I want to drop cereal. But I love it and love the ease. Alternatives?

[Anonymous]

Add some other stuff to the meal. Eggs and fruit. A breakfast meat if that’s something you all eat (it doesn’t have to be bacon). You will end up with the same problem if you don’t add fat and protein to whatever else you sub the cereal with.

[Anonymous]

Oatmeal with peanut butter and a fresh fruit or jam

Make-ahead quiche or frittata (can bake in muffin tins) with lots of veggies, reheat for 30 seconds in the microwave

Frozen waffle with peanut butter, maple syrup and a sliced banana

I love avocado toast or egg salad on toast, but my kids aren't so into it


Or....
There's really no reason that "breakfast" has to be a traditional breakfast food. When I have good leftovers from dinner, I'm as likely to eat them for breakfast as for lunch - a couple of days ago I had mashed potatoes and brisket for breakfast!
One of my kids loves a cheese quesadilla for breakfast. A plate of crackers, cheese, fruit, and sliced meat will keep any of us happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of 5: two parents, seven year old, six year old, and two year old. We are cereal junkies. Mostly just honey nut Cheerios and Cheerios, but I know how bad even those can be for us.

I love the ease…and everyone eats it.

However, it really doesn’t fill anybody up. They ask for a bowl after bowl, and cereal is getting expensive.

I would love realistic alternatives for this working mom. I am a teacher, so I’m hoping over the summer to break the cereal habit but I have a little bit more time, but still not enough to make waffles or anything like that.

I have DD7, DS6, and DS3. We do cereal Saturday mornings, but the kids are definitely hungry an hour later! I work part time as a substitute teacher, and these are my favorite weekday, kid-approved breakfasts:

Cheese toast with fruit
Pancake and sausage on a stick with fruit
Jimmy Dean sausage, egg, and cheese croissants
Yogurt, toast, fruit
Instant oatmeal made with milk, and topped with cranberries, walnuts, cream
Frozen waffles, precooked sausage links, fruit
Hard boiled eggs, toast, fruit

I don't see sausage as a particularly healthy food for children.

[Anonymous]

Family of 5 - cereal is a special exception for us - partly the cost, partly that they're expensive, partly that there's so much sugar. . I make batches of high protein whole grain waffles or pancakes on the weekends. The kids reheat these in the toaster. Old fashioned oatmeal made with whole milk, topped with diced apples, mashed banana, or whatever. Yogurt and homemade granola. Whole grain toast with pb and honey.
Breakfast burritos with cheesy eggs, avocado and bacon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of 5: two parents, seven year old, six year old, and two year old. We are cereal junkies. Mostly just honey nut Cheerios and Cheerios, but I know how bad even those can be for us.

I love the ease…and everyone eats it.

However, it really doesn’t fill anybody up. They ask for a bowl after bowl, and cereal is getting expensive.

I would love realistic alternatives for this working mom. I am a teacher, so I’m hoping over the summer to break the cereal habit but I have a little bit more time, but still not enough to make waffles or anything like that.

I have DD7, DS6, and DS3. We do cereal Saturday mornings, but the kids are definitely hungry an hour later! I work part time as a substitute teacher, and these are my favorite weekday, kid-approved breakfasts:

Cheese toast with fruit
Pancake and sausage on a stick with fruit
Jimmy Dean sausage, egg, and cheese croissants
Yogurt, toast, fruit
Instant oatmeal made with milk, and topped with cranberries, walnuts, cream
Frozen waffles, precooked sausage links, fruit
Hard boiled eggs, toast, fruit

I don't see sausage as a particularly healthy food for children.

I’m the PP to whom you’re replying. Thank you for your concern but I disagree. Meat is a wonderful source of nutrition for growing kids! And I mentioned it in 3 options out of 7 listed. Sounds like you’re weirdly focused on sausage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of 5: two parents, seven year old, six year old, and two year old. We are cereal junkies. Mostly just honey nut Cheerios and Cheerios, but I know how bad even those can be for us.

I love the ease…and everyone eats it.

However, it really doesn’t fill anybody up. They ask for a bowl after bowl, and cereal is getting expensive.

I would love realistic alternatives for this working mom. I am a teacher, so I’m hoping over the summer to break the cereal habit but I have a little bit more time, but still not enough to make waffles or anything like that.

I have DD7, DS6, and DS3. We do cereal Saturday mornings, but the kids are definitely hungry an hour later! I work part time as a substitute teacher, and these are my favorite weekday, kid-approved breakfasts:

Cheese toast with fruit
Pancake and sausage on a stick with fruit
Jimmy Dean sausage, egg, and cheese croissants
Yogurt, toast, fruit
Instant oatmeal made with milk, and topped with cranberries, walnuts, cream
Frozen waffles, precooked sausage links, fruit
Hard boiled eggs, toast, fruit

I don't see sausage as a particularly healthy food for children.

I’m the PP to whom you’re replying. Thank you for your concern but I disagree. Meat is a wonderful source of nutrition for growing kids! And I mentioned it in 3 options out of 7 listed. Sounds like you’re weirdly focused on sausage.

DP, but you mentioned the sausage 3 times. And Jimmy Dean has a ton of additives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of 5: two parents, seven year old, six year old, and two year old. We are cereal junkies. Mostly just honey nut Cheerios and Cheerios, but I know how bad even those can be for us.

I love the ease…and everyone eats it.

However, it really doesn’t fill anybody up. They ask for a bowl after bowl, and cereal is getting expensive.

I would love realistic alternatives for this working mom. I am a teacher, so I’m hoping over the summer to break the cereal habit but I have a little bit more time, but still not enough to make waffles or anything like that.

I have DD7, DS6, and DS3. We do cereal Saturday mornings, but the kids are definitely hungry an hour later! I work part time as a substitute teacher, and these are my favorite weekday, kid-approved breakfasts:

Cheese toast with fruit
Pancake and sausage on a stick with fruit
Jimmy Dean sausage, egg, and cheese croissants
Yogurt, toast, fruit
Instant oatmeal made with milk, and topped with cranberries, walnuts, cream
Frozen waffles, precooked sausage links, fruit
Hard boiled eggs, toast, fruit

I don't see sausage as a particularly healthy food for children.

I’m the PP to whom you’re replying. Thank you for your concern but I disagree. Meat is a wonderful source of nutrition for growing kids! And I mentioned it in 3 options out of 7 listed. Sounds like you’re weirdly focused on sausage.

DP, but you mentioned the sausage 3 times. And Jimmy Dean has a ton of additives.

Umm yes, I mentioned it 3 times out of 7 options. You just restated what I previously said.

Why are some of you so hung up on some sausage? It’s not like I’m serving them the entire pound of it at a time. Just like I’m not serving them carb-laden grains every morning. It’s called balance. Such black and white thinking here!

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of cereals that are high in fiber and have some protein. A previous poster mentioned Grape Nuts but there is also shredded wheat and a number of other ones that have low sugar. I like them but I can understand why others may not. Adding oat milk adds a little sweetness as does fruit. For protein, flax or nuts can be added. Eggs and frittatas are nice but just not realistic for some in a rushed morning and even if made ahead, not everyone likes a hot breakfast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of 5: two parents, seven year old, six year old, and two year old. We are cereal junkies. Mostly just honey nut Cheerios and Cheerios, but I know how bad even those can be for us.

I love the ease…and everyone eats it.

However, it really doesn’t fill anybody up. They ask for a bowl after bowl, and cereal is getting expensive.

I would love realistic alternatives for this working mom. I am a teacher, so I’m hoping over the summer to break the cereal habit but I have a little bit more time, but still not enough to make waffles or anything like that.

I have DD7, DS6, and DS3. We do cereal Saturday mornings, but the kids are definitely hungry an hour later! I work part time as a substitute teacher, and these are my favorite weekday, kid-approved breakfasts:

Cheese toast with fruit
Pancake and sausage on a stick with fruit
Jimmy Dean sausage, egg, and cheese croissants
Yogurt, toast, fruit
Instant oatmeal made with milk, and topped with cranberries, walnuts, cream
Frozen waffles, precooked sausage links, fruit
Hard boiled eggs, toast, fruit

I don't see sausage as a particularly healthy food for children.

I’m the PP to whom you’re replying. Thank you for your concern but I disagree. Meat is a wonderful source of nutrition for growing kids! And I mentioned it in 3 options out of 7 listed. Sounds like you’re weirdly focused on sausage.

DP, but you mentioned the sausage 3 times. And Jimmy Dean has a ton of additives.

Umm yes, I mentioned it 3 times out of 7 options. You just restated what I previously said.

Why are some of you so hung up on some sausage? It’s not like I’m serving them the entire pound of it at a time. Just like I’m not serving them carb-laden grains every morning. It’s called balance. Such black and white thinking here!

Not DP and my family does eat sausage occasionally. But you’ve listed sausage as a suggested substitute for someone who feels like cereal is unhealthy. To suggest that sausage is a healthy substitute for anything is patently absurd. People have become so focused on talking about protein and carbs they’ve lost common sense. A highly processed, high sodium, high cholesterol, high saturated fat food should be eaten very rarely. Even “healthy” chicken or turkey sausage is very high sodium and is not easily digested. And no one needs the “thank you for your concern” childishness. People can express that they see an error in something you’ve said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oatmeal! So much better for you too. I get the instant oatmeal and microwave it with water for two minutes and it is ready to eat. Alternatively overnight oats is really easy. You can put fruit, chia seeds, nuts, chocolate chips, yogurt, and even a few pieces of cereal or granola in get crunch if that's what you want. (Meaning it can be as easy or as fancy as you want). Years ago I used to mix a banana, almond milk, and oatmeal, and let it sit overnight in the fridge. It was sweetened with the banana mixed in and didn't need extra sugar.

I'm hungry an hour after I eat steel-cut oatmeal. When I eat instant, I'm starving 30 min later.

You need protein with it. Milk, peanut butter.

[Anonymous]

I make a big pot of black beans each Sunday, literally just slow cook a pound of black beans with garlic and onions. Then I strain it and remove the onions/garlic and use a little of the liquid to blend it into a purée. It becomes black bean hummus basically. It keeps for a 5 days in an airtight container in fridge.

Each morning my kid eats it (warmed up) thickly smeared on bread, topped with shredded mozzarella. He loves it - it’s our Hispanic version of the British beans on toast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of 5: two parents, seven year old, six year old, and two year old. We are cereal junkies. Mostly just honey nut Cheerios and Cheerios, but I know how bad even those can be for us.

I love the ease…and everyone eats it.

However, it really doesn’t fill anybody up. They ask for a bowl after bowl, and cereal is getting expensive.

I would love realistic alternatives for this working mom. I am a teacher, so I’m hoping over the summer to break the cereal habit but I have a little bit more time, but still not enough to make waffles or anything like that.

I have DD7, DS6, and DS3. We do cereal Saturday mornings, but the kids are definitely hungry an hour later! I work part time as a substitute teacher, and these are my favorite weekday, kid-approved breakfasts:

Cheese toast with fruit
Pancake and sausage on a stick with fruit
Jimmy Dean sausage, egg, and cheese croissants
Yogurt, toast, fruit
Instant oatmeal made with milk, and topped with cranberries, walnuts, cream
Frozen waffles, precooked sausage links, fruit
Hard boiled eggs, toast, fruit

I don't see sausage as a particularly healthy food for children.

I’m the PP to whom you’re replying. Thank you for your concern but I disagree. Meat is a wonderful source of nutrition for growing kids! And I mentioned it in 3 options out of 7 listed. Sounds like you’re weirdly focused on sausage.

DP, but you mentioned the sausage 3 times. And Jimmy Dean has a ton of additives.

Umm yes, I mentioned it 3 times out of 7 options. You just restated what I previously said.

Why are some of you so hung up on some sausage? It’s not like I’m serving them the entire pound of it at a time. Just like I’m not serving them carb-laden grains every morning. It’s called balance. Such black and white thinking here!

You, my dear, are the one with the sausage fetish.

[Anonymous]

Lots of protein enhanced cereals now. You can get used to the Special K version.

It is more filling.

I like liquid yogurt with fruit and nuts.