Quick, Healthy, Hearty Kids' Breakfasts

Katie Lee Joel Offers Back-To-School Recipes For Unique, Delicious, Nutritious Meals

(CBS)  As kids head back to school this fall, it's important that they start off their days with healthy breakfasts. They keep the kids energized and, studies show, help their performance.

To help parents make the grade, Early Show contributor Katie Lee Joel shared some easy, nutrition-packed recipes Wednesday -- different, clever takes on the usual fare that involve minimal time and effort.

Backpack Bagel

The Backpacker's Bagel gives kids an excellent start to the day. The peanut butter offers substantial nutritional value that will keep them satisfied and focused through lunchtime. Combine with fruit, bread and granola, and you cover three food groups in the morning.

Homemade Breakfast Bars

Store-bought breakfast bars may seem like a good alternative to homemade breakfast, but many have high levels of sugar. Instead, try an easy, at-home version. Plus, the recipe makes enough to last a few days.

Fruity-Tootie Smoothie

Start your kids off in the morning with a refreshing smoothie. And add tofu, which is rich in protein. The kids will never know!

Baked Eggs in Ham Cups

Involving kids in the kitchen is a great way to get them interested in nutrition and mindful of what they eat. Katie Lee's Baked Eggs in Ham Cups is a fun recipe that will help inspire them. Let your little ones line the muffin cups with the ham while you crack the egg. Then, bake them in the oven while you tend to rest of the morning routine.

Banana-Fana Pancakes

Before you reach for the packaged pancake mix or pre-frozen pancakes, think how easy it is to make them yourself. You can even prepare and freeze the pancake recipe over the weekend, then heat them up during the weekday morning rush.

Hawaiian French Toast Sticks with Fruit Kebabs

Make Hawaiian French Toast Sticks with a fun twist that kids will love. Coat the soaked bread in crushed whole grain cereal and cook in a skillet for a crunchy treat. Pair the dish with a side of fruit skewers.

RECIPES

Backpack Bagel

1 toasted wholegrain bagel
1 Tablespoon peanut butter
2 Tablespoons granola
1/2 apple, thinly sliced

Spread peanut butter evenly over both sides of bagel. Sprinkle with granola and top with apple slices.

Homemade Breakfast Bars

1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine peanut butter, honey, and vanilla in a sauce pan over medium-high flame. Stir occasionally until melted. Remove from flame and pour in oats and raisins. Mix well.

Spread mixture into a greased baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool completely and cut into bars.

FOR MORE RECIPES, GO TO PAGE 2.

[chyjean]

I heard the comment from the woman on the early show this morning saying that the lunches she had made were better than the high fat sugary cafeteria lunches this makes me mad I work in a middle school cafeteria in arkansas and we have low fat, low sugar ,and we use whole wheat flour to make our rolls.
It is not the cafeteria''s that make our kids overweight it is the parents that work 60+ hours a week that are to tired to cook a meal and they run through the drive through.

[meinnv]

By the way I am not an uninformed fool (so you couldn''t have been referring to me then). On the contrary I am someone who has learned to manage her health without the use of man-made drugs; drugs that can have very ill or unplesant side-effects.

I didn''t say they were ALL bad. Never did. Never did I even IMPLY they were all bad. I also said "again, they are at least "tastier" alternatives to plain toast :)"
I did err on this one:

"The maple sugar wouldn''t be a good idea for diabetic families."

I will agree I should have said SYRUP, not SUGAR. That wouldn''t be good for diabetic families. Excessive sugar isn''t a good idea, whether your diabetes is controlled by insulin or not.

[meinnv]

Here is a sample of a diabetic breakfast:

Breakfast
(360 calories, 52.5 grams carbohydrate)

1 slice toasted whole wheat bread with 1 teaspoon margarine
1/4 cup egg substitute or cottage cheese
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 small banana

Notice there is nothing with any real SUGAR in it, such as syrup. Oatmeal is a very healthy food to eat and a great breakfast in the winter, as well as in the summer. And notice an "egg subsititue" is mentioned or cottage cheese.

Enjoy this healthier breakfast......

[meinnv]

I am a well educated woman who has worked in hospitals well over 10 years so I do have some working knowledge of what I am saying.

I am sure no two people are going to see eye to eye, particularly on health or eating habits. Name calling hardly legitimizes an opinion. I do know where I work, diabetic patients are not given syrup. It''s not done, they feed diabetics toast, pancakes and some fruit, but all in moderation.

Not all carbs are bad for you, there are good carbs and bad carbs. What might be good today isn''t good tomorrow.

Also, some diabetics prefer to avoid insulin and want to manage it through diet as it''s easier for them. Although there are great advancements, unless you can drink insulin, you generally have to inject it, and there are some people who don''t like to do that.

Again, it''s always good and "food for thought" to not blindly accept certain foods as good or bad or "healthy".

You should consult a doctor periodically to see if it is a good idea to eat certain foods. Moderation is the key as well as common sense.

Just like you wouldn''t give peanut butter on a bagel to a child who''s allergic to it. Peanut butter wouldn''t hurt me, but to a child who has a severe allergy, it can be deadly--so even peanut butter can kill.

[meinnv]

I am getting the information from my own nutrionist, who because of my own high cholesterol in years past, recommended that I avoid eggs.

Weight has nothing to do with cholesterol, my mother is over-weight and her cholesterol is perfect. It is always best to consult a medical professional before trying a new fad or diet.

Also, many thin people have cholesterol issues as well. Believe it or not, in the past medical professionals have flipped back and forth between eggs being good or bad for you.

I am not telling anyone want to do, but here is something no one can argue with:

ASK YOUR CHILD''S PEDATRICIAN IF THESE FOODS ARE GOOD FOR THEM, WHAT MODERATION THEY SHOULD BE IN. AND IF HIGH CHOLESTEROL IS AN ISSUE, WOULD AVOIDING THESE FOODS HELP.

As with anything, there is common sense that needs to be applied. If your child doesn''t have a problem, then you''ve got nothing to worry about.

[paganmama]

These are a "start" but I''''d steer clear of anything with eggs. You don''''t want your 5 year old on Zocor. . .

Not sure where you''re getting your info on eggs, but I strongly disagree. Eggs are a great food for kids. They provide them with protein, iron and other nutrients that they need. And unless the 5 y.o is severely overweight, completely inactive and/or both, you shouldn''t have to worry about their cholesterol.

[peace2u3]

Im always on the lookout for good children''s recipes. These look healthy and delicious. I can''t wait to try the breakfast bars. Katie Lee Joel is adorable! Let''s hope we see more of her.

[kimmiebeck]

I can''t believe that so many people still believe the myth about eggs and cholesterol. Eggs are a near perfect food. One egg contains 13 essential nutrients, the highest quality prtein, choline, folate, iron and zinc with only 75 calories. Feed your kids a couple of eggs a week instead of the over-processed *** that''s being marketed as healthy. There''s nothing healthy about high fructose corn syrup, high sodium, and trans fat.

[kimmiebeck]

I can''t believe that so many people still believe the myth of eggs and cholesterol. Eggs are a near-perfect food. One egg contains 13 essential nutrients, the highest quality protein, choline, folate, iron, and zinc with only 75 calories. Feed your kids a couple of eggs a week instead of the highly processed fake food that''s marketed as healthy. There''s nothing healthy about high fructose corn syrup and trans fat.

[meinnv]

The Hawaiian French Toast sticks with Fruit recipe sounds like it''s loaded with enough sugar to make the kids run around all day without slowing down. The maple sugar wouldn''t be a good idea for diabetic families. Too much sugar and you''re looking for problems.

Then again, they are at least "tastier" alternatives to plain toast :)