11 tips to help break up with cereal:
- Start slowly, e.g. start with a cooked breakfast on the weekend. Start to build up to a couple of times a week and so on.
- Sacred time. It does take a little longer to prepare a nourishing breakfast, but think of the greatness that goes along with it and start with meals that don’t take long to prepare like a breakfast smoothie or this simple and delicious buckwheat breakfast parfait (both blender meals).
- Upgrade. Find a couple of recipes you all love and start with those or choose a better quality cereal (see below for ideas).
- The vibe. Notice the vibe in the family when you all start the day with a more nourishing breakfast. The energy? The discussion? The kids’ mood at the end of the day?
- Be curious. About your choices. If you love cereal and find it hard to break up with it, why? Is it the convenience or is it the emotional connection and because it’s all you’ve ever known?
- Experiment. Think of any new choices as an experiment and notice how those new choices feel when you make them.
- Prepare. Think about what you’re having for breakfast the night before and soak some grains or just know what you’ll be doing to help save time in the morning. Keep the fridge and pantry well stocked.
- Share. Talk with your family or friends why you want to make new choices. Get them involved and supporting you.
- Give choices. Give the kids a couple of choices to choose from, e.g. an omelette or a smoothie tomorrow morning and get them to help you make it. Check out lots more quick and easy ideas on my website.
- Take it slow. Sometimes we forget to notice as we hurry on with our days how everyday choices are impacting the fabric of who we are and how we connect with our families. Take time to reflect.
- Celebrate. Any little or big wins along the way.
How to choose a better box of breakfast cereal?
- With fewer ingredients.
- With ingredients you recognise, i.e. no or very few numbers.
- Uses whole food ingredients, e.g. nuts, seeds, groats, spices and good fats.
- Uses natural sugars for sweetening, e.g. whole fruits, honey, brown rice malt syrup, maple syrup, etc.
- Avoid refined sugars, e.g. glucose syrup, high fructose corn syrup or corn sugar.
Then to prepare a good cereal breakfast, e.g. a muesli, soak it overnight to help release any anti-nutrients and make it into a porridge or a bircher muesli the next morning.
Summary
It’s a complex and very lucrative web that big business has spun to lodge breakfast cereals firmly in our hearts and our homes. The lifestyle, the emotional connection, the convenience and the advertising all make it extremely difficult for us to part company with it.
But it, along with convenience foods generally, has come at a cost. The demise of our health, our family unit and our energetic connection to our food along with creating a breakdown in the socialisation that naturally comes with preparing, cooking and eating a meal together.
I know many of you already start your day with a good breakfast, but for many of us it’s still a very hard choice to make, especially as time is of the essence in our busy lives. And at the end of the day it is our choice. But perhaps it’s time to stop and have a good look at those choices and why we’re really making them.
What is this important meal of the day creating in your home?
Is it the emotional connection you want your children to be passing onto their children?
Is it adding to the busyness of every day life or is it allowing you the chance to stop, prepare for the day and connect with loved ones?
Is it fuelling busy bodies or growing bodies with the nutrients they need for peak performance, achievement and happiness?
Is it the emotional bond of your child hood that you’re hanging onto?
Whatever you decide or wherever you’re at, the most important thing is to take the time to really enjoy your food and to connect with those around you. In joy.
Let’s bring breakfast back. To keep us motivated and inspired with this busy, time poor and important time of the day, join me in ‘The Great Breakfast Adventure‘ a FREE 5-day discovery of the best, most energising and simplest breakfast for the whole family. Includes my ebook ‘Brainstorm the best Breakfast’ with over 30 pages of tips and new recipes to try. Details here.
All you need to know to fill your heart and your families tummies to get the day off to the best start possible.
References.
Choice review of 204 ready-to-eat cereals in 2015
The food that makes billions (documentary)
After working as an executive in professional services, Kate Barnes started her global business as a Certified Holistic Health Coach. She has a Bachelor of Science and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business. Kate runs an online program, ‘Our Happy Children‘, a leading education program for deeply nourishing families and building strong immunity, great energy and preventing illness. For more information visit Kate’s website, like her Facebook page for loads of daily inspiration, healthy tips and more recipes and follow her on Instagram: @kate_barnes_health_coaching.
