SubscribeBreakfast on the run
The most important meal of any day is breakfast, yet unfortunately many people skip it.
Here in Philadelphia, where I still have two children enrolled in public schools, serving breakfast has been added to the long list of non-teaching responsibilities that schools have inherited because of lax parents who don’t completely do their jobs. Children skipping breakfast or eating candy instead on their way to school has such a negative effect on their academic performance that Philadelphia’s School Superintendent Arlene Ackerman holds school principals accountable for making sure that children get breakfast.
I just don’t understand what kind of parent doesn’t understand the importance of making sure that their children eat wholesome meals. And I’m really surprised when my children tell me that not all of their friends’ parents cook healthy meals like I do. Especially, breakfast, which nutritionists say is the most important meal of the day.
Breakfast kick-starts the body, so every morning, we make sure that our children get a hearty meal.We prepare turkey or soy bacon or sausage; eggs; grits; French- toast, pancakes, or Eggs in A Basket. Protein is a very necessary body-builder and it’s also great brain food.
On the weekends we allow them to have non-sugary cereal and fruit and yogurt or bagels.
The problem is that with Philadelphia public schools having to feed hundreds of thousands of students, many who attend schools that don’t have kitchens. I don’t trust anyone else with the responsibility of feeding my children their most important meal of the day. It’s essential that children eat protein in particular.
Whenever my youngest and pickiest child tries to skip breakfast, I remind her that not eating it is nearly as crazy as trying to drive a car with no gas. A vehicle just isn’t going to drive on empty, or without oil and water.
Our eldest student has to leave the house at 6:30 in order to get to school on time. And, no matter how hard we all try to get her out the door on time, sometimes she just doesn’t have time to eat before she catches her train downtown. So, although we really don’t advise folks to eat on the run because it interferes with proper digestion, we do pack her Eggs in a Basket to eat during her 40-minute train ride, just to make sure that she gets something healthy in her body before she puts her brain to work.
Eggs in a Basket (feeds 6)
Ingredients
1 loaf of bread, preferably seven-grain or rye but our children love potato bread
1 dozen caged-free, all natural eggs
2 tbs butter, or coat pan with no-stick cooking spray
Salt, pepper to taste
1 non stick frying pan
1 cookie cutter, but the top of a glass will do
Directions
Using a cookie cutter or the top of a glass, cut a hole in the center of each slice of bread, careful not to break the crusts
Heat butter or vegetable spray in pan until it sizzles
Place bread slices in pan, leaving about one-inch of space in between (cook in batches, if necessary)
Crack the egg into the center of the bread, and salt and pepper to taste
Continue to flip the Egg-in-a Basket and cook until the bread has browned on each side and the egg yolk is hard
Toast and butter the bread centers, and serve them to the side of the Eggs in the Basket
(Our youngest daughter hates egg yolks, so we separate her eggs and make hers with egg whites only)
Serve hot with turkey or soy bacon or sausage, grits, home-fries or a side of fruit
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As the mother of five and a journalist, I've always encouraged people to empower themselves with information on healthy foods and lifestyles. Nurturing our children with healthy food is one of the most important jobs we have, yet as families have become busier or drifted apart, meal times have been sacrificed.
