September is Family Mealtime Month!
Eating together as a family has been proven to benefit everyone; grades are higher, children eat more fruits and vegetables, and eat less saturated fat than children who don’t have family mealtimes, according to the American Dietetic Association.
Now that school has started, schedules are even busier for many families, and eating together can sometimes get tricky. Don’t worry! Any meal can become a Family Mealtime meal! Breakfast may be easier for some families, especially those who have grown-ups that work late, or kids on teams that practice and play after school. Creating a plan for family breakfast is only a few easy steps now to make each morning run smoothly and create time for your family to connect before each day.
Captain Create starts with a list of a few favorite breakfast foods, then adds foods from the other MyPlate groups, like a grain, fruit or veggie, and a drink to build a MyPlate breakfast. Sometimes more than one of the MyPlate categories are included in the main dish, like in an omelette with peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheese. That breakfast has the protein group (eggs), veggies group (peppers, onions, mushrooms), and dairy group (cheese) in the main dish, so adding orange juice and whole wheat toast on the side will add the fruit group and grains group to make a full MyPlate breakfast!
Here is an example of a list you could write with your family to start your breakfast plan:
Once you have a list of a few of your favorite breakfasts, or some options based on what foods you have on hand, you can create your families very own breakfast menu for the week. Here is an example of Captain Create’s breakfast menu from the choices above. Check out how every day is different and interesting, but may not have all the MyPlate groups in each breakfast… that’s okay! If you don’t eat vegetables at breakfast, be sure to include them in your lunch, snack, or dinner later in the day!
It is peach season right now, so try out this Peach Overnight Oatmeal, and consider adding it to your families breakfast menu some time during September, also known as Family Mealtime Month!
