Three breakfast favourites for children

In the morning, you are often short on time, trying to get dressed, packing lunches and breakfasts all in one go. It can be difficult to make sure that the children eat enough nutritious food before they go to school and nursery school.

Fredrik Sjøli is a sous chef at Thon Hotel Ski. The hotel is just a stone’s throw away from the Tusenfryd amusement park, and on weekends and holidays the hotel is visited by many families with children. The hotel breakfast is a highlight, also for the children.

"They throw themselves over the pancakes and mini-brownies, but it’s important that they get nutritious food, especially before a day at Tusenfryd. That’s why we’re keen to make sure that the healthy food is also tempting."

According to Fredrik, children are at least as concerned as adults about their food looking delicious and tempting. It is therefore a good idea to work with colours and shapes when it comes to food for children.

"At the hotel, we make omelettes and eggs in round shapes, which the children are often fascinated by. In addition, we cut up fruits and vegetables in nice colours and make colourful smoothies.

Chopped fruit and vegetables and smoothies are easy to prepare at home too. You can also try banana pancakes with oats, omelette muffins and perhaps a smoothie bowl."

Here are the Thon chef’s tips for three nutritious breakfasts that will whet your children’s appetite:

1. Banana pancakes with oats

"Pancakes are a breakfast favourite for most children. We must always make sure to have enough pancake batter when many children stay at the hotel," says the chef.

In the blink of an eye, pancakes can be turned into a nutritious everyday breakfast. Fredrik suggests putting bananas and oatmeal in the batter and leaving out the sugar.

"With oats in the batter, you get more in your stomach and more to work with. This pancake batter does not need to rest, so the pancakes can be made right away!

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas
• 200 ml oatmeal
• 100 ml milk
• 2 eggs

Method: Mix all the ingredients in a food processor or mash with a fork, melt some butter in the frying pan and fry the pancakes over medium heat. Serve with fresh berries.

2. Omelette muffins

Another thing most children are fond of are muffins. But muffins are rarely breakfast food, unless we’re talking about omelette muffins.

Eggs are among the most nutritious foods we have.

"A vegetable omelette is healthy!" Muffin trays make omelettes look more fun and are also very easy to make.

If you don't have much time in the morning, you can make the omelette muffins the day before. The muffin can be heated up for breakfast or eaten cold, which is why it is also suitable for a packed lunch.

Ingredients (4 muffins):

• 6 eggs
• 6 tbsp cream
• Salt and pepper
• Ham
• Cheese
• Cherry tomatoes

Method: Mix together eggs and cream, salt and pepper. Grease the muffin trays and fill them with cheese, ham and tomato. Then pour over the egg mixture. Bake the muffins in the oven at 180 degrees for 10–15 minutes until they are cooked through.

3. Strawberry smoothie bowl

"A smoothie bowl is exciting, frozen and colourful! Strawberries are good, but they can be made with any frozen berries, use whatever your child likes best.

Not only is it colourful and looks great, a smoothie bowl is also thicker and more filling than a regular smoothie and gets the children ready for a day at nursery or school."

Ingredients:

• 250 g frozen strawberries
• 100 ml orange juice
• 100 ml plain yogurt
• 1 banana

Method: Mix all the ingredients with a hand blender. Pour the smoothie into a bowl and top with honey, nuts and dried fruit.