warm breakfast, but I also don't like having to wake up to cook, so it's worth it to me.

 

This. Mine are older now, but we used to make breakfast burritos, egg/cheese biscuits, etc, and freeze them individually. All they had to do was take them out and throw one in the freezer. You can do the same with waffles and pancakes. They were good about helping me prepare them ifI caught them on a day that we weren't busy doing school stuff.

[Ravin]

My kids do usually eat cereal or oatmeal. Other options at our house:

 

Toaster waffles

bagels

store bought pastries/muffins

(we usually have 1 of the 3 above available)

 

Things DD can make without help if she's willing to put in a little effort:

Scrambled eggs

eggs in a nest

pancakes from complete batter mix

[bluemongoose]

I do not make breakfast...that is my workout time!

 

Things my kids fix:

eggs

eggs and sausage on english muffin (takes 15 min tops)

toast with sunbutter/almondbutter & jelly/honey

greek yogurt (more protein)

bagels

 

Things I do prep ahead of time occasionally:

pancakes or waffles for the toaster (add in things like hemp seed and they have more protein)

oatmeal jars: take pint jars, 1/3 cup rolled oats, pinch of salt, pinch or two sugar, nuts/seeds/dried fruit, spice such as cinnamon. Put lid on. I have a shelf in cabinet that is nothing but these oatmeal jars. Takes me 20 min or so once every 2 weeks to prep. Kids dump this in a bowl with 3/4 cups of milk and nuke for a couple of min, stir, let sit a couple min more...yum. (I know you said no oatmeal...this is just a hit here and fills those tummies!)