Feeding Your Family: Making a Morning Meal That Works

By Larissa Phillips

Studies show that if breakfast is offered - any breakfast - kids are two-thirds more likely to eat. So put something, anything, out!


I love breakfast - just not the minute I wake up. It's a good hour or two before my body wants anything to do with pancakes or fried eggs or even oatmeal, my favorite meal in the morning. But I have kids, and an early breakfast is essential. More and more studies are indicating that what you eat in the morning affects how you perform for the rest of the day.

That's common sense, right? And yet, not enough kids are eating what they need. According to the American Cereal Council, 30 percent of U.S. elementary school kids go to school without breakfast at least once a week. And the Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that half of all teenagers skip breakfast more often than they eat it.








Breakfast on the Run?

Try these Apple-Oatmeal Bars. For crispier bars, use a whole stick of butter and just half a cup of applesauce. Feel free to add leftover cooked oats to the recipe.

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar

  • 4 Tbs. honey or a sweetener
        with a low-glycemic level,
        like agave syrup

  • 2-1/2 cups rolled oats

  • 2 Tbs. sunflower seeds

  • 1 Tbs. pumpkin seeds

  • 2 Tbs. flax seeds, finely ground
        in a spice grinder (optional)

  • 1 tsp. cinnamon

  • 1 cup applesauce

     Preparation:


    1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

    2. Butter an 8-inch square pan. Melt butter over low heat. Dissolve brown sugar and honey into the butter.

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