Better Breakfast Day

Karl Gruber / Wikimedia Commons

September 26th is Better Breakfast Day in the United States.

Breakfast is sometimes called the most important meal of the day and all too often, due to a hectic life, it's neglected, eaten on the run and frequently unhealthy food that can be easily picked up and eaten. Rather than having some sort of pre-packaged snack food for breakfast, a quick drink of something or fast food or a pastry picked up from a coffee shop or store, it can be a better idea to eat something more nutritious and, quite often, cheaper. Doing so may require more planning, due to a hectic life, but stop and eat something better for you.

National Better Breakfast Month

September is National Better Breakfast Month in the United States.

Breakfast, despite the fact it is often called the most important meal of the day, is also the one that is most commonly abused or neglected. It is the first meal of the day, and the meal that breaks the fast of the night.

There are many different dishes around the world that are eaten at breakfast, or considered to be breakfast food. It can be a good idea to choose a healthy breakfast, rather than some of the alternatives - the Full English, and its alternatives such as the Full Irish, are hot and definitely filling but are also quite heavy on the calories. The breakfast type known as the Continental tends to be lighter, and consists of fruit juices and breads or pastries, sometimes accompanied by cooked meats and cheeses.

Breakfast cereals, especially whole grain ones, can be a healthy dish to have, but many of them are so heavily laden with sugar that any health benefits are completely lost. Toast, topped with marmalade or other preserves, or honey, is also a popular breakfast dish.

Recent years have seen a rise in the number of breakfast cereal bars and biscuits (cookies) which purport to have all the benefits of a cereal, but in an easily prepared and consumed snack.

National Cereal Day

National Cereal Day is on March 7th in the United States.

In this case "cereal" does not mean the type of grass known as a cereal crop, whose grains are commonly eaten. Instead, it refers to what are, more fully, called "breakfast cereals."

These cereals are processed foods made from processed grains from the true type of cereal. They are breakfast cereals because they are commonly eaten as the first meal of the day, often mixed with milk, but yoghurt and fruit are also used. Many breakfast cereals are eaten cold, but some, commonly known as porridges (various oatmeal porridges are popular in the UK), are eaten hot.

Porridges are, in fact, probably the oldest types of breakfast cereals, and were eaten in Northern Europe and Russia. In the US, corn was ground to make grits and hominy. Readymade cereals, which didn't need cooking, starting being produced in the mid 19th century, and at the end of that century Dr John Harvey Kellogg and his brother accidentally made what are now known as cornflakes.

National Hot Breakfast Month

National Hot Breakfast Month is in February in the United States.

Breakfast is technically the first meal of the day after rising. There are many different foods that are traditionally eaten for breakfast, both hot and cold. Given that February is the middle of winter, it makes sense to have a hot breakfast.

There are a number of different things that would be suitable for a hot breakfast. One of the simplest is, of course, toast, which could then be topped with butter and marmalade or other preserve. Another popular choice is porridge, sometimes with honey added.

A rather larger choice, and one that is eaten throughout the day, and not just at breakfast, is the Full English (or Irish, or Scottish, or Welsh or others) Breakfast, which involves things such as bacon, sausages, fried eggs, black pudding, fried bread, baked beans and fried mushrooms.