Part of a "Complete" or "Good" breakfast?
screengrab from YouTube commercial
I remember watching Saturday morning cartoons in the late '70s. The cereal commercial barrage always ended with, "Part of a complete breakfast!" That complete breakfast usually included juice, milk, cereal, toast and butter, and some kind of fruit. A wholesome spread! You'd have to sit down for that meal.
Recently I caught an ad for a 'sugary' cereal and the phrase was changed to, "Part of a good breakfast." The meal included: cereal, milk, and an unpeeled clementine. I'm fascinated by the change. What stands out immediately is how much less food there is: no butter and the filling whole wheat toast is gone, and orange juice has too much sugar for our current nutrition thinking and would never appear on an ideal breakfast. (I'm not saying kids needed to eat all of the choices from the 'complete' photo, but to be able to choose from sources of fat, protein and carbs is a more balanced approach.)
What are your theories for the change? Is this another byproduct of the war on childhood obesity? Cutting calories? Recognizing that few families sit down to a spread most days?
Then this came along, from the New York Times on what children around the world eat for breakfast. Now, having a photographer in your house might mean you make an extra effort, but what struck me was that many pictures showed several choices for the kids— little pickled dishes in Japan, cheeses and olives, and more in Turkey... Yummo!
Now THAT'S a complete breakfast!
NYT magazine Rise and Shine article
Tips for picky eating
Add more choices, don't take away.
Think outside the box. Leftovers may be a perfect "breakfast" food.
Serve breakfast family-style, add a small bowl of frozen blueberries, or other choices...
Put 'your' scrambled eggs, or quartered bagels on a plate in the middle of the table too.
You never know when she'll be ready. Remove obstacles to trying.
I also noted how the child in Amsterdam from the NYT piece enjoyed white bread with butter and chocolate shavings, and that sprinkles are a breakfast staple.
Maybe a "good" or "complete" breakfast varies from country to country, child to child, and day to day.
Just some breakfast musings.