September is ‘National Breakfast Month’ and this is a particularly good time for it.  With the kids back in school, it is a good time for parents to emphasize the fact that Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  The word Breakfast literally means to break a fast.  That Fast is the time between when you eat your last meal of the day and the first meal of the next day.  This usually is a period of 10-12 hours.   This is the reason that your body needs to replenish its fuel supply to run and to feed your brain.  Automobiles can’t run without fuel and neither can the human body.  Therefore, skipping breakfast is not good for your body or your brain.

A healthy Breakfast should contain some Protein and some Carbohydrates.  If you eat wholesome nutritious foods they will also contain the vitamins you need along with essential fatty acids.

All cultures have a breakfast menu, although some do not call it as such.  Breakfast foods as we know them in the West are not necessarily what people in the Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures eat.  The typical American Breakfast is actually based on the English Breakfast which traditionally consists of Eggs, some kind meat such as sausage or bacon and maybe potatoes plus fruit and a beverage.  And don’t forget the toast!

In Asia most breakfasts include rice of some kind.  In China, it is Congee, a porridge made with rice but in other Asian countries rice is just used as one of the ingredients for the breakfast.

Since we could elaborate for miles and miles on the different breakfasts around the world I am going to stick with the Western Variety.  This would include, of course European Countries as well as North America.

In Spain and Germany,  the first meal of the day is usually just a cup of coffee and a pastry and a larger more elaborate breakfast is eaten a couple of hours later.

In American, many families have opted to have dry cereal for breakfast along with milk poured onto it.  This is certainly faster for people in a hurry, but it is not necessarily the best or tastiest way to go.

My favorite breakfast stems back to my childhood when my parents and my brother and I usually had eggs for breakfast.  To this day, Eggs are still my favorite food for breakfast.

Since this is ‘National Breakfast Month’ we will devote one blog a week to Breakfasts around the world.  This month will be American Breakfasts such as we know them.  The traditional American Breakfast at least as I knew it was Fruit Juice or Fresh Fruit, Eggs, Toast and Milk or Coffee for the Adults.  Of course, there are many other variations such as Pancakes, Waffles, Crepes (one of my favorite filled with fruit), cooked Oatmeal (with Raisins! or dried Apples!) and the proverbial dried Cereal with Milk and fruit such as Bananas added.

Whatever your favorite Breakfast, just don’t forget to eat it!  Remember, Breakfast is the most important meal of the Day!  Especially for children who go to school and need the fuel and brain power that a good breakfast provides!

To give you some ideas and recipes for Breakfast Items check out the Breakfast/Recipe section of this Blog:  recipes/breakfast-items/