Mornings can be stressful…or a rush at the very least.  In our house, we often have 1.5 hours (plenty of time) to get out the door from the time our kids get up.  Yet, inevitably the last 10 minutes are a scramble as they are told to put on their shoes for the 30th time.  Just to keep me on my toes, they will occasionally be ready to go on time, but there’s no rhyme or reason to these days! Can anyone else relate?!   

So, the question remains: What is the easiest thing we, as parents, can do in the morning to help us get out the door?  

Answer:  Healthy, easy, convenient breakfasts.  Sure, we can throw them cereal and call it a day, but often cereal is full of simple carbs leaving kids starving before their first recess.  A filling, nutritious breakfast can even help with concentration at school.  

So what kind of breakfasts can we make while still trying to get ourselves out the door on time?

Try one of these below:  

Hard Boiled Eggs (with ketchup or a pinch of salt)  

I know what you are thinking- peeling the eggs in the morning can become a task within itself.  Well, we have an answer for that.  

If you have an Instant Pot just use the 5/5/5 method and without any effort you can have 6-12 eggs ready in the morning and easy to peel.  If you boil your eggs immediately, place the eggs in a bowl of ice for 5-10 minutes in order to make the peel easily come off. (Or in a bowl of cold water, but remember to change it regularly as it won’t take long to get warm). 

Make a batch on Sunday and have them ready to go. Hard-boiled eggs will last 6-7 days in the fridge. If you want your child excited about eating the eggs, encourage them to decorate them on Sunday with a theme for each day they want to eat them (think dying, stickers, or wax crayons).  

Overnight Oats 

We love breakfasts that can be made the night before, enter overnight oats.  They only take few minutes to mix together then throw them in the fridge to soften overnight. There are limitless flavour combination (search Pinterest) and can be made gluten free and vegan. For kids (and ourselves, who am I kidding!) we love the idea of a healthy yet dessert sounding breakfast such as Cookie Dough Overnight Oats.  Made with milk, oats, chia seeds, maple syrup, nut butter and optional chocolate chips or cocoa nibs. Option to add in protein powder for an extra boost.  

Beans and Toast  

Very British but a can of marinated beans can last 2-3 days.  It doesn’t need to be warmed up and can be slapped on top of toast or an English muffin.  It can be yummy and a great way to include plant protein for more substance.  

Fruit Plate with Nut Butter  

Get an apple slicer (they are amazing, we like this one), push down on apple- it’s cored and perfectly sliced.  It takes 10 seconds!  A banana peeled and sliced is also very quick and then a spoon your favorite nut butter (it’s peanut in our household) on a plate and they can scoop as much as they would like onto their fruit.  You can even make an easy face for fun, apples for eyes and nose with the banana for the mouth.  This all takes less than a minute to put together.  

Yogurt Parfait  

A couple scoops of yogurt topped with granola is an easy and quick way to make a breakfast with protein and calcium while still giving the kids some simple carbs they enjoy.  Bonus tip: keep bulk chia seeds in your drawer and sprinkle on the yogurt to increase fiber, without adjusting the taste.  

Cheese and Crackers  

Nothing wrong with keeping it simple.  Sometimes just soda crackers with some slices of cheese are fine in the morning before school.