Breakfast ideas

[Jennifer Davis Pollock]

My family is going to start it's first Whole30 in a week. We have 3 girls, ages 5, 6, and 8. I leave for work before anyone else gets up in the morning, so I need to come up wtih some breakfast ideas for them that can be reheated easily or made very quick and easy. My husband isn't quite awake enough that early to cook (maybe that will change as time goes by...) and they're not old enough yet to use the stove.

And what are your opinions on maybe not going entirely Whole30 with the kids - allowing them some paleo-ized things that my husband and I wouldn't eat being strict Whole30. They eat total junk now and I'm desperate to change that, so don't know if paleo pancakes and other treats would help ease them into it or just sabotage my efforts with them.

I appreciate the help!

[SarrizleP]

You could make egg muffins the night before. Eggs, veggies, bake in a muffin tin. They are easy and heat up pretty good.

[SarrizleP]

Oh and if they're not completely paleo you could add some cheese.

[Mistie Gleason Cottrill]

We are going slow with the kids, my husband and I started Whole 30 on Jan 1st and decided to start with the kids Gluten Free. We are not ready to go dairy free for them yet. We have gotten Gluten Free bread and done French Toast, we do Hard Boiled Eggs almost every morning. We also do canned organic sweet potatoes with a little ghee, cinnamon and coconut and my daughter loves this! But we still do yogurt, it is a go to for our kids, they would give up the milk but love their yogurt. The gluten thing has been hard enough but I have been telling my 7 year old daughter that we are trying something to help her not get so upset and lose her temper so fast. We will see, it is very hard to explain this to kids that want a cookie for a treat or ice cream once and awhile.

[RevKT]

Balanced Bites has a Pumpkin Pancake recipe that is just pumpkin purée, eggs, and spices. It also has 2Tbsp. Of maple syrup which you can put in for the kids if you want. However, on Whole30 we have made it for our son without maple syrup and we microwave some frozen blueberries and strawberries with some water and pour that over the pancakes. You can make them the night before and in the mornings heat it all up. You can also put almond butter in between pancakes for a sandwich. I think this qualifies as SWYPO except we are ok with it since it does not have any fake flours in it. We triple the recipe and mix it in the food processor which makes the pancakes fluffy.

http://balancedbites.com/2012/10/easy-recipe-pumpkin-pancakes-from-practical-paleo.html

We also just eat dinner leftovers for breakfast too.

[Renee Lee]

Hi RevKT,

The Pancake recipe is NOT Whole30 approved, even though it's a nice change for the kiddos. It's still paleofying a noncompliant food choice

[Amy Blades]

I'm in a similar situation; I leave the house at 6:30 and my fiance doesn't get up with my son (1 year old) until about 8:30. I make eggs every morning; usually an omelet but sometimes just scrambled, fried, or boiled. I use four eggs in whatever I make, one for son and three for me. I make a seperate omelet for the fiance if he wants, but usually he gets his own breakfast elsewhere.

One thing that helps me get the omelet made ASAP is a frozen vegetable mix called "spaghetti mix" - not sure if it has other names. It's finely chopped onion, celery, carrot, and sweet pepper. I thaw/fry the veggies in some oil for a few minutes in the pan and then add the eggs and cook until set, flipping once. Voila.

I think if you had fruit available, like pre-cut fruit in the fridge or fast fruit like fruit cups or bananas plus made some kind of bulk egg dish the night before or in the morning it would solve your dilema.

I can't tell you what will work for your family with regards to the Whole30 and getting them away from sweets. I've done what I can with my own daughter (16) and my fiance but they still eat grains and dairy galore.

[SpinSpin]

Edited for being off topic

[Renee Lee]

SpinSpin, I appreciate your comment, but even though we totally don't expect every parent to feed their kids 100% W30, 100% of the time, we'd really like to keep the recommendations compliant in the W30 focused forum sections.

Thanks!

[SpinSpin]

Sorry Renee!

[Jennifer Davis Pollock]

Thanks everyone! I certainly want to keep my kids' eating in line with ours as much as possible, not only for health but simplicity! They might not be Whole30, but we are definitely trying to break free from sugar addictions, so Paleo-ized items for them wouldn't be all that frequent just because I don't want them to rely on sweets, no matter how much more healthy they are.

[Robin D]

I found the key to getting breakfasts ready (mine and my kid's) in the morning is make sure I make 2-3 days worth in advance. My daughter can eat scrambled eggs (you could try using coconut milk instead of regular milk, although only limit V's milk, not eliminate it) like they're going out of style, so I'll make a huge portion (think 6-8 eggs) on Sunday and then another batch on Wednesday. If you throw in some fruit or squash or sweet potato on top of that you've got a pretty good breakfast. If you can get them to eat avocado you've got a really protein rich, full fat breakfast that will keep them full all morning! Good for you for trying to clean up their diets!

[Krista Billows Rodriguez]

Egg muffins are a great heat and go option. Other ideas, cook up a fritatta and slice it up for easy reheating, keep a supply of hard boiled eggs on hand and cook up some ground meat sliders that can be reheated or make a batch of scrambled eggs, enough for a day or two to keep in the fridge.

Good luck!

Krista

[sarakinva]

What about for the kids who won't eat stuff mixed together? Mine ( 7 and 4) might eat a plain egg muffin but if it had any veggies mixed in, forget it. They will eat some veggies separately. I run into this with every meal. They won't eat the soups, curries, stews or even plain meat with herbs (they will only eat really plain meat). You can see my kids have been eating junk and I'm at a loss. Breakfast is the biggest challenge because we have to race out of the house by 7 am.

[Robin Strathdee]

I have one of those I usually save out a few of the veggies and set them aside for her. Then, I'll make a smaller amount of something plain (in this case, pour in a few muffins before you add the veg.). No extra work, really, and everyone's happy.

[Renee Lee]

I have one of those I usually save out a few of the veggies and set them aside for her. Then, I'll make a smaller amount of something plain (in this case, pour in a few muffins before you add the veg.). No extra work, really, and everyone's happy.

Sounds like you've got one of everything, Robin...never a dull moment, huh?

[Robin Strathdee]

Sounds like you've got one of everything, Robin...never a dull moment, huh?

You have no idea. My two children could NOT be more different:

One is an intense, serious, sciencey (had to explain her immune system to her - and answer her many difficult questions - last night because she had a fever), motivated learner (she can read and write cursive. at 5. really?). She prefers her meat dry and dislikes fatty textures like avocado and egg. Won't touch a sweet potato with a 10 foot pole, but will eat me out of bacon in 30 seconds flat. I couldn't get her to eat cooked veggies until she was almost 4. She's fiercely independent and doesn't want anyone's help - if she needs a tool, she'll build it out of K'nex.

The other is flighty, highly unmotivated, lives to dance and has to wear a tutu EVERYWHERE. She wants the "slimy" meat, can eat a gigantic sweet potato on top of her full meal and 3 eggs to boot. Doesn't like bacon (I'm not even sure she's mine). Her favorite phrase is, "Can you help me?" followed quickly by "I caaaaaaaan't do it myself!" But she loves to snuggle, and that makes it worth it.

[Renee Lee]

Your first one sounds like a lot like me as a kid. My mother almost had a heart attack when I was 2 and, while sitting on my dad's lap while he was reading the paper, asked what an anti-ballistic missile was. (Gulf War coverage, and stuff)

She's a big fan of that story.

[Robin Strathdee]

Your first one sounds like a lot like me as a kid. My mother almost had a heart attack when I was 2 and, while sitting on my dad's lap while he was reading the paper, asked what an anti-ballistic missile was. (Gulf War coverage, and stuff)

She's a big fan of that story.

That's SO her. She likes to tell people about her trebuchet collection (all made out of K'nex, of course).

[sarakinva]

Sounds like you've got a gifted kid on your hands too, Robin! That is not "normal" for 5. Believe me, I know! LOL

[Alana]

Is it just the maple syrup that make those pumpkin pancakes noncompliant?

[Renee Lee]

Alana, no. It's the fact that it's a pancake. Whole30 rules state that there is NO paleofying "normal" food choices.

[Alana]

Thanks, Renee. I wasn't aware of that. I don't recall that from the book. Can you explain the thought process behind that?

[Renee Lee]

From this link: http://whole9life.com/2012/08/the-whole30-program/

In addition, no Paleo-ifying dessert or junk food choices. Trying to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold will ruin your program faster than you can say, “Paleo pizza.†This means no desserts or junk food made with “approved†ingredients—no coconut-flour pancakes, almond-flour muffins, flourless brownies, or coconut milk ice cream. Don't try to replicate junk food during your 30 days! That misses the point of the Whole30 entirely.

The thought process is that we're not just trying to change the food that's going into your body, but changing your behavior. If you always grabbed a muffin and a glass of milk before running out the door in the morning, grabbing an almond flour muffin and some almond milk instead doesn't change that behavior or pattern. You're more apt to return to your old behaviors when you're done with your W30.

I'm not up on my psych enough to speak to how that affects people, but it definitely doesn't set people up for success on this program.

As I said, we don't expect every family to be militant about this program with their kids, because that can create a whole different flavor of food neuroses, so there's of course some wiggle room for the kiddos...but we just want to keep the recommendations in the dedicated W30 sections of the forum squeaky clean.

[Alana]

Got it! I understand and I do remember reading that now that you quoted it. Thanks!