Fuel up with healthy back-to-school breakfast ideas

Posted August 20th, 2009 by Elaine Hastings, RD - Nutrition Expert and filed in Meal Tips

A better breakfast for better grades? Studies show that students who eat breakfast before starting school had a general increase in math grades and reading scores, increased student attention, reduced nurse visits, and improved behavior. If that’s not incentive, then let’s look at the negatives. Kids who don’t eat breakfast are less able to learn at school, get less iron (an important nutrient) in their diets, and are more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI), which is a sign they may be overweight.

Here are some quick and easy breakfast ideas:

-Eggs
-Pancakes, French toast or waffles (try whole-grain or wheat)
-Cold cereal and milk
-Hot cereal, such as cream of wheat
-Whole-grain toast, bagels or English muffin
-Yogurt with fruit or nuts
-Fruit smoothie (add berries for extra nutrition!)

Make it fun for picky-eaters:
-Breakfast taco (eggs, shredded cheese on whole-wheat tortilla)
-Banana dog (banana with peanut butter and raisins on whole-grain bun)
-Fruit and cream cheese smiley sandwich

The bottom line: Don’t run out the door before fueling up with a healthy breakfast!