Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Creatures of Habit: A Breakfast Schedule

Food preparation with three kids is like a fascinating puzzle that's not really meant to be solved. Just when I think I know who is eating what (or most often what they are NOT eating) and how much, something changes. Somebody develops a weird texture issue, or the eggs they proclaimed to loooove last week bring a visible recoiling when the plate is set in front of them.

With school back in session a military level of precision has to come to certain areas of our lives. Not all because I'm way too lazy and ill-equipped for that kind of commitment but food is the thing I feel like I have the strongest grasp on, even as the laundry piles up and the inside of my car looks like we just came from a yard sale. Years ago I was introduced to the weekly meal provided at my son's Waldorf preschool; on Mondays it was folding and oatmeal, Tuesdays were for painting and millet, etc. Before my kids knew the days of the week, they would wake up groggy and ask in a sleepy voice, "is today muffins and beeswax?" before deciding if it was worth willingly getting out of bed. It was something they could count on, and I came to appreciate it, too. Having a breakfast schedule brings an anchor to the morning rush, one of a few areas I have identified as a time when I feel most frazzled and anxious, so for the last couple years I've put us on a program. It rotates occasionally but I've found that a quick scan of the cupboard keeps me in check with what we need and reminds me to keep my more ambitious breakfast plans reserved for slow Sunday mornings, not white-knuckle Thursdays.

It's also worth noting that the point of this is a consistent breakfast schedule to help everyone get their bearings and start the day right, even if the offerings are a steady rotation of cereal, hard boiled eggs and avocado toast with the black part of the avocado scraped off...it's okay. I have to think that my good health as an adult may have a little something to do with constantly being fed the heel of the loaf, where the mold was usually a little too thick to fully remove.

Monday: Granola or Oatmeal with hard boiled eggs
Tuesday: Sausages, toast with butter or bagels with cream cheese and fruit
Wednesday: Cereal, scrambled eggs
Thursday: French toast or pancakes
Friday: Paleo scone or muffin and bacon








No comments:

Post a Comment