We have all already heard that it is essential for children to have a good, complete and balanced breakfast to start the day with energy and have a good school performance.

But the truth is that it is not always easy, many children wake up without appetite, they do not feel like the healthy breakfasts that we offer them with our best intentions or we simply walk in the morning in a hurry.

First let’s see what they should have for breakfast.

How to prepare healthy breakfasts for children

A good breakfast should consist of: whole wheat bread, rolled oats or other cereals, whole wheat flours in preparations such as muffins or pancakes or, for example, sweet potatoes or other root vegetables.

• Liquids: At night the body becomes dehydrated and in the mornings you have to drink. We can offer the little ones water; water flavored with lemon verbena, lemon, orange…; different infusions such as berries, rose hips, rooibos…; vegetable broth; homemade vegetable drink, or, for example, cereal coffee or cocoa with a healthy sweetener.
• Complete carbohydrates: They are the main source of energy, but it is preferable to give them whole grains, because their absorption is slower and glucose peaks are avoided.
• Protein: We must not forget it, especially in the little ones, because it not only satisfies them but above all it plays an important role in their growth and immune system. In this case, a glass of oat milk and a couple of cookies is not worth it. On the contrary, we can include nuts and seeds, nut creams, vegetable pates such as hummus; tofu or other vegetable proteins…
  If it costs them, We can prepare bread or pastries at home and replace part of the flour with almond flour or other nuts, or add hemp seeds, nutritional yeast or a teaspoon of nut cream to vegetable yogurt, cereal or a smoothie. We can also try including protein-rich cereals such as quinoa or amaranth.
• And fresh fruit or vegetables should never be missing. It is better to prepare smoothies with whole fruit or give them pieces of fresh fruit than fruit juices, which are rich in sugars. In addition, we can offer them vegetables in the form of green juices or pieces of vegetables in sandwiches or, for example, in a tofu scramble.

What if my child doesn’t want to have breakfast?

In this case we can try to offer them fun breakfasts that will surprise them. Who said you have to have toast or cereal for breakfast? Why not play with different savory breakfasts and try preparing the same ingredients in different ways?

Actually We can offer any healthy food. Do you have some leftover quinoa and baked vegetables? Why not offer it to the little ones for breakfast. Do you love homemade veggie burgers? Well, we can make more and also eat them first thing in the day.

The important thing is to talk to the little ones and ask them what they want. Because they may not like the breakfast we offer them, no matter how healthy it is, and instead of soft porridge they prefer something dry like granola or cookies or even want something salty in the morning.

If the children are really not hungry when they get up, we can prepare a breakfast that can be taken to school or eaten on the go. This option includes a variety of complete sandwiches, cookies, homemade cakes or bars, fruit smoothies in a thermos… It is also important that they do not have dinner too late and go to bed early so that they wake up hungry.

6 breakfast recipes for children

And here you have ideas for different breakfasts for the little ones in the house.

1. Crispy cereals with chocolate and almonds

Cereals are one of the most popular breakfasts among children. And although it is advertised as a healthy breakfast, many of the packaged cereals are prepared with refined flours, colorings, additives and sugar. On the other hand, we can prepare this crunchy cereal at home, without any of that.

Ingredients (1 tray):

• 1 cup of any whole wheat flour or a mixture such as buckwheat, spelled, oats, millet
• 1 cup fine rolled oats
• half a cup of almond flour
• 4 tablespoons yogurt
• half cup of coconut oil
• half a teaspoon of baking yeast
• a pinch of salt
• half a cup of panela sugar or coconut sugar
• 1 egg or 1 tablespoon ground flax
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon or vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons of flaked almonds or hemp
• 1 handful of raisins, chocolate chips (optional)

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.
2. If you are using the flax egg, in a small bowl combine the ground flax with 3 tablespoons of water and let sit.
3. In a bowl, combine the flours, rolled oats, sugar, yeast, salt and spices. Add the oil, yogurt and egg or flax egg and mix well. Add the nuts and chocolate or dried fruit and mix well.
4. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
5. Divide the dough into 4 parts, make balls and then make thin snakes. Cut each into slices as thin as possible with a knife, then cut each slice in half to make small pieces. Place on the tray.
6. Bake for about 10-15 minutes until they start to brown. Let cool and store in a jar.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

2. Oatmeal and peanut bars

Oatmeal is a very complete food and ideal for breakfast for the little ones. It is rich in minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, fiber and provides a stable source of energy.

Instead of the oatmeal bowl We can always prepare these bars that are ideal to take to school, since they are easy to transport and also contain peanut butter, which not only gives them an irresistible flavor, but also provides protein.

In this version they also contain chocolate, but depending on tastes We can use nuts and dried fruit instead of chocolate.

Ingredients:

• 150 g fine oat flakes
• 125 g oat flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• a pinch of salt
• 90 ml maple syrup
• 90 g natural peanut butter
• 45g coconut oil
• 60 ml oat drink
• 100 g chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. In a small saucepan, mix the maple syrup, peanut butter and coconut oil and heat over low heat to mix well. Add the oatmeal drink and mix.
3. In a bowl, mix the oat flakes, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add the liquid mixture and mix. Let it cool a little and add the chocolate chips.
4. Pour the mixture into a mold previously greased with a little coconut oil or lined with parchment paper, flatten well with your hands and bake for 25-30 minutes until it begins to brown.
5. Let cool and cut into bars.

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3. Mexican burritos with tofu

Another technique to make the little ones eat breakfast is surprise them with different breakfasts. Of course they have to be balanced and easy to prepare, like this burrito that meets the standards of a balanced breakfast.

The only thing we have to prepare is the tofu the day before or in our batch cooking. This one carries a soft macerated with spices inspired by Mexico, but if children are very sensitive to spices, we can prepare a simple macerate only with tamari, oil and nutritional yeast.

Ingredients (2 servings):

• 200g tofu
• 2 whole wheat tortillas
• ½ avocado
• 1 bud
• 1 tomato

To marinate the tofu:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 clove of garlic
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• ¼ teaspoon cilantro

Preparation:

1. Wrap the tofu in paper or a kitchen towel, place a weight on top and let it dry for at least 30 minutes.
2. In a deep plate, mix all the ingredients for the macerate.
3. Cut the tofu in half lengthwise and then into quarters to make 8 slices. Cover with the marinade and let it marinate for about 30 minutes.
4. Put the tofu on a baking tray and bake at 200ºC for 25-30 minutes. Flip it halfway through. Let cool and store in a container.
5. In the morning prepare the burritos. Heat the tortillas. Cut the tomato and avocado into slices and chop the leaves from the heart.
6. Put a little of the florets, a few slices of tomato, avocado, and a couple of slices of tofu in each tortilla and wrap well.

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4. Toast «pizza«

¿Pizza for breakfast? Why not. But don’t be scared. We do not propose to set the alarm at five in the morning to knead the dough, but rather to make a pizza express with bread and see the smile on the kids’ faces.

In this recipe we use smoked tofu and spinach to provide protein and vegetables and create a complete breakfast, but we can add other ingredients such as mushrooms, corn, broccoli or any other ingredient that the little ones like.

Ingredients (2 servings):

• 2 slices of whole wheat bread
• olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 50 g smoked tofu
• 8 spinach leaves
• 2 tablespoons of vegan cheese for pizza

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven on program grill.
2. Toast the bread in a toaster.
3. Meanwhile, chop the tofu and spinach.
4. Drizzle the bread with a little olive oil and spread each slice with 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce.
5. Sprinkle the spinach, chopped tofu and cheese on top and grill in the oven for about 5 minutes until the cheese melts.

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5. Chocolate and hemp smoothie

Well, what if after trying everything our kids really They are not hungry and do not feel like chewing in the morning? No need to throw in the towel.

We can try to prepare a smoothie; but not just any one, but a complete and nutritious shake. To provide carbohydrates we can add oat flakes or cooked quinoa; for protein, nuts and seeds or creams, and if we feel like it, fruit and vegetables.

Here we present a simple chocolate shake with hemp seeds, rich in protein, vitamin E, calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium and omega-3s that help with concentration. Also We can add half a banana or a couple of spinach leaves.

Ingredients (1 shake):

• 250 ml of water or vegetable drink
• 2 tablespoons hemp seeds
• 2 tablespoons oat flakes
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 1-2 dates
• a pinch of vanilla
• a pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. We beat all the ingredients.
2. We test the flavor and if we need more sweetener, we add half more date.

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6. Millet and raisin cake

Eat whole grains for breakfast It provides many benefits, since they provide vitamins, minerals, gradual energy and fiber. Wheat, spelled and oats are the classics for breakfast, but it is a good idea to introduce different cereals to children to take advantage of the particular benefits of each one.

Millet is especially rich in calcium (it has the highest content of cereals), iron, magnesium and antioxidants. The classic way is to eat cereals in the form of porridge, but we can play with other ways such as preparing them in the oven.

In this recipe we use raisins, walnuts and cinnamon, but we can flavor the cake with other flavors. We can add pieces of fresh fruit such as apple, pear, banana, berries, or nuts and dried fruit such as dates, apricot kernels, coconut, etc.

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 150 g millet
• 750 ml of vegetable drink
• 6-8 tablespoons of syrup…