Why do we eat garbage for breakfast?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP my kid and I were talking about this the other day. He asked why cereal wasn't healthy. He assumed it was a very healthy food, because he's been hearing for years that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

1. availability of grains historically, and as sugar has become available and cheap over the last 150 years, those were added to pancake recipes, etc
2. cholesterol and fat breakfasts were good for farmers heading in to a whole day in the fields
3. food industry that could profit off turning oats, corn, etc. into processed cereals

I stand by that plain Cheerios is heathy and fine to have for breakfast

+1
Oatmeal, porridge and cereals are amazing. They are also a natural portion control because you have “a bowl”. I don’t know anyone gorging on cereal except for maybe growing teen boys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP let me guess, you don't work. Do you really think it's feasible for most working families to spend an hour each morning preparing some kind of vegetable breakfast? People gravitate toward something that can be easily transported to work or school (granola bars, bagels, etc). I've been trying to do better with my breakfast choices because I agree that it's easy to snarf down a day's worth of carbs and sugar in one go, but you should consider the needs and requirements of an average working parent trying to get out of the house on a weekday.

Give me a break. It's really not hard. You can cook something like wild rice or brown rice the night before. The next morning cook an egg, put it on the rice, add a little bit of shredded nori, maybe a touch of soy and a peice of fruit. Boom, you got an appropriate amount of unrefined carbs, excellent source of protein, some vitamin c, and foods that will make your gut bacteria very healthy. It takes 5 minutes to prep. Science now pretty much shows that your gut bacteria are basically another organ of the body. You have more bacterial cells inside of you than human cells, and poor gut microbiome has been linked to all sorts of serious brain disease. Those bacteria can even travel up and down nerves from your gut to your brain. They've done many studies of this over the years and have profiled the gut microbiomes from various countries. People who live in Africa, the middle East and Asian have a wider diversity and total number of gut bacteria of westerners, and it has largely been hypothesized to be due to diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very few people have time for a leisurely breakfast that involves a lot of cooking during the week. We are rushing to school and work, which means that most families' top priority when choosing breakfast foods is convenience. Our society in general doesn't value spending much time on food or meals in general, so the fact that the average American can't or won't take a lot of time for breakfast shouldn't be surprising. And we have a robust food industry that caters to busy Americans by offering convenient and fast food choices.

Nope. It isn’t hard to grab and apple and hard boiled egg. People enjoy eating garbage more. That really is all there is too it. Heathy or not, it gives a dopamine rush AND is easy!

[Anonymous]

Re: traditional Asian breakfasts.

First, nobody eats anything but white rice in Japan.

Second, it's really easy to make fresh rice for breakfast with a rice cooker. It requires little thought and effort, epsecially since some of them can even be programmed the night before.

Third, many of the sides are available ready-made and you just heat them up (or in the case of pickles, pull them out of the fridge) and you have your breakfast ready.

[Anonymous]

I am seriously craving a full continental English breakfast, rice and fish and crapes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I heard the bacon and eggs thing came from marketing, although a full English has been around for a while so maybe it came from our English heritage. What did George Washington eat for breakfast?

I think that pancakes and sweet desserts are common in European countries as well, and the main difference is volume and not interspersing those with healthier things.

Personally I hate eating those things for breakfast, except eggs and toast. I would much prefer leftovers from dinner from the night before.

Hoecakes with butter & honey were Washington's favorite.

But a traditional breakfast of the time that was served at Mount Vernon was coffee, tea, and cold meats along with vegetables.

The Washingtons ate breakfast at 7am, dinner (lunch) at 3pm, and nothing for supper (dinner) other than tea. Meals lasted at least an hour if not more, which is not typical for today at all.

[Anonymous]

I can't eat sweets for breakfast. Anything too sweet for breakfast makes me feel so ill. Even some flavored yogurts can be too much if paired with sweet fruit.

I usually stick to oatmeal with natural nut butter. Plain Greek yogurt with fruit. Eggs with a piece of toast.

I also don't like syrup, so when I do eat pancakes or waffles, I do so with melted nut butter or some jelly. We do breakfast foods for dinner a few times a month because my kids love it all, but just like me, they don't like anything too sweet for breakfast. They love the junk sugar cereals, but as snacks not for breakfast.

My wife can eat donuts, a sugary Starbucks, and a sweet protein bar like it's nothing and be good until 2 PM!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard the bacon and eggs thing came from marketing, although a full English has been around for a while so maybe it came from our English heritage. What did George Washington eat for breakfast?

I think that pancakes and sweet desserts are common in European countries as well, and the main difference is volume and not interspersing those with healthier things.

Personally I hate eating those things for breakfast, except eggs and toast. I would much prefer leftovers from dinner from the night before.

Hoecakes with butter & honey were Washington's favorite.

But a traditional breakfast of the time that was served at Mount Vernon was coffee, tea, and cold meats along with vegetables.

The Washingtons ate breakfast at 7am, dinner (lunch) at 3pm, and nothing for supper (dinner) other than tea. Meals lasted at least an hour if not more, which is not typical for today at all.

Love me some hoecakes. (What are they?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am part Japanese, and love the traditional Japanese breakfast. I also eat crepes, full British breakfasts, continental European breakfasts, etc...

It's all fun in moderation, OP.

Food production and transport is one of the main drivers of rapid climate change, so I agree with you that we have to rethink how we produce food, particularly meat.

What’s the traditional Japanese breakfast?

Something along these lines:

DP. That looks delicious, but I assume this is more dishes than most people prepare in their homes in the morning. Just seems like a lot of work for before school/work!

Not really, not much work. It all looks like leftovers.

NP-One particular breakfast in Japan I remember was a little more simple. It was a boiled egg, slice of buttered white toast, small pot of yogurt with a drop of jam, small salad, and coffee. This sounds so uninspired, except that the Japanese excel at making simple things taste amazing, I.e. the richly flavored egg, fluffy white bread, and deliciously strong coffee.

[Anonymous]

OP- I googled + found that about 70% of American adults are fat or obese. That means most American adults are eating fatty foods. I am no saint- I am overweight, but I do not usually eat crap for breakfast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP- I googled + found that about 70% of American adults are fat or obese. That means most American adults are eating fatty foods. I am no saint- I am overweight, but I do not usually eat crap for breakfast.

So you are the exception to your own rule?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP- I googled + found that about 70% of American adults are fat or obese. That means most American adults are eating fatty foods. I am no saint- I am overweight, but I do not usually eat crap for breakfast.

Yes this. OP Americans are eating crap all day everyday. Are you new to US?

[Anonymous]

This is not unique to the US. People eat bread with butter and sprinkles on it in some countries. Crepes and bagels did not originate in the US. Some people eat a big breakfast to fuel hard physical work or because they like to eat lighter later in the day. Some people don't eat breakfast at all. OP, eat what you want but why crap on everyone else, who may or may not even do what you're accusing them of?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issue with Americans and food, regardless of the meal, is that you have to always go to the extremes! Either you only drink coffee and think people that eat pancakes are gluttons, or you want to have the unlimited pancakes and bacon etc.
It is not really about the food choices, but about the quantity, it is either eat nothing or eat till you become Baron Harkonnen from Dune.
I am not certain what it is about the U.S. mind set that makes people so incapable to eat in moderation.

You’re generalizing again.

It's not generalizing if it is the truth for most people. You must be the pp that starts every thing with "I"? You are self absorbed and have no idea about others and their choices.

Wrong again. You really need to get out in the world more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lightly fry tuna each morning

HaHa. I remember that!!

Me too!

Are you still showing up late to work?