Breakfast… People around the world have widely varying ideas of what constitutes ‘breakfast’. Some make perfect sense nutritionally. Among the worst breakfasts nutritionally are the traditional Euro-pean and American day starters…
The classic – nay, legendary! – Full English Breakfast: Fats galore and a
mere nod to healthy eating with a few mushrooms and a tomato…
Let’s start with some of the unhealthiest extremes… The ‘Full English Breakfast’ may be the least healthy – but most satisfying – day starter in the world. It’s a carbs and grease and protein bomb that’s guaranteed to sit heavy in your stomach and make your morning even more sluggish.
Other European breakfasts and most common North American ones share a close second place on the Bad Day Starter list. I refer to the ubiquitous Fast Food Breakfast Sandwiches, the classic Amer-ican Ham, Eggs and Toast plate, and the muffin and doughnut habit. Not to mention the European ‘pastry’ breakfast. And last, but definitely not least, the all-too common ‘Just Coffee’ routine – often with tons of sugar and cream…
By contrast, the classic West African breakfast dish Shakshuka (see photo, top of page) is everything a breakfast should be: A great selection of fresh veggies, dominated by tomatoes, flavoured with zingy, savoury spices. And for protein, a poached egg on top.
Then, there’s the breakfast menus popular in the so-called Blue Zones. Pockets of exceptional longevity and healthy living around the world, whose advan-tages have been chalked up to an exceptionally healthy diet. My fave among a selection of suggested breakfasts from a number of Blue Zones separated widely by geography is a savoury oatmeal (pictured left) festooned with fresh fruits…
There’s nothing stopping any of us from coming up with better breakfast choices using the 5 basic Blue Zone foods: Beans, Rice, Corn, Fresh Fruits and Veggies, and Coffee…
My take
I agree with prominent nutrition and health experts who contend that we could all improve our overall health and enjoy more-energetic, clearer-thinking days if we just pivoted to healthier breakfasts.
My Questions to you:
What’s your usual breakfast?
What’s your favourite breakfast
If you were to espouse a new breakfast regime, such as those described above… What would you choose?
Muse on that…
~ Maggie J.