Breakfast Epiphanies

Let's talk about breakfast. Not everybody does it. Either they don't have time for it or they just don't wake up hungry. Personally, it's always been my favorite meal of the day (more about that later). Any diet plan will tell you that it's also the most important meal of the day, providing your body with nutrients and energy, and helping to keep your metabolism at an even keel to help loose weight.

That said, what's the best kind of breakfast (for those who do breakfast) to have? It's a question that's had its share of discussion over time. For centuries, beer was considered a healthy breakfast. Yes, beer! Affordable, filling, and commonplace, as well as far less risky than water itself, the malted beverage was just the thing to start your day, back in the day, for man, woman, and child. FYI, what they consumed wouldn't be something our taste buds would recognize as beer; it was also far more nutritious, and did not have a fraction of the alcohol content.

Wait ...

... is she giving that baby ...

... BEER?!

So what happened? Why do we not still enjoy a brew for breakfast (college days notwithstanding)?

This. This happened.

That's okay, take your time. I'll wait.

It seems coffee as a beverage was first discovered in Africa around the 15th century CE. It arrived in Europe in the 17th century, where it quickly became popular, spreading from there to the Americas. Coffee became especially sought after in the US during the tea boycotts of the Revolution. Coffee replaced beer as the drinkable meal, or, at least, as the center piece of the first meal of the day.

Obviously, breakfast was, traditionally, a pretty light affair. This idea that breakfast should be small, mostly grain- and coffee-based, and meatless, sustained our ancestors for generations. Then, somewhere along the line, we got the idea that we shouldn't do that anymore, and that we should, in fact, eat like lumberjacks in the morning. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, washed down with juice, coffee or milk, probably all three. How, and why, did this happen?

I'm glad you asked! Tune in next time for "Breakfast Epiphanies, Part 2."