September is Family Mealtime Month! Why do you think family mealtime is important?
Eating meals together as a family will help you….
- Make healthier choices
- Get better grades
- Be happier & kinder towards your siblings
- Make good memories with your family
The benefits of family meals don’t only happen at dinnertime. You can also make lunch or breakfast an opportunity to sit down and eat together! Today we’re going to talk about breakfast!
Breakfast, along with sleep and exercise is how we recharge our bodies. Think about a phone. When we use phones for a long time, they run out of energy and need to be plugged into the wall.
After some time, our phones are charged and we can use them again! Our bodies follow a similar pattern. After a long day of thinking and playing, we are tired and need to go to sleep. When we wake up, we feel better, but still need some fuel to get us through the next day. That fuel comes from a healthy and delicious breakfast!
Healthy and delicious breakfasts are easier to make than you may think, especially when we plan ahead! Sticking to a morning routine will help you find time to eat breakfast with your family. You may find it easiest to come up with a menu for your family to follow! Here’s a sample of what a breakfast menu might look like.
Make sure every breakfast you plan has one food from each of the 4 groups highlighted in the picture below. Sometimes the groups will overlap, like when pancakes are made with whole-grains. The 4 groups are:
- Main dish
- Whole grain
- Fruits and vegetables
- Drinks
When making your own menu, be sure to include foods you and your siblings like! Try making a list of your favorite foods and put them in each category. Then you’ll have your very own breakfast meal plan.
What will you cook tomorrow morning?
Banana Smoothie 
Berry Banana Split 
Veggie Omelet Muffins 
Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes
References
- Washburn, Carolyn; Jewkes, Melanie; Neid, Jaqueline; and Hunsaker, Teresa, “Create Family Meals Curriculum” (2018). All Current Publications. Paper 1920.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/extension_curall/1920