(NAPS)—It may be a challenge finding 15 minutes to make breakfast every day—but children need this vital meal for a variety of reasons. Actively growing children need food at regular intervals to fuel their bodies and brains. Skipping breakfast means as much as10 to 12 hours with no food and the potential for compromised school performanceandirritability. Fortunately, preparing a healthy breakfast for your family can be quick and easy with some simple substitutions: Choose whole-grain foods; substitute whole-wheat flour for white flour when you bake. In recipes calling for milk or cream, substitute reduced-fat ver- sions or try using other “milks” such as rice milk, almond milk or flax milk. Also, use low-fat cream cheese and yogurt. Switch to healthier oils such as canola oil and canola oil margarine. Canola fits into a healthy diet because it is high in omega-3 fatty acids, has no transfat, is low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat. Its light taste makes it versatile to use in a variety of recipes. And when you use canola oil instead of butter or shortening in a recipe, you can cut the total amount of fat by about 25 percent. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup butter, you can use % cup of canola oil. Use fresh-frozen fruit without addedsugarif fresh is unavailable. Sweeten waffles and quick breads with cinnamon, cardamom, or vanilla or almond extracts in order to cut the sugar content. Nutritious breakfast bars are delicious and can be prepared ahead of time and frozen to grab when you'rein a hurry. For more recipes and additional nutrition information, visit www.northerncanola.com. Delicious, nutritious breakfast bars are quick and easy. Baked Breakfast Bars with Fruits and Nuts 3% cups regular oats % cup dried cherries, cranberries or blueberries % cup sugar \% Y% 1% % 1 1 Y% cup goldenraisins cup chopped pecans teaspoons baking powder teaspoonsalt teaspoon cinnamon cup fat-free milk cup canola oil 2 large eggs 1 tablespoon flaxseeds, optional Preheat oven to 350F. Grease or spray an 8-inch baking pan. Combine everything except the flaxseeds in a large bowl. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with flaxseeds (and extra nuts if desired). Bake for 30 minutes. Cool, cut into squares, wrap each individually and freeze. To serve, remove wrap- ping and place frozen bar in a bowl with milk; microwave 1 minute. Sprinkle with cin- namon and more milk, if desired. Makes 8 to 12 servings.
