If your mornings were anything like mine when my kids were young, we were lucky if our kids made it out with matching shoes. One of the keys to manage the chaos is prep. A little time at night or prepping over the weekend can make mornings a little easier, at least in the food department. Where we are prepping for ourselves our or kids it is important to think about the effects our food had on us through the day. A carb/sugar laden breakfast can set our kids up for a crash prior to lunch. Moring is a good time to have some of those healthy carbs, but added sugar can be a problem.

Let’s look at some classic mistakes:

1. OJ – Whether this is fresh squeezed or not OJ is a sugar bomb and can cause a dip in blood sugar later on.
2. Breakfast bars – packaging can make these products appear to be healthy, but whether they use “organic can sugar” or other healthy sounding sugars these will also cause a spike in blood sugar.
3. Packaged cereals – again whether they claim to be healthy or not, we need to look at the label to find the hidden “added sugars”.

Those are just a few, but common ways we get excess sugars into our kids in the morning.

So, what are some good healthy options for our kids?

Let’s look at fats. Adding some healthy fat to our kid’s breakfast can slow the absorption of carbs/sugars and minimize a spike in blood sugar. Apples can be a good start especially if we add some almond butter, so add extra flavor and especially some fats. I am not a chef, but I have done some research here and found some healthy ideas, and some that can be made in advance. Breakfast banana pops Adding some yogurt can give us some fats and yogurt can be a good source of probiotics. Crush up some barkTHINS for some added flavor that the kids will love. These are great for hot days and can be kept frozen until needed.

Easy Breakfast Roll-Ups Here is a way to get some healthy greens into your child’s breakfast. If you can get them to eat a whole wheat, or better yet a gluten free wrap, even better. Again, we are getting some fats, protein and some carbs. Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches Here is a healthier alternative to a classic McDonalds breakfast sandwich. Sometimes a little bit of trickery can help us get some healthier foods into our kids. Making this look like something they might get at a fast food restaurant could help.

Don’t be afraid of some carbs for our kids in the morning, they do need it! But look out for added sugars and find way to get healthy fats and some protein into their meal.

As a general rule our kids should be getting about 40-50% of their calories from carbs, the rest from healthy protein and fats. I wouldn’t go so far as to count calories, but use a common sense approach to their nutrition and think about how what we put into their body in the morning will have a massive impact on how they feel and perform throughout the day.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us during your next adustment. At In8 Wellness Center here in Beverly, we are more than chiropractors, we are health coaches and we’re here for you.