Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Teach your kids about healthy breakfast choices with these tips.
* Limit sugar in the morning. Serve a blend of fruit or whole grains along with some protein such as Canadian bacon or eggs.
* Serve milk or calcium-fortified orange juice with breakfast. Thanks to our nation’s diet obsession, many girls aren’t getting bone-girding calcium and vitamin D, and thus are leaving themselves prone to osteoporosis.
* Whip up some scrambled eggs, throw in a dash of bottled salsa or spicy cheese, add onions, peppers, or spinach, and wrap the mixture in a low-fat whole wheat tortilla.
* Voila! Burrito extraordinaire. For best taste, warm up in the microwave before eating.
* Freeze grapes and put them into a zippered plastic bag. In the rush of morning, munch them along with low-fat string cheese.
* Create a breakfast trail mix of Cheerios, raisins, and mixed nuts or almond slivers. Pair it with a glass of calcium-enriched orange juice or a banana for those dash-out-the-door days.
* Serve a Lara or Kashi breakfast bar (both brands are found at most grocery stores), plus a glass of pure fruit or vegetable juice.
* Keep single-serve containers of yogurt handy, which are always easy to grab on the way out the door, along with a plastic bag filled with various stir-ins, including low-fat granola, dried cherries, chopped bananas, sliced apples, and mandarin oranges.
* Warm up a leftover slice of low-fat pizza. (Yes it counts, especially if it has lots of veggies on it.)
* Scoop nonfat cottage cheese into a cantaloupe or honeydew half, and top with a dash of cinnamon. Wrap tightly in plastic if storing overnight.