Brain-Boosting Breakfast Series

Our mouthwatering Brain-Boosting Breakfast series continues with celebrity chefs and restaurateurs creating healthy, brain-boosting breakfast ideas to help keep kids going throughout the day.
It's easy to get stuck in a routine when you're in a rush. The idea of introducing new flavors during the morning crunch time may sound daunting, but it's the perfect time to do so. Kids are alert and more willing to listen than at the end of the day when you're lucky to even get a grunt at the dinner table.

Earlier this Summer, Marja Vongerichten brought her husband Jean-George and actors Heather Graham and Hugh Jackman on a culinary and cultural tour of South Korea. Their travels were broadcast on PBS as The Kimchi Chronicles. Now, the tasty and exotic recipes from the series have been translated into lighter, more accessible recipes in the accompanying cookbook, The Kimchi Chronicles: Korean Cooking For an American Kitchen ($22) courtesy of the Vongerichtens.

Marja, Jean George, and their 11-year-old daughter, Chloe, are demonstrating a recipe for Gimbap — rolls of rice and other fillings wrapped in seaweed and cut into bite-size pieces. According to Marja, it's the perfect way to eat up leftovers, all of which can be included in the roll. It's also packed with iron, calcium, and natural minerals. Watch how the family whips up the school-morning breakfast.

Keep reading to for Marja Vongerichten's recipe.

Our mouthwatering Brain-Boosting Breakfast series continues with celebrity chefs and restaurateurs creating healthy, brain-boosting breakfast ideas to help keep kids going throughout the day. Today's quick breakfast for on-the-go families comes from Marcus Samuelsson, one of the most celebrated chefs in America, winner of the second season of Top Chef Masters, and owner of Harlem's acclaimed Red Rooster restaurant.

Marcus Samuelsson knows a few things about taste. Born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, he's mastered the art of mixing unusual flavors to create tastes that simply make mouths and stomachs happy. For his award-winning cookbook, New American Table ($27), Chef Samuelsson spent time working his way through local farms and kitchens across America to create new dishes for the entire family. A longtime supporter of charities that help give children a healthy start, such as UNICEF and the World Childhood Foundation, the chef is offering up an avocado-banana smoothie recipe to give kids a quick brain boost before heading off to school.

This is a great healthy breakfast option, as it's filling and nutritious; plus, kids dig the green color of the drink. It's inspired by the Indian drink lassi and is sure to be a family favorite.

Keep reading for Marcus Samuelsson's quick and easy Avocado-Banana Smoothie recipe.

Our mouthwatering Brain-Boosting Breakfast series continues with celebrity chefs and restaurateurs creating healthy, brain-boosting breakfast ideas to help keep kids going throughout the day. Today's quick breakfast for on-the-go families comes from Kerry Heffernan, executive chef of New York City's South Gate restaurant and a guest judge on the most recent season of Top Chef: All Stars.
School mornings can feel like a whirlwind with everyone rushing about to get dressed, packed, and fed before heading out of the house. While the idea of preparing a picture-perfect hot breakfast is ideal, it isn't always feasible given the early hour. Kerry Heffernan knows a thing or two about that. The sophisticated meals he creates at NYC's popular South Gate restaurant are beautiful enough to be featured in magazines, but at home, the busy father of two teens and a newborn knows things need to be quick. Here are his tips for making breakfast count in a matter of minutes.

My quick and easy kid-friendly recipes may sound a little pedestrian, but hear me out. The Greek yogurt Fage is nothing short of miraculous. It lacks the rennet/acid tinge of other yogurts and since it has been "drained" of excess water, it has extraordinary natural properties of viscosity, and it's very high in protein. This yogurt provides a delicious base, to which you can add just about anything to make a heartier breakfast, like nuts, fruits, granola, etc.

So how do you choose? Well depending on how you pick your poison, 0 percent is a bit lean and it's the most acidic of the bunch; "Total" is wonderful if you can tolerate it on a daily basis, but it’s a bit rich for even me, so I go for the 2 percent. Get the one-quart tub and "excavate" 5-6 oz. from one side and place in a bowl (this encourages further draining, so the next day pour off any accumulated water and remaining mass gets even better). Whip with a spoon for about 10 seconds to make it even creamier.

If you or your child is used to or prefers a bigger breakfast, add nuts and/or granola to make a heartier meal. Pretoast the nuts and macerate the fruit ahead of time, and mix up what you put in the yogurt as the season offers up different fruit. . . . Once you have those few things, making breakfast does not take more than three minutes of active preparation, and it yields an eye-opener with a very high ratio of protein and little fat.

Keep reading for two more ways Chef Heffernan transforms an ordinary cup of yogurt into a tasty breakfast, and his bubbly morning beverage that will wake kids up in time for school!

Our mouthwatering Brain-Boosting Breakfast series continues with celebrity chefs and restaurateurs creating healthy, brain-boosting breakfast ideas to help keep kids going throughout the day. Today's recipes come from Cooking Light's new Cooking Light: The Ultimate Kid-Approved Cookbook.
It's easy to lay on the sugar and fat in the morning. A quick trip to the grocery store turns up muffins, frozen pancakes, and waffles that are laden in unhealthy ingredients that not only pack on the pounds, but fail to help kids boost their brain power throughout their morning classes.

For years, Cooking Light has educated home cooks on the best way to make healthy meals, and now they've turned their attention to kids. In their new Cooking Light: The Ultimate Kid-Approved Cookbook ($19.95), the chefs offer up more than 100 recipes that moms and tots can cook together, including several breakfast options that help fill lil tummies and stimulate the brain. They're sharing oatmeal, egg, and smoothie recipes that tots will love eating before heading off to school.

Keep reading for Cooking Light's brain-boosting breakfast recipes for school mornings!

Our mouthwatering Brain-Boosting Breakfast series continues with celebrity chefs and restaurateurs creating healthy, brain-boosting breakfast ideas to help keep kids going throughout the day. Today's recipes come from Tanya Steel, editor-in-chief of Epicurious.com and author of Real Food For Healthy Kids.

Tanya Steel's seen and heard it all. As the editor-in-chief of Epicurious.com and author of Real Food For Healthy Kids, she's encountered picky eaters, moms who don't think they have time to cook, and those who are hesitant to introduce healthy foods to their kids. With childhood obesity on the rise, she's trying to educate parents and kids one meal at a time.

In the midst of the morning rush, breakfast is often just grabbed on the go or thrown on the table, without much thought as to how it can help kids throughout the school day. Tanya's providing us with three first meals of the day that are not only healthy, but kid tested to win over even the pickiest eaters!

• Good Day Pear Crisp: "I love this recipe because it kind of tastes like pie for breakfast, but is so much healthier. At only 162 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat, it is a flavor-packed way for little ones to start the day. You can substitute apples for the pear (Granny Smith or Royal Gala are good varieties) and, in the Summer, stone fruit, like nectarines, plums, or apricots. It’s seasonal, inexpensive, fast to make, and delicious to eat."
• Extreme Granola: "I have to say, this is one of the recipes in Real Food For Healthy Kids that I crave regularly. Whether I am putting it atop berries with Greek yogurt, in a bowl with skim milk, or just eating it as a snack, this granola is extreme — extremely addictive! It’s particularly good for breakfast, as it provides enough carbohydrates and fiber for kids to feel full, focus at school, and get them all the way to lunchtime."
• Whole Biscuit Shortbread: "We love shortbread, but it’s made with so much butter and white flour that was always a special-occasion treat in my household — until we developed this recipe, which uses almost exactly half and half all-purpose to whole wheat. We also reduced the sugar and the upshot is that these delicious crunch biscuits are only 81 calories a cookie. You can [also] dip them in semisweet chocolate, and give them as a lunchbox snack.

Keep reading for Tanya's brain-boosting breakfast recipes for school mornings!

Our mouthwatering Brain-Boosting Breakfast series continues with celebrity chefs and restaurateurs creating healthy, brain-boosting breakfast ideas to help keep kids going throughout the day.
Quinoa has moved from quirky health food to pantry staple over the past few years. The gluten-free complex carb is packed with iron, fiber, calcium, and magnesium, but it's quinoa's rice-like texture that makes it a tot-friendly grain. Leave it to Jessica Seinfeld to find a way to work nutritionists' favorite grain into a breakfast recipe. The children's cookbook author (who's currently working on her third cookbook) and mother of three has perfected the art of transforming everyday favorites into kiddie health foods with the addition of vegetable purees and superfood ingredients.

For our Brain-Boosting Breakfast series, Jessica shares a cinnamon-maple quinoa recipe, saying, " I pre-make quinoa and store in the fridge to have on hand to use for breakfasts, lunches, and dinner. This quinoa breakfast is a protein-packed option for the whole family and makes for a nice change from oatmeal or cold cereal."

Keep reading for Jessica Seinfeld's recipe for cinnamon-maple quinoa.

Our mouthwatering Brain-Boosting Breakfast series continues with celebrity chefs and restaurateurs creating healthy, brain-boosting breakfast ideas to help keep kids going throughout the day.
Eating healthy doesn't have to be boring for adults or little kids. Lorena Garcia, one of the nation's leading Latin chefs, has touted this belief everywhere from Univision Radio and The Today Show, to America’s Next Great Restaurant. As the founder of Big Chef, Little Chef, a program designed to help kids and their families take control of their eating habits, Chef Lorena knows a thing or two about giving tots a healthy start.

To help lil' ones head off to school with full stomachs and rich minds, she's offering up two recipes from her New Latin Classics: Fresh Ideas for Favorite Dishes ($22) that are surefire hits. She said, "These crescent-shaped Spinach and Goat Cheese Empanditas are a high part of South American tradition. The spinach, which is high in iron, will help keep [kids] focused and full throughout the day. These can be prepared before and put into the fridge or freeze for eating when desired. Huevos Pericos [are eggs] scrambled with onions and tomatoes, and then lots of cilantro and scallions are added. This quick egg dish offers unique flavors for the morning that will not only wake taste buds but also, your brain!"

Keep reading for Lorena Garcia's recipes for Spinach and Goat Cheese Empanditas and Huevos Pericos.

Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but it's often the most overlooked as busy families grab and go on their way out the door. While back-to-school tends to focus on lunch-box ingredients, we're rolling the clock back to the breakfast hour. We've gathered up a panel of top-notch chefs to provide us with their healthy, brain-boosting breakfast ideas to help keep kids going throughout the day. First up is the queen of the kitchen, Martha Stewart.

Eggs and pancakes are typically associated with kids and families, but they can take a large chunk of time out of the precious hour moms have to whip up breakfast, pack lunch, and sign permission forms in the morning. Martha Stewart looks beyond the usual suspects and provides us with two recipes that — with some prep work the night before — are quick additions to the morning routine. Best of all, when served together, they create a healthy breakfast that will keep kids full through their morning classes.

Keep reading for Martha Stewart's recipes for Mountain Berry Scones and a Green Fruit Bowl.