How To Fuel A Whirling, Twirling Tornado

I am excited to offer you a great, tasty treat today -- it's The Kitchen Witch and she's offering delicious ideas for a quick, protein-packed breakfast. Go forth and enjoy!

How to Fuel a Whirling, Twirling Tornado

I'd like to introduce you to my first-born, Miss D. Otherwise known as "The Human Tornado." Miss D. is good at lots of things, especially making noise and wreaking havoc on anything within her vicinity.

I phone my mother every day at 4pm (yes, I just might have attachment issues), and as we're chatting, she'll hear the ruckus and racket in the background and say, "Good God, who is over there? The Green Bay Packers?"

And I will reply, "No, it's just Miss D."

Welcome to the world of ADHD. It's as full of twists and turns as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

When Miss D. hits the door after a full day of school -- a full day of reining in her jitters/jabbers -- that girl is rocket-powered and ready to par-tay, let me tell you. As you may suspect, late afternoons are a bit of a struggle. In fact, late afternoons are often cause for medicinal glasses of Chardonnay.

But do you know what's worse than late afternoons? Mornings. There are no medicinal glasses of wine to ease morning agony. Mornings in our house = Freakshow. Even when I'm organized enough to pack lunches, set out clothing, and put bowls on the table for morning cereal, I still can't seem to manage. No matter what I do, I'm scrambling and barking orders, and when I finally get her minxy butt on the school bus, I exhale and think, "Jesus. It's 8:30am and I. Am. Exhausted."

Mornings are particularly taxing because in the morning, Miss D. twirls. She twirls in the afternoons, too, but nothing compares to morning twirling activity. Morning twirling activity dominates all other things; she cannot get dressed, brush her teeth, be bothered to consume food. She's too busy twirling.

Twirling: (verb) The act of grabbing the nearest object (hopefully a pencil or marker and not a knife or pronged instrument) and waving it, in a hysterical whirl, while subsequently galloping around the house. Rinse. Repeat.

Twirling is exhausting. Twirling is the reason that I'm the blonde Stalin in the morning. Twirling is the reason that my child, my beautiful, spirited child, makes me dread mornings. And this sucks, right? I mean, who wants to be a crank and snap orders at their kid and rush-rush-rush to get out the door in the morning? That's not a way I want to start the day. It's not the way I want my kid to start the day.

I wish I had a solution -- a magic bullet for you -- but I don't. Truth: mornings are, and probably always will be, a cross to bear in my house.

What I have to offer you today is the Smoothie Solution. Even if you don't have a child with ADHD, smoothies are a great way to get protein, vitamins, and fruit into a child who is just too busy to eat in the morning. Another bonus? You can blend the smoothies the night before, store them in the refrigerator, and all you have to do (besides get clothes, sort socks, and brush defiant hair) in the morning is pour liquid energy into a glass.

If morning twirling has been particularly vigorous, you can even pour smoothies into a plastic cup, stick in a straw, and smile, heart bursting, as you wave goodbye.

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All recipes attributed to Ellie Krieger, with some adaptations

Peach Pie Smoothie (serves 2)

1 cup milk
1 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt (I also use sugar free)
2 cups frozen unsweetened peaches
1-2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla extract
Healthy pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger
I cup ice cubes

Put all ingredients in a blender and whirr until smooth.

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Blueberry Blast Smoothie (serves 1)

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt (I like Greek yogurt for this)
1 cup frozen unsweetened blueberries
2 teaspoons honey

Blend until smooth.

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Peanut Butter Smoothie (serves 1)

1 ripe banana, peeled, sliced and frozen (y'all do freeze banana chunks, right? Smoothie awesomeness!)
1/2 cup milk (preferably non-fat)
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

Guess what I'm gonna tell you to do? Blend until smooth. :)

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Kelly, thanks for having me. You know how much I love you, and I'm honored to be here today. Whether you're an ADHD Mommy-Warrior, or a mom who dreads mornings because they're crazy (and let's face it, they always are), I hope you'll try these out. They've saved my blonde butt on many a morning.

Because, you know, a girl needs time to twirl.
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Thanks for the ideas, Kitch -- and for being such a great neighbor! 

Share any other quickie breakfast ideas in the comments! (Um, and don't flame but we allow no Red 40 and only low sugar foods at breakfast on school days.)