Moms and dads will pack healthful lunches and plan nutritious dinners but sometimes give their children a warm-from-the-toaster breakfast.

But a few simple tips can help make breakfast nutritious and easy.

"Studies show children who eat breakfast have better attendance in school, improved test scores, superior overall nutrition and are less likely to be overweight," registered dietitian Kathy Belcher said.

"Everyone in the family benefits from breakfast, so take advantage of the opportunity to eat with your kids," she said. "Breakfast is your first opportunity of the day to work in the food groups most Americans are lacking — fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy."

Belcher, school program director for the Southeast United Dairy Industry Association in Louisville, Ky., recommends including milk, cheese or yogurt in the first meal of the day.

Parents can quickly:

• Blend strawberry or chocolate milk with banana slices for a delicious smoothie.

• Sprinkle low-fat cheese on scrambled eggs and roll it up in a whole grain tortilla.

• Layer granola, fresh berries and vanilla yogurt for a yummy parfait.

• Top a toasted raisin bagel with low-fat peanut butter and banana slices.

In the new cookbook "The Gastrokid Cookbook: Feeding a Foodie Family in a Fast-Food World" (John Wiley & Sons Inc., $22.95), authors Hugh Garvey and Matthew Yeomans suggest planning your family's breakfasts the night before and reassessing your morning schedule and tasks so you can make meal preparation a priority.

With the pressures of school and work start times, parents need to come up with a few good tricks to provide a nutritious breakfast for the entire family.

Garvey and Yeomans suggest that parents prepare oatmeal by the batch. On Monday, make oatmeal for 12 and refrigerate the leftovers. During the next few days, spoon it into individual bowls, microwave it and serve it with milk, good dark maple syrup and fresh fruit. "Add to that a poached or fried egg and/or a smoothie, and you've given your kid a head start that didn't involve boxed, over-processed, over-sugared cereals," the authors wrote.

A smoothie is one of the easiest ways to get a healthy dose of nutrition into your child. Each time you go to the grocery store, buy:

• A few big containers of nonfat plain yogurt. It keeps for a long time.

• A big container of orange juice.

• 4 or 5 packages of frozen fruit.

• A bunch of bananas.

Buy a blender if you don't have one. Every morning, load the blender like this:

A few cups of frozen fruit in the bottom.

A cut-up banana

A few cups of yogurt

A pour of orange juice

Let it sit there for 20 minutes while you do other stuff (it'll melt and meld and not make such a racket if you wait until the fruit isn't frozen solid), then blend it. If it's too thick, add more orange juice.

Another new book that's filled with recipes for quick and easy breakfasts is "The Pocket Idiot's Guide to the New Food Pyramids" by Elizabeth Ward.

Ward, a registered dietitian and mother of three, shares these quick ideas:

• When time's tight, take breakfast to go: Layer a frozen, heated pancake with peanut butter, top with sliced bananas, roll and enjoy with an 8-ounce carton of 100 percent orange juice.

• Plan. Keep healthful breakfast foods, such as whole-grain breads, cereals, waffles, low-fat dairy products and fruit, on hand for quick breakfasts.

• Packing lunch? Pack breakfast too. Healthful, portable foods include peeled, hard-cooked eggs, low-fat yogurt, whole-grain crackers or rolls, and dried and regular fruit. For a quick breakfast, combine 1/2 cup whole grain cereal with 1/4 cup each sunflower seeds or nuts and dried cranberries or raisins.

• Family teamwork. In the morning rush, older children can fix their own breakfasts while you help the younger ones decide what to eat.

Eggs de la Vera for One, Sunny Side Up

Spanish smoked paprika adds color and flavor to a fried egg.

Butter

1 large egg

Pimenton de la vera (Spanish smoked paprika, the sweet version)

Salt

In a small skillet, heat a little butter until foaming over medium heat, then slip in the egg. Let it set on the bottom for about 3 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon water and cover so the top steams a bit, about 2 minutes more. Sprinkle with pimenton and salt, and serve with yolk just cooked through. Makes 1 serving.

From "The Gastrokid Cookbook"

Herby the Love Omelet

This omelet has fresh herbs, tangy cheese and eggs (which are cheap and easy).

Several stalks asparagus

6 large eggs

Olive oil

1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

2 cups chopped fresh parsley and basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium skillet over medium heat, add asparagus and 1/2 cup water, and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Drain asparagus, chop into 1/2-inch pieces, and set aside.

Whisk eggs. Heat several tablespoons olive oil in a 10- or 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour in eggs and cook for a couple of minutes, until bottom sets. With a spatula, pull far edge of cooked egg mixture toward you while tilting pan away from you, letting uncooked egg mixture cover pan. When this sets, do the same thing again. Then do it again. When the final layer is cooked through, place goat cheese in a line down the center. Add asparagus pieces, herbs, salt and pepper. Using a spatula, and maybe a fork for assistance, roll it up. Let the cheese melt a bit. Slide onto a plate and cut into 4 pieces. Makes 4 servings.

From "The Gastrokid Cookbook"

Fast French Toast Recipe

Make French toast from scratch, freeze it and reheat it in the toaster or toaster oven.

4 large eggs, beaten

1/4 cup or more milk

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

A few gratings of nutmeg

Butter

12 or so pieces of bread

Beat eggs in a bowl and add milk, cinnamon and nutmeg, and whisk. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat until it has foamed and subsided.

Dip bread slices in egg mixture until they soak up a bit of the goodness on both sides, then fry without crowding the pan until bread is browned and cooked through, a few minutes each side. Cool. Freeze. Toast as needed and top with good old-fashioned, deeply flavored grade B maple syrup, or with a sprinkling of sugar.

From "The Gastrokid Cookbook"

Dips For French Toast

Kids love to dunk things, and serving French toast fingers with a dipping sauce adds an extra dose of nutrition.

Vanilla pear dip:

15-ounce can pear halves in extra light syrup

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon butter (optional)

Maple peach dip:

1 can (15-ounce) sliced peaches in juice, half drained

1/4 cup maple-flavored syrup, regular or reduced calorie

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon butter (optional)

Cinnamon carrot dip:

14.5-ounce can sliced carrots

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter (optional)

For any dip: Mix ingredients (except for butter, if used) for any of the dips in a small saucepan. Heat until hot, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the butter, if using; keep warm.

From Mealtime.org

Peanut Butter & Jelly Burrito (PBJB)

Roll up peanut butter and jelly burritos and freeze them at the start of the week (in a big freezer bag), then microwave them in the morning.

1 whole-wheat tortilla

Natural peanut butter

Fruit preserves

On a whole-wheat tortilla, about an inch from one edge, spread a line of peanut butter and a line of jelly. Roll it up tightly like a flauta (a flute) or a tube. Microwave it. Let it cool a bit.

From "The Gastrokid Cookbook"