Start their engines — fuel with breakfast

Goodbye lazy days of summer and welcome to the hectic busy mornings of the school year, where meals often become rushed while on the move.

This is the time of year that tends to frustrate parents with endless time constraints, which means less time for balanced nutritious meals.

With alarm clocks blaring and kids dragging their feet, sometimes it's nothing short of a miracle that kids make it out the door in time for school. However, despite all of this, you probably heard it from your parents growing up and are likely repeating it to your kids: breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

Does it really make a difference? When you're struggling in the morning to feed your sleepy grumpy kids #8212; who keep repeating, #8220;But I'm not hungry #8230;#8221; #8212; do you find yourself wondering if this is a fight worth having every morning? The answer is absolutely, positively yes! Think of your child's body like a car. The body wakes up in the morning with an empty tank and needs to be fueled in order to function. Here are the top three reasons to carve out morning time for breakfast:#376; Better overall performance. It's been shown that kids who regularly eat breakfast have higher achievement scores in math and reading, demonstrate lower rates of absence and tardiness, and have overall increased concentration. #376; Improved coping abilities. According to the USDA, kids who consume breakfast are more likely to behave in school and get along with their peers than those who do not. Children, at all ages, are learning how to react to situations and communicate in a healthy manner with others. Adequate supplies of healthy sugars fuel the brain and help aid kids in processing these emotions. #376; Formation of lifelong habits. Studies have shown that children consuming breakfast are less likely to be overweight and consume more of the important nutrients, vitamins and minerals such as calcium, folate and dietary fiber than their breakfast-skipping counterparts. Establishing these habits early in life can help a child stave off diet-related conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol.What counts as breakfast? Believe it or not, breakfast is so crucial to health that consuming a doughnut would be better than skipping the meal all together. However, doughnuts are high in sugar and fat while low in essential nutrients so consuming doughnuts and pastries every day is not a great idea. A good rule of thumb to follow is to focus on balancing nutrients with carbohydrates and fat or protein. An adequate intake of carbohydrates will give a quick energy boost that is utilized by both the brain and the muscles while the protein will help sustain the energy and give a feeling of fullness. On the other hand, a breakfast of strictly carbohydrates, such as dry cereal with fruit juice, will get digested too quickly and leave your child feeling empty and sluggish midmorning. Balanced breakfasts with foods from several food groups are designed to sustain your child's energy and concentration through the morning. With that said, breakfast can be healthy while straying from the norm #8212; leftovers can fit the bill wonderfully! Here are a couple balanced yet quick ideas to get your kids fueled and out the door in a flash: #376;Fresh fruit and cream cheese sandwich: On a whole wheat English muffin (strawberries and bananas work well).#376;Cereal sundaes: Add 1 cup whole grain cereal to 6 ounces low-fat yogurt. Add fruit slices and crushed nuts. Prepare it in a paper cup and it's an easy-to-travel breakfast! #376;Pancake roll-up: Microwave a frozen pancake. Spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and sliced bananas across the pancake. Roll it up and pair with a carton of milk.#376;Cream of Wheat with apricots and almonds: Bring 2 cups of skim milk and frac14; teaspoon salt to a boil. Whisk in 1/3 cup of Cream of Wheat; reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon into a bowl and top with a dash of brown sugar, frac14; cup chopped dried apricots and slivered almonds. #376;Breakfast burrito: Layer a whole wheat tortilla with a scrambled egg, diced tomatoes, sliced avocado and shredded cheese.These breakfast ideas take less than five minutes to prepare and most of them are easy to eat at the bus stop or in the car. If breakfast is still last on the priority list of the morning, remember: anything is better than nothing.Contact me: If you have any feedback, comments or questions on this topic or any others, I would love to hear from you. You can send me an email at christina@nourishedliving.com with your thoughts. #376;Christina Fitzgerald, a registered dietitian and licensed dietitian nutritionist, is the owner of Nourished, Nutrition and Wellness, nourishedliving.com. She lives with her husband and two young sons in the Northwest suburbs.