Healthy breakfast options for children

The most difficult task for parents is to ensure that their children have a nutritious breakfast. Breakfast for them should be quick, easy, filling, and, most importantly, delicious. Aditya Bagri, director of a popular food company, shares easy breakfast options for kids:

Wheat bran pancakes Pancakes and waffles are the breakfast of champions, but it doesn’t need to be all unhealthy. Wheat bran, along with atta and oats, is a great substitute for maida. Just change the grain and add a lot more fibre and protein to your kid’s breakfast. You can sweeten the batter with honey, jaggery, and bananas instead of sugar.

Quinoa upma Like a veggie breakfast — why not add quinoa instead of suji to your kids’ upma? It packs a lot more protein and fibre along with Omega 3 fatty acids.

Peanut butter and wholegrain toast A peanut butter and toast combo are great for kids. Be sure to use actual wholegrain toast and unsweetened peanut butter, topped with some bananas for sweetness.

Oats idli Idlis are an all-time breakfast favourite — why not change the base from white rice to oats along with dal, adding more fibre, protein.

Chocolate muesli Chocolate cereals are often laden with sugar. For older kids, muesli is a much better choice, laden with whole grains, nuts, berries and much less sugar. It gives energy for the whole day and needs no preparation time.

Banana berry smoothie In case parents are short on time to cook breakfast, portable breakfasts for eating on the go act as an exceptional option. The simplest sugar-free, on-the-go meal for kids is a simple blend of bananas, berries, oats, and a dash of milk. Just blend it all together.

Overnight oats Make them in mason jars the night prior, and let your child customise this dish with their preferred toppings. You need to mix about 1/4 cup (26 grams) of rolled oats and 1/2 cup (120 ml) of your choice of milk in a small mason jar. Garnish with nuts, shredded coconut, chia seeds, and dried or fresh fruits. As an alternative to cooking them, allow the oats to soften overnight.

Pumpkin-quinoa porridge Boil one part of quinoa with two parts of milk of any type and let it cook for 10 minutes on a medium-low flame. Stir in some pumpkin, cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg and allow it to simmer. Top it with brown sugar or chopped nuts.