Oatmeal and the Reinventing of Breakfast

"If you look upon ham and eggs and lust, you have already committed breakfast in your heart."

C.S. Lewis

😀😀😀

It has been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Unfortunately for many, breakfast has also become the most boring meal of the day. How sad!

Has breakfast become boring? Are you tired of the same standard quick go-to breakfast option of a box of cold cereal? Yea; glorified dog food kibbles on our breakfast tables! Yummy … Not! (Yes, I am being facetious). Yet grocery stores have entire aisles devoted to these breakfast pseudo-foods. Am I the only one who thinks that strange? Hmm.

A common argument I hear from people to not eat breakfast is that they don't have the time in the morning. I would argue that they're then just getting out of bed too late. In other areas of life we always make time for things that matter and are important to us. Why not for breakfast too? Perhaps a good wholesome breakfast just doesn't matter to some folks. Well, to each their own; I'll not judge.

I have been experimenting with breakfast alternatives lately. You may recall seeing this recent post  in which I recreated poached eggs. I had them again yesterday. Yes, they were amazingly awesome!

While growing up a regular breakfast fare was oatmeal, or porridge as it was often called. It wasn't a microwaved version as one often sees today, but an old school stove top concoction. Sometimes immediately prior to serving some variety of fruit was placed on top; berries, sliced banana, or whatever we happened to have available at the time. To this a little brown sugar was sprinkled and a little milk added. It was a good wholesome breakfast that actually filled you up for a while and gave you the energy you needed to kick-start your day.

My latest experiment with breakfast was recreating that oatmeal breakfast of yesteryear. The oatmeal is still prepared old-school style on the stove. Once it's virtually done, I take the pot off the heat, stir in some frozen berries, cover and set aside. If the berries are too large, I cut them up first into smaller pieces (while still frozen). The hot oatmeal thaws the berries as it thickens in the covered pot. Then, immediately before serving, I added a couple heaping tablespoons of blueberry yogurt. Other yogurt flavours also work, but I'm partial to blueberry. Absent from my newly recreated oatmeal was the brown sugar and milk of yesteryear. The combination of berries and yogurt made it sweet enough. Another difference is that the oatmeal is now served cold as opposed to to its predecessor's hot version.

Who says that breakfast has to be boring? It doesn't have to be. The most important meal of the day can be nutritious and enjoyable if we want it to be and if we allow just a little extra time in our mornings to make it happen. Peace, and may your breakfasts be awesome.

"Our food should be our medicine

and our medicine should be our food."

Hippocrates

Photo sources: First is my own; second is unknown.