In the morning, I smell yummy chocolate chip waffles and juice. In the morning, I come down and see my breakfast waiting for me. I love breakfast because it’s premium fuel to start the day. It is the most important meal of the day. Did you know that 40% of Canadians skip breakfast? This isn’t good because they will be less alert, tired, and unable to focus at work, school or other daily activities. Breakfast boost your concentration, productivity, and our overall health.

A lot of people skip breakfast because they are rushing in the morning. This happens when they wake up late and rush to work or school due to commuting distances from their homes. Now I know and appreciate when my parents encourage me to go to bed early and wake up early. It’s a highly recommended habit to develop at an early age. I need to practice and develop a habit of waking up early in the morning. I know I am not a morning person and I want to change that notion in order to enjoy my breakfast at 7:00am in the morning before heading to school.

I appreciate all the parents who make sure that their children eat breakfast in the morning. It has happened to me before. I woke up late and I didn’t have sufficient time to eat breakfast which my parents prepared. I didn’t want to miss the school bus and walk to school. I thought by having my morning snack, I would be ok. That day was not good. I was so tired the whole morning and the entire day was not that great even after eating my snacks and lunch. Also, I have seen some students who said they did not have breakfast in the morning and how they become so grumpy and they can’t focus in the class.

Now one of my brothers and I prepare breakfast for all family members, as well as alternate preparing breakfast. I have to make sure that I prepare some of the breakfast things the night before; make bread in toaster, make some mandazi or chapati with my parents. Then, I wake up early in the morning to prepare the rest such as tea, coffee, smoothies etc and set up the table. Another thing I can’t afford to do is to make my older brothers miss their breakfast, because they leave the house early.

I know a lot of adults are very busy with work, family, and sometimes they don’t have time to do a lot in the morning or at night before especially on weekdays. Also, some people can’t eat breakfast early in the morning. What I learnt in a March Nutritional Month 2015 newsletter is a lot of adults take a pit stop at Tim Horton or other coffee shops and buy a cup of coffee, tea, or muffin etc on their way to work. This is good; at least they get to have their breakfast.

One tip that could help those who rush in the morning is to make your breakfast the night before. Prepare the breakfast items at night. It doesn’t have to be a pancake and bacon with tea or coffee and juice. It is good to place or pack all the breakfast items on the table in the kitchen or in the fridge at night before. It could be, bread, oat meals, cereal, cup of tea or coffee. In the morning, it is just a matter of boiling hot water and adding milk or not. You can have a bowl of cereal or some mandazi with a cup of tea or coffee. It could even be a smoothie. Here is a good smoothie recipe.

YOU WILL NEED

  • 2 cups of milk
  • 175g low fat yogurt
  • 85g Jell-O Strawberry Jelly Powder
  • 1 banana if you like
  • 1 cup of fresh/frozen mixed berries
  • 1/2 cup of whole wheat cereal squares
  1. Measure with a full measuring cup
  2. Place all ingredients in a blender, don’t forget to cover it.
  3. Blend it on high speed for 15 seconds or until smooth.

Then enjoy your breakfast in a sip.

I believe breakfast is one of the most important meals. I hope you will try this recipe

Joanne K.