Alternative Breakfast - What's Your View?

mazzy1026
mazzy1026 Posts: 33 Member
edited November 22 in Food and Nutrition
I've never been a breakfast kind of person..........I'm just never hungry when I get up, so it doesn't make sense to me to eat. However, when I have gone through spells of trying to force it down me, it's always been something out of a box (cereal etc) or if I'm feeling adventurous, some toast.

This got me thinking - why is it we have to have sugary cereals (or at least why is it in our culture that it's so bizarre to have anything else outside a fry-up)? A few years ago when we went to Thailand, I noticed that the Japanese families that were in our resort, would have things like chilli beef and rice dumplings firs thing - it was only us Brits that went for the cornflakes or dodgy sausages.

Given this, and my recent weight-loss and dietary perfection crusade, I've radically changed how I approach breakfast. Nowadays, I'm getting up, waiting an hour or so, then having something like the following:

> Home made guacamole on toast, with mackerel and poached egg (toast is proper seeded bakery bread - not this crappy commercial stuff)
> Tuna in sunflower oil, with fresh chillies, spring onion, tomatoes and poached egg, on toast
> Salmon fillet on toast, with poached egg
> The 'everything' omelette

You can see the theme here......

I read a great article on good fats vs bad fats - and you can see that I'm trying to increase all the good stuff with the seeds, fats and omega 3 etc. At my second stage of weight loss, it's more about how good the diet is now and not just about calories. Plus, I'm not hungry till around 2pm!

The only thing (and this is where I'd love to guage opinion) is that whenever I tell anyone what I have for breakfast, all's I get is something along the lines of "that's disgusting, eating that for breakfast, uuurrrr".

Cheers,
Lee


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Replies

  • Liftin4food
    Liftin4food Posts: 175 Member
    Oi - leave the fry up alone!! I love me a good fry up (not often - but it has it's place!). :smiley:

    Other than that eat what you want for breakfast. There's no rule saying that you must eat something made by Kellogg's in the morning. Nothing wrong in having a fry up for tea either! In fact that what I'm gonna have tonight (after writing this). Who cares what other people think about your meal - you're the one eating it.
  • Erfw7471
    Erfw7471 Posts: 242 Member
    I couldn't care less what someone thinks about what I eat for breakfast, lol - or any other time for that matter. I eat what I want and many times its leftovers from the night before -steak, chicken, fajitas, casserole, gumbo, whatever.
  • mazzy1026
    mazzy1026 Posts: 33 Member
    Haha great replies! I too couldn't give a monkey's - it's just interesting how we've conditioned ourselves to only eat cereal (and what's more reject anything else). From my experience anyway :#
  • Pinnacle_IAO
    Pinnacle_IAO Posts: 608 Member
    Interesting!
    I am always curious about other cultures - especially those who are not collectively suffering health issues relating to obesity.
  • mazzy1026
    mazzy1026 Posts: 33 Member
    Very god point Pinnacle!
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    mazzy1026 wrote: »
    > Home made guacamole on toast, with mackerel and poached egg (toast is proper seeded bakery bread - not this crappy commercial stuff)
    > Tuna in sunflower oil, with fresh chillies, spring onion, tomatoes and poached egg, on toast
    > Salmon fillet on toast, with poached egg
    > The 'everything' omelette

    You can see the theme here......

    I read a great article on good fats vs bad fats - and you can see that I'm trying to increase all the good stuff with the seeds, fats and omega 3 etc. At my second stage of weight loss, it's more about how good the diet is now and not just about calories. Plus, I'm not hungry till around 2pm!

    The only thing (and this is where I'd love to guage opinion) is that whenever I tell anyone what I have for breakfast, all's I get is something along the lines of "that's disgusting, eating that for breakfast, uuurrrr".

    Cheers,
    Lee

    Those are good breakfasts. :mrgreen:
    --
    I do not eat breakfast --ever. People seem to have lots of opinions on what others should be eating for breakfast. Their interest is weird.
    Keep enjoying what you have going on.
  • ohmscheeks
    ohmscheeks Posts: 840 Member
    I really enjoy "breakfast" foods. And I even have breakfast for dinner occasionally. The meal you described isn't what I go for (at any time of day). But, nothing wrong mixing it up...
  • mazzy1026
    mazzy1026 Posts: 33 Member
    I guess I should have also mentioned, I'm a savoury man (sweet enough) so I never crave sugar or cereals at all - gimme a kebab any time of the day and I'll have it :D
  • lseed87
    lseed87 Posts: 1,105 Member
    It sounds good to me and I'm American ;)
    Good lunch ideas too

    bump
  • maggiemay530
    maggiemay530 Posts: 123 Member
    I wait about an hour too before breakfast and I say anything goes. If it's nutritious and delicious it's all in the plan!
  • smotheredincheese
    smotheredincheese Posts: 559 Member
    mazzy1026 wrote: »
    Home made guacamole on toast, with mackerel and poached egg (toast is proper seeded bakery bread - not this crappy commercial stuff)

    Ooh that sounds so good, I'm stealing this idea :p
  • bmele0
    bmele0 Posts: 282 Member
    They are probably getting quite a bit more protein and fats in the morning instead of straight up fast non-complex carbs. So I imagine this keep them satisfied longer and gives them more energy- so their winning. Ignore others who think doughnuts/bagels/cereal is the only way to go. Starbucks was offering a 2 for 1 butter croissant deal this morning and the dude was like "Everyone has been turning me down, it's just bread." I told him the same thing, dude I'll be hungry in less than a half hour and it's just a waste of calories.
  • mazzy1026
    mazzy1026 Posts: 33 Member
    Exactly bmele0!

    Also, my guacamole is no lightweight version - gotte be packed with garlic (don't care if I stink any more) and plenty of chillies (kicks the metabolism). I put a drizzle of decent oil in too (rapeseed, olive - etc) to pack even more in. It's easy to potion off and log in the diary as a recipe!
  • itsMcKay
    itsMcKay Posts: 131 Member
    I also don't care for sweet.

    I like veggie scrambles. 3 cups of steamed broccoli, 1 whole egg + 5 egg whites. Little non-stick cooking spray, heat together in a pan, with some garlic, til the eggs are cooked. Season to taste.

    Usually, though, I just have coffee for breakfast and eat a hearty lunch.

    Also, greek yogurt with salt, pepper, garlic and whatever else you like mixed in. Smoked paprika's a favorite.
  • supersocks117
    supersocks117 Posts: 169 Member
    I like "traditional" breakfast foods, so I wouldn't want to eat with you ;) But I think eat what you want within your calories and it doesn't matter if you eat traditional meals or at traditional times.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Eat whatever you like for breakfast, or don't eat it at all if you don't want to. I seldom have traditional breakfast food, at breakfast time. What's really important for losing weight is to eat fewer calories than you burn.
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,690 Member
    I love breakfast, and typical breakfast foods, but I agree that there's no reason to have a particular schedule for foods. I have had grilled chicken for breakfast and oatmeal for lunch and dinner. :)
  • Ironmaiden4life
    Ironmaiden4life Posts: 422 Member
    Great post OP and yes it's very interesting the vast difference between countries and the foods that are commonly eaten.

    Love the fact that you experimented finding foods that worked for you at breakfast.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,699 Member
    During the week, I don't eat breakfast. However, somewhere between 10 and 11 am I will have a small snack ... usually a few crackers with a tiny bit of cheese, possibly also a banana.

    On the weekends I have a kind of brunch ... my favourites are:

    -- toast with nutella & honey
    -- toast with cheese and cucumber slices
    -- toast with 2 boiled eggs
    -- and once I made a really low-cal French Toast, which I'm going to have to do again because it was delicious.

    I am tempted to learn how to make guacamole ... I don't like avocados, but I do like guacamole. I'm thinking that on toast with the cheese or boiled eggs might be nice.


    As you can see ... I don't eat breakfast cereal either. I will on holiday ... like if we're staying somewhere that has a complimentary breakfast and they offer cereal ... but rarely at home.

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Yeah it's interesting. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that a lot of cultures don't really do 'dessert' as we do. I mean, if you go to a Chinese restaurant, they typically don't even offer dessert... Sweet things just are not part of their life as much as here.

    This article is pretty good http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/08/magazine/eaters-all-over.html?_r=0

    I was born in France and 99% of the times you have some kind of sweet for breakfast there... Cereal, baguette with jam, croissants etc. My mom and sister still prefer sweet foods for breakfast (and my mom is diabetic so she always stocks up on sugar free jam when she comes to visit).

    For me, I have a sweet tooth, so it's often sweet stuff too, but it can be whatever I'm in the mood for really. I've had meatloaf and mashed potatoes for breakfast.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    My favorite breakfasts are not traditional breakfast foods. I like leftovers from dinner or a sandwich for breakfast. I like soup for breakfast sometimes.
    Doesn't matter what the food is or the time of day it is consumed. Eat what you like.
  • mazzy1026
    mazzy1026 Posts: 33 Member
    Brilliant responses - love it. I think the theme here is have whatever you want, and whatever you enjoy - but always remember:
    jennifer_417 wrote: »
    What's really important for losing weight is to eat fewer calories than you burn.

    Hit the nail on the head here Jennifer B)
  • z304
    z304 Posts: 84 Member
    I like oatmeal with ground flax seeds, nut butter, topped with chia seeds and a little jam with some frozen berries in the side when I have them. Healthy but takes 2 minutes and zero thought.

    I do love my breakfast foods though. Not as much sugary cereals but home fries, tartines, salmon, poached eggs, sausage, etc. I usually eat them at brunch time or later if I have them.
  • jase2004uk
    jase2004uk Posts: 7 Member
    Have you considered the time you eat your evening meal, the quantity of food you eat at that time of evening/night and whether or not this drives the fact you are not hungry at breakfast due to still being full? I agree with the person who commented "that's disgusting, eating that for breakfast, uuurrrr" - coz it was me you DWB!!!
  • mazzy1026
    mazzy1026 Posts: 33 Member
    jase2004uk wrote: »
    Have you considered the time you eat your evening meal, the quantity of food you eat at that time of evening/night and whether or not this drives the fact you are not hungry at breakfast due to still being full? I agree with the person who commented "that's disgusting, eating that for breakfast, uuurrrr" - coz it was me you DWB!!!

    Haha come on - join the revolution :p
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    When I was in the Grenedines (carribean isalands), they served fresh caught fish in broth or stewed tomatoes-heaven!
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I'm another who likes breakfast food, but if you don't like it and would rather have other food for breakfast, it makes no difference.

    Eat what you like!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited August 2015
    mazzy1026 wrote: »
    The only thing (and this is where I'd love to guage opinion) is that whenever I tell anyone what I have for breakfast, all's I get is something along the lines of "that's disgusting, eating that for breakfast, uuurrrr".

    I don't much care for sweet breakfast foods and have always hated cold cereal (I do like oatmeal and eggs, though, as well as bagels and lox), so I was always the problem child at breakfast-time growing up and my mother just said "make what you want to eat."

    I skipped breakfast for years until I (weirdly) found myself becoming a morning person and found I wanted to eat in the morning, and that led to the--rather late--discovery that the best breakfast was often just leftovers from dinner or some other non-traditional option. (I recall as a child being excited by the idea that some ate steak and eggs, though.)

    I'm currently on an omelet kick, so I do eat a traditional breakfast more often than not, but last summer I was eating salads for breakfast more often than not, and I am still likely to just decide I'm in the mood for some leftover meat and veggies, with maybe some fruit to make it more breakfast-like.

    So that's my long-winded way of saying I don't think it's disgusting at all. There is no reason at all to stick to traditional breakfast foods if you don't want to.
  • Kexessa
    Kexessa Posts: 346 Member
    I can't eat sweet things during the day. I have no desire. An hour before bedtime is a different story.

    I generally have a big spinach salad for my first meal with mushrooms, peppers, chicken, avocado - the usual salad suspects.

    I do like eggs for dinner though. There are just so versatile. I'm not a fan of cereal either so I don't know what the attraction there is. Probably because I'm not a fan of milk.

    I thought eggs were a popular first meal food because back in the day one of the first chores was to collect the eggs from the hen house. Then as women left the home and entered the workforce en masse the cereal companies seized the opportunity to feed the kiddos sugary sweet cereal so they would eat and mom and dad could be out the door.
  • joyB1973
    joyB1973 Posts: 6 Member
    I work nights so I will eat whatever for breakfast...lol :p
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