Stuck in a breakfast rut?

Having a good breakfast is super important but I know this can sometimes be tricky for busy families. I thought I’d share a few ideas for easy, nutritious family-friendly breakfasts, but before I do, I wanted to mention a couple of things we don’t generally eat in our house and the reasons why:

👎 Packaged breakfast cereal (with the exception of Weet-Bix and occasionally Cornflakes).

Many commercial cereals are high in sugar and low in nutrients, despite the very clever marketing and misleading “health star ratings” convincing shoppers that they are a healthy way for children to start their day.

Here is a run-down of the sugar content per serve of some popular Australian breakfast cereals, listed in order of increasing sugar content.

Note: the serving size listed on most cereal packets is smaller than what most people eat, so the sugar content of the average bowl of cereal is likely to be higher than what is listed.

• Weet-Bix - 1g (3% sugar)

• Cornflakes - 3.1g (8.9% sugar)

• Uncle Toby’s Plus – 14% to 18.5% sugar

• Cheerios – 4.4g (14.7%)

• Nutri-Grain – 9.6g (24% sugar)

• Milo Cereal – 8g (26.7%)

• Sultana Bran – 12.8g (28% sugar)* includes sugar from the sultanas

• Coco Pops – 9.7g (32.4% sugar)

• Froot Loops – 11.6g (38.8% sugar)

It blows my mind that all of these cereals except Coco Pops and Froot Loops have a health star rating of 4 or 4.5 out of 5, despite some of them containing up to 28% sugar! Another reason that the health star rating system used in Australia is a complete joke and should be ignored - but don’t get me started on that!

Weet-bix and Cornflakes still contain sugar, however the sugar content is much lower than most other cereals. When it comes to Weetbix, I recommend spending a bit more on the organic version as non-organic wheat in Australia is sprayed with the herbicide glyphosate (“Round Up”), which is damaging to the gut lining and can have a negative impact on gut bacteria.

👎 Up and Go “liquid breakfast”

I remember when my children were very young, I sometimes used to have an Up and Go in the morning as I was time poor and it was a quick, easy breakfast option. This was before I became a nutritionist and I wasn’t as vigilant as I am now in terms of checking labels and ingredients!

I have since learned that each Up and Go contains artificial flavours and 15.8 grams of sugar, which is the equivalent of just under 4 teaspoons and more sugar than a serve of Froot Loops! Despite this, Up and Go has a very misleading 4.5 to 5 star health rating so many consumers are being tricked into thinking it is a nutritious choice.

⭐️ Here are some healthier real food options that take 5 minutes to prepare and are packed with nutrients to keep kids (and adults) full, focused, calm and happy.

✅ Eggs (free-range or organic) – scrambled, fried, boiled, omelettes

We get through A LOT of eggs in our house and we taught our kids to cook their own eggs as it is such an easy, healthy breakfast option.

✅ Smoothies or smoothie bowls

There are so many smoothie recipes out there but we tend to use ingredients like banana, frozen mango, pineapple or berries, chia seeds, water or milk (dairy/non-dairy), baby spinach and avocado (depending on each child’s preferences).

You can also add yogurt or protein powder for an extra nutrient boost.

If you are feeling organised, you can prepare the smoothie ingredients in snap-lock bags or containers at the beginning of the week so they are ready to go each morning. I’ve never managed to get around to doing this but it’s a great idea!

✅ Porridge – made with rolled oats and milk, topped with sliced banana, cinnamon and honey (avoid instant porridge sachets as they are highly processed and usually contain a lot of sugar).

This is a good one to teach kids to make too!

✅ Sourdough toast with avocado or peanut butter and sliced/mashed banana

✅ Greek yoghurt with fruit and granola

✅ Natural muesli with fruit and yoghurt

You can easily make your own batch of muesli with rolled oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruit or I like the Pure Harvest Organic Muesli (available at Coles and IGA)

The following breakfasts can be prepared the night before so the kids have something nutritious to grab and go on busy school mornings:

✅ Overnight oats – combine equal parts rolled oats and milk of your choice (dairy/coconut/almond) with chia seeds, yogurt, honey or maple syrup. Put in the fridge overnight then top with fruit, e.g. blueberries, sliced banana

Here is a link to 5 different overnight oats recipes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08MTATIFaPg

✅ Chia puddings – combine half a cup of milk of your choice with 2 tablespoons of chia seeds and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup or honey. You can then add different ingredients to change the flavour, e.g. cinnamon, cocoa/cacao powder, berries, banana, peanut butter, nuts and seeds. Put in the fridge overnight and it is ready to go for breakfast the next day.

Tip: if you or your children don’t like the texture of the chia seeds, you can blend the mixture before putting it in the fridge. You may also like to use more liquid than I suggested, depending on your preferred consistency.

So, why not get the kids involved and revamp your family's breakfasts with some of these simple, nourishing ideas. Let me know how you go! 😀