A Strong Breakfast Builds a Strong Body and Mind

Remember the excitement that goes on in the house during the first days of school for younger children?  Everyone is up early and ready to start the day and that usually lasts for about a week or so.  Now that we are well into the school year, that excitement may have worn off a little and you may find yourself trying to keep yourself together while getting everyone out of the house.

On a perfect morning, everyone would be up and dressed on time, no one would have lost a shoe, and all of the schoolwork would be in the backpack.  That would be in a perfect world, but those mornings can be hectic and when it comes to breakfast, sometimes we find ourselves scooping handfuls of sugared cereal into plastic bags for the kids (and maybe yourself) to eat on the way to school.

Studies have been showing and proving that good nutrition is a very important part of a child’s ability to learn and pay attention in school.  They have also shown that children are not getting the nutrition they need and one of the reasons, among many others, is the lack of time to prepare a full breakfast each morning.

If your child does not receive breakfast at school, that is one extra step in your morning that can cause stress.  One solution is to make healthy, inexpensive grab-and-go breakfast foods and the best part is that you can get the kids to help you out.  It will be a fun learning activity for them and they will be more likely to eat it if they helped to make it.

This recipe uses ingredients that are easy to find and usually EBT and WIC accessible.

Breakfast Muffin Cups:

12 whole eggs

3 cups chopped vegetables (vegetables left over from weekend dinners work well too)

½ teaspoon table (iodized) salt

¼ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp black pepper

½ tsp Tabasco (if desired)

½ cup reduced fat cheddar cheese

(you can also add 1 cup cooked brown rice)

Preheat oven to 350

Beat eggs and add in other ingredients until well-mixed.  Grease the cups of a muffin pan and pour 1/3 cup servings of the mixture into the muffin cups.  Bake for 25 minutes or until the center is set. 

After muffins are cooled, you can store them in the refrigerator for one week or in the freezer for one month.  You can heat them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds or until warm to the touch.