Breakfast: first meal of the day

It is easy to underestimate the power of a good breakfast.

I was very saddened by reading an article in the paper recently which talked about banning school lunch boxes because children weren't getting the equivalent nutrients that they would have if they ate school-prepared meals. One example cited a box containing yesterdays cold chips (fries) from a chip shop. I know there are unfortunate children whose parents neglect them, so they either go hungry or eat whatever rubbish they can, like cold chips. I'm talking here about households who have the capacity to run cars, have big TVs and iPhones: and yet the kids go without breakfast - their parent's have priorities all wrong. A good breakfast sets you up for the day. It is brain fuel for young children who need to concentrate in order to learn. I challenge anyone to take information in and concentrate completely on something if they're hungry. Believe me, it ain't possible. I know how hard it is to try and ensure that the breakfast food is in the house or that the kids take money to buy a breakfast. So I'm all in favor of school's providing everyone with a breakfast and a lunch. There is more food deprivation than survey stats reveal, state funded square meals for kids would have a massive impact on education in this country.

I sat down to blog about my breakfast this morning but that came out instead!
I picked up some streaky bacon on Friday evening and yesterday and today cooked breakfast for the family. We each have our own preferences when it comes to bacon:

• My wife likes it very crispy (verging on burnt) just on the plate, with a small blob of ketchup on the side
• My daughter likes it crispy in a sandwich with ketchup
• My son like to have it in a buttered roll, he's not fussy about the crispiness
• I prefer it cooked but still soft, rather than crispy, and on a sandwich or toast with HP sauce (a tangy brown sauce)

In terms of drinks in the morning, my first drink of the day has to be coffee. I like to follow that with orange juice, just before eating, and then while I'm eating I like to have a cup of hot sweet tea.
My other favorite breakfast foods include:

• French pastries (pain au chocolat, brioche buns, croissants, maple and syrup lattices)
• Yoghurts (raspberry, strawberry, blackcherry) and yoghurt drinks
• Eggs - boiled with bread soldiers, fried eggs on toast, eggs benedict, poached eggs and omelette
• Potatoes - rare for me but I do enjoy them at breakfast in things like potato cakes, rosti, potato waffles and hash browns

I can and do eat cereals but probably not as much as I should do. This is an area I could improve on.