I’d like to save some time in the mornings by packing my son’s breakfast to eat at his desk in the morning as most of the other children do, but I’m not sure what’s available that’s relatively healthy. I can give him fruit, which he likes, but I’d like suggestions on anything else I can buy pre-packed. We don’t pass any shops on the way, so it needs to be something I can get at Carrefour or elsewhere at the weekends to last all week.
Does he eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (can make it the night before if you’re pressed for time in the morning)?
Surely anything pre-packed is guaranteed “not healthy”?
I know schoolkids have a nightmare schedule, but I wouldn’t suggest you set him up for a lifetime of bad habits by letting him eat at his desk. Meals are to be enjoyed, even if it’s five bloody AM. If you’re eating and working, you’re actually doing neither. Don’t let him join the ranks of the lifeless, compliant drones at such a young age. Anyway, after you’ve factored in the time you spend buying and packing the stuff, what’s the point?
How about a bowl of muesli and a banana? It takes no time at all to prepare and five minutes to eat. When I was a kid I used to like this stuff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ready_brek which is essentially flavoured porridge oats. I’m sure something similar is available in the supermarket. Very quick, not too many synthetic additives, and a good carb boost until lunchtime. If you want to give him a snack too, sure, fruit has got to be the best bet.
cool pizza and flat beer from the night before, Oh wait that’s collage. Banana’s, apple’s and such? with a few crackers. Mmm peanut butter crackers. Now I am hungry.
Healthy but prepacked – that’s a bit of a conflict right there. Most prepackaged stuff is loaded with sugar, salt, preservatives, etc. There are yogurt cups, yogurt fruit cups, and fruit. If he’s old enough to handle adding hot water, you could send him with a flavored oatmeal package, bowl and cup. Or send him to school with a ziplock bag with muesli, a mini tetra-pack of milk, and a bowl and spoon.
Fresher pre-made stuff that would last a day or two but not all week: chicken wraps from Costco, premade sandwiches or tuna rice triangles in seaweed from 7-11, etc.
If you have a few minutes in the morning, maybe make a sandwich for him: tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, PBJ, etc.? Or a quick omelette or scrambled eggs with toast? Get some ciabatta or bagels from Costco, and something to put on them like ham & cheese or a nice spread. If you really don’t have time in the morning, you can premake some ciabatta or bagel sandwiches the night before. You can fill them with some kind of omelette (eggs, cheese and mushrooms; eggs and spinach; eggs and sausage, etc.), meat and cheese, pesto, etc. As long as what’s in them isn’t wet, they won’t go soggy. 20 seconds in the microwave in the morning will warm them up a bit. Not ideal, but if you’re really squeezed for time, it would work. Add some fruit, and you have brekkie.
If you have a microwave: my minimal version of Shirred eggs.
Pour some olive oil in a ramekin. Crack in the egg, add salt and pepper (or any other spice), and nuke for 1-2 minutes (usually only a little over 1 minute is necessary and you don’t need high setting. Depends on brand/power) until the egg looks somewhat like it was “poached” or rounded fried. Hollow a well in his rice and put the egg in there. The egg will still be somewhat like a sunny side up with the yolk runny. He can eat it at home or take it to school and make every other kid envious.
You won’t even spend 3 minutes for that. Make one for yourself at the same time. And the washing up is about ten seconds since nothing sticks.
(be careful when you lift the egg out of the ramekin, sometimes the oil will pop and splatter. Also some people say that the yolks pop and you should break them by poking them with a toothpick. In 20 years I’ve never had one pop so I don’t know if that is a concern. I don’t break the yolk.)
Throw your fruit in there and you’ve got it.
Of course I don’t have any kids so your mileage will vary.
But you will never fry an egg again.
Petrichor,
We do eat a good breakfast at home in the morning, but then my son has to wait 5 hours until lunch. At first the teacher discouraged us from letting him take a snack, but he was so hungry it was a nightmare, so now I pack a snack for him to eat during a break in the morning. I usually make something for him to take:
tuna and cucumber sandwich, creamcheese on toast, peanut butter sandwich, scone, muffin (make on weekend and freeze, defrost on days he wants one), sushi roll, cheese and crackers, toasted ham and cheese sandwich, hard boiled egg, a banana, slice of pizza
For some reason, my kids don’t want to eat yogurt in Taiwan, bought or homemade, even though they devoured it in NZ.
Some of the kids take milkpowder in a cup or cup-a-soup, and mix it at school.
Many thanks for all your suggestions. I’m going to try a few of those myself, especially Shirred eggs. I’m getting hungry just replying here!
Yes, I guess healthy pre-packaged is a bit of an oxymoron. Didn’t really think that one through very well.
My basic problem is trying to minimise the time from bed to door in the mornings, as we still struggle to make it to school for 8 o’clock even though we’ve been doing it for three months now. I don’t like rushing my son to eat his breakfast. He’s a slow eater, like me, and doesn’t wake naturally before about 7.20, no matter what time he goes to bed. Of course I can wake him earlier but I can see he feels it for the rest of the day.
So spending time at any other time of day shopping or preparing something to eat is okay. It’s also okay for him to eat in class in that time in the morning before lessons start. All of the other kids do. There’s one child brings a Happy Meal every day. :s
What I do every day is take my sandwich at night an pack it in ziplock. I also cut carrot sticks and maybe fruit, or repackage tortilla chips -big costco one into smaller ones. keeps better. Ziplock bags are your friend. Just don’t add ho stuff. Cookies and cupcakes for snack are fine if homemade, packaged is icky.
I also have a glass of milk with a spoonful of oats/cereal or apple juice before leaving the house. This is important as doctors recommend b-fast within 2 hours of waking up.
Pancakes?
Pancake batter is easy to make (eggs, flour, milk) and will keep in the fridge for 4/5 days. Easy to cook in the morning, dash of lemon & sugar, or maple syrup - and you’re done.
Wraps. Get some corn or flour tortillas (or make them), and add refried beans, scrambled egg with onions and garlic and a touch of chile, some shredded chicken and salsa, wrap that up, and pop it in the fridge. Next day, just pop it in the microwave 20 seconds, and off you go.
If I had one of those for breakfast as an adult, let alone as a child, I’d be ruined for the rest of the day! I’d need a sturdy bed and and even sturdier toilet after that little concoction. 
Well don’t give him too much or else his stomach will be digesting the food for the next 45 minutes and he’ll be dead.
Step One: Go to Ikea. Purchase the big pack of clear and green tupperwares for ~300nt
-Cut up a piece of fruit, throw into one little tupperware.
-Use one of the tiny tupperwares to fill with a spoonful or two of peanut butter (NOT Taiwanese peanut butter. Costco is your friend.)
-Carrots and broccoli in another tupperware to dip in the peanut butter.
-Buy the big packages of Nature’s Valley grain bar things (Costco). Healthy pre-packaged enough. Instead of giving him the little package, break up the pieces into bite size and throw them in a tupperware. Maybe he’ll even want it with yogurt and he can spoon it out. (I know you say they dont want the yogurt here, but hey, maybe the grain bar will make it different enough for him to try it again.)
-A little container of milk/chocolate milk.
If I had one of those for breakfast as an adult, let alone as a child, I’d be ruined for the rest of the day! I’d need a sturdy bed and and even sturdier toilet after that little concoction. [/quote]
Ideal breakfast:
Honestly, Petrichor, you can get cold cuts bulk from a supplier here, and cheese from Costco. Mayo, mustard. You can add tomatoes and veggies to the egg, make an omelette, less chance it will get runny. Oh, and good quality bread, hopefully with seeds or dried fruit in it, like whole grain and pecan, yummy yummy.
Get a pack of pita bread. You can freeze them and thaw at room temperature.
Make hummus (less garlic for your child since he’ll be at school). Vamp it up with olives or peppers, or just plain if that’s how he likes it. Hummus is so simple to make and keep in an airtight container in the fridge. You can freeze unused chick peas.
Cut pita in half, spread hummus on both sides, throw in lettuce, tomatoes, cuke slices, green peppers, last night’s grilled chicken/salmon/firm tofu slices/deli meats/other protein.
I had it for lunch today and it took me 30 seconds to make two sandwiches. I chopped up my vegies, but kids might like them shredded.
You could also make a nice sauce such as chipotle aioli (ask DB, he knows how) in one of those squeezable ketchup bottles and keep in the fridge so you can make other types of grab-n-go pita pockets.
[quote=“Lili”]
-Carrots and broccoli in another tupperware to dip in the peanut butter.
[/quote] 
You Americans are just plain WEIRD!
[quote=“jimipresley”][quote=“Lili”]
-Carrots and broccoli in another tupperware to dip in the peanut butter.
[/quote] You Americans are just plain WEIRD! [/quote]
Well, I dont recommend broccoli in peanut butter… But carrots, apples, and peanut butter <3 
Oh wow, I wish I could come to all of your homes for breakfast sometime. Thanks for all your ideas, guys. I’ve decided I’m going to bake some raisin bread with egg and banana at the weekend, cut it into thick slices and freeze it, then thaw a slice each day. Then I’ll give him some fruit or veggie sticks and a carton of orange juice or milk.