A growing child’s routine is constantly engaged with physical and mental activity at school, playground, and home. This demands a good stock of energy, strength, and metabolism to get on with their everyday activity. And what’s better than kick-starting their day with a perfectly cooked healthy breakfast!
Yes, it has been tried, tested and proven; breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Consuming breakfast refuels the body with essential nutrients and energy, which is vital for the growth and development of toddlers.
After a good night’s sleep, kids need nutritious and healthy breakfast, so they are filled with energy right from the morning throughout the day. Kids, whoskip breakfast, end up starving for longer periods, resulting in tiredness, fatigue, and crankiness.
Therefore, as a parent, you should ensure that your kids do not skip their breakfast every morning. However, kids may be fussy in having breakfast, and you will wonder what to feed your toddler every morning. Well, we have some easy and healthy breakfast recipes for kids, which will make even the picky eaters or grumpiest morning kids love their breakfast every morning.
Banish Breakfast Blues with these Easy and Healthy Breakfast Recipes for Kids
- Porridge or Oats served with milk, fruits, and nuts
- Fruit Pancakes (Bananas, Apples) served with nutritious milk as a drink
- Nut Pancakes (Raisins, Walnuts) served with chocolate syrup, jam or honey
- Chapatti Rolls or Roti Rolls filled with chopped veggies, greens or sprouts with a bowlful of curd
- Stuff parathas (veggies, sprouts, cottage cheese ) with a glassful of milk or fruit juice
- Poha (flattened rice) comprised of potato, oats or greens alongwith yogurt or fruit smoothies
- Upma (sooji, bread, vermicelli, veggies)
- Multigrain sandwiches filled with vegetables, paneer or egg slices and milkshake
- Omelette comprising of onions, mushrooms, capsicum with bread on the side
- Sweet Corn Salad with chopped cottage cheese, tomatoes, and seasoning spices
What all to Include?
As the chef in charge of your kid’s breakfast, you must ensure that you create an ideal balance of the following food groups.
Milk and Dairy Products
These are an essential part of every healthy and balanced breakfast. Dairy products ascertain that your child intakes sufficient calcium to develop a healthier and stronger bone structure. Milk and dairy products are enriched with valuable vitamins like Vitamin B2 and B12 along with proteins.Some children may not like to drink milk unless it is added with flavors. In that case, nutritious milk drinks can be served to the children in their breakfast.
Cereals
Bread, porridges, rice flakes should always bea major part of the breakfast prepared for your kid. Cereals are a good source of carbohydrates; which boost energy levels, performance and concentration. Dry cereals, wholegrain or multigrain sandwiches, pohaare some ideal breakfast for kids.
Fruits and Vegetables
They are considered as a supplement to cereal or the best combination with cereals, fruits and vegetables are a heavy source of important nutrients like minerals, fiber, vitamins, and phytonutrients. Fruit or vegetable juice, salads, and smoothies consisting of fruits and vegetables will fill your child’s breakfast with energy, spunk, and strength.
Poultry and Meat
Eggs and chicken are rich in protein, vitamin B, minerals and fats. If not every day, you can serve omelets, French toast, chicken salad and other mild preparations of poultry and meat as breakfast meals to your kids.
Make Breakfast Lovable for Your Kids
Children often make a fuss about their meals and are reluctant to explore and taste certain foods found in their meals. If the first meal of the day – breakfast is served with those foods, the child will develop strong resistance towards those foods as well as breakfast. As a parent, you must ensure that your child is not reluctant or scared to consume breakfast daily; and instead, follow these simple tips and tricks to ascertain that this highly significant meal becomes their favorite.
Let Kids Get Involved
Apart from cooking, boiling and cutting, let your kid get involved in helping you out while you prepare breakfast for them and the family. Engage them in washing the veggies and fruits, applying butter or jam on bread or prepare toasts for everyone. Thus, the child will willingly eat breakfast, knowing that their involvement made the breakfast tastier and healthier!
Decorate It
Serving breakfast to kids involves creativity as well. You should liven up the breakfast dishes with an attractive arrangement of diced or finger foods. Picky eaters can also be served bread or parathas with funny faces created by sauces, dips or curd.
Name the Dishes
Naming breakfast dishes of kids by relating to their favorite cartoon or superhero characters is also a fun and innovative way to encourage them to eat breakfast daily.
Getting your child to eat the tasty and healthy breakfast prepared by you with utmost love and care will be easier now with these tips and creative ideas.
