B is for Breakfast

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I don't know who "they" are but I've learned that they're right!

I'm a foodie, so for me, every meal is an important one. The only problem with breakfast is that it happens in the morning! For years, I'd skip eating in the morning or try to get by with scarfing a banana as I drove to work,  because I "didn't have time to eat." Eventually, I realized my body was telling me that I need to eat at the start of my day. If I go too long without eating, I'll usually get a headache, my mind becomes foggy, I become irritable and eventually get to a point where I can't function. When this happens by 10am, it doesn't sit well with co-workers and makes for a loooong day!

For the majority of my life, I wasn't a "breakfast person." I'm not a huge fan of many of the dishes traditionally served for breakfast. Thanks to a couple traumatizing experiences of being forced to eat eggs when I was a kid, including one particularly memorable time of vomiting the forced eggs back onto my plate, I didn't eat eggs that weren't hard boiled until I was in my 20's. Even now, I'm very picky about eating eggs. I'll only eat scrambled eggs if I've made them myself, otherwise I just can't get them down. At a restaurant, I'll occasionally order eggs over easy (if they come with the meal I'm ordering) but I've been known not to eat them if they "don't look right" when they arrive at my table. I don't like French Toast, it's always too soggy and wet bread grosses me out. Until the past couple of years, I'd never liked pancakes much either but then I discovered crepes and realized that not all pancakes have to be the diameter of a dinner plate! However, I will admit I'm a huge fan of breakfast meats and fried potatoes so I can usually find something to eat on a breakfast menu!

In the five years that I've been with my significant other, I've reaped the benefits of the fact that he likes to cook breakfast! I've discovered breakfast items that I enjoy, like the previously mentioned crepes ( I love crepes,) scotch eggs, biscuits with gravy and of course I've always liked waffles. I've also noticed that like most other meals (but even more so, in my opinion) breakfast foods are much better when they are homemade and catered to our particular tastes. Instead of syrup, I put Greek yogurt and fresh fruit on my pancakes and waffles, for example. 

Not only does breakfast provide me with the sustenance needed to start my day and use my brain, it also forces me to be still for a few minutes. On work days, stopping to prepare and eat something helps me focus and sit down at the start of my day. On weekends, time in the kitchen preparing breakfast with my other half has become a fun, bonding experience for us. Sitting down to eat our meals together gives us more quality time and a chance to chat. 

I now realize that all the mornings I skipped breakfast over the years I was missing out on an opportunity for quality time with my loved ones and delicious food. I can't get that time back but I've learned from it and try to make the most of each morning I have now!