High Scores for Back to School Breakfasts
We’ve all heard that children who eat a good breakfast regularly are able to concentrate better, work faster, and score higher on tests. In addition, breakfast is a good way to get nutritious whole grains and fruit servings into your diet so breakfast eaters tend to have higher intakes of fiber and important vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, folate and calcium. The problem is getting a quick healthy breakfast into ourselves and our children before we head out to our busy lives!
Using the NuVal Nutrition Scoring System at Meijer (www.nuval.com) I’ve put together some easy ideas that are sure to please and can fit into anyone’s morning routine.
- Tropical Smoothie (recipe below); Whole Grain Toast (35) with 2% Cheese Slice (23)
- Whole Grain English Muffin (35) with Krema Peanut Butter (51); Fresh Orange Slices (100); Fat Free Milk (91)
- Baggie of Trail Mix -Shredded Wheat Squares (91); Raisins (87); Dried Cherries; Almonds (76) and Minute Maid Kids Juice box with Vitamins/Calcium (70)
- Greek Vanilla Yogurt (63) topped with Bare Naked FIT Vanilla Almond Granola (91) and Blueberries (100)
- Oatmeal with Walnuts (82); Sliced Banana (91) and Fat Free Milk (91)
- Omega-3 Scrambled eggs (42) and Shredded 2% Cheese (23) in ½ Wheat Pita Bread; Cantaloupe Chunks (93)
Tropical Smoothie
Makes 2 servings
1 large ripe banana (NuVal Score 91)
1 cup Meijer frozen whole strawberries (NuVal Score 100)
1 ripe mango, peeled and cubed (NuVal Score 93)
1 cup Meijer cranberry juice (NuVal Score
1 cup ice cubes
Place all ingredients in a blender. Cover and blend until thick and smooth.
Nutrition Facts per serving: Calories: 140; Fat: 0g; Carbohydrate: 36g; Protein: 1g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 4mg
I always had an interest in food and nutrition and attended Central Michigan University to earn a Bachelors Degree in Dietetics. Several years later, I went back to college to obtain my Masters degree in Human Nutrition from Andrews University. I have been a Registered Dietitian for 27 years and have spent the last 20 years working with Supermarkets. I discovered years ago that grocery stores were a great place to reach consumers and help them obtain accurate nutrition information. I also realized that busy families are looking for quick, affordable, and healthy ideas for meals. In my position as Healthy Living Manager at Meijer I spend a lot of time working with food manufacturers and commodity groups to search out and create easy recipes that can become part of family-pleasing menus. Although my two daughters are now grown and married, my husband and I continue to enjoy cooking together and creating new recipes with nutritious ingredients. I hope my information provides you and your family with easy ideas to live a healthy life!