Good vegan breakfasts for kids (and adults!)

[Katherine]

I need some suggestions here...

We are transitioning to a vegan diet (still not sure how strict we are going to be about this.. ?) but I'm having a hard time with breakfast. I used to make eggs, omelets, etc. b/c having protein in the morning has a tremendous impact on how the rest of the day goes, especially for me and ds1.

Lately, we've ended up doing toast with fruit or a smoothie with rice milk, but ds is still hungry after he eats this, and I don't want to just give him more sugary stuff (even sweet fruit?) He used to eat oatmeal all the time, but won't touch it now. :/ We just need something a bit more substantial for breakfast.... it was not unusual for ds to eat 3 or 4 eggs, a whole bowl of oats (not the sweetened kind), plus various fruits.

I've thought about cereal and rice milk, but dh doesn't want to eat anything processed now... he's really leaning more toward a raw food diet... and I am also avoiding dyes and preservatives, and sugar which are in a lot of cereals.

Any suggestions would be most welcome. What do other vegans eat for breakfast?

[greenemama]

i'm curious about the protein impact you've been having. do your kids mellow out with more protein? (hopeful...) :think

what about a soy cheese grilled cheese? soy yogurt? whole grain pancakes?

[Katherine]

oh, forgot to mention I can't have much soy. :( I'm trying to avoid making one thing for dh, something else for the boys, and something else for myself. ok.. let my rephrase.. I basically REFUSE to do that. It's all I can do to get meals served as it is. :P

Vegan pancakes would be great, or maybe some tips on making vegan "French toast" ??

My 3yo is super intense (emotional, loud, melting down, etc.) and he just seems to be able to hold it together a little better when he's started the day with a good meal. There is also a noticeable difference in his ability to focus. When he hasn't eaten well, he can't even focus long enough to register the words that are coming out of my mouth or look at me. :doh

For me.. well.. I just dont cope well with anything if I haven't had a decent meal. I'm :mad and :hissyfit and :banghead

hehheee.. :mrgreen

I have a book on order that deals with transitioning your family to a vegan/raw food diet, and what to feed the kids, etc. Just sort of floudering around while I'm waiting for it. :neutral

[ArmsOfLove]

what about granola? protein shakes (there are rice kinds); pancakes

the cookbook Vegan Delights has some great breakfast recipes.

You can use EnerG's Egg Replacer and make french toast.

[Katherine]

:doh DOH! I went to a healthfood store this week and forgot to look for egg replacer!

I bailed tonight and gave them beef stew. :shrug They are 100% more cooperative now and in MUCH better moods than they have been all day. :/ I think they are just not eating enough in general and enough of the right things while we're learning and transitioning. :rolleyes

Is there a good website or resource where I can find amounts of protein in various foods? My impression is that vegans depend a lot on green leafy vegis, soy, and nuts for protein. soy is out for me and questionable for ds, and he has had several dramatic reactions to pecans, so we are careful with nuts in general. I'm seeing sprouts as a big protein source, but need some different ideas, too. (Please let my book come soon!)

*sigh* oh, well. dh at least is feeling better than he has in a long time, and has a very positive attitude about the whole thing, which is really saying something. ;)

[BluegrassMama]

nak

nut and seed milks are good for breakfast; more protein, fat and calories than rice milk....make a smoothie with banana, strawberries, maple syrup...raw, quick, and homemade

don't forget, vegetables are for breakfast, too! apples and rutabagas baked together with brown sugar or maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg.

sweet potatoes baked, drizzled with orange juice

apple slices and celery sticks with almond butter (add raisins for 'ants on a log')

fruit plate and bean/rice corn tortillas, or enchiladas

[Katherine]

Thanks, Amy! Those suggestions sound yummy! (although I have no idea what a rutabaga even looks like!) :lol

Also just found fatfreevegan.com and I can add some fat to those recipes no problem since I'm still nursing and the boys need some too.

:mrgreen

[ArmsOfLove]

beans beans beans!!!!!

[Katherine]

oh, yeah! forgot about that! :O nak

[Punkie]

We make vegan french toast and pancakes because my ds is allergic to milk and I sometimes just feel like skipping the eggs. They both use banana...

For the pancakes, I use Aunt Jamima's Whole Wheat pancake mix and then put in vanilla almond (or rice) milk in place of the regular milk, and I mash up 2 bananas in place of the eggs. Its so yummy!

For french toast, I found a great vegan recipe in a cookbook where you just stick bananas in a blender with a little vanilla and cinnamon and use that as your batter for the french toast. Its really fluffy and yummy!

[Katherine]

mmmmm... now I want some Banana French toast! :D

Thanks for the recipes.

[ShangriLewis]

We like the flaxjacks in Raising Vegetarian Children by Joanne Stepaniak. Have you read the China Study? It talks alot about protein. If you are going to be feeding your children more fresh raw foods they will be eating more...at least at first. You can always keep lots of cut up veggies and fruits on hand for snacks. You could get a raw foods cookbook and learn some raw/sprouted nut or bean dips.

Hummus and black bean dip goes over well here.

Porter loves baked beans for breakfast. Having a snack before bed can help with being so hungry at breakfast. Breakfast burritos with beans and hashbrowns and salsa. If you can get them to eat it you can saute greens for the burritos, too.

You probably just need to think outside of the box.

I like some sprouted toast with almond butter for a filling quick breakfast.

[Katherine]

Yeah... you hit the nail on the head.. I've got to think about breakfast differently.. and food in general differently.

dh is interested in sprouting, so we will probably end up doing that, but he has said he is not willing to manage it himself (wants me to do it.. big surprise! :rolleyes :lol) and I can't handle too many adjustments at one time. :O As it is, I keep "forgetting" that we're not eating X or Y, and buying stuff with off-limits ingredients. Oops! :)

One of the problems this last week or two is that the boys have NOT been eating more.. they're eating less, and they're terribly grouchy. It's probably b/c I'm not offering them enough choices, and I was worried that letting them just eat fruit all day would give them a sugar high or upset their stomachs.

It really is a whole mindset change.

[ShangriLewis]

I use the Easy Sprouter at sproutpeople. I think it's www.sproutpeople.com (http://www.sproutpeople.com)

It's super easy to use if you use their directions. We got one of their starter kits. I think it's a great way to add some nutrition for such a little amount of work. I keep mine by the kitchen sink, so I remember I'm sprouting.

I don't really worry about fruit with my kids. They don't eat that much though. But, I don't mind offering them a plate of slice apples or an orange. Porter gets a smoothie almost everyday. He needs all the calories he can get. Avocado can be added to smoothies as can green peas. Of course, all my kids like to eat frozen peas so I don't usually add them to smoothies.

The boys always surprise me when they try something new. All my kids like black olives and I wouldn't touch them till I was an adult. Gibran will eat avocado sandwhiches, another thing I never ate till I was an adult.

Heather

[MySeoulChild]

You've gotten some great advice, but I just wanted to suggest something. I understand that your husband is trying to make healthy decisions, too, but if you are feeding the kids beef stew because they're hungry - maybe this is too many transitions to do at once. I think perhaps it would be better to take this one step at a time, so it's more realistic for your family and so that it is a lifelong change you can all live with.

We started with vegetarian vegetable canned soup, boca burgers, and things that were already by nature vegetarian dishes (stir fry, baked sweet potatoes, spaghetti marinara, etc.) Then, we started adding in a new recipe periodically that we'd try - or we tried a new substitute for things we used to enjoy (soy milk, soy pudding, etc).

Okay, so that said, here are my ideas for breakfasts.

Smoothies (think chocolate almond or rice milk, bananas, and peanut butter or cashew butter - YUM)

Granola bars or "cereal" bars (Health Valley has SPECTACULAR bars...some are vegan, some are not - read labels) :)

Cereal - this is not such a bad thing. Our kiddos eat a lot of cereal and none of it has any added sugar and most of it is less processed than a piece of whole wheat bread. Look at the labels, consider your options - shredded wheat, Panda Puffs, etc.

Try a different kind of oatmeal - we love the steel cut oats and they are NOT comparable to anything else (instant Quaker comes to mind). Prepare a bowl of mix-ins for your kids...dried fruit, nuts, heck even mini carob chips or vegan chocolate chips if it will get them to eat a whole bowl of oatmeal to start the day (just a few - 5 or 6 chips). We also love all-fruit-preserves in our oatmeal, Earth Balance (non-hydrogenated, omega-3 packed margarine), and maple syrup. Then, think cinnamon or nutmeg on top. If you add raisins and cinnamon it tastes like an oatmeal cookie, etc. Cinnamon and sliced or mashed bananas with small walnut pieces - banana bread. You get the idea.

Fried potatoes - a vegan staple for breakfasts! :) (Not necessarily hash browns, but sauteed sliced potatoes with a little onion and garlic - really satisfying).

I don't know how much soy you can tolerate, but we really love Boca sausage patties on vegan biscuits or english muffins.

Also, consider frozen vegan waffles (many good brands) with peanut butter and jelly, or cashew butter, or maple syrup - it sounds sugary but the body doesn't react to maple syrup (a natural sweetener) like refined sugar - and there's no bone char involved.

We eat a lot of PB&J for breakfast - or peanut butter and banana sandwiches or either of these on toast

Vegan pancakes with fruit - I add a tablespoon of water to berries and let them simmer while I"m making my pancakes, then cover them in the berry compote.

Banana hot dogs are another favorite around here - take a hot dog bun, smear it with nut butter, then lay a whole banana in it. Delish! :)

leftovers - breakfast is usually more savory than sweet if we think outside the box - we've been known to have all sorts of things that were leftover from dinner the night before :)

[ShangriLewis]

Banana hot dogs are another favorite around here - take a hot dog bun, smear it with nut butter, then lay a whole banana in it. Delish! :)



I've heard that before, but I really need to try it with my kids. I bet they would love it!