Breakfast with Catherine Fulvio

We sat down with busy mum Catherine Fulvio to have a chat about the importance of breakfast for her family and how she ensures her family are getting the right amounts of nutrients in their diet:

Q: As a mum, what are the most important nutrients you want your children to receive on a daily basis? Do your nutritional goals for your kids match what they like to eat?
A: I want them to receive all the nutrients they need for proper brain and body development and to be able to function to the best of their ability, this means a daily intake of Omega 3, 6 & 9, Proteins through fish, meat and eggs, Carbohydrates; potatoes and pasta, they’re in the right house for this and of course a range of vitamins and especially Vitamin D at this time of the year as we see the evenings closing in and less time for them to be out in the daylight.
My nutritional goal is for my kids to have a healthy balanced diet with lots of fruit and veg , plenty of water and lots of exercise indoor and out.

Q: Do you find it difficult to get the right balance between the nutrition you want your kids to have and the taste your kids enjoy?
A: Not anymore – but I appreciate the struggle parents have when dealing with a picky eater. I found, that even from a young age, explaining the benefits of a food helped to have a positive effect on my fussy-eater, for example talking about an Apple a Day and that Carrots are great for your eyes and rice and pasta give you energy.

Q: How do you ensure your children have a balanced breakfast each morning?
A: For me it’s a breakfast cereal topped with a selection of fruits such as apple, banana, strawberries in season, dried mango, melon or kiwi. I also often add some chopped nuts or seeds – it doesn’t get more balanced than that!

Q: What is the most important part of breakfast for your children?
A: For all of us to sit down before the rush of the day and school starts. It is that ten minutes in the morning over a bowl of cereal for a quiet bit of family time to set us up for the day.

Q: What’s your own favourite Kellogg’s cereal and why?
A: I am loving the Special K Granola – I have it for breakfast with skimmed milk – and as with children’s cereal add fruit and some nuts to get the best out of breakfast. I also enjoy the Granola as a snack topped with yoghurt
I also have it topped with youghurt as a snack which is really tasty and sometimes for a quick dessert I sprinkle over paoched fruits for quick crumnle style desert

Q: Do you ever use Kellogg’s cereal to cook or bake? i.e. beyond just a bowl of cereal? What kind of things do you make?
A: Oh yes, I have a selection of cereals in the cupboard each with its purpose with the Special K Granola I make a quick crumble style dessert using poached fresh fruit. There’s my version of Rocky – crumble using
There’s my version of rocky road using Rice Krispies of course and then I have a fantastic recipe for Tex Mex Chicken using cornflakes, a great midweek meal full of texture and flavour.

Q: Do you think Irish mums understand the importance of breakfast?
A: Yes I do, for the most part at least. And I believe websites, such as Mummypages and the media are all helping to drive the story home – the need for breakfast is paramount for us all but especially for our children who need this important meal to fuel them for the day.

Q: Why do you think some of us think its ok to skip the most important meal of the day?
A: I believe a lot of people just say they don’t feel hungry first thing in the morning, we are rising earlier and earlier and often people simply aren’t hungry. Then I guess what happens is during the morning blood sugar levels are so low that you just grab something sweet for an energy boost and to get you through to lunch – meaning you are not having a nutritionally balanced morning.

Q: Do you ever skip breakfast?
A: Never! Even on the occasional day that I have a long commute on the road I take my breakfast with me and either stop en route or eat on arrival before starting my day’s work. Breakfast is really important to me and I never miss breakfast.