I’ve had a lot of houseguests this summer, bringing with them more than just their suitcases — namely, their morning routines and in some cases, their oddball eating habits.
People reveal a lot about themselves by what they eat for breakfast. Whereas lunch and dinner tend to be a bit more social and often eaten with others in restaurants, breakfast is intimate, personal, and generally eaten at home alone, except, that is, when you have visitors.
My friend Aimee, whom I consider to be one of the most intentional and mindful people I know, starts her day with a tall glass of water from the tap and a few minutes of quiet meditation upon waking before having a light, healthy breakfast. It’s a practice I aspire to, but one I can’t sustain for more than a few days.
My sister-in-law Michele seems to wake fully formed and ready for conversation — all before having any caffeine. Two pots of coffee and several hours of non-stop chin wagging later, she’s worked up an appetite for a bagel with butter or cream cheese. It’s exhausting and, at this point, I’m ready to go back to bed.
My brother Frank breaks his fast every day at around 5:30/6:00 a.m. with a meal that would serve me, calorically, for an entire day. His breakfast is 3 eggs, bacon, sausage, or steak (sometimes all 3, depending on the previous night’s dinner), toast, fresh fruit, a pastry of some sort, and a half-cup of coffee. How that’s healthy day-after-day is beyond comprehension. But he’s fit and it seems to work for him.
Of course, my breakfast is nothing to write home about, and probably one that my brother thinks is woefully inadequate to sustain life. It’s usually buttered toast and black coffee eaten standing over the sink before I head out for a run, and then another piece of buttered toast and black coffee when I get back. Sometimes, mid-morning I’ll have fruit and yogurt, but not consistently. So, for National Breakfast month, I promise to incorporate a bit of lean, healthy protein in my first meal of the day. There’s always smoked salmon or leftover cooked fish in my fridge for breakfast tacos, to add to a scrambled egg, or to top a piece of buttered toast, so there’s really no excuse to eat as poorly as I do first thing in the morning.
Wishing you all life-sustaining breakfasts and limited houseguests (unless you like the chaos),
Grace
Protein-packed breakfast with salmon sausages and farm-fresh eggs
Non-disclaimer: My friends and family aren't likely to see this so I haven’t bothered to change their names — in case you're wondering.
Grace Parisi
Culinary Director Grace Parisi is a cook, writer and cookbook author. Formerly the Senior Test Kitchen Editor at Food & Wine Magazine and Executive Food Director at TimeInc Books, her work has appeared in Cooking Light, Health, O Magazine, Epicurious, Fitness, Today, Serious Eats, Martha Stewart, and many more. She’s the author of more than 6 books, among them The Portlandia Cookbook and Get Saucy, which was nominated for a James Beard award for Best Single Subject Cookbook.
