Cheap Breakfasts: Feeding Your Kids On A Budget

It’s a well known fact that many kids are picky and if yours only want expensive cereals and not so cheap breakfasts, what are you to do? When you stop to look at your budget to see where your money goes, chances are you’ll find that a huge percentage goes just to food. While that is divided between all meals, breakfast is one of the meals that is easiest to do for cheap.

Just how do you get your kids to eat cheap breakfasts? Your best bet is to start them you so they don’t get a taste for sugary cereals! However, if you’re past that stage already, you’re going to have to try a different tactic.

Getting kids to help you make breakfast is a great way to encourage them to eat it. For example, you might enlist their help to make homemade Pop Tarts or cinnamon rolls. They will be far more likely to eat it if they’ve helped. Older kids can actually help plan cheap breakfasts and will be able to even cook them on their own.

Another way to get little kids involved in making their breakfast is to give them a bowl of oatmeal and set out several options for garnishing, such as raisins, dried coconut, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, peanut butter, apple slices, etc. Then let them add one spoonful of two different things to their cereal. Since they’ve personalized their food, they will probably have more interest in eating it.

You should also look for favorites. If your kids love your cinnamon coffee cake, try variations of it. Make an apple cake, or a chocolate orange one. See if they’ll eat muffins. These are all low cost options that are healthy for your kids and once you have a few favorites, you can stick to those, with only a few new dishes once in a while.

Kids can be notoriously picky, but if you want to keep your food budget to a minimum, you’ll need to find foods that they’ll eat. Another fun option is to liquefy. If your children won’t touch coffee cake or poached eggs on toast, try making them a smoothie for breakfast. It’s probably healthier than the cake anyway. Add some favorite fruits, frozen or fresh, a cup of milk or yogurt or even orange juice, a handful of ice cubes and blend. Presto! Fast and cheap.

Cheap breakfasts abound, the trick is getting kids to eat them.

By: Genesis D.

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