Gingerbread muffins bring a cozy, holiday-inspired flavour to school breakfast programs year round. With warm spices like cinnamon, ginger and molasses, they offer a nutritious and comforting start to the day. Try the recipe below to add a festive touch to your morning menu!
Serves: 12 muffins
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups (375 ml) whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp (5 ml) baking soda
- 1 tsp (5 ml) cinnamon
- 1 tsp (5 ml) ground ginger
- ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) ground allspice or cloves
- ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) salt
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup
- ¼ cup (60 ml) blackstrap molasses
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (120 ml) milk or plant-based beverage
- ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a muffin tin with liners and spray the inside lightly with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk the maple syrup, molasses, egg, vanilla, yogurt, milk and vegetable oil until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Divide batter evenly into the muffin liners, filling halfway.
Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from: https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/healthy-gingerbread-muffins-video/
In Bienfait, SK, Weldon School is home to a remarkable group of young bakers. The Baking Club is made up of a handful of students from Grades 4 to 8. This energetic crew comes together every couple of weeks to whip up delectable dishes for their fellow classmates.
An important part of the Baking Club is their dedication to contributing to the school breakfast program. They regularly bake items that can be served to their peers, ensuring a hearty and enjoyable start to the day.
Some of the favourite menu items are pancake bites, homemade granola for yogurt parfaits and enticing fruit kabobs.
Guiding these aspiring chefs is the devoted Baking Club teacher, Melanie Brandow, who teaches essential kitchen skills that will accompany these students throughout their lives. From prepping to following the recipe to cleaning up – including washing, drying and putting away dishes – these young bakers master it all.
The true highlight for Baking Club members is when they serve breakfast to their fellow classmates once a month. It’s a moment of pride and joy, as they share their baked goods with their peers. Their dedication to the Baking Club not only nurtures their culinary talents but also fosters a strong sense of community among the students at Weldon School.
(Student bakers Kylee McKnight, Bryton Stovin, Devyn Hermann and Arianna Hodgson)
The Spaniards discovered the potato in the middle of the 16th century, thanks to the Incas, and brought it back with them to Europe on board their ships. Today, potatoes are everywhere in the world, and cooking without this tuber — especially around the holiday season — is unthinkable! Potatoes are a great option for school breakfast programs and can be used in many ways. Has your program added latkes to your menu rotation?
Latkes are a simple and delicious dish served around the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Latkes became a Hanukkah staple as the nutritious and easy-to-grow potato conquered Europe. Their popularity spread to North America with the immigration of Eastern European Jewish families.
Where to include students: Latkes are made from shredded potatoes and onions. Our recipe uses a food processor, but you can always have students try shredding potatoes with a grater. If you have older students (and enough support!), students can also try cooking the latkes in the pan.
You can dive deeper into the history of Latkes, here.
Muir Lake School in Stony Plain, Alberta, is one of 22 schools within Parkland School Division. They know from experience that healthy students are better learners, which is why they use a comprehensive approach to foster student well-being. This approach includes promoting universal access to food, and it takes a whole school and community to make it happen!
When Breakfast Club of Canada coordinator Carmen Siu visited Muir Lake School, she was thrilled to learn how many volunteers are involved in the success of the breakfast program. Initially spearheaded in 2022–2023 by Jodi Marcinew, the school’s head secretary, the program quickly gained traction. Jodi did it all in those first days, but it became clear almost immediately that additional support was required to reach even more students. To meet this need, Jodi rallied volunteers through the school newsletter. What started as a small endeavour rapidly grew into a community effort, with parents finding fulfilment in contributing before work, and students bonding over shared mornings.
The program is structured around a breakfast captain, student volunteer coordinator and parent volunteer coordinator, who ensure that everything operates smoothly and sustainably. They have simplified menus, embraced online scheduling and created a parent WhatsApp group for communication. With these tools in place, the program is flourishing, offering consistency and ease of participation.
Student involvement is also key. Muir Lake ensures a steady presence of student volunteers through careful planning. Both they and the parents who help are acknowledged for their efforts on a regular basis. Treat days, reference letters and certificates are just some of the ways used to keep almost 30 students engaged and reinforce the value of their contributions.
Beyond providing nourishment, Muir Lake’s breakfast program fosters a sense of community. Each morning, students gather to share food, laughter and friendship, setting a positive tone for the day ahead. Perseverance and community support has made this program an integral part of the school community and a place where everyone feels welcome.
Great job and thank you for welcoming us into your school!
Want more ideas on how to engage students in your program? Check out our Student Volunteers Toolkit!
A nutritious breakfast is crucial for the overall well-being of students, and breakfast programs are a great opportunity to encourage vegetable consumption. One innovative breakfast coordinator took that idea to the next level, with a game that engages the senses. An approach like this not only encourages students to try new vegetables, but it also makes the process an enjoyable one.
Realizing the need to make a large donation of spinach more appealing to students, the breakfast coordinator at Ruth Betts Community School in Flin Flon, Manitoba, devised a unique game. They baked a batch of bright green spinach muffins and sealed them in paper bags before handing them out to students. Instead of simply serving the muffins, they turned the experience into an interactive and exciting activity.
With their eyes closed, students were given the opportunity to explore the muffins using their other senses. They touched, smelled and tasted the muffins, and were told to guess what they were made of. Finally, when they opened their eyes to see the colour, they were asked to figure out what made the muffins turn green. Their sleuthing eventually revealed that it was spinach, a discovery that was met with surprise and enthusiasm. Many students who might have been hesitant to try spinach before were excitedly enjoying it as part of their breakfast.
The positive feedback from students confirmed the success of the spinach muffin game. Not only did they have fun, but they also found a new appreciation for a nutrient-rich vegetable.
Activities like these have the potential to foster lifelong healthy eating habits. By associating vegetables with positive experiences, students are more likely to choose them willingly in the future. This approach goes beyond simply getting children to eat their vegetables; it instils a positive attitude toward nutritious foods.
Discover our delicious spinach morning muffins recipe here: https://www.breakfastclubcanada.org/schools-corner/blog/spinach-morning-muffins
Start your day off right with these spinach muffins, perfect for a nutritious and tasty breakfast. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by their subtle sweetness and vibrant colour.
Serves: 12 | Prep Time: 10 mins | Total Time: 35 mins
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
2 cups (500 ml) whole-wheat flour
¼ cup (60 ml) brown sugar
½ tsp (2.5 ml) cinnamon
2 tsp (10 ml) baking powder
½ tsp (2.5 ml) baking soda
¼ tsp (1.25 ml) salt
WET INGREDIENTS
¾ cup (180 ml) milk or plant-based beverage of your choice
½ cup (125 ml) applesauce
1 large banana
6 oz (170 g) baby spinach (about 5 cups/1.25 L)
¼ cup (60 ml) vanilla Greek yogurt
2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil
1 large egg
1½ tsp (7.5 ml) vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C), and oil a muffin pan.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Blend the wet ingredients in a blender or food processor until completely smooth.
- Pour into the dry ingredient bowl, and fold together gently until just combined.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the top of the muffins are firm to the touch.
- Cool most or all of the way before serving.
Here’s a delicious Indian beverage for you to enjoy. Simply blend mango chunks, plain yogurt and a pinch of cardamom for a creamy and fragrant drink, perfect for a hot summer day.
Ingredients
- 1½ c. (375 ml) mango cubes (fresh mango, peeled and chopped or frozen mango cubes) or 1 c. (250 ml) canned mango pulp
- 1 c. (250 ml) plain yogurt
- 1 pinch of cardamom powder
- ½ c. (125 ml) cold milk or water to adjust consistency
- Saffron and pistachios for garnish (optional)
Preparation
- Add mango, yogurt and cardamom to a blender, and blend until smooth.
- Adjust the consistency to your taste by adding milk or water.
- Pour into serving glasses, and garnish with saffron and/or pistachios if desired.
“Your organization made such a huge difference in my life. I never thought one day I’d be able to say THANK YOU!”
Geneviève Everell is the wiz behind Sushi à la maison. With 10 cookbooks published, some 30 food products available on supermarket shelves and two restaurants in Montreal and Quebec City, hers is a truly remarkable rags-to-riches story. And yet, she has no qualms about delving into the trials and tribulations of her childhood.
“They say kids have it easy. That may be the case for some, but for others childhood is little more than a pipedream and they’re forced to grow up way too fast.” (Translation of a quote on her official website)
School breakfast programs changed Geneviève’s life. Breakfast Club of Canada helped mitigate the food insecurity she experienced at home. Despite her poverty-stricken upbringing, she maintains a “glass half full” outlook. Because everything she has gone through makes her who she is today.
To find out more about everybody’s favourite “sushipreneur,” we asked her a few questions about her school years and her breakfast program memories.
BCC: Hi, Geneviève! Thanks for agreeing to talk to us about your experience. To start off, what was the food situation like at home when you were growing up?
Geneviève: At my house, getting food on the table was always a bit of a scramble. We’d go to food banks and church basements, but what we got there wasn’t always that appetizing. Fortunately, my mom was a really good cook. She’d always manage to whip up something amazing with a tray of frozen sausages and a few carrots. I often saw her go without so that I’d get enough to eat. I remember on the first of the month, she’d always do something special, but it never lasted. The rest of the time, we’d scrape by just to get three meals a day. And breakfast often fell by the wayside.
BCC: There are lots of reasons kids don’t eat breakfast at home. Some people’s mornings are just too rushed, or there may be a long bus ride in to school. Other kids simply like having breakfast with their friends. In your case, it was because your family often couldn’t afford it. Did you realize back then there was a difference between you and the other children?
Geneviève: I thought it was normal not to eat breakfast at home. I didn’t think any of my friends did either. I started to clue in when I would go on sleepovers at homes where they were better off financially. But I had other friends from food-insecure families who were in the same boat as me, so I didn’t feel singled out.
BCC: Do you have any memories of the breakfast program you used to go to? Did you enjoy yourself?
Geneviève: Having the breakfast program in my life was a BLESSING. I was very lucky you were there for me. Not only for breakfast but, to be brutally frank, I’d even go back for leftovers when the lunch bell went off. That was my midday meal.
BCC: Do you think hunger had any adverse effects on your life?
Geneviève: Anxiety, probably, and worry about whether or not there’d be enough to eat. That was the worst part of it. I didn’t talk about it very often. I was admittedly too proud for my own good.
BCC: During this back-to-school season, 1 out of 3 children across the country will be going to school on an empty stomach. How do you feel when you hear a statistic like that?
Geneviève: I have to say it floors me. My first reaction is, “It’s 2020! How can that be?” It’s as if our brains can’t process the sheer magnitude of the situation. And it’s happening right under our noses. The people who are having trouble feeding their kids could be your friends, your neighbours or your co-workers.
Knowing that 1 out of 3 Canadian children don’t get breakfast in the morning breaks my heart. When you’re young and growing, eating before you go to school is CRUCIAL. It obviously helps kids concentrate and do well in class. But it’s not just about filling their bellies: it’s about giving them hope, making them feel like they have someone to turn to for help and support, and in some cases giving them a way out, which is what it did for me.
Our sincere thanks to Geneviève Everell for opening up her heart to us. If this interview struck a chord with you, be sure to go to her website to learn more about her story.
Breakfast Club of Canada’s back-to-school fundraising campaign will help the more than 2 million children who would otherwise start their day hungry for food instead of hungry for knowledge. Help us reach out to as many of them as possible by making an online donation or by texting CLUB to 20222.
This month, we are putting a spotlight on the breakfast program at Central Community School in Port Coquitlam, BC. Central Community School has been a part of the Breakfast Club of Canada family since 2015. The program started off small – serving an average o
f 20 to 25 students out of a school population of 300+.
Last year, the principal and breakfast coordinator made a conscious decision to increase engagement with the breakfast program and reach more students. There were a number of factors that contributed to the success of this initiative.
- Instead of serving breakfast out of the kitchen, breakfast is now served in the gym. This new location provides a larger, welcoming environment and enough space for students, parents and staff to congregate, have a bite to eat and connect in the morning before school starts.
- The site coordinator often communicates with other breakfast coordinators that run bustling programs in the district. They discuss best practices and use one another as sounding boards for new ideas.
- They have leveraged their breakfast program as an opportunity to engage with their local community: one morning, the Port Coquitlam fire department hosted a school-wide pancake breakfast!
Most importantly, the staff at Central Community acknowledge that a successful breakfast program requires a team effort. The program is supported by numerous teachers, youth workers, educational assistants, parent volunteers, student volunteers from the neighbouring high school and the principal. The program now feeds 90 to 100 students each morning!
Thank you, Central Community, for allowing us to be a part of your exciting journey!
As we celebrate International Volunteer Day, Breakfast Club of Canada would like to thank the 17,500 adult volunteers and 10,300 youth volunteers who rise and shine every morning to get a good healthy breakfast ready for 240,000 students in 1,809 schools across the country. For the past 25 years, you have been the driving force behind the success of our mission. Without you, the Club’s nation-wide network of breakfast programs would not exist.
Today, we’d like to shine the spotlight on the work done by the members of the Association des personnes handicapées de Chibougamau-Chapais (APHCC). APHCC Executive Director Lynda Bubar explains: “As part of the association’s fight against poverty and marginalization, we developed a pilot project in November 2010 to serve breakfast and lunch at La Porte-du-Nord, a local high school.”
For this initiative, the cafeteria uses the services of people with intellectual and/or physical disabilities. This gives them an opportunity to work in a stable, well-supervised environment suited to their individual needs. As a result, they are less socially isolated and feel like they belong to a unified community. As everyone gets better acquainted, the differences between them become less apparent, and individual gifts and talents shine through. The students are respectful, and volunteers with disabilities enjoy the important role they play in the school.
Routines and tasks are planned around volunteers’ capacities, their ability to learn and even their specific personalities. They can therefore progress at their own pace, take on new challenges and become more confident. Once they have reached a certain level of comfort in their activities, the APHCC then gradually increases the degree of difficulty. They can also use the opportunity to gain personal and job-related skills.
Bubar explains that the work experience is appealing and enriching. Not only is it a stable source of nutrition for both students and volunteers, but it also provides an environment that is mindful of varying aptitudes and needs. Plus, it makes people with disabilities feel valued and needed. These are all meaningful benefits. As a result of their involvement, the volunteers have become active, engaged members of their community. They are also instrumental in helping people understand and appreciate individual differences. It is a wonderful example of a hands-on awareness and education program in action – and a great opportunity to bring more visibility to people living with disabilities.
The impacts of the project are tangible. Volunteers find the experience rewarding at a personal level. For others, it helps them maintain an emotional balance. And many of them say that it fills a fundamental need of feeling like they’re part of a family.
Thinking back, one volunteer stands out in Bubar’s mind. “Diane, who had severe physical limitations, volunteered with the breakfast program for five whole years. She’d show up for her shift without fail, always on time and always ready to work. She took her role very seriously. Everyone on the team and all of the students loved her. And she got a lot out of it in terms of self-esteem.”
“The relationship between students and the APHCC team is very important,” added Bubar. “We are very lucky to be able to serve a healthy breakfast every morning in such a friendly, inclusive environment. This endeavour has made it possible for the team, volunteers, job readiness program participants and, of course, students to become more caring, compassionate people. It’s very heartwarming to see.”
Thank you to all APHCC volunteers for making their community a better place!
From coast to coast, in every province and territory, dedicated parents, volunteers, and school staff get up early each morning to make a huge impact in the day of these students by providing them with equal opportunities to succeed. The following stories are just a few of the wonderful testimonials to the power of breakfast programs in the schools. We hope you’ll find these stories as impactful and touching as we do.
Emily, student, James Park Elementary School, British Columbia
Hi, my name’s Emily and I’m a Grade 5 student from British Columbia. My dad actually got me into Breakfast Club because he started volunteering, so I went with him and learned how to do all the cool things that the Breakfast Club needs. Like pouring water, making pizza buns… making all the things on the menu (laughs)! That was three years ago and I still volunteer every day because I love serving the other kids, and now my mom comes also so it’s my dad, my mom, and me, so it’s something fun we do as a family.
Lots of kids come with their families so it makes me really happy to see everyone enjoying the food. I’ve gotten to know a bunch of adults who used to be strangers, and now I also am friends with their kids because of that! Kids are getting to know each other better, and lots more people come to school early now so they can join the program, so it’s really fun. Sometime even the principal and teachers eat with us and that makes us happy. We get to know them in a different way and I’ve learned some things about the adults that I wouldn’t have learned if we just saw each other in class.
School Administrator, Johnny Therriault Memorial School, Aroland First Nation, Ontario
Our Breakfast program is as much about serving nutritious food as it is a social event. Without a doubt, our program improves the mental and psycho-social well-being of our students. From time to time we have new students in an unfamiliar school and community, and they are often very cautious, reluctant, shy and introverted. However, as these students begin to settle in, the breakfast program helps them form new friendships. One specific student who was a Tikinagan child, enrolled in our school in Grade 5. She was extremely shy and hardly spoke. She was very hesitant to participate in the breakfast program, fearful to even enter the gymnasium where the program takes place. After some support and words of encouragement from staff, she slowly started to come into the program, eat with her fellow classmates, smile and socialize. It was wonderful to see her smile, talking and socializing with her classmates after only two weeks of coming to our school.
Stéphanie Riedyk, Breakfast Program Supervisor, École La Mosaïque, Alberta
Our school is multicultural school, where students develop new tastes related to the Canada Food Guide. Parents really value what our program offers their kids. One father told me, “this program is a blessing for modest families like ours, who do not necessarily have the means to offer a complete meal to our children and especially the time necessary to do it early in the morning. We are infinitely grateful to you”. What we really love is when the children come to tell us after each breakfast “Mrs. Stephanie, I really liked this meal. Thank you very much, what are we eating tomorrow?” You can not know how happy I am to see the glowing eyes of these little children happy to have eaten well.
LaSalle Elementary Junior School, Quebec
Conversation with Mrs. Donna, Integration Aid
Donna: I go outside at recess with the kids and there’s this one little child who is always in trouble, never listens, you always hear his name being called to come here, stop that, or get down from there. Since stating breakfast late last year, that’s all stopped. Now he comes in, has his breakfast…he’s the happiest little boy.
Club: What do you think it is about breakfast club that helps him the most? The full belly? The social aspect?
Donna: A bit of both. And just having a calm moment to start the day, the calm music really helps. I am so happy with this child. What a good feeling – and what a good feeling for him.
Conversation Mrs. Julia, Teacher
Julia: I love volunteering at breakfast club because I get to interact with the kids so early in the morning. Some of them come in a bit sad so I make them happy by just talking to them.
Club: How is it different than in the classroom?
Julia: Because it’s one on one here. You’re not their teacher so you can have conversations and joke with them. Some of them just need a little hello to make their day and that’s important to me.
In fact, during the interview, Mrs Julia got to demonstrate this when a student came in and said he had put his tooth under his pillow last night, but the tooth fairy didn’t come. Mrs. Julia made a big deal of his missing tooth, congratulated him on losing it and made him feel special.
Conversation with the kids
Club: What’s your favorite thing you get at breakfast club?
Student: Bagels! When we first went in breakfast club our first day we saw bagels! Its soooooo good! I wish we had bagels everyday! (is tomorrow bagel day?)
Other students: Grilled cheese! We love grilled cheese!
Club: so this must be your favorite day!
Students: yes! It’s the best!
Club: I see there’s a lot of people working very hard to make your favorite breakfast!
Student: I was here this morning and I saw Mrs Donna make all this.
Club: I saw when you came in before you gave Mrs Donna a big hug? She’s special….
Student: I love her she’s my favorite! She used to be in my class last year.
Club: it must be fun that you get to have breakfast with her every day now!
Student: Yah!
A while back, we shared Cameron’s story, a 5-year-old boy who regularly volunteers with his mom. In the article, Cameron’s mom explained how volunteering helped her son gain tremendous confidence.
Caroline Soucy, Breakfast Club of Canada’s Senior Coordinator, is delighted to work alongside these volunteers who rise above their age to further a cause they care deeply about.
One morning, at Bruno-Choquette School’s breakfast program, Caroline was washing dishes with 70-year-old Madame Pauline, a volunteer of 8 years. Madame Pauline was telling her how volunteering and seeing children contributed so much to her well-being.
In Madame Pauline’s words: “They’re polite and say thank you and please. It’s very heartening for us seniors. Yesterday, I was helping a centenarian, and this morning, I’m surrounded by 5-year-olds. It’s quite the contrast!”
Madame Pauline isn’t alone – she also volunteers with Madame Fernande. The two knew each other even before becoming Club volunteers in 2011. Their favourite routine is going out for breakfast together after their shift.
Then there’s Monsieur Roger – he was a new retiree when he started volunteering. He decided to get involved with the Club to fight boredom and feel useful. He’s proud to say that, in all, he hasn’t missed more than 7 days since starting his adventure back in 2004!
Between the three (Madame Pauline, 70, Madame Fernande, 77, and Madame Roger, 84), they have 231 years of experience and 31 as volunteers!
Thank you to these three exceptional volunteers who wake up early in the morning eager to make a daily difference in the lives of our program’s children!
***
Do you want to do your part for the Club?
To learn more about volunteering at a school, click here.
To learn more about different ways to give, click here.
Remember: All donations make a difference!
Do you have an inspiring story about the Club that you would like to share?
Write us here! We want to hear from you!