Breakfast of Champions

Earlier this week, Consumer Reports released a new study on children's breakfast cereals. This big consumer item regularly feeds the bulk of children (and 58% of adults) in the United States. Based on the amount spent on advertising ($229 million), this is no surprise. Packaged breakfast cereal is quick, convenient, and most everyone loves it. The problem is that it is not the healthiest option for your child for two reasons: one, they rarely pour the recommended serving amount (usually ¾ to 1 cup), meaning that it costs significantly more than you think, and two, they are getting significantly more sugar than they need, leading to a "crash-and-burn" later in the day.

Consumer Reports gave high marks to only 4 of the 27 cereals they tested, based on fiber content and the amount of sugar: Cheerios, Kix, Honey Nut Cheerios, and Life. All were low in sugar, contained fiber, and were high in iron and calcium. By contrast, two cereals were 50% sugar (by weight) and another 9 had at least 40% sugar. The one surprise I noted was with Rice Krispies, which have a very low (4 grams) sugar content, but rated only Fair. This is due to the lack of dietary fiber and high sodium content. Also down at the bottom of the list were Honey Smacks, Golden Crisp, Corn Pops, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops, Cap'n Crunch and Cap'n Crunch's Peanut Butter Crunch.

I know that we can do better for our children. While we may not have the luxury of being June Cleaver and serving a piping hot breakfast every morning, we do owe it them to try a bit harder, and you can do so with a little planning and not much more effort. The benefit will be to your children and your pocketbook. I did a cost comparison of cold cereal and 5 other basic breakfast foods. Yogurt is the only item that topped a bowl of cereal, but that is only because the serving size used is that which was recommended on the box. According to Consumer Reports, children eat about 50% more than the recommended serving size, which would put cereal at the top of the list at $.60/serving.

Yogurt (.50/cup) - .50/serving
Cereal ($3/box) - .40/serving
2 eggs ($2/dozen) - .32/serving
Oatmeal ($3.59/box) - .27/serving
Muffin Mix ($3/box) - .25/serving
2 pieces whole grain toast ($2/loaf) - .22/serving

With limited time in the morning, Americans need ways to eat healthier without spending too much time in the kitchen. This means quick alternatives to cereal, as well as make-ahead items that you can do on the weekends. In fact, you should consider making it a family activity. Get the kids involved in making muffins or pancakes for the week. The more invested they are in the item, the more likely they are to eat it. Some suggestions, and recipes, below.

QUICK

• Whole wheat toast/English muffin/tortilla – low in sugar, quick to fix, serve with no-sugar jam or preserves, peanut butter (with or without sliced bananas), almond butter, cheese slices, or prepared egg salad. Thomas's makes a multigrain English muffin that has 32% RDA of fiber and less than one gram of sugar, while Oroweat English Health Nut Muffins have only 3 grams of sugar, 16% of RDA fiber and 6 grams of protein.
• Oatmeal – Quick Oats cook in 1 minute – add to that the boiling of the water and you have maybe 3 minutes total—about the same amount of time as those packets of sweetened oatmeal that you add boiling water to—and it's significantly healthier. Quick Oats are less processed and can be flavored easily with honey, agave syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, fresh fruit, dried fruit, liquid chai mix…the list goes on
• Yogurt – There is significant calcium and protein in yogurt, but beware sugar content. If you cannot find a brand low in sugar, you can buy plain yogurt and sweeten yourself with no-sugar jam or preserves, honey, agave, or maple syrup. Add in some fresh or dried fruit or granola for texture.
• Eggs – yes, you can serve eggs in the morning that don't involve you standing over a stove for 10 minutes. Shirred or baked eggs take just one minute to prepare and you stick them in the oven for 10-12 minutes and they are ready to serve. You can make them with either a slightly runny or hard yolk, depending on your preference. I like to add cheese on top or hide crumbled bacon underneath as a surprise. (Recipe below.)
• Frozen Waffles/Pancakes – Safeway's Eating Right Multigrain waffle has only 3 grams of sugar (and is the 9th ingredient listed). Also good choices are Kelloggs Special K, Van's Organic Whole Wheat or Hearty Oats, Von's Multigrain, and Eggo Whole Grain (various flavors).

MAKE AHEAD

• Fruit salad – head out to the farmer's market on Saturday and load up on fruit. Dice it up, sprinkle with some lemon juice, and store in a Ziploc or large Tupperware. It can be eaten alone or you can add dried coconut, granola, yogurt for added value, and chopped mint or grated ginger for an extra pop of flavor.
• Muffins - There are muffin mixes out there that are on the healthier side if you do not want to make your own. Try Hodgson Mill, Krusteaz, Bob's Red Mill. (Beware the new Betty Crocker Fiber One Apple Cinnamon muffin mix, as the first ingredient is sugar!)
• Scones – low in sugar, quick to make, and the addition of raisins or dried fruit sweetens the deal and adds great flavor. My children's favorite is chocolate chip scones, which only contain a small amount of mini-chips, making them taste much sweeter than they actually are. I double the recipe when I make them, as they go fast. (Recipe below)
• Whole Grain Pancakes – You can mix up and cook a double batch of these over the weekend and either Ziploc or freeze the extras for serving during the week. Serve with real maple syrup or fruit topping. Some of the healthier brands are Hodgson Mill, Krusteaz, Arrowhead Mills, Bob's Red Mill.
• Granola Bars – Fiber, Omega-3s, protein all come packed in these little bars. Homemade are best as you can control the ingredients. My recipe here is a big hit, with oatmeal, flax seeds, and sunflower seeds as the base. I have experimented with pecan/cranberry, almond/ginger, almond/apricot flavors so far. Easy to make in 20 minutes, you'd have enough bars for at least one week.

Chocolate Chip Scones
2 cups flour
1⁄4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
6 tablespons butter (3/4 stick), cut into chunks
1 large egg
about 1⁄2 cup milk
1⁄2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon demerara or granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, mix flour, powdered sugar, and baking powder, Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender or rub with fingers until consistency of fine crumbs. Break the egg into a glass measuring cup and add milk to make 2/3 cup total. Stir with a fork to blend. Add to flour mixture along with chips and stir with fork to blend until fairly evenly moistened. Pat into a ball and knead on a lightly floured board until dough holds together, 6 to 8 turns. Pat dough into an 8-inch round. Sprinkle with demerara or granulated sugar and cut into 8 wedges. Place on greased cookie sheet, spaced well apart. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Baked or Shirred Eggs
Preheat oven to 325. Lightly butter a ramekin or individual pyrex dish and break in one or two eggs. Top with a tablespoon of cream, ½ and ½, or milk. Bake for 12 minutes or until eggs are done to your likeness. You may hide chopped ham or crumbled bacon under the egg and/or top with any kind of shredded cheese.

As a final note, please make sure to read labels when shopping. While many breakfast foods, such as bagels or biscuits are low in sugar, they have very little fiber, are traditionally high in sodium, fat, and calories. Look for low sugar, low sodium, low fat options, where the top ingredients are NOT sugar.