Even though hubby and I have been very committed to eliminating grains from our diet for a while now, I have been less strict with my kids, especially when it came to breakfast. In hindsight, I believe I was making excuses  for a number of reasons. Not being the best morning person, I opted for convenience  …. and to be honest I just didn’t want to deal with the nuclear fallout that I assumed would happen if I told them they could no longer have cereal for breakfast.

I have learned two important lessons this past month.

• Never make assumptions – they can be very limiting
• Don’t underestimate your children  – because they will surprise you when  you least expect it

Four weeks ago  I eventually committed to banishing breakfast cereals from our home for good. I had been threatening for a while that “this is the LAST box girls – when it is finished I am NOT buying anymore“. I know they didn’t take me seriously because another one always seemed to magically appear in the cupboard when the last box was finished. That was just me being weak and yes, I hate to admit it – lazy!

So on Monday April 1st, 2013 I eventually did it. There was not a crumb of cereal to be found in the house (and it was no April Fool’s joke either).

And you know what? The earth didn’t implode.

Both girls very happily accepted two soft-boiled eggs  – without toast mind you (I didn’t want to jump from the pot into the frying pan) and went off to school with full tummies and stable blood sugar. That was 4 weeks ago and besides the very occasional comment they don’t even seem to miss it very much.

I have tried to keep it interesting by making their eggs in different ways and I use a good amount of butter when I scramble or fry. Sometimes they will opt for full fat Greek yoghurt with fruit instead of eggs. On weekends we will make a fancy super-duper omelette full of delicious fillings and a serving of pastured, grass-fed bacon.

They have amazed me with their ability to adapt and accept a new norm. I would like to believe it is because they feel better, concentrate better and are more satisfied than they ever were starting their day with a bowl of sugary starch that bloated their little tummies and made them hungry and tired one hour later.

Don’t be fooled. You might not be buying your kids Frosted Flakes or Fruit Loops but most “healthy, whole grain” breakfast cereals still contain a significant amount of sugar. …. And even if they don’t, the carbohydrate in the cereal will convert to sugar inside their bodies anyway. Add to that some orange juice and sweetened fruit yoghurt and you have a complete nutritional disaster on your hands.

I am proud of them and proud of myself. Sometimes you just have to be brave enough to take that first step and each step after that just gets easier and easier as new habits are established. I have had to wake up 15 minutes earlier than before but for every sacrifice there is a reward. Mine has been watching my health and the health of my family go from strength to strength. Coincidence? I don’t think so.