Why Breakfast Might Be the Best Time to Win the Veggie Battle

How to Help Your Kids Love Veggies

Helping Your Kids Love Real Food, One Bite at a Time

Part 3: Why Breakfast Might Be the Best Time to Win the Veggie Battle

Tired of ending every day with a dinnertime veggie showdown? You’re not alone—and you don’t have to stay stuck there.

In this episode, we’re flipping the script and talking about a surprisingly simple shift that could change everything: moving veggies from dinner to breakfast.

You’ll see why mornings can be a hidden sweet spot for introducing new foods, how this one change became a turning point in my own home, and why it just might be the path of least resistance you’ve been looking for.

We’ll uncover what’s really hiding in popular breakfast foods like Fruit Loops, Eggo waffles, and flavored oatmeal packets (hint: it’s not the fuel your kids need), how those choices affect your child’s energy, mood, focus, and hormones, and what nutrients actually set them up for a great day.

I’ll share our family’s journey from sugar-filled, processed mornings to veggie-loaded waffles, muffins, and oatmeal—and how those small morning wins built momentum for bigger changes over time.

If you’ve been craving a little hope that your kids can learn to enjoy vegetables, this episode will help you see a new way forward—starting with the first meal of the day.

Share your story with me! I want to hear what you're experiencing at the table - the good, the bad and the ugly about your dinnertime escapades so I can speak to where you're at in your journey. Let's encourage each other, mama! Send me a voice memo here: https://chavahwellness.com/tired-mommy-revival-podcast#ask-a-question

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Episode Transcript

Jerusha Jantz, Holistic Wellness Coach for Christian Moms: Welcome to Tired Mommy Revival. (00:01):
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Hey mama.
Are you running on coffee fumes,feeling like brain fog, fatigue
and anxiety, or running the show?
Do you wake up dreading the dayahead already overwhelmed by the
endless to-do list, and unsurehow you'll make it through.
Do you long for the energyto enjoy motherhood?

(00:23):
And care for yourself, but feelstuck and unsure where to start.
Let me remind you ofsomething life changing.
You were created for more, moreenergy, more clarity, more joy.
Hi, I'm Jerusha, certifiedHolistic Wellness Coach.
Wife and mom to two wild boysand one baby girl in heaven.

(00:46):
I know the exhaustion you'refeeling because I've been there
barely making it through the day.
Relying on coffee and chocolate tosurvive and wondering why nothing
I tried ever made me feel better.
Then God stepped in andrevealed a powerful truth.
A woman's body is beautifullyand uniquely designed to thrive.

(01:07):
When we align with how God createdus, we can boost our energy bust
through fatigue and step into thevibrant, joy filled life he has for us.
Mama.
I'm living proof thatit's possible these days.
I wake up, refreshed, nourished my bodywith intention and navigate the chaos
of motherhood with patience and peace.

(01:28):
Most days, and I wannahelp you do the same.
If you're ready to swap exhaustion forenergy, brain fog for clarity and guilt
for grace, you are in the right place.
Each week we'll dive into practicalstrategies, faith-filled truths,
and empowering tools to renew yourhealth, body, soul, and spirit.

(01:48):
Are you ready for this?
Let's do it, mama.
You know, when we think about adding moreveggies to our family's plate, dinner is
usually the first place our brain goes.
It's the official meal of the day.
We've actually thought about it,planned it, bought the groceries for it.
But here's the thing, just becausedinner is the most intentional

(02:12):
meal doesn't mean it's the easiest.
And if you're anything like me,your evening might look like this.
Around 3:30pm or 4pm the dayis actually going pretty well.
I've checked off some to-dos,gotten the big projects off my
list, maybe even sipped a cup of teawithout reheating it three times.

(02:34):
My youngest might have nappedor had some quiet time.
Life feels almost peaceful for a moment.
And then it's like someinvisible alarm goes off.
My older son comes home from school,backpacks get dumped, homework
starts, someone's crying in theother room, and now I'm in the

(02:55):
kitchen trying to make dinner.
I am chopping veggies, checking therecipe, stirring something on the stove.
And then I'm helping with long divisionwhile mentally calculating if the
chicken will be cooked through in time.
By the time dinner's ready, Ifeel like I've just run a small
marathon, emotionally and physically.
But hey, I did it.

(03:17):
The meal's hot, it's on thetable, and I'm proud of myself
because it's actually healthy.
And then here it comes.
One of the kids looks at their plate andsays, "what is this? It looks disgusting".
Cue the sighs, the stares,and maybe the poking at the

(03:39):
broccoli like it's radioactive.
And in that moment, I'm not thinkingabout all the love, planning and
intention I put into that meal.
I'm thinking, are you kidding me?
Do you know how hard I workto make this happen for you?
So yeah, dinnertime can be theworst time to convince kids to eat

(04:00):
something new, especially veggies.
Everyone's tired, cranky, and runninglow on patience, including us mamas.
But there is another time of day thatmight just be our secret weapon: morning.
And before you say, "my kids arenot morning people", hear me out.

(04:24):
Breakfast has some big advantages.
They're rested.
They've got a clean slate emotionally,and if those veggies are hiding out
in waffles, muffins, or oatmeal,they might just say yes without
even realizing they're eating them.
First, let's talk about whatbreakfast is traditionally.

(04:46):
Here's the truth.
Most of what's marketed as breakfastfoods for kids is setting them up for
failure before the school day even starts.
Why?
Because these foods are sugar loaded,often have more sugar than a dessert,
but disguised as a balanced breakfast.

(05:06):
They're nutrient void, lackingprotein, healthy fats, or any
micronutrients kids actually needto fuel their bodies and brains.
They're ultra processed, strippedof natural fiber and nutrients,
and then fortified with syntheticvitamins just to look healthier.

(05:28):
They're artificially colored andflavored, food dyes like red 40 and yellow
five can trigger hyperactivity, moodchanges and focus issues in some kids.
And they're conveniencefocused, over health focused.
They're designed to be quick andeasy not to nourish growing bodies.

(05:50):
And yet these foods have become normal.
They're marketed with bright colors,fun mascots, and words like "whole
grain" or "fortified" to make usfeel better about buying them.
Let's talk about the usual suspects.

Fruit Loops (06:07):
one cup has about 12 grams of sugar.
That's three teaspoons.
And honestly, most kids pour closerto one and a half to two cups,
meaning five to six teaspoonsbefore they even leave the house.
Add in the artificial colors, andwe're basically serving a bowl of
sugar and chemicals to start the day.

(06:29):
Let's talk about the householdstaple of Eggo waffles.
Even the Homestyle version hasadded sugar, very little fiber
and barely any protein, andthey're made from refined flour.
They will fill bellies for about 30minutes before the energy crash sets in.
Next is Quaker flavored oatmeal packets.

(06:52):
Sounds wholesome right?
But the maple and brown sugar packethas 12 grams of sugar per packet.
Most kids need two packetsto feel full at all.
So that's 24 grams, or about sixteaspoons, of sugar before first period.
Here's why that's a big deal.
First of all, the energy crash, the sugarspike is followed by a mid-morning slump.

(07:17):
Next is mood swings, includingirritability, low patience, and meltdowns.
We also run into focus issues.
Blood sugar swings make it harder topay attention and retain information.
And sugar cravings.
That morning spike triggers the body tokeep looking for quick fixes all day long.

(07:41):
And lastly, there's hormone disruption,especially in preteens, unstable
blood sugar can interfere withpuberty timing and hormone balance.
If we want our kids to thrive in school,sports, and life, they need protein
to keep them full and focused, healthyfats for brain development and hormone

(08:03):
health, and fiber and complex carbsfor slow burning energy and digestion.
And micronutrients, vitamins and mineralsfrom veggies and fruit to keep their
immune systems and hormones working well.
When we give them this kind of fuel,they show up more focused, less moody,

(08:25):
and with better energy all day long.
Let's rewind to the earlydays of my own family's shift.
When I first decided I wanted to makehealthier breakfast for my son, my first
big change was swapping regular Eggowaffles for the Whole Grain Eggo waffles.

(08:46):
I know, radical right?
We also switched from the cartooncovered cereal boxes to something
from the health food section, and Iwas feeling pretty proud of myself.
Until I realized that cerealwasn't actually organic.
I had fallen for the pretty"all natural" marketing.
So here's your reminder, ifit's in the health aisle, that

(09:08):
doesn't actually make it healthy.
Read your labels, mamas.
Eventually, I had to admit thatthis better cereal was still highly
processed and loaded with sugar.
That's when I decided no moreprocessed sugar for breakfast.
Mornings were going to be about real fuel.

(09:28):
By then, my younger son had comealong and he'd had the crunchy start.
Organic pregnancy, homemadebaby purees, the whole deal.
My older son, not so much.
He had grown up on Fruity Pebbles,Eggos, and little Debbie Muffins.
You can guess which kidtook the change harder.

(09:48):
I remember those grocerystore moments so clearly.
My older son would look at me with his bigeyes and ask "Mom, when can we get waffles
again?" And my heart would just ache.
But I'd say, "I know you love them, buddy,but they're not good for our bodies. These

(10:09):
new waffles are so much healthier for us".
He didn't like it.
I didn't like saying it, buthere's the part I want you to hear.
Over time, he adjusted.
He stopped asking.
And eventually he even likedthe healthy waffles better.
And that's the thing about this journey.

(10:31):
It takes time.
There's resistance.
There's disappointment.
But the wins do come.
As a side note, I recently did something.
I actually bought a boxof Eggos the other day.
Yes, on purpose, purelyscientific of course.
I popped them in the toaster, servedthem up and waited for my son's reaction.

(10:56):
He takes a bite, chews for a secondand says, "yeah, I don't miss
these. Our waffles are better".
I nearly dropped my coffee.
That my friends, is the sound of victory.
And just for the record, I didnot slip him a $5 bill to say it.
Moments like that remind me, thisis the journey we take our kids on,

(11:19):
and honestly, ourselves too, whenwe start living a new lifestyle.
It is kind of like when youfirst start following Jesus.
You don't wake up the next daywith every habit and thought
pattern instantly transformed.
You grow into new beliefs, new ways ofliving, new values, little by little.

(11:41):
And change?
Well, change is hard.
That's why we have to giveourselves and our families grace
to be in that in-between space.
The place where we wereand where we're headed.
Now as a foodie, I love bringingmy family joy with food.
And as a mom, I love when they eatwithout the Oscar worthy performance about

(12:06):
how green things are basically poison.
Can I get an amen?
Over time, I realized we had tofind that sweet spot where we
could still enjoy food, but alsoactually be nourished by it.
It is not an overnight thing.
Sometimes it's two stepsforward, one step back.
But when you get those little wins,like the day your kid chooses your

(12:30):
healthy waffles over an Eggo, youknow it's worth it every single time.
For our family, the game changer, thething that truly shifted us from breakfast
battles to breakfast wins was veggieloaded waffles, muffins, and oatmeal.
I stumbled across the idea when I wasdeep in Pinterest looking for baby

(12:54):
led weaning foods for my little guy.
I had been making things like babyfriendly spinach pancakes when I
came across this food blogger whohad a whole series of recipes for her
signature "veggie loaded" breakfast.
At first, I thought this was either insaneor absolutely genius, but honestly, I

(13:16):
was so tired of the dinnertime, meltdownsthat I figured it was worth a try.
Maybe just, maybe this could bethe switch we were looking for,
a total distraction from what myoldest expected breakfast to be.
So I chose a recipe that hid theveggies, completely poured syrup

(13:38):
on the waffles, and served themup without a single comment.
Sure, they weren't Eggos, but theywere the start of something good.
Looking back, that was a pivot pointfor us in learning to love veggies.
In the beginning, I hidthe veggies altogether.
I didn't let my oldestsee what I was making.

(13:59):
No reason to start a battlebefore we even sat down.
But as he got used to those waffles, Ieventually dropped in casually one day,
"you know, you eat spinach in your wafflesand you love it." He did not believe me.
He said, there's no way thatthere's spinach in those waffles.
I don't like spinach.

(14:19):
I don't eat it.
So the next time I made the recipe,I showed him the handfuls of spinach.
I was blending up before sizzlingthose yummy waffles on the griddle.
And that's when it clicked for him.
"Hey, I might not like spinach salad,but I do like spinach waffles".
That was a huge mental shift,and once we had that win, it

(14:43):
was like wind in our sails.
We only grew from there.
Now our breakfast looks totally different.
We have things like spinach chocolatechip muffins, carrot cake oatmeal,
and blueberry, zucchini waffles.
I've added pumpkin beets, carrots,spinach, and zucchini to my

(15:06):
kids' breakfast paired with wholegrain flour, oats, flax seeds,
nuts and zero refined sugars.
And the best part?
They love them.
They ask for them, and theyturn up their noses at Eggos.
But let's be honest, if you'reat the beginning of your journey,

(15:27):
you probably still have a lotof questions and objections.
And who can blame you, mama?
So that's exactly what we'regoing to tackle next week.
We're going to talk about how topromote a growth mindset, even
if your kids dig their heels inat the slightest hint of change.
How to overcome objections atthe table and build real buy-in.

(15:52):
How to create and celebrate smallwins that keep the momentum going.
How to play the long gamefor lasting wellness wins.
And how to deal with veggies if yourkids act like you just set a plate of
radioactive broccoli in front of them.
I am not a professional in thisregard by any means, but I promise

(16:14):
to share all the things that haveworked for me over the years.
Trust me, you're going towant to be there for this one.
And stick around because before the endof the series, I'll be sharing the exact
recipes I use for healthy breakfast,tips for meal prepping so you're not in
the kitchen every morning, and how tomake this sustainable for your family.

(16:36):
Until next time, remember you werecreated for wellness and we are
walking it out together, mama.
One small step at a time.
Mama, I hope this episode blessedyou and reminded you that you were
beautifully and uniquely made to thrive.
If today's conversation spoke to yourheart, I'd love for you to take a

(16:57):
moment to leave a rating and review.
Not only does it encourage me,but it helps more tired mamas
discover the hope, healing, andenergy they've been searching for.
You are not in this alone.
Make sure to hit subscribeso you never miss an episode.
Together we will reclaim yourenergy, renew your health, and revive
your spirit one step at a time.

(17:18):
Until next time.
Remember, you are beautifully designed byGod to live with energy, clarity, and joy.
You're not just surviving mama.
You're stepping into the vibrantlife you were created for.
I'm cheering you on.