Breakfast Love

Today I had this for breakfast.

Oh boy this was good . . . pumpkin oatmeal poured into an empty peanut butter jar with some blueberries. I'm emptying nut butter jars more regularly and try to remember to save them.


I know it's finicky but this kind of tall, thin container is not as enjoyable as a wide, shallow bowl. It seems like more volume, and I think I eat more slowly. Anything to extend the pleasure of eating.

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I workout in the morning between 6AM and 7AM, so by the time I eat maybe 45 minutes later, I'm ready for something good! (Exercise supressing my appetite so I don't feel starving from waiting this long after waking up.) It's also my quietest meal; I'm alone, checking emails, reading blog posts, and sneaking a few minutes of GMA (love Robin Roberts and miss Diane Sawyer, but George Stephanopoulous is a good replacement).

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I consider myself a food blogger but not the type that posts her meals three times a day. One reason is that I can't keep up with all the photo taking and daily events. I'd do great for a few days, but as soon as my schedule changed I'd start missing a lot of stuff, there would be gaps, I'd let you down, I'd let me down. That said, I really admire those food bloggers who do this.

The main reason? Well, I think it would be pretty boring. My everyday life isn't that exciting, and I eat a lot of the same things over and over. And over. I do love trying different things but usually on the weekends when I experiment more or we go out for dinner. On a daily basis, posting my eats would get really old, really fast. How many days in a row is pumpkin oatmeal with a dab of peanut butter interesting? To me it's good enough to repeat but it's not interesting blog content. Lunch is similar to breakfast- I usually have a salad or some soup but they are pretty similar to each other with a few detail changes. Dinner varies a little more bu usually it's so simple that it's not worth sharing.

The pumpkin oatmeal combo (1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, 1 cup water, spoon of pumpkin, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, splash of soy milk, granola or peanut butter) has been my daily breakfast for 1 1/2 years now. If I'm feeling radical I swap the pumpkin for some berries or apple, but even in summer I like the pumpkin.

I'm 27 so comparitively the pumpkin-oat obsession hasn't been that long. Recalling other past and present favorites, this is what I come up with.

• Egg whites with cheddar and tomatoes, rolled in a flour tortilla (college favorite)
• Two pieces of toast or an English muffin with jam (high school breakfast)
• Eggo waffles with lots of butter filling the cracks (ah the joys of being a kid)
• Yogurt with cereal, eaten separately (my breakfast every day the two years I worked at Google)
• Pancakes (all kinds!) with real maple syrup, or ricotta cheese/maple syrup mixture at home (try that, it's delicious! spread the ricotta and drizzle with syrup, smooth together)
• 'Cheese eggs,' made by Dad, who makes them very cheesy, browned, and caramelized
• Lox and cream cheese on a toasted poppy seed bagel (another high school/college favorite)

What are your favorite breakfasts? I'd love to know!

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