What breakfasts are the most popular in the world?
You probably know by now that breakfast is the most important meal. But most people either skip breakfast at all or prefer not to spend much time on its cooking.
According to recent research, the most popular breakfast in the world – is a piece of toast with various additives. Sandwich is the leading breakfast, leaving behind fruits, ready-made and cereal breakfasts.
And despite the existence of such alternative types of breakfast as drinking yogurt or granola bars, eight people out of ten prefer toasts in the morning. According to statistics, 50 percent of Americans call sandwiches their favorite breakfast.
Experts say that the secret of the toast’s popularity is that it can be served with anything: starting from unsweetened spreads and vegetables to chocolate paste and fruit. Recently, more kinds of tasty and healthy bread have appeared, and it gives an opportunity to make more diverse sandwiches. You can eat toasts on the go, which makes them very popular among those who are always in a hurry.
However, over the last five years the demand for cereal breakfasts and porridges has significantly increased by 37%. Cold winter temperatures of the past years led to the fact that manufacturers’ sales of various cereals have raised.
Many people who have tasted cereals as breakfast for the first time, continued to eat them in the morning, even after the weather became better.
As it turned out, the weather exerts a great impact on the sale of cereals and more and more people are attracted to hot oatmeal when it gets colder.
So, here are 10 most popular breakfasts in the world:
- Toast
- Breakfast cereals with milk, yogurt or juice
- Fruits
- English breakfast
- Hot porridge
- Sandwiches
- Yogurt
- Buns
- Granola or muesli
- Granola bars
Breakfast and health
Researches by U.S. doctors have shown that those who eat breakfast every day were three times less likely to become obese than those who skipped the morning meal. Furthermore, they are less likely to have a problem with increased levels of sugar in the blood, which in turn increases the risk of diabetes and cholesterol level, which is a well-known risk factor for heart disease.
Researchers think that eating a meal in the morning can help stabilize blood sugar levels and regulate the appetite. Doctors suggest that people who have a breakfast tend to eat less throughout the rest of the day.
Breakfast traditions
In different countries, there is a variety of breakfast traditions:
European breakfast
European breakfast is based on the Mediterranean tradition of cooking a light breakfast. For breakfast in continental Europe, hot drinks (non-alcoholic) and pastries are usually served. Milk is also served with drinks as a source of calcium and protein.
English breakfast
In the Great Britain, the classic breakfast includes fried eggs, omelet or poached egg with bacon, sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes and fried bread, pudding and toast. However, now a traditional English breakfast is usually served only on weekends or holidays.
Indian breakfast
Special emphasis in Indian cooking is made on vegetarian dishes with cooked beans and vegetables, seasoned with traditional spices, among which the first places goes to the curry spices.
Chinese breakfast
Chinese breakfast consists mainly of light meals, which in the Chinese tradition of drinking tea are served with a cup of Chinese tea (Puer) usually before lunch. They include small portions of desserts, fruits, vegetables or seafood.
Harmful breakfast
A cup of coffee or tea, perhaps even a sandwich or eggs. Such a breakfast is common for more than half of the adult population every morning. And some people just smoke a cigarette and runs to work. But just imagine how harmful it is to the body – to start the working day like this!
The fact that the first meal is very important is known for us from an early age. But over the years, we have forgotten this rule. And find a lot of excuses. But it is in vain.
Why is breakfast useful?
Scientific studies have shown that neglecting breakfast can lead to many adverse health effects. Such as memory loss, weakening of the creative mental ability, irritability, anxiety, reducing stress resistance, slowing of the logical thinking, blurred vision and even fainting.
Lack of energy leads to tiredness and apathy. There we mentioned the problems concerned just the nervous system. But endocrine, digestive, circulatory systems also suffer. The mechanism of the process is very simple.
After waking up, the body launches a wide spectrum of processes. The blood begins to actively run through the vessels, the stomach prepares for reception and digesting food (after a night break in the nutrition about 10-12 hours), enzymes are produced, the body is preparing to replenish energy stores, so necessary for an active and vigorous state.
At night, the level of glucose in the blood is rather low and, respectively, insulin level too, as a result, glucose gradually ceases to flow into cells, and we feel hunger. If the meal is not complete, for example, if it’s snack with bun or sweets, the insulin level sharply rises and remains in the body as the fat deposit, instead of becoming the energy source for cells. By the way, hunger will return very quickly in this case.
A cup of coffee starts and speeds up the metabolic processes in the body, but what it should speed up if you have not had breakfast? But the worst thing is that the stomach and pancreas suffer. Gastric juice is produced regardless of whether you plan or not to have a breakfast. Pancreatic enzymes generally have their own schedule and mood.
Especially unbearable for the digestive system when you have cooked breakfast for child-schooler or for husband – the smell of food causes the release of enzymes, gastric juice, bile and instructs the gastrointestinal tract: ‘Now we are going to eat!’
But there is no food, and your poor body will gradually eat its own cells. Then it will lead to ulcers, diseases of the gallbladder and the duodenum and pancreatitis. It is worth mentioning that in order to give you strength to work, the body will get energy, not from the fat deposits, but it will get the vitamins and minerals from its reserves. That is, the hair, nails, teeth, blood composition, and every cell, in particular, will suffer.
But it is important not just to eat, but to pay attention to the qualitative composition of the breakfast. It is necessary to strike a balance according to the formula: 50% carbohydrate, 30% protein and 20% fat of the daily norm you need to get from the first meal.
Therefore, on the first place among the morning menu are complex carbohydrates. They will be digested for a long time and thus longer provide the body with energy. It is whole-grain bread and porridges from whole grains, cereal biscuits or cereals.
The second place goes to low-fat dairy products, fish, meat and eggs, and then fruits and vegetables. The best morning drink – is tea or fresh juice. Coffee should be drunk closer to the dinner.
Weekly Plan of Healthy Breakfasts
Monday
- Oatmeal with healthy additives
- Apple
- Green tea
If you visited your friend and allowed yourself alcohol, a piece of cake and a variety of salads with mayonnaise on the weekend. Or watched TV with your beloved husband or wife, and cheated with beer and chips. So today is high time to adjust the body to a healthy and balanced diet.
Oatmeal, boiled in water, will help withdraw fat deposits, and its enveloping properties help the stomach to recover from Sunday dinner. You can add a little milk, salt, butter, and sugar to the taste. But ideally, add nuts (fats and proteins), pieces of fruit or raisins into porridge.
Tuesday
- Omelet of two eggs
- A piece of lean boiled meat
- A piece of rye bread
- Vegetable salad
- Orange fresh juice
In the morning, as a rule, you don’t really have time to cook breakfast, so in order not to eat harmful foods in a hurry, cook something in advance. For example, boil a piece of pork (a piece of pork, boiled in salted water with the addition of pepper mixture, carrots and onions, when the pork is ready, place the meat in a bowl, lightly smear it with crushed garlic, sprinkle with spices, cover, and carefully wrapped in a towel, leave for later). As a rule, a piece of 0.5 kg is enough for two or three breakfasts for the whole family.
Chop the cabbage and carrots and salt them in the evening, slightly press down and put in the fridge. In the morning just add tomato, cucumber and season with vegetable oil. Many people also add an apple – experiment!
Wednesday
- Cheesecakes of low-fat cottage cheese with sour cream
- Fruit
- Tea with honey
Cheesecakes, in general, are themselves the epitome of proper breakfast – tasty and useful. But you can make not only sweet cheesecakes. Try to add in salted cheese chopped greens, and more cheese – it will be difficult to make the family go to work or to school.
Thursday
- Brown rice
- Yogurt
- Banana
- Tea or juice
The fact that brown rice is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals is quite a well-known one. Even after the oatmeal, it is the best morning porridge. It can be cooked with milk and lightly sweetened with honey or it can be served as a side dish to fried eggs or fish / meat dishes. Add some mashed potatoes, eggs, salt in the boiled buckwheat, and mix the mass. And then form small cutlets, roll in flour and put on a hot frying pan.
And bananas have their own secret, as they are high in calories and, therefore, give the body a lot of energy. Opt for green bananas if you’re planning to some physical activity within the next 2-3 hours. It will take a lot of time to digest it, and you will have a lot of energy later. Moreover, bananas supply the body with serotonin, which helps to relax and uplift.
Friday
- Hot toast with cheese
- Boiled egg
- Vegetable salad
- Fruit fresh juice
Discussions regarding vegetable salads is endless. One of the easiest and most useful in the morning is the beet salad, which not only replenishes the body with vitamins but also improves peristalsis, as well as boosts the metabolism. So, opt for this salad if you like beets. Grate boiled beets, add some prunes and walnuts, salt and mix with vegetable oil or low-fat sour cream.
Saturday
- Scrambled eggs
- Pumpkin with honey
- Yogurt
- Green tea
A big benefit of scrambled eggs is that they easily tolerate other products. Add bacon bits, chopped tomatoes and bell pepper, cheese slices and sprinkle with parsley and you get a tasty and aesthetically pleasing dish. A piece of rye bread will be a good accompaniment to this breakfast.
There are a lot said about the usefulness of pumpkin, so include it in your diet at least as a dessert. In a small saucepan lay pieces of pumpkin, sliced apple, a lemon peel, honey and pour it
Sunday
On this day, most of us stay at home, engaged in cleaning, helping children with their homework, then go for a walk or look for a variety of adventures. You will need a lot of energy. And the Sunday family breakfast must differ from the everyday one.
- Cottage cheese casserole with fruit and cream
- A piece of boiled meat and hard cheese
- Vegetable mix
- Tea
It is so easy to cook a casserole! 0.5 kg of cottage cheese knead with the fork, add 3-4 tablespoons of sour cream, 1-2 eggs, 0.5 cups semolina, any of the diced fruits (kiwi, apples, oranges, bananas), salt, sugar, vanilla to taste. Mix thoroughly and put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
As you can see, it’s irrational and ill-advised to skip breakfast. A number of scientific studies, which have been mentioned above, provide evidence to that fact.
Having breakfast is a must, and there is no denying in that. And it’s recommended to have a healthy and tasty breakfast. There is no need to throw into your mouth a sandwich or hamburger while you’re brushing your teeth and enjoying a cup of coffee first thing in the morning – you can choose one of the above-mentioned breakfasts and alternate between them every day.
Let me know in the comment section below your favorite recipes for breakfast. How do you start your delicious and energy-rich day?
