Just the other day, my mum turned to me and said, "I'm sorry for the frozen foods we fed you as a kid. We didn't know any better back then!" I can't recall what compelled her to say that, but she's referring to the microwave mac n' cheese, french bread pizza and Toaster Strudel they bought so I could make it for myself when my mum or dad were traveling for work. A typical breakfast was a Toaster Strudel or two, and maybe a glass of OJ. At my grandma's house during the summer, my daily breakfast would be two eggs over easy, with buttered toast and grape jelly. To this day, that combination of salty egg yolk and sticky, sweet grape jelly makes my mouth water, and I recall the days I sat in my grandparents' dark, cool kitchen while my grandma sipped her vanilla Slimfast and smoked her second or third cigarette of the day.
Now my breakfasts are more varied, pastries and coffee one week, homemade juice and greek yogurt the next. But it's interesting to recall those childhood breakfasts and what impressions last longest about certain types of food. I remember being surprised when Pem explained in France that eggs aren't commonly eaten for breakfast, or finding salad at the breakfast buffet in Asian hotels.
Check out this NYT magazine article, which takes a look at what kids around the world typically eat for breakfast. Which one comes closest to what you ate as a kid?
(Photo credit: NYT article photographer, Hannah Whittaker)
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