Image by 3liz4 via Flickr

Ok, I have to tell everyone that health is not just for you but it is for those around you also.  How many of you make sure that your kids have clean clothes?  Get to school and get good grades?  Learn their ABC's, math and everything in between?  How about the virtues of learning to play an instrument?  It is all good for them, right?

Now they ask for breakfast and what do you feed them?  Eggos?  Toast and butter?  How about some cereal you think is good because those honest cereal companies put a label on the box that says so?  Well, why should you look,? Cereal is quick and easy and you might discover something bad and you might feel guilty for serving it right?

You are likely pumping your kid full of glucose before rushing them out the door so they can get to school and you to work.  Glucose gives you energy but your body does not use it to grow or make important hormones, enzymes and antibodies.  You need proteins and fats for cellular reproduction.  The glucose is just the fuel to make that happen.  The brain, bones and muscles can't grow and develop on glucose.

Make some eggs.  They can be purchased in cartons and micro-waved or put in a frying pan in 5 minutes.  Throw some peanut or almond butter, (organic of course) on that toast and make sure it is whole grain.  Serve some oatmeal, steel cut or rolled, not instant.  Some fruit and peanut butter, even last night's chicken breast if they will eat it is a better alternative.  How about some low fat-low sugar yogurt, a fruity protein shake, get the blender out and experiment. Try some unsalted raw nuts.  Make some healthy oatmeal and protein cookies with natural fruit sweeteners.  Search the Internet and you will find lots of recipes.  Stay away from the juice except for very small quantities.  Without the fiber, It is fruit reduced to plain sugar and will cause a bad insulin spike.  Serve the fruit instead in its natural form, but cut it up first, the smaller the  better.  Kids don't like to eat whole fruit but they love it when it's already cut and prepared as a finger food.  Try an experiment.  Leave a bowl of fresh fruit on the counter for a week and see if anyone eats it.  Then try cutting all the fruit up into a fruit salad and see how fast it disappears.

Even if you don't care about your health, you must care about the well being of your children.  There are only 3 things of any real value you can give your kids before they become adults:  Your love, education and health.  If they enter adulthood without those they will be crippled for life.  Don't be lazy, love yourself and your children and give everyone the best chance to be at their optimal performance each day.