For many years, it was observed that most heart attacks among men came in the morning. Why was that? Some cardiologists have observed that blood cells are sticky when an attack occurs. In the morning before breakfast, cells are sticky. After breakfast, they become slippery again.
Those who don't have a heart attack may get a tremendous headache or other ailments. A good, hearty, nutritious breakfast may be the answer to a healthy heart. When the body fasts at night, it needs to break the fast with a meal in the morning. One cannot imagine the early settlers skipping breakfast. The wagon trains and the cattle drivers all had chuck wagons with them to provide cooked meals. Not until the 20th century did the view of food change so drastically that people, especially women, began to skip breakfast. It has not improved the national health.
A good breakfast, like those that people used to eat prior to the 1960's, full of protein and calories, which might include a freshly squeezed orange, bacon, eggs, potatoes, and homemade rolls with butter and honey, keeps the body from drawing on its own resources and falling into a slump later on in the day. To read more about breakfast, go here http://www.bellybytes.com/articles/breakfast2.shtml
http://weightloss.about.com/cs/eatsmart/a/aa102202a.htm
http://www.mercola.com/2001/nov/7/breakfast.htm
This, more than anything is why women should be home and take the time to provide a nutritious breakfast. It is even better if she has the time to shop for the highest quality ingredients and make it herself. She saves the health and lives of the men in her family. In the early 1960's when more women went to work, men were left eating a quick bowl of cold cereal or a piece of toast with coffee, and began to have more health problems. Throughout the day, stress increased at work, and problems with co-workers became more prevalent. Grouchy and unhealthy, many men had heart attacks.
A poor breakfast leads to a poor lunch, because a person will feel tired and upset, and very hungry by lunchtime. Eager to make up for the nutrition the body missed, they may resort to even more "quick" food that gives instant energy, rather than a good home cooked meal. A bad breakfast sets up a trend for the day. Women at home can change this, just by making breakfast a very special and important meal. Particularly essential is the pleasantness in which it should be served, not bringing stress and problems to the table.
Women at home have a great advantage because they can spend more time planning breakfast, and not have to rush off to work. If you have animals around, whether pets or wild birds, you know that even the animals eat breakfast.
One person commented on this blog that since the stomach is empty and it is not advisable to hit it with a huge, hot meal suddenly after a fast, to try eating sliced fruit or drinking fruit juice first, then wait half an hour. This is a very good idea, especially for those who are not hungry in the morning.
painting: Cavalryman's Breakfast.
29 comments:
Lets not forget packing a nutritious lunch for your husband. My husband likes hot oatmeal for breakfast every morning, as he's hypoglycemic, and oatmeal lasts him a long time. Then I pack him a couple of sandwiches on wheat bread, some fruit, and sometimes a treat, so he doesn't have to eat fast food with would cause his blood sugar to drop much more quickly than a homemade lunch would. Thank you for this post, because in my husband's case, I'm keeping him from getting diabetes at an early age.
Ahhh, even more pressure to get out of my warm bed in the morning...*sob*
Yes, I deliberately wrote that so that it'd sound like me feeling sorry for myself, which it is. I have a narrow "window of sunshine" in every three hours of sleep, where if I get up during that time, I'm immediately chipper. So really, I have no excuse; I -can- get up and fix breakfast.
Does anyone use a weekly breakfast menu? I'm not a very creative person, so any starting pointers for me would be a huge help, if you're willing to share! (Please?)
Mrs. Bartlett
Lady Lydia,
Breakfast is a very important start to the day, not only from a nutritional standpoint but socially as well. When I first began to be a full-time homemaker a few months ago I resolved to arise at the same time as my early-bird husband (05:30!) and prepare his breakfast. First we sit together and enjoy a cup of coffee while engaging in light-hearted conversation. Then I cook his breakfast (whatever he wants) serve it to him and then pack his lunch while he gets ready for work.
Additionally, I am available to help him remember files, projects, apppointments, etc., that may be taking place that day and help him make sure he has everything he needs before he walks out the door. This has saved many a harried return trip home for the forgotten "thing"!
Never in my life had I done this because I had to go to work too - neither of us had but coffee in those days and it was every one for himself! Now that I've been blessed to be a late-blooming homemaker, this early morning ritual is one of the highlights of our day.
Even if your husband doesn't want to eat any breakfast at least having his wife available to help him will make his morning run more smoothly. I hope other wives will be encouraged to do this for their husbands.
Best Wishes from Mrs. T.
Mrs. T. For those who don't want to eat at such an early hour, I have discovered that they eat a tremendous amount at their 10 am break, and sometimes devour their entire lunch. I have started fixing a "to go" waffle with several slices of some kind of protein or meat, bacon or eggs in the middle--kind of a sandwich, wrapped in wax paper, with a container of orange juice. the waffles are made with flax and whole grain and flavored with real maple syrup. They take it in the car,and usually eat it right before work begins. There are all kinds of home cooked breakfast foods you can make for them to take with them. If they don't eat it before beginning work, at least they'll have something by 10 a.m.
Earlier in my marriage, I always got up to fix my sailor husband a breakfast (my water broke with my 2nd child standing at the stove at 5:30AM!) Now, my husband leaves the house no later than 5AM and it is all I can do to awaken to give him a kiss and send him out the door! I have begun to make muffins and make sure that there are sausage biscuits in the fridge for him to take. It is extra work, but worth it. Instead, I make sure that my working sons get a good breakfast before they leave at 7:00. I hope that they look for young ladies who will want to do the same for them.
Try the Mercola link again. It works for me, so it may be your computer.
I heartily agree with the statement that breakfast is one of the highlights of the day. We have always had breakfast together as a family, now that there is just one (grown) child left at home besides my husband and myself, it is still a great part of the day. I always cook, mostly it is eggs served a different way each day (boiled, fried, scrambled) sometimes I scramble them with cheese or ham, I try to vary it so we don't get bored. Then we have either cereal or toast or perhaps frozen whole grain waffles. None of this requires long preparation. I sometimes might make a homemade muffin or coffeecake the day before and reheat to serve with the eggs. I hope these suggestions help!
Wow, I'm excited to read that bacon and butter will ward off a heart attack!
Thanks for encouraging us to eat breakfast!
Hopefully, this will help others looking for breakfasts on the run.
Breakfast burrito: Coat a 10' fry pan with non stick spray. Set the pan on med high heat to warm up.
Crack as many eggs you want for one burrito. (I use at least four). To this you many want to add spices( I add pepper and salt, onion powder and somettimes grated cheese) by sprinkling them on top as the eggs cook. Just let the eggs form in the pan the 10' circle (sorta like a pancake) and then when done, flip over to cook the other side. Meanwhile, take a 12' or larger flour tortilla and soften it one minute in the microwave. Somettimes I add cheese on top the tortilla and melt it while in the microwave to act as a 'glue' to hold the burrito together better). When the tortilla is soft, take it out of the microwave and place it on plastic wrap or foil or whatever you have . Now, pick up the skillet with the eggs in it and slide the round egg pancake onto the tortilla. Wrap and then seal with the selected method mentioned above. I like plastic wrap in case he has to heat it up in the micro at work. You can vary this by adding chopped onions, any veggie, really, and diced ham, bacon, ect. Use your imagination!
These can be prepared ahead of time for a quick on the run breakfast. Just heat up in the mircorwave.
Egg Muffins.
Toast the English Muffins or bread or waffle.
Fry up the eggs as mentioned above, into a panckae shape. When the eggs are done, set them aside.
Take an English Muffin (or waffle or toast) and slice it. One one side place a slice of cheese. The other a piece of sliced ham or meat of your choosing. Place these two sides into the microwave till the meat is warm. Remove from microwave . Now, the eggs are fairly cooled off enough so what you do next is to get a biscuit cutter or sometning the size of your bread that you will be using ( I use the top of a glass for this) and cut out rounds in the eggs to fit the bread. Squares if it's toast or waffles, smile!!) The scraps of eggs left over can be used by just placing them on top the square/round on the sandwich, or save them for stir fry, ect. Now, wrap these up in your selected wrap and they are done! Again, many variations can be made to suit you.
My husband leaves by 6:30 A.M. but doesn't like to eat until about 8:00. Someetimes he also takes some boxed orange juice or grape juice, too.
Wow, Marie, I am going to borrow those ideas as a loose schedule. I need structure until I get to having more time and--well--talent...
Mrs. Bartlett
I think this has to be my favorite post of yours yet, and with so many awesome posts you have that's saying something! There is something so moving about knowing the real impact of a simple thing like breakfast. I love the thought of the care taken there (which can't help but spread to other areas too) bettering and maybe even extending my partner's life. It makes me want to cry, lol.
I've really noticed that whatever we do upon waking tends to be what we "give our best" to and what sets the tone for the day. And we do all have differnt natures. Personally I really do best with breakfast being very simple or made or at least organized the night before, not something I have to give mental energy to or bring out ingredients for or pay real attention to etc in the morning. That just doesnt seem to work for me. Things that work are things like like having some protien rich type muffins premixed/pre panned so you just put them in to bake and set the timer, or having oatmeal already ready since its been in a mini crockpot overnight that you just add nuts etc to, etc. Because giving my morning energy to concentrating on the cooking really doesnt work for me, its needs to be easy and kind of automatic pilot. Because what I'd want to concentrate on in the morning is really the time with my partner then, and also prayer time and recording and sharing our dreams from the night before they slip away (both my partner and I are a huge believer in the importance of dreams). If we had a long morning this could be done and then cooking too, but I know that many mornings my partner will be up REALLY early and so the cooking part is going to need to happen more overnight, unless the breakfast is simple. Healthy but simple can still work well i think--a good nut butter warmed on previously homemade bread with tea etc comes to mind. But I really like the idea of things having cooked overnight or being premixed from overnight better, it just feels more nourishing, especially when its cold out.
With the not being hungry for the complexcarbs/protiens etc in the morning, I have that too. I've been thinking on this and wondering if a solution might be to just eat *some* of the breakfast then if that were the case, and put the rest aside till later in the morning, instead of eating two seperate things. Because I find if I eat the "rush food" I crave in the morning when my stomach wants simple carbs, that I'll just keep eating them, as you mentioned as well. So instead I'm going to try to just eat less of the more complex carbs/protiens instead. If one's partner is the same way this can work for him too, like you mentioned giving him (the rest of) his breakfast to go if needed.
Well...Anyone have any more good make before/cook overnight recipes : ) ?
If you aren't a breakfast eater and want to get in the habit of having breakfast, try not eating past the hour of 5 p.m. Your stomach might wake you up earlier than usual and you might have a better appetite.
In the late 60's there was a breakfast craze, and young married couples would invite groups to their house for breakfast on Saturday mid-morning. As I said, more and more women began working outside the home and instead of making breakfast, they had to get ready for work.
As far as thinking about it, it seems that the mothers didn't do menu planning or thinking. They just made a list of breakfast foods and shopped for it, and somehow "knew" what to do with it, maybe by observing their own mothers and grandmothers. They could take four or five ingredients and do many different things with them, without a recipe book.
Regarding the person who suggested not eating a large hot meal upon first waking, this reminded me of something I read regarding farm families in the past.
The tradition was that the father and sons would rise early and grab a cup of coffee or juice and a roll or biscuit. Then they would go and work for an hour or so. After that they would come in and have a proper breakfast now that they were good and hungry.
This makes good sense to me.
We went on a cruise once when I was a teenager, and the stewards brought us trays of breads and orange juice before we got up. Later, we all dressed and went to the dining room for a huge breakfast. I had not felt so good in years.
I am learning so much just from the comments!
What Mrs. Sherman says about serving breakfast to guests reminds me of a recent visitor we had. My husband's cousin (and best friend) came in from out-of-state and stayed with us for the weekend. We ate dinner at a restaurant, which was a little disappointing to me, but then we had breakfast at home.
I served up blueberry pancakes (from scratch), scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit, and juice or coffee. I realize that this should be fairly routine, but for one who doesn't "do" breakfast ordinarily, it was a real event. Cousin-in-law was impressed, though! (Probably because most of the women my age he deals with would sooner die than cook.)
Honestly, though, that's about all I can do when it comes to breakfast...I need more recipes.
Even if you cannot get up early and provide breakfast, at least leave things that people can eat that are good for them. A home made waffle is much better than a box of frozen waffles, and can be toasted just like the purchased ones. Just look at the ingredients on the package and you will see what I mean. It is these ingredients that you can't find in your pantry (various preservatives and sodioms,nitrates, nitrites, etc) that cause tension and ill health. Just make up waffles yourself and freeze them in little freezer bags. You do have to be careful that your waffle maker is the size that makes waffles that will fit into a toaster. Square ones work better than round, as they divide perfectly for a toaster.
Dianna, I do remember the men used to go out early and do things around the property, taking with them a hot drink and a homemade roll or a thick slab of bread, to do early chores that couldn't wait. Later they came in to a hot breakfast meal, and ate that too. Yet they were never fat and never complained of heart problems.
This blog is a constant inspiration to me. I am so greatful for your posts, Lady Lydia and Cinderella. This particular blog has invigorated my efforts in the home in preparing meals for my husband and children.
A blessed change from the continued, subtle attacks on the woman at home and family life encountered each and every day!
When I do buy frozen waffles, I never go with the ordinary well-known brand, which are full of chemicals, but healthier ones such as those made by Kashi. My store often has them on sale. It just streamlines my morning to use those so I can concentrate on cooking fresh eggs whichever way I decide for that day.
After reading this post last night. I got up this morning and made scrambled eggs on english muffins with sliced bacon. I make a spread from tomatoes, where I slice the tomatoes very small add Italian seasoning and garlic and parmesan cheese. I put this spread on the english muffin and served this with a tall glass of water, a small bowl of strawberries and echinacia tea to my husband. He asked if we could have more breakfasts like these.
I was also amazed at how much the kids ate, and also that they seemed to want a smaller lunsh then usually, and I haven't had anyone ask for food yet today.
My mother used to have sit down breakfasts even when the highschoolers left at 5:45 in the morning. I think it is a tradition well worth bringing into my home. As always, thanks for the encouragement.
People seem to want to graze all day when they haven't had a proper breakfast.
Thank you for the link, Kathleen. You are a blessing to your family.
Here are links that may be of interest -
articles on cholesterol -
http://www.googlesyndicatedsearch.com/u/WestonAPriceFoundation?q=cholesterol
soy -
http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/index.html
This reminds me of the old saying breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, sup like a pauper. Indeed, if you type in - breakfast like a king - into google there are many articles that support a large breakfast to start the day.
Thanks Lady Lydia, I got up early this morning to make sure my husband had breakfast before he left.
Don't forget the humble pleasures of corn meal mush! (ok, call it polenta, if the idea of "mush" doesn't appeal...) Whatever you call it, it is a warm, filling tasty (and inexpensive) breakfast. If you don't have the time to make it in the morning, cook it the night before, pour it into a loaf pan or large tin can and refrigerate. In the morning slice your mush,...er, polenta loaf , and fry in s little butter or oil. Serve warm with butter and syrup, fruit and sausage. Yum!!
Kathleen, thank you. I will definitely try these.
Yesterday (Monday), my husband had a meeting with a company he's advising on OSHA regulations. I "fell awake" at 3:30, so I got on up and stayed up. When he was ready to eat breakfast, I fixed him eggs and toast instead of just letting him eat cold cereal. He seemed more cheerful as he left for the day, and was in a much better mood when he came home.
(Oddly enough, we've been eating more eggs, bacon, etc. over the last month, and a visit to the doctor today revealed that his cholesterol levels have actually improved...)
Mrs. Bartlett
That's not so odd, Mrs Bartlett! It's a bit of a myth that eating foods that contain cholesterol cause high blood cholesterol.
Anyone who's concerned about cholesterol should check out this very interesting website:
http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/cholesterol_myth_1.html
Eggs are such a good source of nourishment - they contain every nutrient we need except for Vitamin C - it's such a shame that people think they shouldn't eat them because of cholesterol. They even have a chemical in them that helps prevent macular degeneration, which is a big cause of blindness.
Wonderful post! And I so agree. I'm not a brekie person but try to eat anyway and always feel better when we do.
I'd love to cook a hot breakfast but my husband says he prefers cold cereal! Sometimes we have porridge or pancakes but mostly he prefers a high fibre cold cereal with fruit in it. The kids of course like a hot breakfast. I do make DH a pot of espresso coffee with freshly ground beans each morning and he loves that. We have a little stove top espresso maker that makes just enough for the two of us.
Ladies,
Several of you have asked for make-ahead breakfast recipes. Here is a great one from my aunt!
"Brunch Casserole"
2 lbs. hash brown potatoes
1 stick butter (1/4 lb.)
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cups ham (diced) or any meat
2 cups cheese, diced (or shredded)
12 eggs
1 cup milk
Melt butter in 9 x 13 pan. Cover with 3/4 of hash browns. Spread mixture or layer onion, ham, & cheese over hash browns. Top with remaining forth of hash browns. Beat eggs and milk together and pour over all. Let stand in refrigerator overnight. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Serves 8 to 10.
The Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook has a similar recipe called "Farmer's Casserole."
Somebody above menioned cornmeal mush & polenta; you can do something similar with grits.
This is the first time I've ever posted a comment on the Internet. I can't tell you how encouraging and educational I find this site and www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com. Thank you!
Mrs. H.
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