Alternatives to cereals for breakfast

It’s no secret, mornings can be pretty lively in our house. No matter how organised we try to be the night before, something will usually happen to undo all of our meticulous advance preparation and will often see us running out of the door with very minimal time to spare. I’m not alone in this situation, I know. I’m sure if my house were quiet enough in the mornings, you’d be able to hear cries of “Please just finish your breakfast!” and choruses of “Where is your other sock?!” (or where are your school shoes today?) It’s a busy boat of school-age parenting and we’re all sailing it!

One of the things I am always on the lookout for is good weekday breakfasts that aren’t boxed cereals. Something that is quick and easy to prepare (or that can be made the night before), something that is versatile to keep it interesting and varied, something with good nutritional quality which will keep the kids going until break time and something that they will really enjoy. And trust me, it’s quite a challenge finding foods that will tick all of these boxes. However, I have found a few that seem to be quite a hit (with me as well as the small ones!) so I thought I would share them with you in case you need some inspiration too …

Scrambled Eggs

Quick, easy, delicious and filling. And there are a number of ways they can be served. With or without toast or a bagel, we love to sprinkle some cheese into ours whilst cooking to make a ‘stringy’ egg or mix it with some finely chopped bacon or even some salmon. This option is also good for those colder mornings when the kids want something warm in their tummies.

Fruit and Yogurt

This one has so many possibilities, and it is no issue if each child wants different fruit. I like to chop up a variety of fruits and pop them all on a plate for the kids to help themselves when adding fruit to their yoghurt. We use all different yoghurt flavours too. Strawberry is always a favourite!

Toasted Pancakes/Waffles

These can be homemade in advance quite easily (and can be frozen for use during the week), but they can also be bought pre-made. They are delicious served with yoghurt and fruit, although they are also delicious spread with chocolate spread and strawberries!

Banana Pancakes

This is a new one I found recently, and they are really easy to make and one of Harry’s favourites. Just take one large banana, two eggs and a spoonful of flour. Mash the ingredients and blend them together. Then fry the mixture in a small amount of butter. With a handful of blueberries and/or strawberries, this makes a really satisfying breakfast and is extremely quick to prepare. The quantities I have mentioned here make 4 chunky pancakes.

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Toasted Bagels

Who doesn’t love a bagel?! Spread with some cream cheese or peanut butter (or any topping of your choice) there is nothing time-consuming or complicated about this breakfast choice.  Harry loves his with smoked salmon on while Emmy has hers with strawberry jam.

Runny Eggs with Soldiers

A traditional favourite. Ok, so it takes a few more minutes to prepare than some of the other options I’ve listed, but they’re satisfying and tasty and we all love them.

It can be hard to get the timings correct for runny eggs – my surefire way is to boil the water first, add the room temperate egg, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Then turn off the heat, cover the pan and leave for 3 minutes. This gives us perfect eggs every time.

Add marmite to your toasted soldiers for an added extra kick.

Breakfast Smoothies

The possibilities are huge here. If you keep some frozen fruit in at all times and own a blender, then smoothies are quick and easy and, with the right ingredients, can keep bellies from running empty too soon. A commonly requested smoothie here is banana and strawberry, mixed with some natural yoghurt, some milk and a drizzle of honey, this is a great alternative to cereals.  Mine also love this ready brek smoothie as it helps keep them full until lunch times.

Ham and Egg Cups

Another that I discovered recently. These take a little longer to prepare (although are still relatively quick to make) Grease a muffin tray and fill each space with ham. Break an egg into each ‘ham cup’ and place into the oven until the eggs are firm. The cups can be chilled once cool and eaten straight from the fridge on those busy mornings. It’s like bacon and eggs without the frying!!

At the weekend when we have a little longer we roll out a slice of bread, cut off the crusts and push it into a greased muffin tin, add bacon slices crisscrossed over the bread and pushed down to also make a cup shape, then crack the egg into it, seasoning to taste – these are delicious and very filling.

This list has brought a lovely amount of variety to our breakfast routine on school days, but we are always on the search for more ideas! So please share your tips with us in the comments for easy but tasty cereal alternatives and we’ll give them a try!

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