We have all heard the old saying, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. With the busy day your child has in school, it is important to set them up with a good meal.
Irish dietician Orla Walsh has shared her expert tips on giving your kids the perfect healthy breakfast.
Speaking to RSVP Live, Orla explained: "We love breakfast in our house and try to make it our biggest meal of the day. We follow the same principles as other meals with half the plate being fruit or vegetables, 1/4 being protein and 1/4 being whole grain carbohydrates.
"Mornings can be hectic during the week, but that doesn’t mean our diets have to suffer. There are plenty of nutrient rich options that fit into a busy schedule
Orla continued: "On busier mornings we would eat overnight oats. which are made the night before, so we just need to wake up and eat them. We make sure to add all the elements like oats as the whole grain carbohydrate, milk & yoghurt as the protein, nuts/ seeds as the fat and lots of fruits.
"On colder mornings we would omit the yoghurt and have similar ingredients in hot porridge."
You can mix it up as well. Breakfast time doesn’t always have to mean oats.
"Eggs are nutritional powerhouses providing an array of vitamins and minerals as well as high quality protein. We usually eat eggs with wholegrain bread, cheese or nut butter and some vegetables on the side. For speed I usually batch cook tomatoes in olive oil and basil as well as mushrooms in olive oil and nutmeg," said Orla.
Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box. While some meals may sound too laborious for morning madness, planning ahead and batch cooking can make most dishes attainable for your family.
"This may sound time consuming but I simply add them all to an ovenproof dish and bake them in the oven," Orla continued. "I then store them in an airtight container and serve up what we need in the morning times. To keep things interesting, we enjoy boiled, scrambled, poached or fried eggs. Alternatively, we make omelettes and use frozen vegetables or leftover vegetables within them for speed."
Despite the rumours, all breakfast cereals are not out of the question. This quick and easy dish could still be an option, once you choose the right ones.
"We do have breakfast cereals and enjoy them with milk, nut or seeds and fruits. However, I would be careful which ones I choose. Fortunately there is now a selection in the shops that are high in fibre and low in sugar," she said.
Examples of such healthy cereals are Weetabix, no added sugar muesli, shredded wheat, Ready Brek and low sugar granola.
"Other options include peanut butter and banana on high protein porridge bread with a glass of milk, or latte for the grown ups," Orla said.
Above all, it is important to remember the basics.
"Although any breakfast is better than no breakfast, if eating breakfast regularly, most people need to focus on reducing sugar and increasing fibre at breakfast time," Orla concluded.
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