“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.”
Mom always told me to eat my breakfast, “It’s the most important meal of the day.” Dutifully, I’d grab the milk and pour it over my favorite cereal – Quisp, or plop a Pop Tart or frozen waffle into the toaster, and eat it on the run.
Through the years, mothers have been telling their children the same thing, following the advice of doctors who tell us that breakfast fuels the body for the day, helping increase concentration and performance. They also seem to point to numerous studies that reveal how children (and adults) who eat a healthy breakfast tend to weigh less than those who skip breakfast.
There is no denying that a healthy meal does the body and the mind good, but when it comes to weight gain, there is some unresolved data. A recent article in The New York Times, “Is Breakfast Overrated?” takes a closer look at the volume of research that connects eating a healthy breakfast with weight gain. As noted in the article:
“Together, the new research suggests that in terms of weight loss, ‘breakfast may be just another meal,’ said Emily Dhurandhar, the assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who led the study there. Skipping breakfast in these studies, she said, did not fatten people.” (You can read further commentary on the “breakfast/weight-gain” aspect in The Atlantic article Breakfast Downgraded from the ‘Most Important Meal of the Day’ to ‘Meal.’
Weight gain or not, I am of the belief that breakfast is important. Not only for it’s benefits on the body, but the benefits on the mind – and the family.
Breakfast is a big deal here in our house. We eat it every morning. We eat it together every morning. And, when Saturday rolls around, we all look forward to Saturday Morning Pancakes.
No matter what day of the week it is, breakfast time is a ritual. We gather together to say hello to each other, pray, review our daily schedules, and to provide support to anyone who needs it.
On Saturday mornings, our breakfast ritual consists of a morning swim for me, while the kids get their once-a-week-fill of cartoons. Greg is in the kitchen making 3 batches of pancakes (or waffles) for breakfast and freezing for use throughout the week. In between cartoons, one of the kids wanders into the kitchen to help flip the pancakes and set the table. When the stack is complete, we all gather around the table to ‘officially’ start the weekend (that is, unless we’ve had an early morning soccer match.)
Yet, for all our dedication to maintaining the morning family breakfast ritual, some days I feel this ritual slipping away, ceding to the rush of the morning and my desire to get the kids moving an ready for school.
Oftentimes, if someone is up and ready to go while another is still snuggling underneath the covers, I start the ball rolling and encourage those who are up to start their breakfast. I hear a bit of hesitation as they ask, “Should I start eating, Mom?” (that’s because we don’t usually start eating until everyone is at the table).
Yes, please do,” I urge as I stand at the counter putting the final touches on school lunches.
“Mom, sit down,” they say, urging me to join them. I usually do. But there are times that after I return home from dropping the kids off at school, I realize there is one place setting still at the table – untouched.
Yes, it’s mine. And, I feel guilty that I’m breaking the rules – the ritual. The family notices, and frankly, so does my body.
I must re-establish my daily participation in the breakfast ritual. Time for me to sit down, relax, look the family in their faces, and fuel my body for the day.
