Breakfast is often called the most important meal of the day, but for children this is especially the case. What your child—and you—eat first in the day impacts how the body is able to function throughout the rest of the day. Making sure the first meal your child eats each day is full of protein and healthy fats will help provide them with steady energy and emotions, and facilitate better learning and long-term health. Let’s look at how centering breakfast around protein and healthy fats sets the body up for a great day.
Carbohydrate-Only Breakfast?
Most breakfast foods children gravitate toward are carbohydrates. Breakfast cereals, pancakes with syrup, waffles, muffins, bagels, donuts, jams and jellies, even fruit and fruit juice are all carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are not bad—they are the body’s preferred energy source—but too many at once can have adverse effects, especially at breakfast, since the body is more insulin-sensitive in the morning. When your body eats carbohydrates, the carbohydrates are broken down into glucose (sugar), which is the form the body can use for energy. Simple carbohydrates in particular–carbohydrates without much additional fiber–are digested very quickly by the body, leading to a sharp increase in blood glucose levels. To manage the high glucose levels, the pancreas releases insulin which helps move the glucose from the blood to the cells to store as an energy source for later. Blood sugar levels fall again, returning to normal ranges.
The quick spike in glucose and then sudden drop in blood sugar can leave you feeling tired and hungry again very soon after eating (sometimes called a “sugar crash”). This leads to a blood sugar “roller coaster” where the body has low blood sugar and craves a quick energy source—carbohydrates—and then needs to rapidly release insulin to remove the glucose from the blood, leaving the blood sugar low, and the cycle repeats. Craving, spike, crash, craving, spike, crash. This leaves a person with fatigue, disrupted mood, and can eventually lead to weight gain.
To avoid the “sugar crash,” instead pair carbohydrates at breakfast with other macronutrients: protein, healthy fats, and fiber. All these macronutrients slow digestion, leading to a steadier release of glucose and help keep blood sugar levels stable and on a steady trajectory for the whole day.
Breakfast Ideas with Protein and Healthy Fats
1. Eggs – any way your child likes
Eggs are one of the most nutrient-rich foods to give your child. Eggs are a complete protein (about 6 grams) and contain all nine essential amino acids for overall body function as well as muscle growth and repair. Eggs are rich in vitamins A, D, E, K, B12, and Folate, and contain the minerals selenium, phosphorus, zinc, calcium, and iron. And they contain choline, an important nutrient for memory, metabolism, and mood regulation.
- Bacon Scrambled Eggs – chop or snip bacon (you can use kitchen scissors) and cook in a frying pan. When bacon is fully cooked, add eggs and scramble.
- Egg-in-a-Frame – cut a hole in a slice of bread (preferably whole grain for a good source of complex carbohydrates) and butter both sides for an additional source of healthy fat. Fry the bread in a pan on one side, flip the bread, then crack the egg into the hole. Cook over-easy.
- Egg Muffins – add bacon, heavy cream or yogurt, cheese, and veggies of choice
- Cheesy Bacon Egg Sandwiches — on whole grain toast
2. Avocado toast with side of cottage cheese
3. Smoothie with greek yogurt or whey protein
- Chocolate – add two spoonfuls of cocoa powder to milk, whey protein powder, banana, dash of vanilla and a pinch of salt and blend well. Optional: add fresh or frozen spinach.
- Strawberry Banana Yogurt
- Berry Yogurt
- Shamrock Smoothie – add fresh or frozen spinach to milk, a banana, whey protein powder, almond butter, and a dash of maple syrup (if desired).
4. Greek yogurt parfait
Layer unsweetened greek yogurt with fresh berries and a drizzle of honey.
5. Grits or steel cut oats with ground sausage
Add ground pork breakfast sausage to oats or grits to make these traditional breakfast foods more filling and better for blood sugar and steady energy.
At Milestones Learning Center we know what a difference a good start to the day can make for mood, play, and learning. Contact us today or schedule a tour to see if Milestones Learning Center is right for your family.
