Breakfast Tips from Midwest Dairy (+ a Giveaway!)

School has been in session for a couple of months now so you would think we would have our routine down. And some days we do. But other days...

Those other days can be hectic. And cause frazzled nerves (on my part) and a bad start to a long school day (for Brenna). And while I may have the best plans for a good breakfast for Brenna, some days I fail. Sometimes spectacularly.

Because a nutritious breakfast has been linked to sustained energy levels throughout the school day, improved attendance, higher math and reading scores, increased creativity and an improved memory I am taking a few steps to plan breakfast in advance- just like I do with dinner.

I wanted to share these tips from the Midwest Dairy Council which are designed not only to save time, but also help that ensure kids take on the day with a healthy and balanced breakfast:

· Set out cereal boxes and bowls the night before, add milk in the morning, and enjoy
· Divide mini pretzels, nuts, and dried fruit into baggies the night before to sprinkle over yogurt
· Bake a fresh batch of muffins with your kids over the weekend to grab on the way to school
· Stock up on self-serve options such as individual flavored milks and granola bars
· Heat nutrient-rich leftovers for a quick, non-traditional breakfast
· If kids don't have time to eat at home, take advantage of school breakfast programs

One thing I do is make pancakes, waffles or French Toast on Sunday, cool them and freeze individually. They are easy to toss in the toaster or microwave in the morning and top with fruit and yogurt for a quick, warm breakfast.

Win a Cool Touch Griddle Contest is now closed
Congratulations to lucky comment #5!

To help you get your mornings off to a great start Midwest Dairy is letting me give away a Cool Touch Griddle and a bundle of Midwest Dairy goodies- including an insulated shopping tote.

To enter just leave your best school-morning breakfast tip or your favorite eat-on-the-go recipe in the comments. One comment per person.

Want more entries?

1) Tweet this giveaway. Leave a comment with the link to your tweet. (copy and paste: Tweet as often as you wish.

2) Share this on your facebook page. Leave a comment with the link. One link per day, please.

Contest ends October 17, 2010 at 11:59pm. Contest open to US residents only.

I am also excited to announce that Midwest Dairy is an official sponsor of the I_Blog Conference!

Bonus!

Pumpkin Pancakes recipe from Midwest Dairy!

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients
2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt


Preparation
In small mixing bowl, briskly combine vanilla yogurt, maple syrup and cinnamon until yogurt becomes looser texture. Reserve.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. In a medium bowl, combine milk, butter, egg, pumpkin and yogurt, mixing well. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and stir until just moist. Do not overmix. Batter may be lumpy. For thinner batter, add more milk.

Lightly coat a griddle or skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium. Using a quarter-cup measure, pour batter onto hot griddle. Cook until bubbles begin to burst, then flip pancakes and cook until golden. Serve warm with maple yogurt topping.

Disclosure: Midwest Dairy gave me a dairy bundle (but not a griddle). I was not told what to write and all thoughts are my own.

Where Milk Comes From: Our Visit to Wolf Creek Dairy

Caelan meets a cute calf

In early August I was lucky enough to take my daughters to tour a working dairy. I grew up a “country girl’; my grandparents owned a dairy and my family raised hogs. And while my girls still get to visit my grandparent’s farm they no longer milk cows- and they never had an operation like Wolf Creek Dairy in Dundas, MN.

Wolf Creek Dairy is owned by Paul and Barb Liebenstein. They, with their daughters and about a dozen employees, care for and milk 400 head of cows around the clock. Barb took us around the farm, patiently answered my daughters' questions and showed us every aspect of the dairy.

Our first stop was the grassy plot covered in miniature barns – friendly, adorable calves. In a nearby barn a new calf had been born not long before we arrived; we got to see her stand on wobbly legs for the first time and pet her still- wet coat.

The new calf stands for the first time

Wolf Creek Dairy has two large, open barns; one for pregnant cows and one for the cows being milked. Each barn is equipped with bedding, large fans and sprinklers for hot days, and rotating brushes for a relaxing body massage. The cows even have a nutritionist – something I wish I had! – to ensure they have a well balanced diet.

I was kind of surprised that the cows didn’t roam a field until Barb told me something I didn’t know: cows lay down an average of 14 hours per day. That’s a lot of down time! And since the barns are cleaned 3 times daily and protected from sun, wind, rain and snow it’s a pretty posh life the cows lead.

This cow is getting her hooves trimmed- it brings a new meaning to "cow tipping"

The milking barn was unlike any I had seen. Sure, I had seen automatic milking equipment, but it has been 30 years. The cows file into the milking area and, not unlike an amusement park ride, a safety gate slowly lowers to keep them from moving too much during milking. The milking room is on two levels so the milking machines can be placed easily on their udders without back strain. The entire process, from entry to exit, takes 7 minutes for the group of cows, as opposed to 30 minutes, per cow, by hand.

State of the art milking barn

Milk is pumped into holding tanks, picked up by a tanker truck and hauled to Land O’ Lakes, the dairy’s milk processor where it is packaged and distributed.

Our tour concluded with fresh baked cookies and, of course, milk in the Liebenstein’s inviting kitchen.

Milk and cookies

Our thanks to Midwest Dairy for arranging this tour for us. We had a great time and learned a lot. And the girls loved the hats!

My little cows moo-ing