Breakfast for dinner

Make breakfast something new at dinner

If your family is used to the same ol' things for dinner, it might be tough to convince them that breakfast can indeed be a suppertime substitute. So introduce the BFD in a subtle way, instead of just scrambling some eggs and frying up some bacon and calling it dinner.

Here are some easy ideas:

• Make a savory frittata. Sauté veggies of your choice in an oven-ready skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk eggs with herbs and seasonings of your choice, then add to the pan. Gently push the egg mixture from side to side to ensure even cooking. Finally, place the skillet in the oven and set on broil until it puffs up and turns golden brown.
• Serve up an egg casserole. One of the best parts about egg casseroles is that they can be assembled ahead of time and then refrigerated until you are ready to pop them in the oven, giving you some quality time with the family instead of the mad dash to get dinner on the table.
• If you have a meat-and-potato-loving family, utilize hash browns or oven-roasted red potatoes and gourmet chicken apple sausage.

Cereal for dinner

Don't discount cereal as a perfectly normal – and even healthy – dinner, particularly for those picky eaters in your family. We're looking at you, toddlers everywhere! If you choose a whole grain cereal that's high in fiber and low in sugar and serve it with reduced-fat milk, along with a glass of 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice, you've included an important number of food group essentials. Now how many macaroni and cheese dinners can say that? The point is: If you have a picky eater, the time of day that he eats a particular food is not as crucial as the fact that he's eating a wholesome meal. Score!

BFD on the run

In a pinch, some healthy breakfast foods are just far more portable than a nutritious dinner, such as a salad, tends to be. So breakfast for dinner works well if you're shuffling from work to picking up the kids to carting them around to soccer and dance practices. If you're on-the-go, pack up some zucchini bread or carrot muffins (for older kids, please, otherwise those car seats – and everything else! - are going to be covered in crumbs), a fruit and nut granola bar, or a healthy breakfast burrito (whole grain tortilla-wrapped eggs scrambled with a bit of light cheese, some low-sodium deli turkey and a splash of salsa).

More breakfast ideas

5 Breakfast recipes both Mom and kids will love
5 Ways to get kids to eat breakfast
7 Brain-boosting breakfast ideas for kids