Give Breakfast a Wake-Up Call #JennieO4Kids

Growing up there were many mornings I skipped on breakfast. I’m a complete night owl, and not much of a morning person so as a kid I was always running late and just didn’t make time for it. However, I do love breakfast and I always have. I remember in middle school and high school, when my skipping breakfast was at its peak, I was always tired, sluggish, and found it impossible to concentrate!

As a parent, I realize the importance of a good morning meal to start out your day. I know breakfast is one of the most important meals you can have, and it sets the tone for your entire mental and physical state throughout the day. This is especially true for growing kids. You hear so much about the effects of a child’s diet and bad eating habits which can lead to obesity and even diabetes later in life.

In my house, I always try to have various things on hand that are healthy and nutritious and my kids can grab and go if they happen to be running late in the morning. My older kids have long weekdays, with school and sports. They need to ensure they get all the nutrition and energy they need to be able to keep going throughout the day. My younger kids are both growing and learning at such a rapid pace, a healthy balanced breakfast is imperative in order to provide the nutrition necessary for the amount of energy they burn.

Children definitely learn by example, and healthy eating habits always start in the home. I’ve seen first hand with my youngest how much of our example they take in, even at the toddler stage. If kids are given healthy choices, as well as fruits and vegetables from a young age, they are more likely to prefer those types of foods as they grow up and begin to make their own decisions. A few months back we were at a football game and took my almost 4 year old to the snack shack. Out of all the sweets, candy, cookies, chips and everything he decided to buy an apple. I know that’s because I cook at home and always incorporate fruits and vegetables in my meals and another thing I do is replace ground meat with ground turkey. I rarely cook with ground beef, and that’s something I did pick up at a young age by replacing ground beef with ground turkey.

Help us build a better future for kids!
Why is eating a nutritious breakfast so important for children? A nutritious
breakfast helps growing bodies develop and thrive, and it can have a substantial long-term impact on children’s educational achievement.  Children who do not eat a nutritious breakfast have a harder time focusing and staying awake in class, which can seriously affect their future educational and professional success.  Starting their day with low-fat healthy protein like Jennie-O Turkey Bacon and Sausage is a great way to help kids grow and succeed inside and outside the classroom!

Over the weekend I went to my local Walmart and picked up some Jennie-O Turkey bacon and Turkey Breakfast Sausage Links. My kids like to go grocery shopping with me and see how the food I purchase gets turned into meals, and they also help me comparison shop to get the best deals. My almost 4 year old D-Man absolutely loves going to Walmart  especially since they’ve remodeled it into a Super Center  Now it has a full selection of meats, dairy, bakery products and produce. He likes to carry his own little basket and add things to it for his own “recipes” that he’ll be creating!

I decided to make my kids a very healthy and low fat/high protein breakfast using both Jennie-O turkey bacon and sausage links. I made whole wheat breakfast wraps with egg whites, veggies and crumbled up turkey bacon and turkey sausage on the side with tangerines. To drink I made breakfast smoothies with 100% fruit juice, Greek yogurt, and fresh fruit. One of the things I think is so important is eating together as a family. We aren’t the family that eats on the couch in front of the TV. Instead, we always eat together at the table. With the older kids we discuss our days, our plans, current events in our lives, and joke and laugh together. The younger kids benefit from this as well, when they first started eating solids they loved to look around at our faces while they ate, and they learned how to feed themselves by mimicking our actions. Even if we order a pizza for dinner, we always eat together at the table. Our kitchen table is normally where we eat our daily meals. It’s a large table with 4 chairs and a bench that fits our family sufficiently. For special occasions, we eat together in the formal dining room where we have our formal table. In addition to forming good eating habits by mostly eating home cooked meals, I feel it’s important to spend that time with our children every single day, and that includes sitting down together for breakfast, as well as dinner.

While eating, my husband and I discussed with our kids the importance of eating a nutritious and balanced breakfast and the benefits throughout the day in doing so. They shared their opinions and observations about some of the other kids at school who they know skip breakfast and how they feel as opposed to how my kids feel throughout the day. They can definitely see a difference and can recognize the importance of eating a healthy meal for breakfast and how it fuels their body for the day. They enjoyed their breakfast and said it was delicious, in addition to being proud of how good it was for them!

Be a champion for kids! Find out ways you can help in your own community to ensure that children are able to get a balanced meal to start their day. My children’s school has their own special lunch programs, so I decided to make a donation to Champion for Kids to help children have the resources they need to thrive. Find out what you can do to help as well!

Whole Wheat Breakfast Wrap Ingredients:

• Canola Oil Cooking Spray
• 1/3 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh spinach
• 2 large eggs
• 5 egg whites
• 2 tablespoons 1% milk
• 4 slices Jennie-O Turkey Bacon
• 4 Whole Wheat Tortillas
• 1/4 cup reduced fat cheese
• 2 tablespoons salsa