My family of seven goes through half a dozen gallons of milk each week. That’s a lot of bowls of cereal, smoothies, recipes, and afternoon or evening snacks. We could survive very long without milk (or should I say…we wouldn’t survive happily without milk). Between full bowls of cold cereal in the morning and tall glasses of milk at dinner, we are a family that loves our milk.
Did you know just how beneficial milk is in a family’s diet? Here are a few ideas from “The Breakfast Project” (more details on the program below!):
- Breakfast at home is the perfect time to model healthy habits for the whole family, including drinking milk.
- With 9 essential nutrients including 8 grams of high-quality protein per 8 oz glass, milk enhances the nutritional value of your morning meal, whether in a glass, cup or bowl.
- Studies show that breakfast eaters have better scores on math, reading and standardized tests; are better able to pay attention; and have fewer absences and incidences of tardiness, compared to breakfast skippers.
Around here, we don’t skimp on breakfast (in fact, we love breakfast so much we often have breakfast for dinner, but that’s a topic for another post…). I’ve drilled into my kids’ heads the importance of eating a healthy breakfast every morning, and now I don’t think any of them would even consider skipping the first meal of the day.
I’ve noticed that a bagel and a glass of milk or a bowl of cold cereal in the morning not only sets the kids up for a good day at school, but it helps them get moving in the morning in a way that nothing else (including alarms and mom’s nagging) can.
Our Big Day(s)
We have lots of big days around here. I suppose that’s to be expected with 5 kids. Between middle school drama productions and college-prep ACT tests, elementary school talent shows (ahem–Reese and her friend choreographed their dance on their own in a week) and budding piano stars…our days are all big. And blessed.
It would be hard to accomplish as much as the seven of us do in a day if we didn’t get the mornings off to a strong start. This year, as my 12 year old Twizzler has started has gotten accustomed to middle school life, I felt like he needed something more – a hobby, something to do for the JOY of it, and YES, something to keep him off electronics all day (what is it with preteen boys and video games??). We signed him up for piano lessons as a spur of the moment decision at the beginning of the year, and the decision could not have been a better one, or come at a better time.
Each time he sits down at the piano without being asked, or I hear my growing boy (when I say growing, I mean by the foot!) creating music, singing along to the car radio (something he never would have done before!), or happily jumping in the car to go to his next lesson…THAT is a big day.
What are your family’s BIG DAYS?
What is The Breakfast Project?
In 2012, the National Milk Mustache “got milk?” campaign launched “The Breakfast Project” to highlight the importance of milk at breakfast in the morning. The campaign reinforces the message that milk in the morning helps ensure that you and your family are getting off to the best start possible, aided by the launch of a new content hub featuring recipes, tips, exclusive photo and video content, and more at TheBreakfastProject.com.
Connect with The Breakfast Project:
- Website – TheBreakfastProject.com
- Milk Mustache Facebook – facebook.com/MilkMustache
- Twitter – @MilkMustache
Disclosure: I am working with The National Milk Mustache “Got Milk?” Campaign and was compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
© 2013, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.
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