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 don’t eat breakfast.

My favorite breakfast at home is breakfast tacos with scrambled eggs, veggies, cheese, and hot sauce. I guess the dairy would be off-putting to some but personally this is a great breakfast with plenty of protein that also tastes delicious and fills me up so I'm not hungry until lunch. I don't care if OP thinks it is "junk".

I know virtually no people who eat pastries or pancakes or waffles every morning for breakfast. Those are special occasion foods. And honestly, the ones that are really sweet and dessert-like are never actually "breakfast" to me. I might have a donut as a treat but that's all it is -- a treat. It's not a meal. I'm sure Japanese people also enjoy treats sometimes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anyone who eats any of that on a daily basis.

Cereal - sometimes, but more for a snack, not breakfast really.

Pancakes/crepes - rarely (once or twice per year)

Breakfast meat and potatoes - once every other month

Oatmeal/Farina - once every other month

Most days - just once cup of coffee and water, apple or other fruit mid-morning

Who on earth do you know???

DP, but I always thought it was rare for adults to eat breakfast. I’m not hungry first thing in the morning, so it is more likely to be a small kid-morning snack to tide me over to lunch.

I am English and very few people there have a full English breakfast very often. For most people it is once a week or less. Maybe if you work in construction you can get away with it.

Most people start the day with a cereal like weetabix, porridge, or toast and marmite. Maybe a soft boiled egg with soldiers.

My favorite breakfast is nasi lemak, which you get in Malaysia, Singapore or Indonesia. Rice cooked with coconut milk, served with fried anchovies, sambal (spicy shrimp paste), an egg, and sometimes peanuts.

It’s all marketing OP and I agree with you. We eat scrambled eggs for breakfast, or oatmeal with slivered almonds on top. On Sundays I let DD pick something crappy if she wants. But I want her having something filling and nutritious before going to school. No idea when a donut became a breakfast food………

I think of waffles, crepes, pancakes, sweet rolls and other treats as weekend or special-occasion breakfast fare.

Most mornings:
Eggs (not bacon or sausage)
Cereal
Oatmeal
Toast
Green juice
Smoothie
Yogurt
Fruit
Coffee

Some mornings (weekends):
Bacon or sausage
Muffins
Pancakes or waffles
Bagels
Latte or fancy coffee drink

Strictly special occasions:
Donuts
Pastries
Cinnamon rolls

True story- for breakfast today I had a reheated McDonalds QP w/ cheese. Two for one the other day after my kid's soccer game. Thirty seconds in the microwave and it was delicious.

I've lived abroad in a few places and thinking on it now, breakfast wasn't that healthy and balanced anywhere. In China, the cafeteria always served congee and greasy noodles and steamed buns filled with meat. In South America, usually tea and little pastries or I knew quite a few people who ate this weird combo of confliakes in coffee, if they ate anything.

Most days, I have a bowl of oatmeal or yogurt topped with fruit and nut butter. I think most people eat something small and easy for breakfast. On the weekend though, I like to have a big American breakfast with pancakes, eggs, and bacon once. I can see how it would do some damage to your waistline and health to eat that every day but occasionally I think it's fine.

Yes, crepes, that staple of every American breakfast!

Peddle your crap elsewhere. Most people don’t eat a stack of pancakes with biscuits and gravy and a side of scrambled eggs everyday. Obviously OP knows this.

If you eat fish for breakfast your house reeks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know people who eat those big breakfasts on a daily basis, either. Most people I know eat cereal or oatmeal, or have a smoothie, or maybe scrambled or boiled eggs and toast or a bagel. The big sweet breakfasts are a weekend thing.

Still, many of those choices are terrible. Smoothies often contain tons of sugar, especially if they're store bought. Eating a bagel is eating a nutrient devoid food stuff. A single bagel is almost like eating 4-5 slices of bread. All carbohydrates and zero nutrition. Muffins, turnover, donughts....all the same. Eggs...OK good protein source. Oatmeals really depend on whether you're prepping it from scratch or heating up packaged stuff that's often loaded with sugar.

You need to relax. No one is forcing YOU to eat any of this. Sitting around lecturing everyone that their smoothie has too much sugar (when you have NO idea how they made it) is ridiculous. Get a hobby, MYOB.

I agree although to be fair when in europe and canada we have similar breakfast choices, so other than larger quantity in US I don’t think this is a uniquely US issue.

I mainly eat eggs, plain yoghurt with fruit and almonds, or toast. I think many adults I know eat similarly at breakfast. Kids, though, do eat a lot of frozen waffles, pancakes etc. Cereals are fine as long as you check the nutritional information and pick low sugar high fiber ones.

Typical American family here, lives in Alexandria.

Our breakfast is whole grain toast with butter, melted cheese, pesto, hummus or tapenade along with fruit- strawberries, bananas, pears or apples.

Maybe once a week we will mix it up with fried eggs and sausage or homemade drop biscuits with butter and honey or jam.

Not sure where you get all Americans are eating crap to start the day.

Anonymous wrote:I don't know people who eat those big breakfasts on a daily basis, either. Most people I know eat cereal or oatmeal, or have a smoothie, or maybe scrambled or boiled eggs and toast or a bagel. The big sweet breakfasts are a weekend thing.

Still, many of those choices are terrible. Smoothies often contain tons of sugar, especially if they're store bought. Eating a bagel is eating a nutrient devoid food stuff. A single bagel is almost like eating 4-5 slices of bread. All carbohydrates and zero nutrition. Muffins, turnover, donughts....all the same. Eggs...OK good protein source. Oatmeals really depend on whether you're prepping it from scratch or heating up packaged stuff that's often loaded with sugar.

I don't know people who eat those big breakfasts on a daily basis, either. Most people I know eat cereal or oatmeal, or have a smoothie, or maybe scrambled or boiled eggs and toast or a bagel. The big sweet breakfasts are a weekend thing.