Back-to-School 2010 – Breakfast, The Most Important Meal

Editor’s Note: As your groggy crew rolls out of bed this morning and gets ready for another day of school, it’s time to consider what we are putting into our systems to fuel up for the busy school year ahead. Dr. Heather Manley – a Canadian naturopath now living in Hawaii – is here this morning to talk shop about the importance of kids eating a healthy breakfast and some tips on how to help your kids get a good start. But first, we check out her fantastic new audio/book series that teaches kids about their bodies and give a copy away to boot. Now that’s a great start!:) Here she is:

The other morning over our usual breakfast of eggs and toast, my daughter made a declaration. “Fried food is bad for your heart. I want poached eggs from now on.”

Ummm, OK. But, why the sudden change in breakfast direction? She ran into her room and came back with the answer - Merrin and Pearl, The Human Body Detectives, had told her so.

We had gotten a package in the mail from Dr. Heather Manley a few days before that. Inside, our daughter discovered one of her favorite things – an audio CD with a new story and a book to go along with it. They were an instant hit.

I knew that Merrin and Pearl’s third case in this fun learning series – The Heart Pumping Adventure – would be a great fit for her. But, what surprised me the most was how much she took to the story, the lessons (eat healthy to have a healthy body) and the educational content that at times was a bit beyond her 5-year-old level.

Dr. Manley created this cool series that is reminiscent of Magic School Bus in that the detectives shrink down and go inside people’s bodies to learn more about the systems and self-published the project because of her passion for keeping kids healthy and empowering them to tackle it on their own.

It is, to be honest, one of the most interesting and engaging human body learning tools I’ve come across in a very long time. Sweetly illustrated with the stories told in a very accessible kid style, the audio and workbook (it comes with stickers too, major bonus) are a great team.

Through each book, kids learn what foods work best for each system of the body, how to eat well and even nag their parents about not-so-healthy eating habits. I also like that the mystery solvers are both girls as I find that they are usually the sidekicks in these gigs.

Our daughter wanted to know if she could shrink down and see if what we were eating was helping or hurting, very serious about making sure we knew that she meant business and would be solving a mystery or two in the process.

The Human Body Detectives series is well worth the trip online to order them at Dr. Manley’s site www.humanbodydetectives.com

Now, here is Dr. Manley herself with some back-to-school breakfast eating insight:

After a restful, rejuvenating night of sleep, the body ( and brain) wake up ready to embrace the day ahead. The first thing the body needs to ensure this is simple, food.  The morning meal fuels the body with needed glucose (a body’s source of energy) and nutrition which will allow for an alert, productive and creative day.

Without a healthy breakfast, packed with whole foods and color, the brain will simply not function in full gear and the outcome is a decrease in children’s attention span and ability to concentrate making for more errors, behavior issues and eventually poor school tests scores. Encourage your kids (and model it yourself!) to have breakfast and feel good, do well and have a great day!

Who doesn’t want to do well on a test or win that running race during PE?

BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL EVERY DAY

1. It’s a good healthy habit to start at a young age.
2. The brain and muscles all require glucose (body’s sugar) to function and since the body has not been able to refuel during sleep, breakfast is the best time to do this.
3. Eating a good healthy breakfast helps curb any over eating or snacking (usually wasteful calories) through out the day.
4. Kids who eat breakfast tend to behave better during the school morning (perhaps due a stabilized blood sugar level) and perform much better on tests.
5. Kids are happier which makes them feel good as well as the people around them.

Many children will completely refuse to eat breakfast. They have their excuses but to be quite honest, they are all lousy excuses.
The most common is, “I’m too tired to eat.”

Solution: Help your child get up earlier. If that is not possible, then plan something the night before. For example, sliced apple with nut butter or cheese, is a perfect quick breakfast. Know what your child is doing in school that morning and explain to them will be able to preform better at it with a nutritious meal ( ex: run faster at recess or PE.)

Simple, easy breakfast meals ideas:

• A breakfast smoothie with frozen bananas, mangos and strawberries, vanilla yogurt and water or milk to mix, is fast and nutritious.
• Oatmeal with a teaspoon of nut butter, sprinkle of cinnamon and some organic milk . Top with frozen blueberries for some added color and nutrients!

And the second most common excuse is, “I don’t like breakfast foods.”

Solution: Make your child their favorite foods for breakfast. Quesadilla with cheese and beans or even chicken noodle soup.

The bottom line is that we all want to feel good throughout our day and the best (and easiest) way to do this is to have a healthy breakfast. Go ahead and make sure you and your children have a great breakfast – I promise you will feel great and productive day!

We’ve got a copy of The Human Body Detectives Heart Pumping Adventure courtesy of Dr. Heather Manley to give away today.

Here are the ways you can be entered to win:

1. Comment here.

2. Show some love and fan OBE and Human Body Detectives on Facebook.

3. Repost this link on your blog.

4. Be sure to let us know here if you do any of the extra fun as it gets you an additional entry in the draw.

5. This giveaway will close at midnight on Friday. We will randomly draw a name with the winner notified Monday morning.

Tags: audio books, children, Dr. Heather Manley, eating, education, family, food, health, Human Body Detective, Kids, Learning, Our Big Earth Media Co., stories

Category: EAT & DRINK, Food & Your Family