Breakfast ideas for children that hate porridge/weatabix

[Poppybella2015]

My two daughters age 2 and 5 eat toast for breakfast with Nutella or jam or baked beans or a boiled egg. Sometimes spaghetti hoops. They HATE porridge, weatabix and all types of cereals. The problem is they eat sandwiches for lunch and I feel they are just eating so much bread. My oldest is currently suffering from acid reflux and I am really worried about her diet. I wish she would eat a giant bowl of ready brek in the morning! Does anyone have any suggestions of healthy filling breakfast ideas that a fussy child might eat? Thank you in advance

Is it the bread you have an issue with or the amount of wheat they are having?
If it's bread then you could try crumpets/scotch pancakes which they could still have with their favourite toppings - be that jam,nutella or boiled egg

However if it's the wheat then you could do omlette, smoothies, yoghurt with banana ....

Something you could try is a breakfast parfait - get a pretty glass or jar and pop in some yoghurt, a layer of fruit, a layer of oats and then repeat - some children get quite excited by that as it's like having a dessert from breakfast - and could be a way of you getting oats into them...

And you could always try something different from sandwiches for lunch - jacket potatoes, salads (although i know not so appealing in winter), soups etc

Yes I may have to change lunches I think as the oldest dd will not eat yogurt for breakfast or fruit or muesli or granola :( I have tried so many things and she just wants toast. She will eat crumpets, bagels, croissants, brioche etc but I guess that is just as bad a toast with all the wheat she eats? It's like she can only face bread products in the morning, she heaves when I give her something else :(

Banana pancakes! Per child: one manky banana, one egg, one tbsp porridge oats, one tbsp s/r flour (I use wholemeal) and pinch of baking powder. Mash the banana, chuck everything else in, fry in whatever oil you fancy (I use rapeseed) in dessertspoon-ish sized pancakes. They are a massive hit here and a good way to sneak protein into my serial protein avoider.

Drop scones? I make and freeze and if I forget to take them out in time, they defrost happily in a dry pan. (I always reheat them like that anyway.)

Omelette with whatever they like?

Nut butters on toast or crumpets or whatever? (I know that's more bread though.)

Banana yoghurt - mashed banana with nut butter mixed in.

Homemade muffins, sweet or savoury. They freeze well. We like spinach and cheese.

My dc eat dried cereal or toast. My dd heaves at anything milky in the morning as well.

Croissants, pain au chocolate? Or seeded bread?

Reading what they have, it's not the wheat as much as the sugar that i notice. All of their choices have added sugar, except the boiled egg. Nutella in the morning doesn't fill me with joy, but I know lots do it.

Sugar is everywhere though so we just have to work around it I suppose.
Are eggs an option? Other than boiled? Poached, scrambled, fried? On wholemeal toast.
Or maybe ham and cheese rolls? With fruit and/or yoghurt. No bread, unless they want it?
Take the continental approach - cold meats, yoghurts, fruits (dried and fresh), croissants.
Although they are still very young. How is their weight generally? If they are a healthy weight, then by all means reduce the bread/pasta etc.

If they won't change their breakfasts then have a look at their lunches - soups, winter salads, a spiralizer to make veggie "pasta" (it's not really pasta)? Breadsticks to add filling, but not overload, if you are worried about wheat. Or gluten free bread snacks. There are loads now in all supermarkets.
Again, it all depends on their weight and development. My youngest has huge feeding issues due to illness, so I have to learn the hard way. I'd love to fill him with nutella as he is underweight but have to hold myself back and try to be the good parent.

I know this is still bread based but all my children love eggy bread, pancakes with fruit, toast with almond butter.

Will they have that 50/50 bread.
Wholemeal or bran muffins.
Pancakes or omelette.
Scrambled egg.

Oooh yes, French Toast, high calorie and looking like a pancake. Good choice. My boy loves this. Pancakes also a huge hit. With fruit and maple syrup.
BUT are OPs kids under/over weight? Why does she want to reduce bread? Are they diagnosed with anything? Coeliac, intolerances, SN, dietary restrictions? Otherwise how could strangers dictate 2 little girls diets on the internet, with no evidence of any health issues? Children need calories, fats and sugars as they grow.
Just saying really. I am sure OP is a fantastic mum, or she wouldn't have posted. There's no fruit or veg mentioned in the diet above. They need their 5 a day, even if it's sneaked in. Smoothies, fruit on a pancake, mixed with a yoghurt, hidden in a lasagne, smothered in a pasta sauce. Laced with ice cream, whatever.

Oat pancakes go down well with my DC.

35g porridge oats soaked overnight in about 175ml yogurt any flavour or plain plus sweetner/ your fruit of choice/ honey (1 biggish individual pot i.e. Muller is 175ml) in the morning you whisk in an egg. The oats dissapear into the yogurt mix overnight and you get slightly puffy pancakes that are a bit like scotch pancakes. We love them.

You can batch make and eat cold or microwave warm freeze and defrost if mornings are a bit rushed.

My DC also like bacon medalions, beans, dry fried potatos and scrambled egg when i've got time.

They are both average weight, the oldest has acid reflux and I was wondering if maybe too much wheat makes it worse. Youngest has a dairy allergy.

I would love to get them to eat fruit with breakfast but they won't :(

Could you make tiny changes to introduce fruit. Something like one raison or half a grape every day for a week. Then on week two double up. Within a few months you'd be upto what equates to one serving.

Something like a thin strawberry slice on nutella on toast as the introduction of fruit.

Forget about the fruit with breakfast then and focus on the lunches/dinners/snacks.
Hoummous? Pepper sticks, cucumber, apple? Or fruit salad with dairy free yoghurt?
Has oldest seen a paediatrician or gastroenterologist? Is her acid reflux clinically diagnosed? If so, she can have a referral to a dietician. They would assist with diet plans. Is she on meds for the reflux?

Just saw your post in AIBU - her diet is high is sugar and refined carbohydrates and low in fruit, veg and sugar free drinks. That's a lots of squash. She will eat pepper and cucumber, which is great! You are on the right track, maybe ask the doc who prescribed the Ranitidine to refer to a dietician if you are concerned. If her weight is ok, they tend to not interfere, in my experience. But she may benefit from some dietary input.

if the acid reflux is caused by wheat or gluten you should look into that and may need to be a lot more careful about removing wheat from her diet.

My dd used to love rice cakes for breakfast sometimes with marmite or ham. Ryvitas are another choice too. If you really need to avoid gluten, genius gluten free bread is nice.

My fussy son often has a baked potato with tuna for breakfast. At least it fills him up!

I would love to get away from the sugary drinks but she gets constipated if she doesn't drink enough. I feel like I'm in a viscous circle sometimes with her drinks. I keep diluting the high juice but she won't drink it if it's not strong enough :(

Eggs on toast. Pancakes are a hit here (although banned on nursery days due to time). Scrambled eggs, omelet. Beans or even peanut butter on toast are much better than all your current options. Bread roll with meats or cheeses, Northern European style.

Cereals aren't superfoods, and a lot are worse than toast and stuff. Likewise 50:50 isn't much different nutritionally to white bread.

"Run out" of the sweet stuff, and the shop can not have it next time.

DS is allowed as much fruit juice as he can drink at mealtimes, which helps with constipation. Outside mealtimes he has free access to water, but no juice.

I might try buying some nice water bottles and limiting juice to meal times. It's worth a try!

What about half pure juice and fizzy water.
Banana and milk smoothies
Fruit smoothie frozen lollies.

She will drink if she's thirsty enough! Not to be mean or advocate starvation, but seriously if she knows she'll get sugary juice every time she holds out, then try the options suggested here - lower the squash content, change it to orange, mango etc, mix with fizzy water etc. Thirst will win the day!
I often find myself saying "shop didn't have it".
I'm no saint either but I'm aware.