Author Topic: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?  (Read 11424 times)

Lifeblood

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Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« on: April 06, 2014, 11:30:22 AM »
Our kids start every day with a bowl of fruit and a bowl of cereal. We aim for the healthiest cereal options, thus avoiding most of the sugar-filled kinds.  Regardless, a box of cereal costs too much, at least at most grocery stores. We aim to buy cereal on sale at Costco, but they do not always have the kind we like on sale. Any suggestions for cheaper, and ideally more nutritious, options? Is it possible to make your own cereal? What are the best places to buy in bulk? Any hints appreciated!

MicroRN

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2014, 12:15:20 PM »
We don't really do cereal, though I'll occasionally buy store-brand cheerios.  They tend to have those for a snack rather than a meal though.  My older son loves oatmeal, which I buy in big canisters.  It's really really cheap that way.  Cook it up, add some fruit, almond milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, yogurt, or some combo of the above.  A little sweetener goes a long way, and you control exactly how much they get.  Plain yogurt, bought in big containers, with your own sweetener and fruit stirred in.  I also make pancakes, with pumpkin puree, zucchini, and/or greek yogurt added.  When I do that I make a huge batch and freeze a bunch.  I also cook and freeze waffles.  My other thing is to make a giant pan of frittata, with tons of vegetables (usually shredded zucchini or spinach, but any leftover veggies work).

Lifeblood

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2014, 12:35:11 PM »
We do oatmeal sometimes, particularly in the colder weather, but we can probably try to be more creative. Your post actually reminded me of an idea - mix berries, oatmeal, and yogurt, etc., the night before and refrigerate the mixture overnight. In the morning, you have a yummy, cool breakfast for the warmer season. I think I may try that again.

Regarding frozen pancakes and waffles, do you reheat in the toaster?

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2014, 12:58:22 PM »
Homemade granola! Super cheap, super easy. If your kids are old enough to pour their own boxes of cereal, they can make it themselves.

Now, admittedly, there is a lot of honey/brown sugar/maple syrup in granola. But you could also try mixing it with a less-sweet store bought cereal. There are also any number of websites that explain how to make your own instant oatmeal packets (much less sugar than store bought, much cheaper), which I haven't tried but which kids might enjoy.

Zamboni

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2014, 01:06:07 PM »
My kids love oatmeal and fruit. 

They also love wheat toast (with butter/jelly) and scrambled eggs.  Cheap and quick.

MicroRN

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2014, 02:40:34 PM »
Regarding frozen pancakes and waffles, do you reheat in the toaster?

I'm sure you could.  We don't have a toaster, so I just microwave it for a few seconds, but the toaster would probably give you a better texture on the waffles.   

ScienceSexSavings

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #6 on: April 06, 2014, 05:55:45 PM »
I love homemade granola bars/balls! I use this recipe, and do variations with different sweeteners, mix-ins, etc.

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #7 on: April 06, 2014, 08:10:01 PM »
Whole milk organic yogurt (we like the Strauss brand) over organic fruit (fresh in summer, frozen when fresh isn't available) topped with homemade granola and some dried fruit. My son eats that almost every day. I use the King Arthur granola recipe and tailor it to my wants (ie: I use coconut oil instead of canola). Other choices are steel cut oatmeal with nuts, seeds and dried fruit and bagels with peanut butter or cream cheese.

Roses

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #8 on: April 06, 2014, 08:23:53 PM »
This baked oatmeal is very convenient and delicious. Double the recipe and use a lasagna pan to last all week. I add an extra egg or two. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Baked-Oatmeal-365069

I alternate that with a big batch of steel cut oats cooked with cinnamon, apples, raisins and prunes or pears and dates. The sweetness of the fruit permeates so you don't need to add any other sweetener. Maybe just a tiny bit of honey or syrup for those used to something sweeter. You can make a week's supply at a time. Make pancakes with the leftovers.

For very hot weather we do plain yogurt with barely defrosted berries.

5inatrailer

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #9 on: April 06, 2014, 10:07:53 PM »
we try and keep it different every day.
french toast and bananas
cereal and berries
eggs and ham and oranges
toast and jam
steel cut oats with cinnamon and fresh apples

and coffee for the hard working dad!

mrsggrowsveg

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #10 on: April 07, 2014, 07:20:11 AM »
I pack breakfast for my mini everyday.  He is still in the picky stage.  We always start every morning with a smoothies that he drinks on the way to daycare.  I put milk, veggies, fruit, spirulina and probiotic powder in it and he loves it.  For breakfasts we rotate through the following things (note-we raise chickens so eggs are somewhat of a staple:

-Veggie Quiche-We use a wheat/white crust and fill it with any veggies that need used.  Shredded potatoes or squash make a great filler in it also.  We make one almost every Sunday.

-Healthy Pancakes-I mix in in mini blender 1 egg, half a banana and some oats to thicken.  I also usually add blueberries to the batter.  He inhales these.

-French Toast

-Overnight Oats-I put oats in his lunchbox and cover them with milk and some add-ins such as chia seeds, raisins and cinnamon.  He eats this cold.

I usually serve breakfast with a side of fruit.  We buy big bags of frozen fruit from Sams club.  Breakfast is usually a mix of mango, blueberries and strawberries.

ketchup

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #11 on: April 07, 2014, 07:35:52 AM »
Avocado eggs!  Slice avocado in half, remove pit, crack an egg into each half, throw on some salt and pepper, bake at 425 until yolks are firm.  Then use the pit to grow an avocado tree and amaze your kids with the magic of growing stuff.

kkbmustang

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #12 on: April 07, 2014, 04:02:42 PM »
You can make a huge batch of pancakes on Sunday, freeze them and pull them out as needed. Serve with fresh fruit.

Smoothies with milk, yogurt and fresh fruit. Add bananas to make it thicker and more filling.

Egg muffins: put a slice of bacon in the bottom of a muffin tin and fill it up with eggs and cheese. Bake in the oven. Could also add whatever veggies you have on hand.

My kids love egg tortillas. Cut out the center of the tortilla, crack an egg in it and cook in a pan until the egg is whatever consistency they like. Both eggs and tortillas are inexpensive.


galliver

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #13 on: April 07, 2014, 04:24:29 PM »
Cereal ideas:

Make oatmeal or cream-of-wheat with *MILK* not water, and a little sugar (~2 Tbsp for 4 people). Then add fruit or jam. (Some of my friends are shocked when I tell them you can cook grains in milk, but that's how I grew up doing it, and once they try they usually find it is more delicious, and I bet it's more nutritious, too). I'll also note that hot cereals reheat quite well.

Find some buckwheat groats (basically: grains). Cook them like rice (literally whatever your rice recipe is, substitute buckwheat and go). Serve hot or cold and pour milk over the groats. (They also make a good side dish for meat dishes...without the milk.) Buckwheat is gluten-free.

Millet is also be tasty, but I'm not an expert on cooking it. I believe you need to cook in water for a short time, then drain to remove bitter oils that the seeds produce, then in milk to make it more delicious.

When I was a kid, I was often the first/only one up and my breakfasts were pretty self-serve/grab-n-go...and I'm not a morning person so time was of the essence. I used to love a cheese or cream cheese sandwich or yogurt on a frozen waffle (toasted, obviously). I could make and eat these things in under 10 minutes. These days, I make pre-made egg sandwiches for a week sometimes. Or have toast/a sandwich. Or cereal.


RootofGood

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #14 on: April 08, 2014, 08:06:12 AM »
"Nutritious" might be subjective. 

For us, it's cheap, and although grains, overall nutritious. 

-Fresh fruit (bananas, whatever else is on sale). 
-Plain yogurt - 32 oz = $1.99 at aldi's; flavor with jelly/jam/preserves or honey or fresh fruit
-oatmeal - like $0.08 per serving.  My 2 year old begs me for oatmeal EVERY DAY. It makes him so so so happy. Well, he gets out the brown sugar, which means oatmeal.  1-2 tsp brown sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon makes it delicious
-toast - plain or with a little butter, sometimes kids add cinnamon and white sugar
-1 egg and grits - about $0.20 for a serving.  I like hot sauce on top
-skip bacon, get spiral sliced ham and freeze in individual portions.  Instead of $10-15/lb for cooked bacon, you end up closer to $1.50/lb for cooked spiral ham.
-bagels - not the cheapest, but $0.15 per half large bagel from aldi's.  I make my own bacon scallion cream cheese (similar to breuggers).  Delicious and probably under $0.50 for a whole bagel with a big schmear

We tend to have a small-ish breakfast and then eat a bigger lunch. 

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #15 on: April 10, 2014, 07:20:26 PM »
I am incredibly lucky/blessed.  My wife makes a hot breakfast for the whole family each morning.  Well, *almost* every morning.  Well, make that 4 days per week.

Mondays are usually biscuits and gravy
Fridays are usually Mountain Man Breakfast (cooked by me) - hash browns (1/2 lb) and crumbled sausage (1/2 lb) cooked up together, then pour in 7-9 scrambled eggs, when the eggs are about finished sprinkle with 1/2c shredded cheese, cover and take off the stove.  The cheese melts while the kids set the table.
Saturdays we let the kids do cereal, including the un-nutritious sugary kind.
Sundays we usually have pancakes and sausage (cooked by me)

Other things we have (this is off the top of my head, I'm sure I'm forgetting about half the recipes my wife uses):
Breakfast pizza - pizza dough topped with eggs, sausage, and cheese, with peppers and onions for those who want them
Breakfast braid - kinda like a breakfast calzone :)
Crunchy oatmeal muffins (usually made by me) baked in a 9x13 pan (usually we cook eggs and sausage to go with it)
French toast
Waffles
German Pancakes, or as we like to call it, "Egg Cake"
mini breakfast pizzas - soak half an english muffin in scrambled eggs, top with sausage and sprinkle with cheese, bake until done
Breakfast burritos
Yogurt parfaits - vanilla yogurt with your choice of granola and/or various fruits

We commonly have applesauce and/or yogurt as a side--some of the kids like one, some the other, some both, some none.
Some sort of fruit juice is almost always included.
I save the bacon grease for use in our cast iron frying pan. :)

brewer12345

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #16 on: April 11, 2014, 06:50:02 PM »
The kids are mostly addicted to store bought cereal, namely cheerios and kix (both very low sugar and not that pricey).  For th adult and sometimes the kids, I have recently discovered the wonders of homemade granola.  I bought a giant bucket of quick oats for peanuts from Costco and have been experimenting.  My base recipe is this one: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cinnamon-Vanilla-Granola/Detail.aspx?evt19=1  I add a cup of shredded coconut and the play with the recipe a bit.  The current batch is coconut and pumpkin seeds (shelled).  I have also done pina colada (coconut and dried pineapple), chocolate chip, and will next be doing chopped date and walnut.  Peanuts to make this stuff and it takes very little time or skill.

Hotstreak

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #17 on: April 11, 2014, 09:22:30 PM »
Bacon with eggs.

Cook the bacon, set it aside.  Then cook a large batch of eggs in the left over pork fat.  Omelets work great.. you can add fresh veg, greens, tomato, anything.  Serve each kid, and yourself, however much they need.  Easy, one pan!  Extremely nutritious.

HSLmom

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #18 on: April 11, 2014, 09:26:14 PM »
I've seen yogurt mentioned a few times here - it's super simple to make and then costs about 1/4 of the store yogurt (your cost is essentially the same cost as milk with a few pennies of electricity) I make a gallon at a time in my cooler, if you have an Excalibur dehydrator you can make it in there too.


You just heat milk up to hot but not boiling, let it cool until it's comfortable to touch, add in 1/4 cup yogurt with active cultures, stir it all up, and then allow to 'incubate' for 8-24 hours at approx 100-115 degrees.  I stick it in a cooler with a heat strip, or you can just add a jug of super hot tap water to the cooler as well. Chill, and it's yogurt. Like 10 minutes of hands on time.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2014, 09:28:25 PM by HSLmom »

galliver

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #19 on: April 15, 2014, 10:48:07 AM »
A friend posted this which contains some DIY cereals (cornflakes, grapenuts, and "cinnamon toast crunch") Thought the OP might find it useful, and possibly others!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelysanders/foods-you-didnt-know-you-could-diy

ABC123

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #20 on: April 15, 2014, 11:36:33 AM »
My kids like oatmeal with raisins and sprinkles (like you would use to decorate cupcakes) instead of sugar.  They also eat lots of bananas.

Lifeblood

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #21 on: April 15, 2014, 09:11:44 PM »
Thanks for all the ideas and links! Very helpful.

Simple Abundant Living

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #22 on: April 15, 2014, 10:11:13 PM »
"Nutritious" might be subjective. 

For us, it's cheap, and although grains, overall nutritious. 

-Fresh fruit (bananas, whatever else is on sale). 
-Plain yogurt - 32 oz = $1.99 at aldi's; flavor with jelly/jam/preserves or honey or fresh fruit
-oatmeal - like $0.08 per serving.  My 2 year old begs me for oatmeal EVERY DAY. It makes him so so so happy. Well, he gets out the brown sugar, which means oatmeal.  1-2 tsp brown sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon makes it delicious
-toast - plain or with a little butter, sometimes kids add cinnamon and white sugar
-1 egg and grits - about $0.20 for a serving.  I like hot sauce on top
-skip bacon, get spiral sliced ham and freeze in individual portions.  Instead of $10-15/lb for cooked bacon, you end up closer to $1.50/lb for cooked spiral ham.
-bagels - not the cheapest, but $0.15 per half large bagel from aldi's.  I make my own bacon scallion cream cheese (similar to breuggers).  Delicious and probably under $0.50 for a whole bagel with a big schmear

We tend to have a small-ish breakfast and then eat a bigger lunch.

My youngest has sometimes had oatmeal for three meals a day, she loves it!  I think old fashioned oats are the cheapest, most filling breakfast you can have. Some frozen berries and a few frozen walnuts and a pinch of brown sugar make it super yummy!  We also buy generic cream of wheat and make it in the microwave. Even the eight year old can do that. Eggs, bananas, and homemade bread for toast are all cheap.  Buy frozen fruit in winter-much cheaper than fresh. In general, even the most healthy cold cereals don't stay with you as long as a hot breakfast.

AllChoptUp

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #23 on: May 02, 2014, 09:28:33 AM »
I'm always worried about getting enough protein and we have a hereditary insulin resistance that lurks in the back of my mind so we avoid grains at breakfast.

Generally stick with eggs (scrambled, fried, baked, whatev) with leftover dinner meat and veg with a small side of fruit. The protein keeps hunger away for hours and cushions the fruit sugars so I don't see a lot of erratic behavior right after breakfast.

On the weekend will make coconut flour waffles...high on protein and low on carbs.  Kiddo loves them.

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #24 on: May 03, 2014, 08:40:30 AM »
Avocado eggs!  Slice avocado in half, remove pit, crack an egg into each half, throw on some salt and pepper, bake at 425 until yolks are firm.  Then use the pit to grow an avocado tree and amaze your kids with the magic of growing stuff.


OMG this sounds delicious! i am giving this a try!

momo5

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #25 on: May 05, 2014, 05:29:26 PM »
I cook hot breakfasts 6 days a week (saturdays they get to eat cold cereal while I sleep late).
since the kids wake up at different times, I dont mind short-order cooking, so on any given morning I'm whipping up any or all of the following: pancakes, scrambled eggs, french toast, oatmeal, grilled cheese, or waffles. I usually have some cut up fruit available too, whatever's in season.

southern granny

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #26 on: May 05, 2014, 08:50:27 PM »
peanut butter and banana sandwich  or bagel with cream cheese.

expatartist

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #27 on: May 05, 2014, 09:34:57 PM »
Excellent cheap breakfast ideas on here, thanks!

DH could eat oatmeal 3x/day (he goes through up to a kilo a week of my homemade muesli) and I'm looking for new ideas.

rosaz

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #28 on: May 06, 2014, 01:24:40 PM »
I cook hot breakfasts 6 days a week (saturdays they get to eat cold cereal while I sleep late).
since the kids wake up at different times, I dont mind short-order cooking, so on any given morning I'm whipping up any or all of the following: pancakes, scrambled eggs, french toast, oatmeal, grilled cheese, or waffles. I usually have some cut up fruit available too, whatever's in season.

Can you adopt me?

It's kind of a cop-out answer, but I've just given up on the whole notion of 'breakfast food', and will serve the kiddo and myself anything convenient and fairly healthy that sounds appealing at the moment. So any leftovers in the fridge are in play for reheating... Spaghetti? Beans? Dinner for breakfast is as awesome as breakfast for dinner!

TooManyBills

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #29 on: May 22, 2014, 03:44:09 PM »
Peanutbutter sandwiches on whole wheat bread.  Nutritious, filling, with both fat and protein to keep the brain and body going strong all morning.  Portable too.

homeymomma

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #30 on: May 28, 2014, 11:40:11 AM »
I was on a kick with these recently:

http://penniesandpancakes.blogspot.com/2012/07/perfect-pancakes-005-each.html#.U4Ye6nm9KSN

Definitely more work than cereal but yummy and definitely inexpensive! I have the luxury of slow mornings as a SAHM, I think it would be harder if everyone was rushing out the door for school/work! But still doable if you kept the ingredients together so they could be grabbed quickly.

Prairie Stash

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #31 on: May 28, 2014, 09:00:30 PM »
Don't forget the homemade syrups, spreads, jams.  It takes a few minutes, the variety of syrups though is impressive.  I was hooked on chokecherry syrup as a kid, it wasn't hard to convince me to pick a few gallons as long as I had pancakes as a reward. Maple syrup, from extract, takes about 5 minutes.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #32 on: May 29, 2014, 10:51:22 AM »
Don't forget the homemade syrups, spreads, jams.  It takes a few minutes, the variety of syrups though is impressive.  I was hooked on chokecherry syrup as a kid, it wasn't hard to convince me to pick a few gallons as long as I had pancakes as a reward. Maple syrup, from extract, takes about 5 minutes.
Good point.  I grew up eating pancakes not with syrup, but with homemade strawberry jam made from berries we had picked ourselves.  Delicious!

...Which reminds me, next time we have pancakes or waffles, I need to pull out the jam.  I've kinda forgotten about it...

abhe8

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Re: Cheap, nutritious breakfasts for kids?
« Reply #33 on: May 29, 2014, 10:48:01 PM »
1. steel cut oats + cinnamon + coconut oil + bit of salt + diced apple + raisins or dates (no need for sugar!)
2. fried or scrambled eggs, toast (I make the bread) and a veggie (sweet potato, cooked, greens, sliced cucs and peppers, etc)
3. smoothie: yogurt, spinach (or other green), frozen fruit
4. pancakes or waffles: soak grains (rice, millet and oats) over night. add eggs, vanilla, baking soda/powder in the am. I also add purred sweet potatoes. top with just butter or sometimes a fruit syurp (blend berries, cook down a bit on the stove).

we have the first 3 twice a week and the pancakes/waffles are for saturdays. :) (and, in the interest of full disclosure, we usually have sausage on sat too, but its not inexpensive nor necessary)