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 A
popular TV commercial for an office supply store depicts a dad
gleefully dancing through the aisles, filling his cart with back-to-school
bargains while a singer croons “It’s the most wonderful
time of the year” in the background. But when it comes to
back-to-school grocery shopping – and especially breakfast
shopping – you may find yourself feeling less than wonderful.
For many parents, getting the
kids up and out the door with a good breakfast under their belts
is a stressful part of the back-to-school routine. Leisurely
summer schedules, with plenty of time for breakfast prep, are
gone, replaced by the hectic pace of school days – and an
even more compelling need to fuel children’s mornings with
a fast, nutritious breakfast.
“Ample research has shown
that kids who start the day with a good breakfast perform better
in school,” says Marcia Greenblum, M.S., R.D., director
of educational outreach for the Egg Nutrition Center. “And
several recent studies have even found a link between skipping
breakfast and overweight or obesity in adolescents. So the importance
of a good breakfast can’t be overstated.”
Here are four
ideas for minimizing the stress of back-to-school breakfast-time,
while ensuring kids get a healthful start to the day:
1. Prepare the night before.
Encourage kids to pack their book bags and select the next day’s
wardrobe. Parents can pre-pack lunches to save time in the morning.
Fill your vehicle’s gas tank in the evening, and if mornings
are really crazy in your household you can shower the night before
so there’s one less person in the bathroom during peak traffic
time.
2. Take five minutes online in
the morning to check the weather and traffic in your area. That
way you’ll be able to adjust attire and travel routes according
to current conditions, rather than have to run back into the
house for an umbrella or sit in traffic at a road construction
site.
3. Turn off the TV. In many American
households, the television goes on as soon as the family is up.
But the morning news can actually distract parents from the morning
schedule, and kids who get wrapped up in a cartoon or video will
be reluctant to leave the house. Plus, during breakfast is a
great time to talk about the coming day with your kids and the
TV will be an unwelcome intruder on that quality time.
4. Choose breakfast foods like
eggs, yogurt or peanut butter that pack the most fuel-efficient
nutrients, like protein, in easy-to-prepare, easy-to-transport
form. “The high-quality protein found in eggs helps kids
feel full longer and stay energized, which is what on-the-go
youngsters need,” Greenblum says. “Eggs are all-natural,
and they provide the highest quality protein found in any food
because they contain all the essential amino acids our bodies
need in a near-perfect pattern.”
 Since you won’t always be able to
keep on schedule and have a sit-down-breakfast, have a few easy-to-carry
handheld options in your breakfast repertoire. Scrambled eggs
are a great option for a quick-to-fix, on-the-go breakfast. With
scrambled eggs, you can serve one dish, half a dozen ways as
scrambled eggs can be wrapped in whole wheat tortillas, stuffed
into a pita pocket or sandwiched between two waffles. Your family
may come up with their own scrambled egg favorite! Be sure to
include some fruit and a drink and you have a complete breakfast-on-the-go.
View the recipe: Scrambled
Eggs
For more recipes or breakfast
information visit www.incredibleegg.org.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
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