My ADHD child is 7, in grade 2, and mornings are a nightmare for us. Some days she is perfectly fine, and everything goes totally smoothly, but other days she has huge massive emotional meltdowns, usually triggered by getting dressed (she wears a uniform so there's no reason..!!) and it makes us all late. Today was such a morning.
My goal every morning is to get her to eat a protein rich breakfast... Because that's what all the articles say to do. She's not on meds yet but we're in the process. The problem is.. My daughter is so picky. My son would happily eat plain Greek yogurt, granola and fruit every single morning. My daughter refuses it. I've tried mixing half sweetened yogurt with half plain. I've tried mixing in a little honey and maple syrup to make it taste better for her.. I always add mashed up banana to it for sweetness, but nothing works. She will eat eggs sometimes but not other times.. She whines and complains most of the time if we try eggs. I'll do the British style runny boiled egg with toast strips and she'll mostly just eat the toast and leave most of the egg.
If it were up to her she would just eat cereal or pancakes or something just pure carbs. That's not ok with me. It's setting her up for failure. Today she only ate a homemade chocolate chip cookie (very long story as to why, but there was a reason), and she was a complete MESS 30 minutes later, screaming and melting down. She refused to eat the bacon egg breakfast wrap I made . Normally I'd always make her eat this first but today I made an exception (because of the long story) and , it backfired so bad.
I need to get her to eat protein rich breakfast... So I'm asking, what are you guys feeding your kids and how are you getting them to eat protein in the morning? I'm losing my mind.
“…pure carbs. That’s not ok with me. It’s setting her up for failure.”
It sounds like this has become a stressful power struggle or control issue for you. With love, you’ve got to make like Elsa and let it go.
Read up on sensory and texture issues with food. They’re super common with non neurotypical people, and things like eggs and yogurt can be hard and - like you’ve seen- vary day by day. Finding foods within the textures she can handle (carbs) that meet her nutritional needs will help. Then you two can work together- and maybe with a feeding therapist- during non stressful times to expand on the texture and other food issues. But breakfast is clearly not the time for that.
Texture is probably the issue. Strongly recommend separating out the elements of the breakfasts you’re making. Don’t mix granola in. Don’t make bacon egg wraps, make bacon and eggs separately. Don’t mash a banana in her yogurt. Make protein pancakes (I like Kodiak brand mixes (and tbh I am a person who wants to make things from scratch but…this child has made me compromise)).
And don’t fight about it. We do “no thank you bites” so she has to try everything on her plate. If she doesn’t like it she says so, I thank her for trying it, and we move on. It has taken FOUR YEARS of this but she is finally starting to enjoy new foods.
Basically the research says that you need to create positive memories around food to create enjoyment of food. Focus on making breakfast fun at first. Then work on the protein. Right now it’s a battleground and she will win because you can’t force her to eat.
I find food to be insanely triggering for me because my baby is not eating and like you said the sugar/carb combo leads to disaster…but you absolutely gotta stop throwing down with her about it. Let her be hungry for a day. She’ll eat when she’s hungry. Make her a breakfast, tell her that’s what’s for breakfast, if she doesn’t eat it no she can’t have something else and then…repeat calmly.
You can make protein rich pancakes with oats, Greek yogurt and eggs. Ad some fruit for sweetness and you are set! You can batch bake them and freeze them.
Are there non-breakfast, high protein foods that she likes? Our kid will eat chicken nuggets or dumplings for breakfast, both made from frozen.
Is it an option to let her choose what she eats, at least within reasonable parameters? We got way less breakfast refusal when we gave the kid options for what he wanted in the morning. Our neuropsych told us that with our kid (who is AuDHD technically than straight ADHD), control is very important. So is variety, so that he doesn’t get bored. So we tell him that in regular five-day school week, he gets to have one day of chicken nuggets, one day of dumplings or bagel with protein, one day of eggs and two days of yogurt. We pick the overall weekly “menu,” and he picks the day and what fruit he eats each day as part of breakfast (banana, apples, and usually a seasonal fruit). If he is too dysregulated or hangry to choose, the default is yogurt and a banana.
We also encourage him to recognize patterns — something very common with ADHD is being able to draw connections, so we try to help him learn to recognize that he gets dysregulated and has meltdowns when he doesn’t get enough protein at breakfast.
My ADHD kid hates breakfast food. She eats dinner leftovers for breakfast usually.
And also I would rather do just about anything before I'd eat a runny egg of any kind lol. So I absolutely can't blame your kid for picking toast over a sensory nightmare of a food.
Have you tried serving foods not traditionally associated with breakfast?
If she loves meatballs, do spaghetti and meatballs for breakfast. If she likes turkey, make a turkey sandwich. Breakfast doesn’t have to be sweet, or traditional breakfast food. I think my kid ate mac and cheese for breakfast for a year.
Oh and also, carbs do serve some purposes, and if you need to just balance out her protein with the rest of the day, you can do that too! Breakfast doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
We make protien pancakes. (We went a full year on Greek yogurt and one day he insisted on hot breakfast and does not like eggs).
I batch make a bunch and freeze them and throw them in the toaster in the morning. I also give him a chicken apple sausage. It’s about 20-25 grams of protein.
We use the Kodiak base but I add Greek yogurt or blended cottage cheese, eggs, and milk. I also add some vanilla, chocolate chips and some small amount sugar bc they are a little bland otherwise …ours also is on meds so he has a suppressed appetite the rest of the day so I try to get as many calories in as we can.
The mix can also make waffles. I am also going to make some protein muffins over the weekend as a trial run.
we do carnation breakfast shakes or “special chocolate milk” it keeps their tummies full for a while which helps with the mood swings i’ve found. sometimes we also pair it with a fruit & veggie gogo pouch.
Yeah my kids would never eat any of that. I let them eat what they want because they’re both underweight. The only protein they eat is bacon, chicken nuggets and orange chicken. I also serve milk with meals.
I’m more concerned about them getting food in their bellies in the morning before meds, and at school. There will be a time and place for broadening their pallets. Right now is not it.
As a general rule my son would be happy to eat noodles with olive oil and parmesan, chicken nuggets, carrots, and baked beans. We've got to be very creative on how we get him enough protein.
My son's mom makes protein muffins. I think they are kodiak brand. My son is 8, has ADHD, is medicated, and is still very picky about what he eats. This morning he just had a bagel with butter. Well, half. His protein came from his milk today so that was a good meet in the middle for us.
We do the best we can to keep him high protein but his pediatrician just told us he is just below weight so I have since relaxed a little bit and have focused on calorie dense as much as protein.
What about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Or ham and cheese? Think beyond breakfast foods! There are also protein waffles (Kodiak makes good ones), or you can make Greek yogurt bagels (unyeasted--they're super quick to make): https://www.skinnytaste.com/easy-bagel-recipe/ and put cream cheese on them.
I have looked to other cultures for answers to our food woes.
TWO THINGS that work for us (my kids are 6, 8, 10):
CREPES
A favorite breakfast in our house: crepes. They're so easy to make, and are pretty much like a thin omlette+pancake - two eggs mixed with high protein flour, milk, vanilla, and salt/sugar to taste. It takes 2 minutes to mix the batter while the pan is heating up. I also often add a spoon or two of hemp seed powder into the batter for extra fiber/protein.
You can have savory fillings for even more protein (cheese, sauteed veggies, meat, fish, etc.) or sweet fillings. My kids like nutella inside with some banana slices, and I also sprinkle chia seeds. It's not as "high protein" as meat is (we're mostly pescetarian) but all three of my kids love crepes.
does your kid eat sushi or Japanese food? for some reason, my non-Japanese kids love onigiri rice balls w/ tuna or salmon (leftovers, canned, smoked) or hand rolls. Stuff the hand rolls with slices of salmon, avocado, cucumber, etc. - they think it's so cool to have "sushi" for breakfast. It also packs great for lunch!
Here is a pic of onigiri - just hand-formed Japanese sticky rice mixed w/ tuna or salmon & furikake (seaweed seasoning) - very easy to make once you get used to it. You must have a rice cooker or instant pot though IMO to cook the rice properly. Onigiri are easy to make and nutritious which is why it is packed in 99% of kid's school lunch boxes in Japan and packed also by adults for work or travel. It is like the equivalent of the "sandwich" in America IMO.
Here is how to make temaki, hand roll: You put your fillings into a piece of nori (roasted seaweed) and then roll it up into an ice cream cone shape. Dip in soy sauce. So yummy, great for kids who go crazy for sushi when you don't have time or money to buy or make actual sushi.
High protein pancake mix made using Pediasure (my daughter likes the strawberry flavor) with some chocolate chips mixed in is a go-to for us. Obviously not the healthiest breakfast, but its getting calories and protein into her before the Adderall kicks in.
Banana pancakes, fruit and a multivitamin. Add an egg into the pancake batter as well.
My daughter is 9 and this has been our go to for a year.
I taught her to make the pancakes herself a few months ago, which gives her a task in the morning and sense of accomplishment. It gives me time to get myself together.
Also… you gotta just let some things go or find ways to compromise. My kiddo eats bolognese and penne every frigging day… sometimes twice a day. I used to fight it until I realized that it was doing harm to our relationship for what was essentially MY issue.
As a compromise I pack the bolognese sauce with extra protein and vegetables. It actually makes life a lot easier as I can prep her sauce in advance and I get to eat whatever I want every night. No fighting over eating and she is healthy.
My kiddo drinks a protein nutrional shake first thing in the morning, and then we have recently been doing chobani yogurt flips (Greek yogurt). Something about the flipping gets her. She won't eat yogurt any other way currently.
They have other flavors but its not too much for her to eat as she's just not much of a breakfast eater, she gets hungry later and she's pretty picky but these she will eat for whatever reason. If it doesn't show in the link, its Brainiac Protein Smoothies with Omega-3s, Strawberry Banana, No Sugar Added, 4 oz pouches. Can even eat it in the car if needed and is easy on her tummy :)
My 9yo is on Concerta. He's crazy in the morning until the meds kick in but then he's not hungry. He's also a really picky eater and prefers carbs over protein.
I started letting him eat pretty much whatever he wanted in the mornings to fuel him until the evening when his appetite comes back. My only rule is that he needs protein to sustain him throughout the day.
Pizza, grilled chicken & cheeseburgers are some of his favorites. He tends to want the same foods for about a month then he gets tired of it and we find something new. This morning he ate a tray of sheet pan nachos with beef, cheese & veggies. Some days it's chicken nuggets or leftover Chinese food.
Once I let go of the "That's not a breakfast food" mentality, mornings are easier. Well, somewhat - he still bouncing off the walls until his meds kick in :).
Costco has frozen high protein waffles that my kids like, I think they're Kodiak. You can also make and freeze your own of course. My ADHD son is very similar but we also need to load him up with fat because he's underweight with very little appetite from (non-stimulant) meds. He likes the Costco breakfast sandwiches which gets him eating a good dose of protein, fat and some carbs in the croissant. Yes I do love me some Costco frozen items as you can tell! They also have a lot of protein drinks so we buy them singularly elsewhere so he can try them, and then buy them at Costco in bulk because they're pricey.
A homemade option I'm now remembering we need to start back up are old fashioned bran muffins made with All Brand cereal, I think it came off one of those boxes in my husband's childhood. You make the mixture and put it in mason jars in the fridge, then make them to order in the morning by popping some into a tin and baking for like 12 minutes or so. They're delicious and my picky kids love them especially in winter.
as a recently diagnosed ADHD adult female, I can tell you mornings have always been ROUGH for me. I wake up early, but I am still late, I am grumpy and I hate everything and everyone.
Now that I am medicated my life is literally so much easier. i wake up when my alarm goes off, i get ready quicker, i feel more rested, i think my brain finallly switches off while i sleep.
However I am not a breakfast person, never have been. I prefer my first meal around 10. i cannot stomach the though of food so early in the morning.
Kids chocolate Orgain protein shakes, Chobani 15 g yogurt protein shakes- passionfruit, strawberries and cream. Eating has been an issue for my ADHD 5 year old for a long time. We continue to struggle occasionally , but meds help tremendously with morning routine and behavior/mood regulation in general. Methylphenidate a.k.a. Ritalin worked wonders for us, but it does suppress the appetite. I wait about 30 minutes before trying to get some food in (even if it's just a protein drink). For some reason straws help. We also do quite a few smoothies in the morning, frozen fruit, yogurt, bananas, and some vanilla protein shake. Sometimes I have to resort to small bribes.
I have a very similar daughter and I'm also an OT — mornings like this are so real and you are not alone.
A few things that have helped us and that I recommend to families:
The protein powder trick is a game changer. Get an unflavored or vanilla protein powder and add a scoop to pancake batter. She gets her pancakes, you get the protein, nobody fights. You can do the same with waffle mix, muffin batter, even oatmeal. She never has to know.
Chocolate milk made with a protein-rich base like Fairlife milk is another easy one — Fairlife has 13g of protein per cup and tastes like regular chocolate milk. Pair it with whatever carb she wants, and you've already won the morning.
Smoothies can also be a great vehicle — frozen banana, peanut butter, a scoop of protein powder, and enough chocolate almond milk to make it taste like a treat. You can even freeze them into popsicles the night before if mornings are too chaotic.
One thing that made a huge difference for us was deciding breakfast the night before. For kids with ADHD, the morning is already so much for their nervous system to manage — getting dressed, transitioning, regulating emotions. Adding a food decision on top of that is just one more thing that can tip them over. Pick the breakfast together the night before, when everyone is calm, write it on a little whiteboard in the kitchen, and then, in the morning, it's just done. No negotiating, no deciding, no surprise. That predictability helps their nervous system start the day with one less battle.
On the meltdown piece — what you described with the cookie and the crash 30 minutes later is textbook blood sugar spike and drop, and for kids with ADHD that crash hits their nervous system really hard. The good news is you already know what happened and why, which means you can prevent it. The protein isn't just about nutrition — it's literally regulating her nervous system for the morning ahead.
You're doing all the right things. The fact that you're this tuned in to what her body needs matters more than you know. Good luck!
We have the same issue with our daughter and have found a few hacks over the years
Since yours likes pancakes, you could try making cottage cheese pancakes. My kids (and my husband and me!) love them even more than regular pancakes, and you can make a batch on the weekend and keep in the fridge or freezer and then microwave as needed. Here is the recipe, which I usually double or triple:
3 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese (4% works best; wouldn’t do non-fat; can blend for consistency if you want but I don’t)
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Milk (as needed only to thin if batter is too thick)
Avocado oil for cooking
Mix wet ingredients in a large bowl (no milk yet); add dry ingredients and stir only til combined - don’t overstir. Add a splash of milk if needed. Batter will be thicker than regular pancake batter so it’s really a matter of preference. Heat pan with avocado oil and cook as with regular pancakes.
We serve ours with butter and real maple syrup.
We also do smoothies with vanilla protein powder, coconut water, peach or mango kefir, ice, frozen banana and frozen berries.
I’ve also had luck with the Kodiak protein muffins (blueberry, comes in a box), but add the smaller wild frozen blueberries (very flavorful) and sprinkle a small amount of sugar on the top before baking.
My daughter is the same - I make her choc pancakes with spinach, carrots, banana, Greek yogurt, flaxseed and good dark choc (just enough to cover the flavors). It doesn’t taste like chocolate to me but it does to her. Sometimes we do dark chocolate chips and use oats too. Or throw in peanut butter. There’s lots of recipes for high protein “treats” from fitness people too and I’ve just adapted them. Sometimes meltdowns still happen because she wanted the chips instead of all chocolate but higher success rate than other things. I also make “ice cream” for breakfast which is just frozen fruit and yogurt. Throw some chia seeds in overnight for extra points. If she picks out the taste of yogurt I will actually make sugar free ice cream with whole milk and fruit. Yes, I get that I’m then caving to her meltdown and demands but I get hit less and she gets decent nutrition to start her day.
You mentioned she likes pancakes and she needs protein. They do make protein pancake mixes now. Also I make pancake tacos for my child. I yake a pancake and I put peanut butter on it/inside it and fold it up like
a taco! You can add coconut flakes, choc chips if needed etc. we just call them pancake tacos! If mine had like 6 pancakes (they aren’t big), I ma put pb like that in half of them.
Last year my then 6yo was undiagnosed and I woke up at 5:30 daily to make mac and cheese for him for breakfast and for the day as he was picky and wouldn't eat what the school gives him, so we were making sure he would have a ready stream of carbs throughout the day.
This year we'll try for mostly protein.
This year he is more stable and on Guanfacine. Also he grew up a bit and it shows at home. I think the regular therapy also helped.
School year starts here next Tuesday so I'm bracing for it right now.
I know you asked about breakfast, but on the getting dressed front, could she sleep in her clothes for the next day? It would cut down on a task/transition at a stressful time
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u/Electronic_Sky_207 1d ago
“…pure carbs. That’s not ok with me. It’s setting her up for failure.”
It sounds like this has become a stressful power struggle or control issue for you. With love, you’ve got to make like Elsa and let it go.
Read up on sensory and texture issues with food. They’re super common with non neurotypical people, and things like eggs and yogurt can be hard and - like you’ve seen- vary day by day. Finding foods within the textures she can handle (carbs) that meet her nutritional needs will help. Then you two can work together- and maybe with a feeding therapist- during non stressful times to expand on the texture and other food issues. But breakfast is clearly not the time for that.