The Most Important Meal of the Day

With more and more fresh produce showing up as we get further and further into the growing season, we can't wait to have a fresh salad at lunch or grill up some veggies with our dinner.  But what about breakfast?  Why, unlike most other countries in the world, are vegetables not a breakfast staple for us? 

Sure, we often have fruit on our cereal, in our yogurt or on our pancakes, but what about tomatoes or cucumbers or bell peppers?  (And I'm not talking about a veggie omelet.)  A traditional breakfast dish in Israel is tomato-cucumber salad (photo at left--by Eve Turow).  Pickled vegetables are often on the Japanese breakfast table.  I remember traveling in England and with EVERY breakfast, there were grilled tomatoes (in addition to the 4 different kinds of meats and potatoes). 

Here in the US, veggies are relegated to the later meals of the day.  But doesn't it make sense to start the day with fresh veggies?  As food writer Eve Turow says in an NPR.com article:

[E]ating vegetables early in the day provides vitamins and minerals. One cup of tomatoes has over half the recommended daily vitamin C, and bell peppers provide a day’s worth of vitamins A and C. One cup of broccoli has 5 grams of dietary fiber, while a medium artichoke has 10 grams of dietary fiber, 40 percent of the recommended daily allotment. As sources of antioxidants and dietary fiber, vegetables are a perfectly sensible way to start your day.

At the business EXPO I did last week, I made Bacon & Corn Johnnycakes--essentially cornmeal pancakes with bacon and corn in them.  There was a lot of batter left, so we cooked them up at home and froze them to eat later.  They're great for breakfast!  I know, corn is sort of a semi-veggie, but still, you wouldn't normally think of them for breakfast.  But drizzle a little maple syrup over top and it's a meal!

So as your gardens start to put forth their bounty and you visit all the great farmers' markets, think about how you might start your day in a fresh, nutritious way.  It's a lot cheaper than an airplane ticket! 

Read the rest of Eve Turow's article, including some great recipes, by clicking here.