Breakfast is the first meal of the day and literally means ‘breaking the fast.’ Following a good night’s sleep, our bodies need fuel to break this overnight fast which means that breakfast plays a unique role compared to lunch or dinner.

For children aged 1-4, breakfast should provide around 20% of daily energy and nutrient requirements. What we choose for breakfast is vital because it really does help to set us up for the day and provides a great opportunity to get a wide range of important energy and nutrients into our children. Studies show that children who eat a regular healthy breakfast can consume more nutrients that are essential for healthy growth and development, compared to children who don’t.

So what do we mean by a balanced or healthy breakfast? Well, when it comes to giving your child the best start to the day the aim is to give a range of different nutrients to support their needs. We get nutrients from the food we eat so having a variety of foods from the different food groups helps us to achieve this goal. At breakfast time this might include:

Dairy such as milk on cereal, or yoghurt. Remember to use full-fat milk up to 2 years of age, and calcium-enriched alternatives if dairy is excluded. After 2, semi-skimmed milk can be used as long as the child is having a good range of other foods in their diets.

• Peanut, or another nut, butter with sliced banana
• Mashed avocado
• Cream/ cottage cheese and cucumber
• Poached egg with spinach
• Low salt/ sugar Baked Beans with grated cheese