Fun & Easy Breakfast Ideas

It doesn’t get much easier than slurping a protein shake from a straw. Throw a combination of yogurt, milk, frozen berries, bananas and honey into the blender and process it until it looks smooth and silky. Pour the goodness into tall glasses and serve the smoothies with a straw. Give the kids a little fiber to munch on in the form of a bran muffin or an English muffin with jam.

Don’t let a time crunch in the morning stop you from firing up the griddle. Take a few minutes the evening before and mix up pancake batter to refrigerate overnight. Streamline the process by setting up the griddle and getting the plates and syrup out, so you’re all set to go in the morning. Get a little creative with your pancake batter if you’re feeling adventurous. Make peanut butter pancakes with chunks of banana, applesauce pancakes or blueberry pancakes. Grate fresh zucchini, add a sprinkle of salad dressing mix and make zucchini oatmeal pancakes for a delightful and nutritious change of pace.

Eggs go over well with most kids -- especially when you add a few extra ingredients. If time is short, hardboil eggs the night before and refrigerate them overnight. Serve the eggs cold with blueberry muffins and some chunks of melon. If you have time to cook, whip up a quick frittata with diced broccoli, fresh herbs and cheddar cheese, and bake it in the oven until the eggs set. For fun, make eggs in a nest by toasting a slice of bread lightly and cutting out the center of the toast with a cookie cutter. Place the toast into a skillet and crack an egg into the cutout portion of the toast. Cook the toast and egg until the egg sets completely.

Give toast a little personality with imaginative toppings and fun shapes. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the bread -- this can be especially useful for those little ones who refuse crusts. Slather on the butter, jam, peanut butter, cream cheese or cheese spread. Add blueberries, raisins, sunflower seeds, coconut, chocolate chips or dried fruit. Make a face out of the toppings or add them randomly. Or provide assorted toppings and let the kids create masterpieces good enough to eat.