My kids love oatmeal and have it most mornings. They LOVE it when I have time to make them pancakes. I like to throw some applesauce or pureed pumpkin, banana or blueberries or pureed fruit into the batter to get some fruit in their breakfast. Or the toaster waffles, they love to have me spread applesauce on them or even peanut butter and then they dip in syrup. My oldest son ADORES Wheatabix. It’s a packed wheat biscuit. I pour milk in the bowl and drizzle a bit of honey on top.
we go shopping once a week and get breakfast stuff for our daughter (son eats at daycare). My husband and I drink breakfast shakes or eat hard boiled eggs. I let my daughter help pick out what she wants (making sure its healthy). Then we put 5 days worth of breakfast into individual containers (like the glad ones for left overs). Then she can get her breakfast out all ready to go. Nothing to think about everyday. I love it.
As for what to use: We balance it with fruit, protein, whoel grains. We dont eat processed carbs, so teaching our kids heathly “fresh” eating habits is very important.
Examples
- mini begal w/ cream cheese and 4 strawberries
- toast with butter (peanut or almond butter is a better option, but my daughter only like butter on her toast), handful of blueberries, 1/2 string cheese.
- Yogurt, 1/2 mini begal, 3 strawberries.
- 1 cracked egg (hardboiled, she calls them cracked, you might be surprised to find your daughter likes them too), a few apple slices (you can buy bags of already sliced), 4oz milk.
My daughter is almost 5, but we have been doing this a while now and I am sure your daughter would also love being involved in making healthy choices. Plus taking 20 minutes or so once a week to have the entire weeks breakfast ready is a MAJOR plus!!!
An easy, healthy one is oatmeal (don’t get the quick oats, or the packets with sugar, but the normal Quaker type are just as easy and healthier) made with milk instead of water, and throw in some cinnamon, raisins or apples while they’re cooking. You can make 3 days worth at once and reheat. I would not get my child used to having something with added sweetener in the morning especially. Cinnamon has properties that regulate blood sugar, and the fruit will give it enough sweetness for a child.
Other than that, I would encourage a high protein breakfast; maybe eggs (my son won’t eat eggs) with cheese, or melt some cheese on toast. There has been good research lately that show what a difference a high protein breakfast makes in our overall health. And other research shows that any “added nutrition” in cold cereals is not absorbed by the body, so I would avoid cold cereals for little ones, they’ll get a lot more out of hot grains or eggs and toast.
You have received great ideas. You don’t really need much more, but I will add a few thoughts on some items I find convenient and healthier alternatives:
For Pancakes/waffles/biscuits I use multigrain mixes. Such as Trader Joe’s Multigrain mix (taste is better than just plain whole wheat).
I always have frozen blueberries and strawberries in the freezer as well as a froze banana or two (when too ripe, peel and freeze). I add the frozen fruit to her plain oatmeal (cools it down) with a touch of honey and cinnamon. I don’t buy the pre-packaged sugar added kinds - waaay too much sugar. Of course the fruit is handy for many things.
I only buy Non-Fat yogurt and those with the least amount of sugars. No High Fructose Corn Syrups, etc. All natural with all the good bacteria. Cascade Fresh is a great brand and not premium priced. Avoid yoplait, etc.
I buy Applegate Farms chicken & Apple breakfast sausages. They sell them at New Seasons. Very tasty and good protein alternative with no nitrates no added sugars, fillers, etc. They are precooked, so just put in micro for 20 mins and good to go. My daughter loves them and they are low fat, low cholesterol and have I think 5 ingredients in total.
I may be old fashioned but I serve my kids and daycare children scrambled eggs many times a week in the morning. Many toddlers and young children are not big meat eaters but many kids like eggs and it is an excellent source of the protien they need. Plus, combining a healthy protien with a starch(oatmeal, toast, or cream of wheat are my favorites) in the morning doesn’t send their sugar levels high fast and then the low later and they get grumpy. Just an idea, works for me for happy, healthy kiddos.
My kids eat eggs if I turn them into German Pancakes:
You have to have an ovensafe skillet, I use cast iron:
preheat to 400*F
melt 1/4 C butter in the pan
pour in well-beaten mixture:
6 eggs, 1/2 C flour, 1/2 C milk, 1/4 teaspoon salt
Bake for 15 minutes. Put on toppings of your choice. Jam is what my girls usually want. I do lemon juice for myself.
I use whole wheat flour from Bob’s Red Mill, as it is finely ground enough that it doesn’t completely weigh down the pancake.
First, does your husband have any suggestion on what he thinks would be appropriate to feed your daughter, instead of just complaining about it? I personally don’t understand when people choose to point out problems without offering an idea for a solution.
Secondly, during the school week, I usually keep it simple and feed my boys oatmeal, a granola bar (a real one - not the chocolate covered ones) and a yogurt or a low sugar (preferably high fiber & iron) cereal. On the weekends, they often get something with eggs, usually scrambled or an omelet. Fruits are always a good solution too, although my kids won’t eat fruit in the morning. They like it for a snack and with lunch - just not for breakfast for some reason.
Best of luck to you!
Pancakes, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit…
keep it simple. I am not a breakfast person at all, but pancakes are super easy and scrambled eggs are simple. Sometimes I make eggs into an omlet with cheese.
My daughter loves when I put eggs with cheese with mild salsa in a tortilla for a burrito. So easy and portable too!
Yes, both of you need better breakfasts!
Cheerios is great for both of you, and look at the other healthy cold cereals. Not all cereals are healthy so pick and choose.
Add a fruit, either on top or to the side. Bananas! And orange juice to drink.
All this takes minimal time to fix and consume.
You are building her future health habits and body!
I have a 4yo girl and I get it. I am a granola/milk person, but she is not. Three is pretty verbal, so why not ask her what she wants. We do that - and usually we end up doing fried egg whites and whole grain toast, or organic frozen waffles and garden sausage. Even healthy cereal or oatmeal is ok. It’s all she knows.
Our main goal is to get protein in there in case she doesn’t eat right later in the day (when she is at preschool and picks what she wants out of her lunchbox - which means veggies, etc are usually at the bottom of the list). Just avoid things with sugar as it ramps a kid up and then they crash early in the day. Good luck!quick
I feed my son scrambled eggs with veggies (cut up really small) & whole-wheat toast, Earth’s Best organic whole grain oatmeal cereal (you can mix it with milk & microwave slightly to make a warm porridge), or ground turkey patties (I like the Shelton’s brand) with organic buckwheat pancakes (you can buy the Arrowhead Mills’ brand at PCC or Whole Foods). He also likes buttermilk pancakes with fruit (like peaches) (also the Arrowhead Mills’ brand). I always serve fruit first (banana, pear or strawberries), whatever happens to be in season. Stay away from high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, overly processed & sugary foods (like Pop Tarts).
Fruit and/or yogurt is quick and easy. Also, I have three kids that are all in elementary school so our breakfast time is quick to get them all out the door on time. I found that they love the whole grain Nutrigrain Eggo waffles. They are made with whole grains and have lots of fiber. Pop it in the toaster and then I put a smear peanutbutter on top for protein and viola breakfast. 
Quaker instant oatmeal is also a fave at our house and is super fast to make. Even a piece of toast with a little peanutbutter and half a banana is good too. I have also made fruit smoothies for them…milk, fruit, yogurt and a little ice, blend and enjoy. I hope some of these help you. Best of luck on your breakfast endeavors!
Kristi
I am like you and everyone i know does breakfast like you. I do it for my little girl. She does cereal and pop tarts. Occassionally I will scramble her an egg and melt cheese on it but to be honest, I waste my time and eggs. She would rather have cereal or poptarts. On Sat or Sun we may do pancakes or pillsbury canned cinnamon rolls (she loves that… she likes the icing) But those things are a weekend treat. Now if we decide to really treat, we will go to Sharis and eat breakfast but there again, she doesn’t really eat. If we are lucky she will eat a few bites from us. We have ordered her the happy face pancakes but she just eats the chocolate chips from that. (boy your hubby would really have a fit about that breakfast)
So … if I were you I would just ask him what is his suggestion. Tell him you will be glad to feed her anything he wants but you need to know the menu. Now I would refuse to go all out and fry bacon and make eggs and biscuits every morning.
Just see what he suggests to you.
How about good old-fashioned oatmeal? Boil the right amount of water (I throw some raisins into the water as it heats–makes them plump and sweetens the oatmeal a little bit) once it boils, put the right about of rolled oats in, turn the water down to medium and cook for 5 mins. It’s easy and delicious! We usually put a little bit of milk and some maple syrup in.
Well, what does your husband eat in the morning?
My kids like cold cereal- and most of them are fortified or have fiber so I don’t mind feeding them cereals like Cheerios, Fruit Loops, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, etc. My kids are 2 and 4 years old. They also really like some canned peaches or pears with buttered toast. We also eat things like Eggo Waffles and sometimes I make french toast or pancakes, but that is when I feel like it.
I’ve heard other moms say their kids like instant oatmeal but I’ve never tried with my kids.
If you are looking for recipes or other ideas, check out www.allrecipes.com - they have great recipes, just the other day I saw one for “Breakfast Pies” which are muffin size biscuits with sausage, egg, and cheese, and sounded quite tasty. The recipe said you can make them ahead and then freeze/refrigerate them and just stick in the microwave for a few seconds to warm up (you can also do this with muffins).
Anyway, good luck! Maybe your husband just wants you to make him breakfast in the morning
I really liked what Melody T. said. Ask hubby what he thinks they should be eating and go with that. It it is very difficult/inconvenient, let him prepare it. The diet you have is ok and they will be just fine on it. If hubby feels strongly on this, let him take the lead!
I have a three year old and she only likes simple simple simple. If something looks strange she won’t even try it. foods she likes are Dora the explora yogurt, wheat toast with butter, jam, or plain peanutbutter.
She also loves fruit so I can make make up a bunch of plastic container with grapes in them ready to go. She loves bananas, most berries etc too. We bought an apple slicer that cuts peels and decores the apples all at one time and she loves to watch us do it.
If I have time I will make oatmeal with raisins or fruit as well as cinnamon and brown sugar. I don’t know if you have tried Starbucks oatmeal, but I found the same nuts and fruit mix at Trader Joes and I add it to my Trader joes oatmeal that is from scratch, but I make it in the microwave. If you want to be fun you can suprise her and hide the fruit, chocolate chips or whatever at the bottom and let her fine it. Home made Teddy bear pancakes are a favorite around here and only take about 15-20 minutes to throw together (home made syrup with sugar water and maple flavoring).
Hope that helps, I am all about quick and easy and I put things in plastic containers so if we have to go and she hasn’t eaten we can take it to go.
Good Luck with the little one!
Gabrielle
I do very quick portable things in the morning. I make fruit and yogurt smoothies and take them with us in the car. Sometimes I even blend them the night before, store the blender in the fridge and pour them in the morning. Sometimes I buy them pre-made if they are on sale. I keep whole grain crackers and raisins in the car at all times. It is a balanced breakfast, with fruits, grains and dairy/protein.
I have 3 young girls and I have always started their day off with some fruit. Bananas are easy and healthy. Peaches, grapes, pear or apple slices are a few of their favorites. Raisins and dry Cherrios are always a good mix also. If you get a loaf of GOOD WHEAT bread, then a peice of toast is a good choice also. Sometimes I boil eggs and then they have those for a quick, easy protein source. Those are just a few SIMPLE ideas. Good luck!
You could compromise with husband by feeding DD yogurt and a banana…quick but still very nutritious and healthy…both my almost three year old and my one year old love to have the yogurt and some kind of fresh fruit…sometimes banana, sometimes an orange…sometimes even just have with instant oatmeal…it’s always quick as I have recently become a single mom and don’t have a lot of extra time either…Still healthy good stuff though. Best of luck!
Laci