Build a Better Breakfast that is Quick, Easy & Healthy

One of the most important things to me as a parent is making sure that my kids are successful in school and in life… and for our family, that all starts with a healthy breakfast each day. So to ensure that we always have time for a healthy breakfast, I make sure that we have some healthy options in the refrigerator—and ready for the kids to grab that help them build a better breakfast that is quick, easy, and healthy.

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BetterBreakfast #CollectiveBias #ad

One way that I have found to do this for my kids is building a better breakfast with Great Value 2% Milk from Walmart, Del Monte Fruit & Veggie Fusions, and Lender’s Bagels. I love this combo because, together, it provides a well-balanced breakfast for my boys, which is also quick and easy! ChooseMyPlate.gov shows how to build a better breakfast by choosing food and beverage from each of the categories: dairy, fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein—and Great Value 2% Milk, Del Monte Fruit & Veggie Fusions and Lenders Bagels helps our family choose a healthy plate by hitting each of these categories.

While we know how important proper nutrition is for academic success, it is a sad reality that many children do not have access to basic nutrition. Childhood should be filled with playing, learning and growing. But for many children who face hunger, even basic staples like milk—and the nutrients that help power childhood activities—are missing. Now, you can help feed a childhood when you shop at Walmart—by purchasing one or more of these products, you are helping Feeding America provide nutrient-rich milk to kids and families in need. Join Feeding America in The Great American Milk Drive to help deliver highly desired and nutrient-rich gallons of milk to hungry children and families who need it most. More than 14 million servings of milk have been delivered to food banks through this first-of-its-kind initiative.

Growing up on a dairy farm, I know the importance of milk in a child’s diet. Milk is naturally nutrient rich and powers potential—if you have access to it. Milk’s nine essential nutrients, including 8 grams of high-quality protein per 8 ounce serving, can help to ensure that kids have the potential to play, learn, and grow. Add in a Lender’s Bagel, which is filling, sustaining kids all morning, and a Del Monte Fruit & Veggie Fusion cup—and voila!—you have a complete and healthy breakfast.

Of course, this trio of milk, bagel, and fruit cup is quick, easy, and nutritious for the kids to just pull out of the refrigerator and make for themselves, but some mornings—when we have a bit of extra time—it is nice to add in another favorite of my boys—scrambled eggs. I make a huge pan of scrambled eggs and whatever is not eaten at that meal goes into a storage container and put in the refrigerator to be reheated the next day. You may not have ever thought of reheating eggs, but they truly do taste just as good as “leftovers.” This is just another way that I make sure that I have healthy ready-to-eat items in the refrigerator so mornings run smoother.

And I’ll let you in on my secret way of making scrambled eggs too—it’s really simple, but adds so much flavor! I usually make a half dozen eggs at a time so I make sure to have enough for leftovers:

crack your eggs into a bowl
add some Great Value 2% Milk (it makes the eggs nice and fluffy!)
add salt and pepper to taste
melt a tablespoon of butter in your pan (over medium heat) and spread it around so the eggs won’t stick
beat the eggs thoroughly and pour in the pan
add some shredded cheese on top of the the uncooked egg mixture (I typically use Colby Jack, but American cheese is good too)
stir continually with a silicon spatula until completely cooked
top with a bit more cheese while the eggs are warm so it melts…yum!

Now that my kids are bigger, we always choose 2% milk because it is good for the kids to drink and I like to use this in any cooking as well. I’m glad that my kids like drinking milk because this is the base that we work from to build a better breakfast.

But part of getting good food into kids is allowing them to help pick the foods too. And Lender’s makes it easy because they have a bagel for everyone—even your pickiest eater will be able to find something that they will like: Plain, Blueberry and Cinnamon-Raisin flavors are kid-friendly & great for the whole family. My two youngest sons decided that they wanted Blueberry, but my oldest son chose the French Toast bagels from Lender’s premium line of bagels. I love that bagels for breakfast are timesaving, easy, tasty, and nutritious. But when you go to the store to look for these, don’t head to the bread aisle… Lender’s Bagels are available in the refrigerated dairy section.

Over the years, I have to admit, that I have gravitated away from canned fruit items because of the high fructose corn syrup, however, Del Monte Fruit & Veggie Fusions has given me reason to come back… Del Monte Fruit & Veggie Fusions is the only fruit cup product that provides one serving of fruits and veggies in a single cup. The veg is in the juice but you’d never even know it! So when your kids want to drink the juice that the fruit is in—it’s actually healthy for them! There’s no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial flavors or sweeteners in these fruit cups—and that’s important to me, as a parent! So again, knowing that these are healthy, I had the boys pick out which flavors they wanted—because if they get to pick it, they will eat it, right?! They decided on Apple Pear Watermelon and Cherry Fruit Trio, both were tasty—and easy to pack in school lunches too! *Look for specially marked Del Monte Fruit & Veggie Fusions packages on the shelf at Walmart for valuable coupons for Del Monte and Lenders products.

Visit milklife.com/give to learn more about the Great American Milk Drive.

Now, you can also enter the Build a Better Breakfast Sweepstakes:

Enter to win a weekly prize of $100 Walmart e-gift card or a grand prize of $400 tablet and a $500 Walmart e-gift card:
Enter using hashtag: #BetterBreakfast

#BuildABetterBreakfast Sweepstakes