Creating a breakfast kids will love takes plenty of thought and a dash of cooking skills. But if you’re hoping to make the morning meals more attractive to your little ones, creativity is your best friend when making fun food options for your loved ones.
Knowing What Your Kids Like
Everyone knows health is important to take care of from a young age, except children who tend to have different priorities. About 13% of school-aged kids tend to skip their breakfast, and that statistic increases to 27% for those aged 12 to 19 years old.
Why do they do this? Chances are the kids are selective eaters and don’t have enough time to eat. Between getting to school and socializing with friends in the morning, they may not be thinking about filling up their stomachs.
That’s where you come in with ready-made appetizing food. Try to make a breakfast that’s quick enough to whip up for them to eat before they leave the house. At the same time, make it look tempting and tasty enough to stay for.
It’s a fun challenge, but you don’t have to keep your concerns and effort a secret. Let your kids know that you want them to eat well and how you want to prepare meals for them. Talk and ask about their meal preferences regarding breakfast food too.
Cooking Breakfast for the Kids
Once you’ve given them the heads-up and understood what they’d like to have for breakfast, it’s time to commence listing down ideas and run to the kitchen. For some ideas on how to start, you can check out this list of recommendations.
1. Breakfast Egg Tacos
Tacos are usually reserved for Tuesday and Thursday nights, but let’s be honest— even picky eaters can’t resist freshly cooked eggs and tortillas with cheese. This dish also focuses more on assembly after prepping the protein, so it’s easy to prepare.
You can even arrange a little taco-making station for good measure. Have soft flour tortilla and hard tortilla shell options available to your kids. Don’t forget the salsa for the little ones who like their breakfast egg tacos to have a little kick.
2. Smores Cereal Bars
Some sugar once in a while is good for your kids, especially if it makes them stick around more in the morning throughout the week. Take their favorite crispy cereal, some marshmallows, chocolate chips and graham crackers to turn it into some smores cereal bars.
Smores cereal bars are easy to assemble, as they involve crushing your hard ingredients, melting the marshmallows and throwing them together into a greased pan. Leave them in the fridge overnight to satisfy their sweet tooth cravings in the morning.
3. Banana Pancakes
Bananas are a great ingredient for breakfast since they offer fiber and antioxidants to your breakfast. Try skipping the instant pancake mix and make homemade batter with those fruits, milk, butter, egg, flour and sugar.
Remember to mash the bananas to avoid any lumps and mix well before you get your pans out. This batter will fry and flip the same as a regular pancake so your kids will enjoy them in no time. If they want it sweeter, drizzle some maple syrup.
4. Ham and Cheese Waffles
Going back to savory, take grilled cheese to a whole new level by bringing it into waffle form. Your kids will enjoy eating a ham and cheese waffle melt sandwich, fresh from the iron. This is a simple recipe that involves putting your ham and cheese sandwich through the waffle press. Make it as toasted as your kids would like for them to get the warm munch
5. Mini PB&J Muffins
Although only 66% of Americans love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, it’s no secret that the flavor combination is the country’s staple. Bake some breakfast muffins and carve out the middle to inject some peanut butter and jelly. If you don’t want to wake up super early, consider making the muffin mix the night before to put it into the oven in the morning.
6. Berry Smoothie Bowls
If your kids mention that they’d want something a little sweet but cold, smoothie bowls are the simple solution. Blueberries are perfect to blend since they help with safeguarding your children’s heart and brain health in the long run. It’s also fun to arrange the smoothie bowl toppings to create fun patterns like a smiley face.
7. Alphabet Soup
Some children might not be the biggest fan of soup, but you might want to try adding letters and numbers into the mix. Incorporating alphabet pasta into your next breakfast soup can make it an interactive learning experience for the kids. You can even make a game out of who can put together words faster.
8. Hashbrown Pizza
Potatoes are one of the most versatile types of food since you can roast, bake and fry them. It’s also a bonus that this vegetable can promote diet quality and caloric intake. If you’re brainstorming on what the right recipe for breakfast is, a nice serving of beef hashbrown pizza is the best way to start the day.
Make These Kid-Friendly Breakfast Ideas
Pick one or two of your favorites from the list and make a memorable morning with your kids. You can invite them to help you with preparing these foods, though they might disappear when it’s time for clean-up. Either way, have a fun time!
Writer Bio
Beth is the Managing Editor and content manager at Body+Mind. She shares knowledge on a variety of topics related to nutrition, healthy living, and anything food-related. In her spare time, Beth enjoys trying out new fitness trends and recipes.
