Advanced Prep for Your #BigDay #Tomorrow: Cereal Toppings Make Breakfast Rock!

Special thanks to The Motherhood and Kellogg for partnering with me to make today’s post possible. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always. 

Even though my children wake up well before the crack of dawn (I’m talking 5:30 AM, people) and we don’t leave for school until 7:50 AM, those 2 1/2 hours still seem to go by in a bit of a frenzied blur.

On the days when we are especially hurried, we love to reach for cereal since it comes together so quickly and when choose your cereal wisely, you can eat something that is chock full of vitamins and minerals to help give you and your little ones the fuel needed to start the day off right.

This week I started trying a new little life hack for our breakfast routine: preparing the night before. Now, you might be thinking, “What could you possibly need to do to prepare for a breakfast of cereal, Tiffany? You just pour it in a bowl and add milk!” And yes, you are right. But one simple little tweak will turn your weekday morning cereal session into something your kids will truly delight in and savor.

Cereal Toppings

My girls’ absolute favorite cereal is Kellogg’s Raisin Bran. Those raisins are their jam! So when I presented them with blueberries, strawberries and bananas to add on top, it was like a culinary Christmas to them. More add-ins?! Heck yes!!!!

What I do the night before is to prepare the toppings by rinsing the amount of fruit I think we will need and chopping the fruit that needs to be cut. I put the chopped fruit in a bit of water with a splash of lemon to keep it nice and fresh. In the morning I just discard the water and place the fruit on the table.

The girls load their bowls with those amazing, beautiful fruits. Tim and I get the leftovers which we usually add to a bowl of Special K (LOVE their protein variety!).

Prepare the Table

Does your table look like this sometimes when you come down for breakfast? Mine does, and it is such a bummer. I have never understood why the night fairies don’t clean up our messes, but they don’t! You guys, I have to tell that taking the time to clean the kitchen if you are able, or at the very least to clean off the table where you eat breakfast the night before makes a HUGE difference. Maybe it doesn’t save you a ton of time, but walking into the room to see it ready for the day ahead of you, and not already behind schedule, just feels like a weight off your shoulders. If you don’t have pets, you could go all out and even put your cereal bowls and spoons out the night before. I have 2 cats and I don’t trust them not to lick all of our stuff. Just keepin’ it real! So that step  needs to wait for us, but the fact that the table is ready to go just puts me in a good mood right off the bat!

 Other Ways to Kickstart Your #BigDay Tomorrow

I have sporadically used a few other strategies in my home. They all work wonderfully, so the issue is just getting me to turn them into habits! Laying out clothes for the kids, and even for myself, in advance shaves 5-10 minutes off our morning routine. Packing the girls’ lunches the night before is definitely one of the biggest game-changers. If that’s done in advance, the mood throughout the house all morning is noticeably more serene. This is because our girls’ school is VERY strict about what can be sent it, and really in the end I’m very thankful for that. But the fact that NO sugar of any sort unless the item is an actual piece of fruit is allowed makes lunch building a little bit tricky. It’s difficult to do at night or in the morning, but I need to keep in mind just how happy it makes us all when it’s a chore we don’t have to face first thing!

I bet you have some good ideas about things to do the night before to help the mornings be more joyful. I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments! You can also find some more ideas about starting your #BigDay #Tomorrow off right on the Kellogg’s website.