Food storage can contribute to great-tasting, economical breakfasts

Food storage breakfasts do not have to be bland and boring. Some simple tips can keep them interesting and delicious.

Planning food storage is simple when you plan around the recipes you will serve, and breakfasts are no exception. Find a week’s worth of recipes made with storable foods that your family likes to eat, multiply ingredients by the number of weeks for which you are planning, and you have planned for breakfasts. It’s that simple.

Boxed cereals are one option; however, these are more expensive, not space efficient and do not have a long shelf life.

Whole grains are easy to store and have a longer shelf life, and breakfast foods made from them cost pennies compared to boxed cereals. The nutrition is the best available! Plus, whole grains are more filling. A generous serving of whole grain cereal for an adult is about ¾ cup, while it usually takes a whole bowl full of puffed, sugary, boxed cereal to feel satisfied; teenagers will also eat more.

Another thing to consider is young people today are losing their taste for nutritious food, with all the processed foods they're consuming because parents are so often in a hurry. That does not set children on a path for a lifetime of good health. America’s rate of obesity is now more at more than 30 percent for adults and about 17 percent for children and teenagers, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s worth the small amount of time it takes to prepare healthy whole-grain breakfast foods.

Whole grain breakfast ideas

Oatmeal, cornmeal mush and cracked wheat make inexpensive and delicious cooked cereals. Quick oatmeal and cornmeal mush take only five minutes to cook. Cracked wheat cereal takes about 20 minutes to cook, but it takes just two to three minutes to measure ingredients and get them simmering. A busy parent can set a timer and leave the kitchen to get ready for the day as the wheat cooks. It’s really not time-consuming.

Besides cereals made from these basics, consider storing other inexpensive options like six- or nine-grain cereal. Cream of Wheat or Malt O’Meal are not whole-grain cereals; however, they do add some variety to breakfast cereals to keep them interesting. They store remarkably well. Rice dishes are even good for breakfast.

Try making oatmeal granola. For a quick option, there’s always whole wheat toast.

Cereal toppings