Wake up to breakfast

Breakfast can be a bit of a Marmite meal for many of us – love it or loathe it. Me – I love it (ideally with lots of toast and honey (or even Marmite!)).

toast & honey

OK, so we all know why we should make an effort for breakfast – the science behind getting the day off to a good start is incontrovertible – ‘Having No Breakfast Causes Heart Illness’. So why do I see so many people munching on cereal bars, packets of crisps and other decidedly un-breakfast like morsels every morning? How easy is it to eat a bowl of fruit?

bowl of fruit

It could be down to time (get up earlier!) or simply because they don’t realise what a fab food opportunity awaits them after they’ve shrugged off their slumbers. There are any number of possibilities with eggs…

cracked eggs

… or simple contiental breaksfast with fresh croissants.

croissants

Breakfast should be a meal where your imagination can run riot – there aren’t any rules about what can and can’t grace your morning table (though last night’s pizza is probably pushing it a bit far). Be inspired to ‘shake up your wake up’! There’s so much scope to create quick, tasty and healthy meals. How long does it take to toast a bagel?

bagels

Probably less time than it takes to boil the kettle for a morning cuppa. Sausages, eggs, cereals, fruit and all manner of baked products can all be used to create a satisfying meal to start the day.

In our home, the entire family gets to sit down and share a brief few moments of (relative) calm before the school and working days commence. For us it’s cereal and milk…

cornflakes and milk

…(for the technically minded this photo was shot for real – there’s no cheating, no glue in place of milk etc.) toast and bagels, jam, honey and Marmite (and, as it’s December, supplemented by an advent calendar chocolate). Drinks vary – water, juice, tea, coffee and hot chocolate.

By 0730 the meal’s done – plates washed and put away – and we’re all fully charged for the busy day ahead.

toast in toaster

Somehow, a sugar stuffed cereal bar just wouldn’t be the same.