I am going to make a confession. We have been letting the kids eat less than healthy meals, and for part of my New Year’s Resolution series I am going to show you how we are working to make a change. I am a former teacher, so I should definitely know better. Kids require healthy food, especially for breakfast, to have them learn effectively. You always hear that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so I am going to work harder to make it a priority in our family. I want to give my kids the best start to the day as possible.
How did we get in this rut? It’s hard to say. I think it started with the fact my kids can be picky eaters, and I finally just gave in and let them eat the cereals they wanted. Some cereal we give them are healthy, but I’ve let them have the junkier cereal on occasion too. Another factor that lead to this was the fact that the kids got a little older and more self-sufficient. If they happen to wake up early (it seems to vary on what times they wake up, and not sure why), then we let them get cereal to eat if they’re hungry. When they were younger they would just wake us up when they got up early, but that doesn’t always happen anymore and they just grab something to eat.
I think I need to make eating breakfast more of an event; something that we can share in together before they leave for school. The other confession is that they don’t always sit at the table to eat breakfast. Sometimes they will take their food into the living room and read, play games, or watch TV while they eat. I need to make eating breakfast a “sit at the table”event.
Here’s how the kids usually eat breakfast!
What I like about making a change is that I can get more time with the kids before they leave for school, and I can get them to eat healthier options if I’m the one preparing it for them. I want to work on getting more protein in their diet, and what better way than a little eggs and bacon for breakfast! First we needed to stock up on a few more things than cereal.
Shopping at Walmart for Breakfast Foods!
I told my kids I wanted to get up and make them a healthy breakfast before school tomorrow, so we decided to head to Walmart and pick-up a few things they would like. They love bacon, so we decided on the Jennie-O turkey bacon which is a healthier option. We also grabbed some eggs and whole-grain waffles. When they had testing at school this past fall we made sure to give a full breakfast like this every morning, but once testing was over we fell back into the same bad habits.
They are enjoying their full and healthy breakfast!!
As you can see the kids loved having a healthy and full breakfast before school. Not only did they get more attention from mom, but they also will feel fuller until lunchtime at school and be more “on their game” with their academics. I truly believe food does fuel the brain and I need to help give them that extra push to meet their potential.
There are other families and groups working on this goal as well. Champions for Kids is a group that encourages people to help their community and families with goals for healthier living. Each month they have a different initiative, and this month is to “Make the Switch” to healthier eating with products like Jennie-O and “Give Breakfast a Wake-Up Call.” Eating turkey over other meat is lower in fat and more heart healthy. Here are the goals of the Champions for Kids SIMPLE Service Projects (from their site):
Every SIMPLE Service Project has 4 basic steps:
- GATHER your friends, family, and co-workers.
- LEARN about the needs of children in your community.
- GIVE items to help kids enjoy happier and healthier lives.
- SHARE your story with us to inspire others.
Want to create a SIMPLE service project of your own? SIMPLE Service Projects with Champions for Kids can be found here: http://bit.ly/Jo8hZ7
I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Jennie-O #cbias #SocialFabric. All opinions are mine and mine alone.
I try very hard to make sure my kids get a good breakfast – lately that means they get a waffle, milk and a piece of fruit (sometimes fresh and sometimes from a can). Occasionally I surprise them with a sausage biscuit or piece of bacon. You’re right – it makes a huge difference in their day!
I can totally understand falling into the rut of just letting the kids eat what they like beause they are picky. Now of course B is only 2, but I find myself doing that all the time rather than fighting him to eat something new. He LOVES bacon though, so I should pick up some Jennie O on our next shopping trip!! 🙂
My kids do get breakfast at school, which is awesome for me, but if they didn’t I think this would be a great choice!
Great post, Kristin. Your breakfast looks yummy, and the Jennie-0 products really are delicious!
I don’t eat any red meat. In fact, I didn’t even eat chicken and turkey from ages 14-29. When I got pregnant with my son, though, I started craving turkey like crazy, so I caved. I love how many mammal-based foods come in turkey form too! Like turkey sausage and bacon. I love eating turkey sausage with syrup on it, which is weird because I don’t usually combine certain foods that way.
I wish you success in your goals. I’m a big believer of sitting at the table for meals. Some of our best conversations have been there and in today’s technology influenced world kids really need to learn how to interact in conversations and the table is a great place to begin.
You can make breakfast burritos and freeze them for a quick healthy breakfast.
I really do think it benefits them when they have a good solid start to their day. I think Jennie-O has some great options to choose from that way and the turkey bacon is one of them!
We’re in a lunch rut…my toddler’s far too wound up before his afternoon nap to sit and eat a decent meal. It’s so important for kids to eat healthy!
This bacon looks excellent, teaching kids to eat healthy is so important, the younger the better good for you! I think I should give this product a try myself, we all need to eat better 🙂
I love turkey bacon and waffles. Stella will only eat cereal (she eats it 4x a day). Teddy would have brunch if I’d let him. We need to find a balance here.
I hate to say it, but I totally slack in the breakfast department. All this turkey bacon talk is really making me want to try it though. Maybe that will be our goal next week. Healthy family breakfast time.
looks great! Love the alternative than port and greasy bacon!
Yum! Reading this first thing in the morning that turkey bacon is making me hungry. Love the Jennie-O products and will have to pick some of their bacon up on my next shopping trip. Great job with your resolution.
I love turkey bacon! And, I agree, I need to make breakfast more of an event so that we start the day off right (and not late)
My kids eat their breakfast at school, so they are eating a hot meal every morning. On the weekends we shake it up some, but it is usually still either eggs or cereal. I try to make it healthier, but cereal usually isn’t very healthy, even if it says it is!
GREAT Post – I have a pick eater as well and it’s hard to avoid the trap of “fine, whatever he’ll eat.” This is a great idea, and I hope to follow suit in this new year!
That looks like a fantastic breakfast!!!
I’m the same way – if it’s not a bowl of cereal, my kids eat convenient, on-the-go type breakfasts which usually come from the freezer (mini pancakes, waffles, etc). It’s been making me crazy, so your post is well-timed 😉
We’ve had the same problem. When the husband went away for his internship and It was just me, I just tried to survive and gave in to my picky eaters and they haven’t been eating the best. Our new years goal is to get everyone eating better. I absolutely LOVE turkey bacon! It is a much better choice for breakfast, and it really gets my kids excited when I cook a full healthy breakfast.
We are bad for eating in the living room, too….that bacon looks REALLY good!
Dawn
What cuties! Hmmm…now I want bacon…..gotta go, need to make a run to the store!:)
I just bought their Turkey Bacon today. We love a lot of their other products so I thought I would try this. Glad I saw this, I was kinda worried that breakfast tomorrow would not go too well. Now I do not have to worry as much!
we LOVE jennie-o products – especially their bacon! looks like your kids loved it too 🙂
We love Jennie O products. They look so happy eating their great breakfast! Thanks so much for sharing:)
Breakfast is the hardest one here. I love breakfast food, but I can’t function enough in the morning to make it.
I know the pain of the picky eater. He’s a Poptart in the morning fan, but the 45 minutes we have to eat and get ready I allow it.
I love Jennie O hotdogs…regular ones are so greasy! Anywhere I can save fat like baking things I do it.
If it was up to my daughter, she would only have bacon for breakfast every day! I always have a bowl of fruit on the table at each meal and for snacking.
Breakfast is so important. We eat breakfast together every single day. I’ve never tried the Jenny turkey bacon, but its making me want a BLT! Thanks for sharing. I’m going to have to pick some up.
Breakfast is a hard meal for me, but this is a good reminder how important it is!!!
Love the simple service projects! Thanks so much for sharing about Jennie O 🙂
This looks like a great idea for a healthier alternative. I, too, am bad at getting my girls a healthy breakfast and I need to do better! i agree with you that they need to sit at the table. We have a no food policy everywhere in the house but the kitchen so that isn’t an issue for us. 🙂
Great post! As a fitness junkie and HUGE advocate for healthier lunches and foods (snack bar crap, be gone!) in schools, I HAVE to tweet this! Thank you for writing this!
Good for you! I love having breakfast with my little ones to start the day. It’s fun to get in the kitchen with them and create SD something delicious!
I haven’t tried turkey bacon, thats new to me and sounds quite tasty. We’ve been taking our eye of the ball recently regarding breakfasts, we are trying to have a lot more home cooked meals ths year.
Great post Kristin! I’m glad to see you and your family are making healthy food and sitting down to meals together a priority. Both are so important for kids. 🙂
I’m a stickler for starting the day with a healthy breakfast but I struggle with finding good protein sources for breakfast. Great ideas!
Looks so yummy! We do tend to get in a rut and find something quick and easy that may not be as healthy! We will be working on this as part of our family resolutions!!
Looooove Turkey Bacon! That’s actually what I give my son 🙂 So far he loves it. Hopefully I can keep him on the path of loving turkey bacon instead of well, the other kind of bacon.
We’ve never had Jenny-O turkey bacon but we are a house that loves turkey bacon. I’ll see if I can find it.
With everyone so busy it is so hard to choose healthy choices sometimes. Even little changes can make a difference though!
Good for you Kristin! Its so hard to break that habit- I am know I am guilty of it myself sometimes. This is inspiring!
For years I skipped breakfast but now I’m cranky if I don’t have something! I am going to try this bacon this weekend. I hope I like it because I LOOOVE bacon 🙂 it’d be nice to find a healthier option.
We try really hard to make breakfast a big deal, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Plus my daughter is spoiled on Cookie Crisp and strawberry pop tarts. Actually I cried (because I’m emotional and pregnant) today because I’ve been making more of an effort int he kitchen, but she will starve herself all day until I give her something more basic. I try to go as long as possible, but I feel so horrible when it’s nearing bedtime and she’s eaten nothing but a few test bites here and there. I always give in and throw some chicken nuggets in the oven. :/
Weekends are when we’re going to be having breakfast altogether around the table and that bacon looks like what my boys would want to eat. I may have to get two packages! lol I love having good breakfasts especially with them having such long days at school and needing that energy for their brains!