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Skip to content5 Tips to Get Kids to Eat Breakfast
If trying to get your child to eat breakfast in the morning is an uphill battle, you’re not alone. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics 8-12% of school-aged kids skip breakfast, and by the time the kids enter adolescence, as many as 20-30% completely give up the morning meal. Fueling your kids for the day ahead is imperative, and it’s worth the extra effort to make sure it’s a healthy one.
But we all know it’s not that easy. While there’s no exact formula, but here are 5 Good Food Made Simple family-tested-tips:
- Early to bed, early to rise: Getting kids to eat in the morning is hard enough. It’s even harder if they have 15 minutes from feet hitting the floor to foot out the door. Putting your kids to bed earlier, and setting the alarm a few minutes earlier, allows them to wake up and kick-start an appetite for a wholesome breakfast.
- A family affair: Take 10 minutes to sit around the table in the morning and enjoy a family breakfast. Make it a part of a daily routine so that everyone can expect it. This emphasizes the importance of the meal to your kids, plus then they can’t say “well mom, you don’t eat breakfast…”
- Consult your kids: Ask them how they want their breakfast. Yes “how”. If it was up to them we know they’ll choose the sugar-laden cereal, instead ask, “how do you want your egg” or “what would you like on your oatmeal”. That way they have flexibility to make their own decision, from a selection of pre-approved choices.
- Make it interactive: It can be as simple as pushing the lever on the toaster, mixing berries into oatmeal, or getting creative with cookie cutters, getting your kids involved makes it fun! So get out the chef’s hats, it’s time for breakfast!
- Take it to go: When all else fails we rather them take something on their walk or bus ride to school than eat nothing at all! Cereal bars and drive-through options beware- choose carefully. Most items on the market are laden with sugar and preservatives. We like to keep it simple, whether it’s our Breakfast Burrito, or a bag of granola and berries, make sure your fueling them for the day with clean ingredients that will keep them charged for the busy day ahead.
Bottom line: Set standards, give them ownership, and have a back-up plan!
Do you have any helpful tips? We’d love to hear! Share on Facebook or post below.
Always,
Team GFMS
Frozen Foods: Where did we go wrong?
Frozen Foods: Where did we go wrong?
According to the American Frozen Food Institute, the average American eats 72 frozen meals a year [source: Alexander]. In 2010, the New York Times published an article stating that Americans consume 31% more packaged foods than fresh food.
And yet, despite the fact that consumption and production are on the rise, consumers everywhere are being urged to avoid the frozen food aisles, and favor the ‘periphery’ (fresh produce), instead. In fact, much of America’s obesity epidemic is being blamed on the rise of ‘convenience’ foods, including frozen meals.
But are they really all that bad?
As a company that produces frozen foods, uses wholesome nutrients, and above all else, eats the products ourselves, we believe it’s not the case. Of course, there are frozen foods that aren’t good for you. A lot of them. Which is why we, at Good Food Made Simple, believe that frozen foods need to undergo a transformation, and we want to be a part of it. With brands like Amy’s, Annie’s and Alexia, we’ve got more than a fighting chance. Our goal is to recreate the notion of ‘frozen’ as bad, and even more that [gasp], it can be a part of our daily diet.
Don’t believe us? Let’s take a look at the statistics. Apples to apples, (or should we say, oatmeal to oatmeal). Good Food Made Simple’s 100% whole grain unsweetened oatmeal. Slowly simmered and flash frozen, it’s all the goodness of homemade oatmeal, without the messy pots and time over the stove. With 3 ingredients, (whole grain steel cut oats, filtered water, and sea salt), it’s everything we want in oatmeal and nothing we don’t. 3 minutes in the microwave, topped with your own choice of fruit or nuts, it’s the perfect ‘I have 5 minutes to eat and be out the door’, breakfast. Or in our case, the perfect ‘bring to the office and eat out of a mug’ treat.
For the sake of comparison, let’s look at Starbucks “Perfect” Oatmeal. If you look at just the nutrition facts, the two are comparable with Mccann’s Irish Steel Cut Oatmeal. In fact, Good Food Made Simple’s Original contains an extra gram of fiber (while Starbucks has an added half gram of saturated fat). But that’s only half the story. What about ingredients? While our original steel cut contains only three ingredients, Starbucks boasts 13 different ingredients! We don’t know about you, but we don’t need any guar gum in our oats. Fresh or not.
What does all of this mean? Well, it means you need to look at your ingredients. Just because something is ‘fresh’ or ‘frozen’ doesn’t mean it’s better or worse. It’s what’s inside that counts.
Question: Do you eat frozen foods?
Sources:
- Alexander, Kelly. “Cold Case: Are the new frozen dinners any good?” Slate Magazine. 2005. http://www.slate.com/id/2115310/
Egg-cellent Quick & Kid-Friendly Breakfast
Posted on October 22, 2011 by George Gavris, Good Food Made Simple
We know that mornings can get a little hectic, but that shouldn’t mean sending the little ones out the door without some good brain food. It’s time to kick the sugar – laden cereals and bars to the curb, and instead give your kids (and you) something to cheer about. Here’s an idea that will fill your kids tummies and turn breakfast into an artistic adventure!
All you will need:
· Good Food Made Simple All Natural frozen Whole Egg Patty
· Fun cookie cutters (maybe hearts for a Valentine’s Day theme)
· Multi-grain bread
· A thin slice of cheese
· Ten minutes of your morning
From there it is quite simple: Pop the egg patties in the microwave for 90 seconds as the bread is in the toaster. Then let your kids have fun cutting silly shapes out of the egg patties and the toast and voila, you’ve got a heart (or whatever cutter you chose) shaped breakfast on the go!
Starting your kids off their day with a high-quality protein like that found in eggs will leave the little ones with 3 hours of energy and improved memory recall timing, according to the Incredible Egg. And remember our All Natural Whole Egg Patties [Link to product page] are equivalent to one large egg, plus we threw some extra egg whites in there.
What did you make with your breakfast sandwich? Send us a picture and we’ll send you a coupon!
Egg Myth Debunked: Do Eggs Cause High Cholesterol?
Posted on October 22, 2011 by George Gavris, Good Food Made Simple
Good Food Made Simple is here to unscramble the most common egg myth out there: do eggs raise your cholesterol level?
According to a research from the University of Surrey, “there is no link between eggs and high cholesterol.” In fact eggs are a highly recommended healthy breakfast food. It is a nutrient-dense food, with an invaluable source of protein, such a high quality that scientists frequently use it as the gold standard for measuring the protein quality of other foods. [1]
Often there is some kernel of truth to every myth, so why have so many Americans shied away from this healthy breakfast choice? The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) shared that eggs have been found to be 14% lower in cholesterol than previously recorded studies. The average amount of cholesterol in a large egg is 185mg. Experts are not denying that this is a substantial amount of cholesterol, however it has been proven that adults can eat eggs without significantly impacting their risk of heart disease. In fact, only a small amount of the cholesterol in food passes into the blood stream. Instead, watch out for foods high in saturated and trans fats; these have a much larger effect on blood cholesterol levels.
Let’s take a look at egg nutrition facts: 6 grams of protein will keep you full and energized. Thirteen essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants boost energy levels. This all at a very low calorie count – only 70 calories! [2] So crack open an egg and enjoy. And for those of you looking for a healthy breakfast on the go try Good Food Made Simple All Natural Egg Patties. It’s the real deal – 100% egg, in 3 minutes, without the clean up.
References
[1] Byrne, Katie. “10 Health Myths Debunked.” Evening Herald Newspaper | Ireland’s Evening News Paper | Dublin & National News – Herald.ie. Evening Herald Newspaper, 1 Aug. 2011. Web. 24 Aug. 2011. .
[2] “Egg Nutrition and Heart Disease: Eggs aren’t the dietary demons they’re cracked up to be” Harvard Health Publications, 2006, Harvard Medical, 24 Aug. 2011 http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/egg-nutrition www.incredibleegg.org
