Is that a balanced, healthy breakfast in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?

Blargh.....It is 7am, you are tired (coffee is still brewing), the kids are hungry, and you have to make lunches, feed them breakfast and get the whole goat rodeo out of the door at a horrible God-forsaken hour. For some folks this is a breeze, others, not so much- me being in the 'not so much' category. In my case, we have no school buses, and my children's school is almost a 20 minute drive, one way. We have to leave no later than 7:32 (yes, I really know the actual minute) or the tardies will start mounting. I have been known to rack up for my kids a whopping (and embarrassing) 15 tardies in a quarter (that is my personal best). But I am getting off track here....Let's go back to feeding the kids breakfast.

Getting kids out the door with an awesome breakfast in their bellies can be daunting. I mean really, how flippin' easy is it to open the cabinet, grab the Tastee-Ohs out and splash some milk in a bowl? Don't get me wrong- cereal has its place-no judgement here-I have probably about 13 boxes of cereal in my cabinet. But we should make sure that the kids' breakfast doensn't stop at their cereal bowl- let's add a banana or apple for them to munch too. The cliche is right- breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So what can we do as crazy, sleep deprived moms to make sure they have a balanced breakfast that won't leave them hungry by 8:30? And are quick and easy for YOU?!?! I have a few ideas below to help.

1. Add a piece of fruit to eat alongside their bowl of cereal or oatmeal. A ton of simple carbs and a half cup of milk won't fill tummies with lasting power. Isn't it funny how almost every box of cereal shows their product in a bowl with fruit added to it? And then in little letters it says "serving suggestion." I like to believe that this is because they know that cereal doesn't provide a balanced, filling breakfast all on its own. My kids won't eat fruit IN the bowl with the cereal, but will gobble down a banana or apple, no problem.

2. Peanut Butter and Jelly Waffles. This is my 5 year olds favorite breakfast. She puts both waffles together and eats it as a sandwich. If you have a PBJ fan, I bet they will ask for this daily like mine does. And you can change it up with different flavors of waffles and/or jelly. Even pancakes will work! I personally pick up mulitgrain or whole grain waffles, and I use unsweetened PB, and an all-fruit type jam. Another option is to use raisins or cranberries on top of the peanut butter.

3. Homemade "Fast Food" breakfast sandwiches. I love doing this. It makes me smile when I open up my freezer and see my McPruitt muffins smiling back at me. This is my favorite breakfast! My suggestion is to purchase your favorite english muffin or biscuit product and sliced cheese. Then take a few eggs, scramble them, cook in a large skillet. Then cut into to english muffin/biscuit sized pieces. Either fry bacon, or cook sausage patties (I mash them into thin, muffin sized patties). Make sure all items are cool, and then take all of these ingredients and assemble your sandwiches. Wrap them individually in zippered storage freezer bags. Pop them in the freezer! To reheat, take the sandwich out of the bag, wrap up in a paper towel, and heat in an 1100 watt microwave for 1.5 minutes at half power. Turn over sandwich and cook on full power for an additional minute. Item will be very hot- allow a minute or 2 to cool. ENJOY!

*these can be lightened up (as I do) by using whole wheat light english muffins, egg beaters/whites, 2% cheese, turkey sausage or ham. Your kids will NOT know the difference! PROMISE!


4. Make a breakfast casserole. This is such a wonderful dish to have on hand for a whole week's worth of breakfasts. And if your children love a hot breakfast, it is easy to reheat in the microwave for about the same time as it will take to fill that cereal bowl. Assemble this recipe on a Sunday afternoon, and bake it. You will be so happy that you don't have to worry about breakfast!

Here is a great recipe for a breakfast casserole:

2 cups of frozen shredded hashbrowns
9 eggs
1 lb. ground sausage
1 small can green chiles (optional)
half of a small onion (optional)
1 cup shredded cheddar, jack, or colby cheese


Spray 9x13 pan with non-stick spray. Spread hashbrowns on the bottom of the pan. Brown sausage with green chiles and onions. Drain. Scramble the 9 eggs. Pour a little more than half the eggs into the cake pan. Layer sausage on the eggs. Layer the cheese on top of the sausage. Pour the rest of the eggs over the top.

Bake at 350F degrees until the top is brown and the eggs are cooked.

This can be cooked in a sealable pan, placed in the refrigerator and then cut a piece every morning for breakfast. Or you can slice it and freeze in zippered bags.

It's great re-heated!!!! Enjoy!

Note: You can easily double the size of this recipe if you want to


I hope these ideas will help you feed your family! Have a great morning!

Mel :)