The Hot New Cold Breakfast 3 minutes to make, 2 minutes to eat...

Raise your hand if you struggle to provide a quick and healthy breakfast for your kids before they run out the door to school….

SAD (Standard American Diet) 

This is a longstanding issue because “traditional” American breakfast food is full of processed carbs and sugar (bread, jam, pop tarts, muffins, tacos, pancakes, waffles, orange juice, etc!)

Well, purely by accident my family happened upon the perfect breakfast for my now 17-year old (Chef Sizzle-Snap) who likes  to do the opposite of whatever I recommend.

Keto Surprise

I was recently on a keto diet as an experiment, and—because it requires lots of fat—I started eating refrigerated coconut milk to satiate my hunger. I kept a can with a spoon in it in the fridge and helped myself to a scoop whenever I was hungry and hankering for something sweet. Since berries are naturally very low in sugar and therefore the only fruits recommended on keto—but they’re out of season—I started buying frozen bags and defrosting them in the fridge. I munched on thawed berries and drank the juice that pooled at the bottom of the bag. Who knew strawberry juice was that good?

All kinds of yogurt

Back to the defiant teen: yogurt is one of the few breakfasty foods that he has consistently enjoyed. We’ve cycled through many types and brands. He, like me, is marginally lactose intolerant and cows yogurt often causes gastro upset (for me it also causes joint pain). But we discovered that A1 milk—from a breed of cattle more prevalent in Africa and Asia and touted for its superior nutritional profile—is more easily digestible. So he has been eating Alexandre Farms Cow yogurt, full fat (which is the “real” version of nonfat). He also likes goat and sheep yogurt, which is also A1. My favorite brand is Bellwether Farms. I mash in banana for sweetness and top with cinnamon. This is a great breakfast food or quick refuel for kids who like yogurt. And you can dress it up with endless toppings.

The Joy of Coconut

So back to keto and coconut milk with berries: it’s naturally sweet, and my kid curiously poked his fork into my bowl and approved. So I made him a concoction that contained: 

• refrigerated coconut milk (which has a nice consistency and coolness) 
• defrosted frozen berries—straw and blue and black—which you can eat all winter long! 
• a generous shake-shake of cinnamon (which has extensive health benefits) 
• tree nuts. You pick the type! Try oh try to get nuts other than peanuts into your kids’ diet if they’re not allergic.

Flash breakfast!

Not only is this INCREDIBLY quick and easy, but you can put it together (and eventually teach them to do it) the night before and in the morning just grab a bowl out of the fridge and scoop it into your mouth in two minutes. It’s filling, sweet, nutrient-dense, and yummy! There are so many ways to adapt it—you can mix in chia seeds (recipe here) to make it more like a pudding. You can sprinkle some honey-sweetened or grain-free granola on top. Experiment with cocoa nibs or dark chocolate chips or bee pollen. But the beauty is that coconut milk is naturally sweet and so you don’t need to spike it.

Happy Breakfast! And stay away from cereal which is really and truly not a good choice. 

–your GFF

p.s. EAT REAL FOOD. Try to find an organic coconut brand (here’s one I like) without preservatives and additives like Polysorbate 60. I’m not a big fan of extra “gums” but guar gum is generally safe and necessary to produce the creamy consistency. Also look for BPA-free. This is a toxic substance that can cause substantial reproductive harm.