In the wee hours of morning, bleary-eyed mommies everywhere search for a nutritious breakfast for their little ones. This is harder for gluten-free mommies because they can’t rely on Cheerios first thing in the morning. Jude has become pickier these days and that meant I had to reevaluate breakfast. Clearly, I needed to come up with a resource that I could refer to when things needed to be revamped in the toddler breakfast department (mommies too) . A lot of these breakfast ideas are casein-free or can be made casein-free with just a few alterations.
BREAKFAST IDEAS FOR THE GLUTEN FREE KID IN ALL OF US
Fruit: I always try and keep a variety of fresh fruit on hand to give to Jude in the morning. Bananas are the clear winner here for Jude. If your toddler is resisting the texture of fruit, try smoothies. They work well in summer months with fresh fruit and in the colder months they work well with frozen fruit too. Here are some fantastic smoothie recipes that are sure to impress your little one. If the smoothies don’t work, try making your own fruit leather. It is a great breakfast to have ready for your little one and it keeps for a month in the fridge!
Gluten Free Bay’s GF/CF Orange Dreamsicle Smoothie
Going Gluten-Free’s Strawberry Smoothie
Martha Stewart’s Fruit Leather
Baked Goods: These are great to have in the freezer for a quick breakfast. Freezing your own muffins, quick breads, and pancakes is a lot yummier than relying on gluten-free convenience foods. It is also important to have a couple of baking mixes on hand, so you can whip breakfast up on the spot if the need arises.
Gluten-Free Girl’s Blueberry Muffins
Book of Yum’s Lemon Blueberry Muffin
Mrs. G.F.’s Apple Quinoa Muffins
Jill Elise’s Banana Blueberry Bread
Gluten Free Cooking School’s Pancakes
Gluten A Go Go’s Sourdough Oatmeal Waffles
My favorite pancake mixes are Pamela’s Baking Mix and Kinnikinnick Foods Gluten-Free Pancake & Waffle Mix .
Hot Cereals: Sometimes my little one will scarf down gluten-free oatmeal, brown rice cereal, grits, or quinoa cereal. Presentation definitely helps here! Jude likes to add raisins/dried fruit or nuts to his hot cereal and sometimes offering these additions on the side will encourage him to eat more. I was really tough about the amount of sugar I put in Jude’s cereal, especially when he was younger, but you may have to budge a little. Adding sweet things like fruit and honey makes this breakfast food much more attractive.
CD Kitchen’s Hot Quinoa Cereal
Sources for gluten-free oatmeal and quinoa: Lara’s Gluten-Free Oats, and Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes .
Eggs: Anything with eggs makes a great gluten-free breakfast. The texture of eggs make them very tricky for toddlers. When Jude was little, I put egg yolk in his rice cereal. He will rarely eat eggs straight off his tray. In order for me to get Jude to eat eggs these days, a quiche or the frittata is the way to go. He is not turned off by the texture and he is attracted to the meat, potato, rice, or veggies.
Gluten Free Goddess’ Mediterranean Frittata
My Crustless Spinach Tomato Quiche
Gluten Free Breakfast Convenience Foods: Although gf breakfast foods are expensive, it is necessary to have a few of these items around for when you are desperate. These are a few of my favorite gluten-free breakfast items.
Nature’s Path Wildberry Buckwheat Waffles
Whole Foods’ Bakehouse Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Check out Karen’s Gluten Free Breakfast product reviews.
Dessert for Breakfast: I have already taught Jude that dessert for breakfast is a fabulous idea. No need to convince him!
So what did everyone have for breakfast this morning- inquiring minds want to know?!
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Posted on September 20th, 2007 by Natalie
Filed under: Breakfast Ideas
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What a great link list! Thank you so much for putting together such an extensive list - this was really helpful. I have a really picky toddler and was needing some new ideas!
This is a wonderful list. Great job! Another idea would be to add some gf rice protein (or another source) to the smoothies. We’ve been having Karina’s Breakfast Quinoa cake - made into muffins - over here. They are all whole grain - with sorghum flour, quinoa flakes, almond meal, tapioca starch - and mostly healthy with blackstrap molasses, eggs, carrots, and raisins.
I wish that more manufacturer’s of gf cereals would fortify them. I think that only EnjoyLife does this for now.
What a beautiful link list. Great idea, and great for you Mommies with gluten free little ones.
When I serve my kids oatmeal, I put toppings in little dishes for them to add to their hot cereal, nuts, unsweetened shredded coconut, fresh chopped dates, cranberries, raisins, and whatever else I have on hand. They love it. And, for a sweetener, being a New Englander, real maple syrup.
PS. Did you know that they have certified gluten free oatmeal now? Brand Lara? GF Goddess has a kink on her site.
oops. I did this prior to coffee, and running out the door for children’s buses..
I meant link..not kink.
M- I really love that idea! I love sneaking more nutrition in breakfast. This morning I added flax seed and a tablespoon of Brewer’s yeast to the banana bread and Jude ate every bite! Thanks for reminding me of Karina’s Quinoa Cake- I need to try that recipe.
SM- I did hear that they have certified oatmeal recently. I still haven’t found any locally though. I even heard Bob’s Red Mill has some now. Has anybody found their brand n stores?
Hey Natalie, we did the cereal thing this morning - Panda Puffs for the girls, a mix of Koala Krisp, Panda Puffs, and Amazon Flakes for our birthday boy.
These are some great ideas. Thanks for sharing.
With regard to the certified oats, Gifts of Nature, about an hour up the road from me in Polson, MT, has the only certified rolled oats I know of. You can check them out at http://www.giftsofnature.net.
Thomas
Great list Natalie! I think Breakfast and quick snacks have been the hardest thing for me to come up being gluten-free. Last night I tried quinoa hot cereal for the first time with brown sugar and cinnamon. I was pleasantly surprised! I will be linking to this list for sure! This is so helpful! I can’t wait to try my hand (again) at some of those muffin recipes… i’m having trouble with those.. and I lOVE muffins! Thanks for your wonderful site!! You are right… I love the Whole Foods GF breads we have bought so far! Yummy! I still miss my whole grain wheat bread I used to have for breakfast every morning, but the whole foods breads are delicious! Do you have any suggestions on how to add more fiber in your diet without wheat or oatmeal? DO you think for the most part using oatmeal is okay? I appreciate any suggestions you have! Thanks!
Yeah, right, Slacker Mom- you meant kink, didn’t you?
Hi Natalie! Your round-up has made me very hungry. Thanks for the shout-out.
Karina
That is a great list, thanks!
I had left over macaroni and cheese for breakfast. I hate to waste anything!
I am always wishing I could find a gluten free adult cereal that tastes great with more fiber. The closest I’ve come to that is Nutty rice. I also I wish they would make a cereal like gorilla munch but much less sweet. Kind of like kix. Maybe there is some but I’ve never found any.
Also for more convenience food there is Trader Joe’s gluten free pancakes and waffles.
Thomas- thanks for commenting! I wish my little one could be trusted with cereal. I have only let him eat hot cereal by himself so far. Thanks for the info on the oatmeal. I am going to check it out.
Carrie- As fas as the fiber goes, I add some flax seeds to baked goods, smoothies, etc. The oatmeal thing is new for me too. Apparently, the certified oats are not cross-contaminated. I have heard that some people use the certified oats sparingly still- eating it every 4 days for example.
SM and Karina- lol. I am so glad I have the word ‘kink’ on my site now. We will see what google keywords come up for that one.
Jill-
I have heard a lot of people complain about the absence of a more adult gluten-free cereal. I tried Enjoy Life Granola cereal and absolutely hated it. I will have to try TJ’s pancakes and waffles. I tend not to go now that I live in Raleigh because they really don’t have many gluten-free products. Oh, I added you to my blogroll! As payment, I want advice on where to eat out the next time I am in L.A. I am visiting in December and need some tips!
Great list, Natalie! I woke this morning and jumped over here and literally said out loud, “WOW”. I couldn’t believe how much you had put together. This morning we had a “different” breakfast, in that none of us were in the mood for much so I had dagoba chocolate, cashews, and cup of my “glorious good moring coffee”. My daughter had a bumble bar and juice. My son had good ol’ mama milk. On the days it is this simple you would think I would get more done but I find on these days is when I want to sit down even longer.
This is such a great list! Thank u so much for putting it together! I cooked the meditaranean (i know i didnt spell that right!) frittata tonight. i added some things and and it was awesome! My son loved it too! Karina, if u read this, i loved the frittata! And Natalie, thank u for posting!
Oh! And everyday this week i have been like, what are we going to eat tonight??? So i am definitely doing the menu plan for next week. I did plan tonight’s supper ahead of time at 4:30 which was nice.
Yogurt with ground flaxseeds (we keep our bag in the freezer to stay fresh), with other add-ins as desired is another quick breakfast. Making a trail mix could also be fun for a toddler since he can separate the raisins from the nuts from the banana chips, etc. A frozen banana (or banana bites) could be soothing for a teething child, especially if chocolate or nut-butter covered. I also enjoy my homemade Pamela’s waffles sticks, especially with some frozen wild blueberries thrown in since they dye the entire waffle blue!
Lauren- What is a bumble bar? And mama milk is the best. I love the stage where they are not eating table foods. People don’t realize that mama milk and slacking can be in the same category!
Allie- That frittata is brilliant. Karina is the goddess, afterall! I love planning a menu because even if things don’t go as planned or you make something new- you have food in the house! I am doing my “inventory” today!
Michelle- Those are fabulous ideas! I love the trail mix idea. I am going to do that for Jude next week- he will love it. I still need to get one of those waffle stick makers, does everyone have one but me?
Natalie,
Thanks for adding me to your blog roll!
I’d love to give you recommendations on where to eat when you come to L.A.
Trader Joe’s in CA is pretty good about gluten free - they have gluten free pasta (just $2.00 a bag) gluten free brown rice tortillas, some gluten free cereals, including the Mc Canns oats that I eat and then the pancakes and waffles. Also I’ve heard some now how gluten free tiramisu and I think chocolate cake!
Bumble bars are a gluten-free and organic energy bar. Chocolate is my little girls favorite, mine too. http://www.bumblebar.com/ Great thing to carry around as a quick snack. Great fiber source for little ones.
thanks for the include! what a good round up!