By 10am you're starving or exhausted, and find yourself reaching for a quick snack like a bagel and coffee. You feel great until the coffee wears off, at which time you notice you're craving another quick pick-me-up. A mediocre breakfast (or no breakfast at all) can lead to mindless snacking and cravings throughout the day, while a substantial breakfast can help stop this pattern in its tracks. It's true: if we do not get enough of our nutrients (like fat, carbohydrates and protein) in the first half of our day, our bodies will make up for it later (think: those late night bowls of ice cream, or devouring the box of crackers while watching tv).
And we all know that a good breakfast is equally as important for our children, setting the stage for a healthy mind and body as they go off to school, to work and play.
Unfortunately many children are not getting the nutrients they need, either at breakfast or throughout the day. The food industry has figured out how to capitalize on our busy lives and our children's imagination by making junk food look "kid-friendly." But those brightly colored cereal boxes and fancy yogurt containers with favorite characters on them, as appealing as they look, are the opposite of "friendly foods." Most of them are filled with sugars, chemicals, additives and dyes. And even many of the so-called "healthy" ones are often processed and lacking wholesome nutrients. The negative effects of these "fake foods" are numerous, including their effect on behavior, learning capacity and health.
As you get ready to begin a new school year, make a commitment to experiment with your family's breakfasts. If you're not ready to throw out your bagel and coffee, and you know you'd have a full scale rebellion on your hands if you tossed that box of Captain Crunch or frozen waffles, try adding a "real food" to your breakfasts. Eggs, a bowl of oatmeal with real butter and cinnamon, a healthy protein smoothie, some plain organic yogurt with fresh fruit, organic, free range sausage...these are some of my family's favorites.
Mix and match to see which works best for you and your child. You may be surprised to find that as you start adding in these real foods, you will "crowd out" the others, and your body will thank you for it.
