Grab-n-Go Breakfast Ideas
Breakfast has always been the most important meal of the day, but with busy school and work schedules it is often the easiest to skip meal of the day. Here are ways to make this good-for-us-meal a part of our family’s diet.
Why Breakfast? Kids who eat breakfast:
- Learn easier, more focused, make less errors, higher test scores, more creative, work faster
- Better behaved, fight less, more cooperative, less likely to be in principal’s office, get along
- Less likely to binge on higher fat empty calorie foods later
- When kids eat school breakfast they are less likely to be absent or late, less likely to sit in nurses office with a stomachache or headache
Grab-n-Go success
- Keep Grab-n-Go breakfast foods on hand and visible
- Food which may be eaten without utensils, foods with eatable wrappers or minimal packaging
- Be a role model for kids
Staging
- Have items ready to Grab-n-Go and highly visible
- Dedicate a shelf, basket, cupboard, counter or other areas in the refrigerator and cupboard for breakfast items.
- Stock with items ready to grab and go.
- If needed, place basket on the counter or other visible location in the morning.
- Easy items to stock in your Grab-n-Go baskets
- Yogurt – cups or sticks (Go-Gurts); try freezing yogurt
- String cheese, cheese sticks and slices with crackers
- Milk in single serve containers, whole or skim, flavored or white
- Instant breakfast packets – pour into single serve milk (or choose flavored milk)
- Pizza slices – eat cold or quickly warm in microwave
- Hard boiled eggs, peeled
- Sliced cooked roast beef, ham, turkey
- Cream cheese packets
- Bagels, sliced
- Dried fruit – raisins, Craisins, apricots, pineapple, bananas, etc
- Trail mix
- Granola bars
- Whole fruit – note: where possible peel and cut fruit for greater ease and encouragement
- Frozen toaster waffle – pockets in waffles hold fruit and yogurt with less mess
- Single serve peanut butter (great for dipping apple slices)
- Breakfast cookies (see recipe below)
- Fruit or vegetable juice (limit times served per week, choose whole fruit and vegetables)
- Individual boxes of cold cereal
- English muffins, Pita bread
- Easy items to stock in your Grab-n-Go baskets
Keep it Healthy -avoid the doughnut and soda pop trap
- Include at least 3 of the 5 food groups (dairy, fruit, whole grain, vegetable, meat)
- Strive for balance – the food groups should provide approximately 1/4 the RDA. For example, most school age kids will need between 1200 and 2200 calorie diet (depending on age, activities and calorie needs):
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1200 calories diet |
2000 calories diet |
2200 calories diet |
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300 or less calories for breakfast 10 or less grams fat
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500 or less calories for breakfast 16 or less grams fat |
550 or less calories for breakfast 18 or less grams fat |
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Focus on more than fat and calories. Breakfast should provide approximately ¼ the RDA for calories, fat, salt, but also ¼ the RDA for fiber, calcium, iron, vitamins A & C and other essential nutrients not normally listed on labels. |
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Grab-n-Go 3-minute menu suggestions
- Prepare the night before or make fresh in the morning.
- Freezer Waffle Sandwiches – spread with peanut butter, or Nutella, sprinkle with berries; w/milk
- Breakfast Baggies – trail mix, dried fruit, granola, nuts; cheese slice and crackers; etc. w/milk
- Egg Muffin Sandwich – Toasted English muffin, topped with cooked egg, cheese slice, Canadian bacon (may microwave beaten egg in a cereal bowl which has been lightly buttered at 50% power for 1 minute or until cooked)
- Banana Sandwich – spread whole wheat bread with peanut butter wrap around a peeled banana; w/milk
- Yogurt Sandwich – toasted frozen waffle, spread with Greek style yogurt, add frozen blueberries
- Breakfast Burrito – roll tortilla, scrambled egg, cheese, salsa
- Instant oatmeal prepared in microwave (do eat with a spoon); w/milk
- Grab-n-Go Omelets – 2 tablespoons omelet toppings in cupcake paper, beaten egg over top, bake at 350 degrees until set (approx. 20 minutes); w/milk
Chocolate Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie
- 1/2 cup mashed banana
- 1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup raisins or other dried fruit
- 1/2 cup quick rolled oats
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray.
Stir together banana, Nutella, brown sugar and vanilla. Add raisins, oats, flour and dry milk; stir well to mix. Drop by spoonful onto prepared baking sheets; slightly flatten cookies with the bottom of a damped glass (1/2-inch thick). Bake 12-14 minutes (don’t over bake).
Recipes makes approximately 16 cookies. A serving, depending on age, activity level and calorie needs, is 1-2 cookies. Serve with 8 ounces of cold milk for grab-n-go breakfast.
