Having a Healthy Breakfast

Philippines
November 27, 2012 9:54pm CST
I just remembered a Japanese show I've seen months ago. It's about the Japanese placing importance on breakfast. The mother in the family usually wakes up very early in the morning to prepare a heavy breakfast for the family. The program shows several Japanese families eating delicious breakfast that were laid out in the table. I just love how they present the breakfast, and there were several dishes to eat. For those people who don't have time to prepare breakfast, they would just leave the house earlier to eat at a breakfast restaurant (serving heavy meals) near their offices. I do agree that breakfast is very important, as you need to have enough fuel to start the day. However, when I think of my own lifestyle, it just seems difficult to get a heavy and healthy breakfast. I would usually drink a cup of hot chocolate before leaving the house, and when I'm in the office, sometimes I eat a piece of bread or none at all (I know it's not an ideal breakfast at all). How about you mylotters? What do you eat for breakfast?
4 people like this
16 responses
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
28 Nov 12
I do serve heavy breakfast for my family. I wake up as early as 4am just to prepare their breakfast and their food that their going to bring to school. I feel that they need to "fuel" up to start their day right.
2 people like this
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
Wow, that's really early. Your family is fortunate to have you taking real good care of them.
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
I hope they think the same way, too. After all, there is nobody else that could do that for them. I have no helper that will help me in taking care of my family.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
I'm sure they will appreciate it. Maybe when your children grow older, they will also help you out in the kitchen.
• Philippines
28 Nov 12
I agree that these days, there are a lot of people around the world who doesn't have time or make time to prepare a healthy breakfast for themselves and their family. That is the reason why all fastfood chains all over the world are making more money as the days go by. Making a healthy meal, not just breakfast is a commitment, not just having an interest in preparing one. I personally get up early to prepare breakfast for my household.
@jeztrose (1405)
• Philippines
28 Nov 12
Right! i am one of those, since i usually wake up late, i don't give much time on breakfast. even though i wanted to, but it just can't help.
• Philippines
28 Nov 12
Hi there. Wow, good for you that you are able to do that. It was never a habit of mine to get early to prepare breakfast. I am so used to using those extra minutes to sleep more in bed. But of course, to have a decent breakfast, you really need to have enough discipline to wake up early to prepare your meal.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
I know what you mean, it's difficult to swallow solid food when you just wake up. That is why I also don't feel like eating too much breakfast. I just need to drink a cup of hot chocolate and I'm okay.
@JamesKYTan (1605)
• Malaysia
30 Nov 12
Breakfast is a very important meal of the day. I normally will drink oats and 2 slices of bread. At times I will boiled eggs for breakfast. I make sure I eat lunch at proper times too. We really need those nutrients to do the task of the day. I will eat rice as dinner as my mother-in-law will cook.
• Philippines
1 Dec 12
Hi James, you seem to have very healthy eating habits. We often eat rice at dinner too. But I also know some people who skip rice during dinner to reduce their weight. To me, lunch or dinner without rice is incomplete. But breakfast without rice is ok with me.
1 person likes this
@murkie (1103)
• Philippines
28 Nov 12
Hello seriousnuts. Lately we were not eating breakfast anymore. The routine is usually wake up, take a shower, and then off to work. When at the office sometimes drink milk or coffee or chocolate. I have to wait for the next break time before I eat some biscuits or chocolate bar. Yes, it’s not healthy. Some months back, we used to eat breakfast at home. But it became too tiring, since you have to wake up very early at dawn to eat, much less to prepare. we have to leave for work at a very early hour. So if we want to eat breakfast, we should wake up earlier than that. We would prefer to eat break fast at home, if only there is enough convenient time.
2 people like this
• Philippines
28 Nov 12
Hi murkie. That's one reason why most people don't eat breakfast, because they needed to go to work early. Our modern lifestyles and hectic schedules has made it difficult for us to eat breakfast properly. I am also in that kind of situation, and am always wondering how to make a healthier lifestyle out of this.
1 person likes this
@murkie (1103)
• Philippines
7 Dec 12
maybe you could try waking up earlier than usual so you still have time to prepare and eat breakfast. yes, i know. waking up early is another issue.
@else22 (4317)
• India
28 Nov 12
I don't know whether you will believe what I am going to tell you about myself.I have stopped taking breakfast and even lunch for years.Please don't ask me how and why.It's a long story that I am unable to narrate in the short time I have now at my disposal.I don't take anything in my breakfast,not even a slice of bread or a biscuit.Just a cup of tea is enough for me to enable me to work for the whole day.The only meals I take is my dinner that I take at 9.30 pm.And I am quite fit and healthy and can work for hours.I don't have any physical problem,at least till now.
2 people like this
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
Hi else22. It's the first time I've heard about someone not eating breakfast and even lunch. And your dinner is very late.
• Philippines
1 Dec 12
Good to hear that despite your eating habit, you still have a healthy body.
@else22 (4317)
• India
29 Nov 12
I knew,you would get surprised,but now this has become my habit and I am quite comfortable with it.I have no physical or mental problem at all.
@rockyk (159)
• India
28 Nov 12
I try to eat as healthy a breakfast as possible. A fruit or fruit juice, a glass of milk or milk shake, sometimes sprouts, cereals, or anything that helps me get the necessary energy for the whole day. Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day even by doctors. So, one should definitely eat a healthy breakfast. Infact, the best time to eat breakfast is within 1 hour of waking up. So, everyone should eat as healthy a breakfast as possible.
2 people like this
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
Hi rockyk, I didn't know about the 1 hour after waking up as the best time to eat breakfast. I usually wait 2-3 hours after waking up before eating something.
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
I see, thanks for the information.
@rockyk (159)
• India
29 Nov 12
Well, that is not really a very good idea as far as I have heard. Maybe you can try eating a fruit or something and then eating something heavier 2 hours later. It is supposed to be good for the gastrointestinal system.
1 person likes this
@AKRao24 (27427)
• India
28 Nov 12
I understand the importance of a heavy and healthy breakfast. Nowadays this concept is gaining popularity in India also. I think in India most of the people have their break fast, I am exception to it. Because of my lifestyle I have just a cu of tea or two early in the morning and no break fast then. There after finishing my work I have another cup of tea in-between before having the lunch at 02.00 pm. This I have been doing it more than 30 years now! In fact I have my dinner quite late at the night because of which I don't feel hungry early in the morning. Thus because of my strange routine I don't have any breakfast and I am quite comfortable with my routine! Thanks for the discussion! I liked participating in it!
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
Hi AKRao, I like your avatar hehe. You must be a tea lover! I like drinking tea too, but not in an empty stomach. I prefer drinking tea after meal. That's quite a strange routine. Maybe because you're more of a night owl rather than the early bird?
@andy77e (5156)
• United States
28 Nov 12
I met a guy who was ex-military, and was stationed in Japan. While there, he married a Japanese woman. It's a long story how I ended up at his house, but the short story is, I ended up spending about two days there. The guy was a very nice decent person, but his wife was amazing. I have to admit I was a bit taken with her honestly. I wanted to ask him if he really understood how incredible his wife was, but... I didn't know him well enough. She was so neat. She got up every morning, and made a meal for everyone. It was a full breakfast. Then she would watch a Christian program on TV, and read a Bible and sing. Her faith was so cool. She did some other stuff around the house, and then fixed lunch. Like an actual hot cooked lunch. Kids would come home from school to eat lunch at home! Then after the kids left, she got up and went to a women's shelter for abused women, and help the women there, and help around the shelter. When she got home she of course cooked dinner, and did stuff with the family. One night we went to someone else's home, and they played games and talked. (I was not included in this but I knew about it). Compare that to my growing up, my mom would put some cherios in a dish, and pour milk on it. That was breakfast, and she drove off to work. I wouldn't see her again until 5:30 PM. Lunch was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Not bad, but the same old cold sandwich every day. Then I'd get home around 3 PM from school, and watch TV until about 6:30 PM or 7 PM, whenever dinner was ready. Then I'd watch TV until it was time to sleep. Mom was always at work, or she was cooking dinner. I rarely saw her unless I did something she didn't like. Not to suggest my mother was a bad mom. She was very good to me. But, I have to admit I would LOVE to have had a mother like that gal. Heck I'd love to have a wife like that gal! A wife that was actually home, to hug and kiss and play with?! Really?! Such women exist like that??? Women that don't spend all their time at work, and only come up to slap on some quick cheesy bread in the oven or something?? And she was a good looking gal too. I'll tell ya, that guy had better appreciate that girl big time. Like gold and rubies and diamonds. I'll trade all of them for that kind of girl, for sure!
2 people like this
• Philippines
28 Nov 12
Wow, that woman is really something. It takes a lot of discipline to do things the way she does. She's so committed to her role as a wife and as a mother. I do hope that her lucky husband appreciates her.
1 person likes this
@Iriene88 (5343)
• Malaysia
28 Nov 12
There is a saying that goes : "Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince but eat dinner like a pauper" According to the above saying, we need to eat variety and heavy breakfast to start the day and we need energy to do all the work and task. A good lunch will help for the balance of the day. However, a minimal dinner is needed as our body already at rest in the evening and too much dinner will make you put on weight. However, due to time constraint, I normally eat very simple breakfast before rushing off to work. Look like I have to change my lifestyle now.
• Philippines
28 Nov 12
I agree with that statement. Too bad that in my case, it's reversed. I eat less in breakfast and more during dinner. It was only during dinner that my family is able to prepare better meals. I wish I could change my lifestyle too. It will really require hardwork and determination on our part to achieve that goal.
1 person likes this
@toyota4k (1208)
• Philippines
28 Nov 12
We are advised to eat a heavy breakfast and lighter for dinner. We need all the energy we can get to start a day especially for workers requiring strength and stress causing jobs.
2 people like this
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
Perhaps it's due to my sedentary work that's why I don't feel like eating a heavy breakfast. But when I do have some upcoming events of the day, such as when I was in a travel tour, I eat heavier breakfast.
@512771751 (1096)
• China
28 Nov 12
Yes, just as you say , breakfast is so good and important for our health. Everyday my mother makes breakfast for me before I go to work, always a glass of soy milk.
2 people like this
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
Hi there! Oh that's nice, I know soy milk is very healthy. Sometimes I would drink soy milk too. But hot chocolate is still my all-time favorite breakfast drink
@Raine38 (12258)
• United States
28 Nov 12
I also noticed that custom or tradition of Japanese families. Their packed lunch, or bento boxes look even more enticing, sometimes they're too cute to eat. It's always a balanced combination of Japanese rice, veggies, seafood, some meats like ham and sausages cut like mini octopus, scrambled egg that is twirled on the side to look like a flower, some seaweeds to make the rice look like a face or a anime character, some plum or other pickled veggies to give it a hint of sourness. Well in our family, we prepare breakfast depending on whose turn it is. For example, if it is my husband who will prepare it, expect that there will be his ever favorite bacon and eggs over easy. If it is me, there will omelette, garlic fried rice and some fried dried fish or squid. If it is my brother, there will be plain rice, spam, and some stir fried veggies. Then it is up to us what to drink, there's coffee, tea, milk, fruit juices. We try to include as much fruits in our daily breakfast.
2 people like this
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
The bento boxes are really cute right? Cooking itself already requires time and effort, and the Japanese even managed to make an extra effort for the food presentation. Wow, I like the breakfast you're having. Very warm to the stomach. Those are the types of food my family eat during lunch or dinner (because those are easier to prepare), especially during a very busy day. I guess our family is just lazy in the kitchen LOL.
• Philippines
28 Nov 12
Thanks for sharing this discussion. I totally agree to that. Breakfast as a fuel for the whole day activities. And it would also be a good diet if you start with a heavy breakfast.
2 people like this
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
You're welcome, TomDawg. Many people are aware of the importance of eating breakfast, but they still neglect this meal every morning.
@betty1989 (751)
• China
28 Nov 12
Breadfast is so important for me. If I do not have breadfast, I will be not able to focus on work all the morning and just expectime when is the lauch time. Actually, I usually have a bottle of milk, an egg and a piece of bread for the breadfast. We should not eat too full in the morning. Remember not to eat too fast, it is bad for your health. I f one seldom have breadfast, you will easily have gastric disease. My lotters, even you are busy, remember to have breadfast.
2 people like this
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
Thanks for the reminder betty. Breakfast is indeed very important. For some people, they eat breakfast in a hurry so as not to get late for work or school.
@ajithlal (14716)
• India
16 Dec 12
I also think that lots of people take breakfast from outside rather from inside the house. I think it is always good to eat homely food and to eat breakfast as breakfast is the best part of the meal of the day and breakfast gives fuel for the whole day. I think it is good to eat heavy breakfast and little lunch and little supper. I think now a days lots of people are getting busy in life and eats little breakfast in the morning.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
28 Nov 12
hiseriousnuts If I was on my own I would order hash browna, two eggs over easy and two pancakes. but here in the retirement center we get one egg, toast or one pancakeand a sausage plus a bowl of runny oatmeal. not a heavy breakfast but seeing my most active time is sitting here my lotting I really do not need a heavy breakfast just a nutritious breakfast oh and I have a glass of orange juice every breakfast
1 person likes this
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
Hi Hatley. Your breakfast there sounds healthy and delicious as well. I love hash browns too, but I know they are high in fats.