Breakfast Suggestions?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
Breakfast Suggestions?
17
Thu, 08-24-2006 - 11:56pm

It's hard to believe that school will be starting on Monday, but believe it I must. It's gonna happen.

I need help with DD and her breakfast on school days. She has quite a long commute to school and typically eats in the car en route. This is also when she puts on makeup, finishes homework, goes back to sleep, etc. Needless to say, she is not the most organized person in the mornings. I'd really like her to eat more healthily, but need suggestions for a quick, eat-in-the car, breakfast.

She has far too many carbohydrates in her diet and not nearly enough fiber. It is a sad fact that at nearly 15, her eating habits still resemble those of a toddler, and I am running out of ideas and ways to change that. I have come to the conclusion that her issue is with textures, not so much flavors -- the fruit in yogurts is too 'slimy and gross', peanut butter on a bagel sticks to her teeth ... stuff like that.

Last year, we did bagels, toaster waffles, cereal in a tupperware-type container and waaayyy too many Pop-Tarts.

I insist on a daily vitamin and am wondering if I should add a fiber supplement of some sort too. Anybody have any experience with these?

Any other ideas? Thoughts? I know she should be taking care of these things by now, but well ... you know how it is!

TIA,
Julie

 

 

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-18-2005
Fri, 08-25-2006 - 7:33am

What about breakfast bars or meal replacement bars? In 7th and part of 8th grade I couldn't get DD to eat breakfast at home, but she'd take a Luna bar or a CLIF bar or a WW or Slimfast meal bar. They're not really as good as a meal, but they are balanced nutritionally, and have fiber in them. Sometimes I could get DD to do that AND an apple. Also, some of the SlimFast milkshakes are pretty good - and she could drink it in the car.

If you have time to cook, I suggest a egg and cheese wrap. I scramble one egg, then put in a wrap with one slice of cheese (the cheese will melt). I roll it up and then wrap in foil - it's easy to transport and will stay warm for a while.

Sue

Avatar for suzyk2118
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-30-1997
Fri, 08-25-2006 - 8:55am

Worst case I'd go with Instant Breakfast and a piece of fruit (apple, grapes, peaches, orange, banana, etc.). My ds likes those mini muffins too - maybe those and fruit and milk. I know there are all kinds of microwaveable things - maybe one of those every once in a while? If you're doing waffles or cereal, maybe even the microwaveable pancakes in a bowl with syrup, if you don't do too many bumps! Dry granola is good, if you have milk to wash it down. Good luck!

Sue

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-14-2000
Fri, 08-25-2006 - 9:31am
You got some good ideas here and I also wanted to mention that you can get yogurt without the fruit chunks in it.
Pam
Avatar for heartsandroses2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 08-25-2006 - 10:21am

Hit your local health food market. They have great breakfast foods that are different, like whole grain honey breads for toast w/jams or a light skim of peanut butter so it's not so sticky or even almond or apple butters - very yummy. They also have whole grain frozen waffles and toaster cakes in different flavors.

Another thing you could do is make a quiche on Sunday and pre-slice it so in the AM all you have to do it pop it into the micro to heat up. My dd's will only eat quich if it's ham and cheese, so I make those and they sometimes eat those real quick in the AM's. Or, you could premake an egg burrito and just heat it in the micro in the AM and dd can eat it in the car on the way. PB&J sandwiches are my older dd's favorite - yes, for breakfast she will have a 1/2 sandwich with milk. How about a yogurt parfait like the ones they make at McD's? buy some plain sweetened yogurt, mix in some fresh fruit and sprinkle with granola - yum.

We've also done the French Toast Stix - they are easy and yummy. We tried the cinnamon ones and they were waaaaay too sweet, so we stick with the regular kind. I buy them at BJ's, a discount warehouse place like Costco, and they are affordable.

I like the idea of the cereal bars but they are too sweetened and make my teeth hurt. But Quaker Oats has those breakfast cookies and they are pretty good - not too sweet. Oh! We've made oatmeal ahead of time and in the morning divvied it up and heated it in the micro - that's easy, nutritious and yummy.

And now that apple season is just about here, we go and do a HUGE apple picking and I make lots of breads and cakes using ground flax in place of vegetable oils and I use whole grain flours. The apples add such moistness and sweetness, so the cakes taste yummy and are still nutritious!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
Fri, 08-25-2006 - 11:16am

Thanks for all of your suggestions. Today is the last day she can sleep in (it's a bit after 8:00am here) and then I think I'm going to drag her to the supermarket with me so she can help choose what sorts of things she will eat -- for lunches also. Come to think of it, I'm going to drag BOTH kiddies along ... fun, fun, fun.

While her diet HAS improved over the years, DD still won't eat much in the way of fruit, no veggies (an annual carrot stick is her quota), no nuts, eggs, granola ... sigh ... the list goes on and on. Can you believe she doesn't even eat mashed potatoes? That one actually blows my mind, but I think it's the textural thing there. You all can probably see why this is frustrating for me and you can imagine the flak I've taken over the years from family for this. Hopefully I can get her going in a little better direction before she leaves for college in 3 years.

Thanks again for your input,
Julie

 

 

 

Avatar for heartsandroses2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 08-25-2006 - 11:25am
I just had another thought - what about smoothies in the AM? You can pack a lot of nutrients in there without her even noticing. There is a cookbook with hundreds of recipes of really delicious smoothies. My 18dd loves them!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
Fri, 08-25-2006 - 11:48am

Do you know the name of the cookbook? DD and I were just talking about smoothies for breakfast yesterday. She said that she saw on a tv infommercial that the taste of fruit in smoothies will 'drown' out the flavor of any veggies that might be in there, like carrot juice.

Thanks!

Edited to add: I can never seem to get them the right texture, either. What's the secret?




Edited 8/25/2006 11:52 am ET by hydrangea_blue

 

 

 

Avatar for heartsandroses2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 08-25-2006 - 1:47pm

I am at work so I don't know the name, but if you go to AMazon.com, under books, and do a search on smoothies, you will get the top smoothie books to choose from.

When I make a smoothie, I use frozen mixed, unsweetened berries with skim milk as my base. Then I might add some flax seeds, or protein powder, etc. I also have a juicer, which is totally awesome - the Jack LaLane one comes with a recipe book but there are better one's by The Juiceman. With a juicer, you have more options. My favorite is the lemonade: 4 whole lemons (rind and all), 1 full sweet apple - add ice and it is so yummy! With the juicer, you can mix veggies and fruits and it never tastes dull or yucky, except when I use fresh beets - it gives off a sweet-earthy (think dirt) flavor, which isn't awful, just different. Anyway, you get to play with all these great fruits and veggies to create different flavors.

So the smoothies are great, and with the right recipes your dd can figure out which ones she likes best. But the juicer is also great because after you drink you, your body is flushed of all the impurities and it gives you an energy boost!

Avatar for imomtojd
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 08-25-2006 - 8:21pm

DS drinks a Carnation Instant Breakfast every morning.

Lisa

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 08-26-2006 - 1:08am

Hi,
You could have been describing my daugther. No mash potatos here either LOL The list goes on and on here too. Smoothies have been a real stress reliever here for me. My DD has one every morning. She makes it because she knows what consistency she likes better than I do. She uses only vanilla yogurt and then mixes in almost any kind of fruit. She also adds a couple of ice cubes that we make in advance with various kinds of juice..this is where mom gets creative LOL

My DD also does not eat any vegetables other than my usual you have to at least try one bite. So I have her take a multi vitamin made for teens every day and she does eat at least one apple a day as well...even if she has it with dinner.

I am lucky in the sense that she doesn't have to eat on the run but mornings are usually rushed so I have gotten in the habit of making a batch of creative muffins or pancakes and putting them in the freezer..this way I know she is getting something a bit more healthy that isn't full of preservatives and it is pretty quick to heat them up in the microwave.

She is very much a meat and potatos type of kids, no hot dishes or soups. The Dr told me back when she was about 8 that it is definitly a texture thing. She is very healthy and I try to be creative where I can such as with the muffins and ice cubes used in her smoothies.

Kim

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