From Cindy's Porch...

Twas The Night Before Breakfast...

Twas the night before breakfast
when all thru the house
not a creature was stirring
not even a mouse.

All the dishes were set
on the table with care
In hopes that a real breakfast
soon would be there.

Hands up - who eats breakfast in the morning? And I am not talking
about a soda and donut either LOL (one of my old favorite standbys -
blech!). A real breakfast - something with healthy carbs (and yes
there is such a thing), proteins, fruits (or veggies), and dairy.

And what happens when you don't eat BREAKFAST at home FIRST? If you
are hungry, you pick up something on the way to work. Perhaps a handy-
dandy coffee and donut, or a hamburger made with dry eggs, flat
sausage, plastic cheese, and a pile of fat, or maybe you choose
the "healthier" breakfast from another drive thru - a latte and
yogurt with fruit and granola topping. CHA CHING CHA CHING! That
$5.00 breakfast adds up! If you get into a daily habit of doing this -
that's $1,300 per year!

Of course you could save the $5.00 and skip breakfast all together.
That works OK until about 10:00 am and the tummy begins to grumble.
Then you can hit the coffee pot at work, or hop into the car and find
some food at the mall (it is open by now), or you can keep trying to
go without food until noon. YIKES! Now, I am not a "nutritionist" nor
a "health expert," but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know
that your body is NOT happy when it hasn't has any food since the
night before. The head is pounding, the concentration is gone, the
arms and legs feel wobbly, and the tummy isn't grumbling anymore - it
is SHOUTING, "Feed me!" And by now, anything is starting to look good
(like the guy's lunch in the adjoining cubicle)!

So what's the excuse for not eating breakfast? In our home, there are
two biggies (and they are so handy for a cooking-challenged mom like
me LOL).

Excuse #1: There's no time. Morning is probably the most chaotic part
of the day. Everyone is trying to get up, get moving, and get out the
door at the same time. And if you are not trying to get yourself out
the door, you are trying to get the kids, spouse, and pets out the
door. And while doing this you are tracking down homework, favorite
shirts, missing shoes, lost keys, the cat, the hamster (hopefully not
at the same time as the cat!), and your oldest child (who is still
hiding under the covers in bed - ten minutes before the bus arrives!)
YIKES! No wonder there isn't time for breakfast!

It's funny, we spend more time on the "outside" of our bodies
(morning shower, hair, makeup, teeth, and picking clothes) than we do
on the "inside" of our bodies (a good breakfast).

When you are tired and groggy (and everyone else "needs" you),
THINKING about what to feed the family for breakfast takes longer
than actually MAKING a breakfast. And if you let everyone "fend for
themselves" in the morning, you soon discover that your oldest child
has had nothing for breakfast (hmmmm, where did she learn that trick
from?), the next kid ate the leftovers that you were planning for
supper, and the youngest two fought over the blue marshmallows in the
cereal box.

Celebrate the morning with a good breakfast. Enjoy it with the family
around the kitchen table (whenever possible). One of the fellows I
used to work with started work at 6:00 am, so he had the entire house
to himself while the rest of the family was sleeping. His favorite
way to start the morning? Enjoying breakfast by himself on his back
deck which overlooked his flower garden.

The secret to a good breakfast (and a better morning) can be found
the night before. Twas the night before breakfast...

Before you go to bed, take a couple minutes to plan out what the
family is going to eat for breakfast...

Think about:
- healthy carbs (cereal, oatmeal, whole wheat bread, muffin, bagel,
pancakes, waffles, etc)

- proteins (egg, cheese, sausage, bacon, peanut butter, etc)

- fruits or veggies (orange, grapefruit, melon, grapes, banana,
strawberries, spinach, tomato, etc)

- dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese)

You can even set the table the night before (or get one of the kids
to do it) to save a few more minutes in the morning. If you need the
griddle for pancakes or the heavy pot for porridge, dig it out now so
it is ready to go in the morning. Set up the coffee maker so you only
have to push "start."

If you are out of the breakfast habit, this is going to FEEL like
work and it is going to take some time. If the family is out of the
breakfast habit, this is going to BE like work LOL. But after a few
days, it begins to get easier. After a couple weeks, taking care of
the "inside" will be as much a part of your morning as taking care of
the "outside."

A good morning starts with a good breakfast. And a good breakfast
starts with a little planning the night before.

Twas the night before breakfast....

Take care of you,
Cindy

PS: The second Excuse for not Eating Breakfast?? "There's nothing
good to eat" (Been there, done that LOL). To check out our breakfast
ideas and breakfast planning sheet (you can print this out) go to:

http://cindysporch.net/pages/kitchen_breakfast.shtml

Who knows, perhaps you'll discover treasure in your breakfast
spending habits!

Another PS: I have a pile of fantastic recipe ideas from our readers
to post (I am a little bit behind - oops). As the day progresses I
will work on these - I get hungry just looking at them. WOW! I'll let
you know when they are posted on the website.