Breakfast is coined as the most important meal to start the day. Our bodies undergo 8 – 12 hours of rest each night as we sleep, while cells are hard at work repairing and nurturing overnight. For our little ones, rest is important so they can develop healthily.
This meal has been termed as brain food, to fuel our bodies with energy to get through the day. Active tots need their power pack too! Start the day right with a healthy breakfast!
With our busy schedules as working parents, sometimes, breakfast is the only meal that we get to share with our bub before depositing them with another caregiver before we head to work. For mamas and papas who are wrecking their brains over breakfast preparation and struggle to get ready in the morning, here are some breakfast ideas that take no more than 30 minutes of prep work. Best of all, adults and babies can have the same food – super time saver!
#1: Bread
Preparation time: < 5min
If your little one likes munching on bread, take this time to enjoy these off-the-shelves bakes from your nearest bakery or simply opt for fresh loaves of white bread, wholemeal, pita, ciabatta, soft grains, tortilla wraps, fruit and nut etc. Have them plain or spread on butter/margarine, avocado, peanut butter, jam or even cheese for the little one, depending on age. Fuss-free and takes minimal effort! Baby V had her first bite of bread at 8mo and is a certified bread lover! And if you have some time to spare, baking your own the day before or over the weekend gives you homemade goodness for the brand new week.
#2: The Fast Food Folks
Preparation time: < 5min
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting fast food for your bubbas, but these are options that are grab and go, you don’t even need much effort to prepare them. Keep these around as “emergency” backups for those crazy times when meltdowns greet you first thing in the morning. Or when you have an urgent meeting that needs your butt on-site ASAP.
Don’t go on an empty stomach, and neither should your child. Bananas, yogurt, store-bought muffins, whole fruit to munch on, less mess type and don’t require cutting up (apples, pears, persimmons, peaches, prunes, plums, nectarines, avocado). Offer fruits on handy sizes so your munchkins can hold them nicely to self-feed. Blueberries or any diced fruits are great for training those pincer grasp, while longer chunkier options like bananas are favourites for BLW.
#3: Breakfast Cereal
Preparation time: < 5min
This is another super quickie. Fresh milk and cereal make breakfast so easy. Some mums opt for Cheerios or good ol’ Kelloggs Corn Flakes or baby-friendly cereal. Add fruits like grapes, blueberries, strawberries if you or your bub fancies. You don’t even have to spend time skinning them. Yums! For bubbas over 1 year old, consider adding nuts too; but do ensure your child is not allergic to them.
We like Healthy Times Organic Teddy Puffs with Fresh Milk. They get Baby V’s stamp of approval everytime!
#4: Savoury Egg Muffins
Preparation time: < 10min
This is one of favouritest recipe in our bag of tricks! It’s so versatile and quick to prepare, just add whatever you fancy and throw them into the oven to bake. And parents, you can get on with changing diapers or putting on makeup, and 20 minutes later, TA-DA!
#5: Rolled Oats Porridge
Preparation time: 15min
Rolled oats are another versatile option which gives you a hearty, fibre-rich meal to fill you for longer. We are not referring to the instant cereal drink here (of course, that takes less than a minute to prepare!) as we aren’t comfortable offering instant food to the little one. So, consider some options on the menu – plain, sweet or savoury! Adults and kiddos can have their preferred and cooking it doesn’t take long!
#6: Eggs, Eggs, Baby
Preparation time: 5 – 15 mins
These little bursts of proteins and minerals are yummy in varying states – soft boil (do not serve soft boil eggs to babies under 1yo), hard boil, poached (think Eggs Benedict, again, with its runny yolks, keep for adults only.), Sunny side-up, scrambled, steamed (we did a baby-friendly Chawanmushi here!).. it’s just a matter of time and watching the clock for your family’s preferred doneness! If you’re the precise sort who like measuring things to a ‘T’, there’s even an app to help you keep track of your eggs – My Perfect Egg Time, for androids and iPhones :P
#7: The Whatever Omelette
Preparation time: 10min
We call it the “Whatever Omelette” because omelettes are ultra versatile, you can have a tomato omelette or mushroom cheese omelette and they are such a great way to start the day, however you fancy! Just crack, beat and dunk into the pan. Always ensure eggs are fully cooked before offering baby.
#8: French Toast
Preparation time: 15min
French toast combines eggs and bread, and sugar (if you like!) – cut them into fingers so your tots can eat on their own too. A great way to start the day with a cuppa!
#9: Pancakes
Preparation time: 10-25min
We’ve got 2 types of pancakes that we’ve tried – Polish pancakes and American pancakes. The first is a crepe-like type, thin like prata and taste awesome with spreads like nutella (for older kids), jam, butter. You could also wrap up ham (for older kids too) and cheese for savoury options, or by all means, go plain too. The American ones resembles McDonald’s and Strictly Pancakes – soft and fluffy!
Serve up with honey, maple syrup, jam, butter for the all-American flavour. Our recipe had the batter sitting in the fridge for 30mins prior to landing in the pan, but you can actually prepare the batter the night before you hit the sack, and take it out in the morning to get wokking! Fill free to add fruits like bananas, raspberries, blackberries for a juicy treat!
For kids with egg allergies, you can have eggless pancakes too! My son used to be allergic to eggs when he was younger, so we made him some super easy and healthy 2-ingredient Pancakes without eggs! All you need is simple ingredients and a blender to save time – very important for busy parents!
*If your child has an allergy to eggs, scroll down to find out what ingredients can be used to substitute eggs!
#10: Super Easy Baked Avocado with Fresh Eggs
Preparation time: 30mins
Avocados are superfoods, packed with Omega-3 fatty acids which are great brain-boosting food! They are also one of the best first foods to introduce your baby when starting his solids journey at six-months-old.
These creamy fruit make a healthy and hearty way to start the day – add an egg for additional boost of Choline (an essential nutrient for kids’ brains too!) and proteins! For younger bubs, do ensure egg is fully cooked. If your child is older, runny yolks provide an interesting flavour too! Easy recipe here!
***Egg Replacements***
It is common for young children to be allergic to certain foods, and eggs rank pretty high on the list. Although most of our ideas suggest the use of eggs, don’t fret. There are egg replacements you could use to swop it, and allow your mini-me’s to continue enjoying their food.
We hope these meal planning ideas come in handy for the next few weeks to come! We know how hard it is to be racing against time every morning, much less having to get food on the table in the quickest possible time while managing the little bosses.
Let us know if you like these ideas and feel free to share them with other busy parents too!
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May I know what is the brand of the cheese stick she is having in the picture above? Thank you.
Hello Yayun!
The cheesesticks were bought while holidaying in London, so she was trying it when we were there. Sorry, i cant recall the brand.
But over here in Singapore, we offer her the BEGA Stringers cheesesticks and she loves them so far :)