Ramadanish and Breakfast

I found a beautiful blog about Ramadan, where Umm Layla is contributing with posts (The Egyptian's Wife): http://www.ramadanish.blogspot.com/

Mashaa Allah, it reminded me that I need to get more into the "feeling of Ramadan". I'm fasting and doing a little crafts with the kids now and then, but it still doesn't feel Ramadanish. I'm very tired of course, thinking of the pending delivery and the new baby, not doing anything extra. I'd love to hear or read ideas of how to get more of the spirit of Ramadan.

That's it! I'm gonna stop all the usual HEing and focus on Qur'an and Ramadan stuff! I felt so discouraged at first, because the baby was due so early, but that's really not a good excuse to leave out the things that I can do. The boys are fasting almost every day, mashaa Allah! The eldest hasn't missed one. Partaking in Suhoor and Iftaar feels Ramadanish, alhamdu lillah, and the kids love it. Even the girls beg to be woken up for Suhoor (lol, like they would wake up to anything that early). To a kid it's really exciting to have breakfast before sunrise, mashaa Allah. And the first meal after the fast during sleep is said to be the most important, so I definately insist on them having a proper breakfast before attempting to fast. If DS3 doesn't wake up for Suhoor and wants to fast, I say you have to have breakfast first (the little rascal escaped today because I had an appointment! Went outside as soon as I had gone).

Breakfast literally means “Breaking the Fast” from the last meal or snack from the day before. For most people this will be at least 8-10 hours, and for children who eat earlier in the evening, it can be as long as 16hrs! Energy levels are therefore low in the mornings, and your body needs an energy boost, in the form of food, to kick start the day.

A few breakfast links:
Most Important Meal of the Day from Healthbites
The importance of a healthy breakfast
The Importance Of Breakfast

The differing views on cereals and cereal bars makes me wonder if some sites are sponsored by cereal companies? Anyway, too much sugar is a bad idea. But I think the important thing is to have a balanced breakfast, just like any other meal. A cereal low in sugar is, I believe, nutritious, with the right supplements. But whether you get any benefit of the added vitamins and iron with all that milk, I'm not sure. Some vitamins have to be taken in a certain form and iron is hard to take up with milk. So, it's not as easy and perfect as the cereal companies want you to believe.