Breakfast
I?ve started reading No Impact Man, on Michelle?s recommendation, and this book is probably going to get a lot of face time on the blog in the coming weeks. Just giving you a head?s up that I?ll very likely get annoying about our impact. So far I?m thoroughly enjoying the book.
The first thing that struck me as I started into the book wasn?t thinking about how much garbage I produce. It wasn?t thinking about climate change and trying to find that rhythm for our family that maximizes enjoyment and minimizes our impact. No. The first thing that struck me was holy damn, there are a lot of people out there who don?t cook a single meal.
The author freely admits that his wife doesn?t cook, and until the launch of the project neither did he. In fact, they didn?t even do breakfast at home. BREAKFAST. The best, most amazing meal of the day in its simplicity and they would cop out of breakfast and buy it. Every morning. Sometimes, they had those croissants delivered.
I don?t know if it speaks to my socio-economic class growing up, or just the simple fact that it probably never occurred to my family to order in a croissant every morning even if they had that sort of disposable income, but there is no way in hell I?d be buying breakfast every day. Not that there is any croissant delivery options available in Errington but it is conceivable that I could drive to the local coffee shop just to eat breakfast.
It?s just that, well, its breakfast. Everything about breakfast is easy, even fried eggs on toast. I have a fried egg on toast Every. Single. Day. I can make myself breakfast, and coffee, while simultaneously ensuring that the kids have cereal and fruit and a sippy cup of milk! I am a Super Mommy!
Not.
Toast toasts itself and all I have to do is remember to flip the egg between stirring the coffee and buttering the toast. And neither of those tasks require any sort of mental capacity, I can do it while still essentially being asleep. If I over-cook my egg I actually get quite angry, it happens so seldomly.
Even the coffee is easy because it?s instant and takes a total of 30 seconds to prepare (I actually know this to be true, it?s 30 seconds from the time the jar gets taken out of the cupboard until that same jar is returned to the cupboard). The only frazzled part of my morning is trying to enjoy said coffee and pretending I don?t actually have two toddlers to deal with, which is why I typically get out of bed 15 minutes before they do. A hot cup of coffee is much tastier than a cold cup.
At any rate, it got me thinking, how many people out there are ordering in breakfast? Am I really that removed from my own society that I didn?t even realize people would routinely do this?
I thought that we were weird enough sitting down to eat dinner every night. And when I say we sit down to eat dinner; I?m talking a pre-set table with placemats and all of us eating, or at least complaining about, the same meal that most likely did not come from a box. Once in a blue moon it comes from a box but normally it?s a real meal. Not a very tasty meal considering I?m the worse cook ever, but it is real food. I was shocked to realize that a lot of families don?t actually do this. In fact, a lot of stay-at-home types don?t even cook dinner. Man do I wish I got in on that deal.
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Is that wine with breakfast?? No wonder you like it so much
Sorry, I know it is Steve’s B-day dinner!! And all this was done on a day of the….SICKNESS….which makes you a really Super Mommy!!
I just can’t imagine the expense with going out for breakfast every day. It would be astronomical. It very well be my entire grocery budget.
And not eating dinner at home that expense would be more than we could bear.
I don’t know how people can afford to eat out that much.
We eat cereal/oatmeal/toast or eggs for breakfast. The cost of making that at home over going out for the same thing again so much for something that I agree takes so little effort. Pouring cereal in a bowl and adding milk takes less than 10 sec. It’s nutritious and easy what more could you ask for.
In our house we do dinner together minus dad most days as dad isn’t home when the kids and I are eating dinner. But the 4 of us eat together most days. And again. They like simple meals, that are mostly inexpensive and easy to make. When I make a nicer dinner the kids aren’t really interested in it and it’s basically for the grown ups.
Maybe your right it’s our socio-economic upbringing but not to eat at home was not an option for us and it’s just what we do now even as adults.
We go out for breakfast maybe once a month. That’s insane. I have quite the repertoire: cereal, french toast, pancakes, english muffins, eggs and bacon, sausage and egg breakfast burritos, etc. LOVE breakfast!
By the way.. placemats and everthing?! I’m impressed. I should do the same. We do eat at the table, though. We started that after Jack was born. Sometimes. (Sometimes he’s in bed before we eat dinner, and if that’s the case, we eat downstairs in front of the tv.) Bad, I know.
PS – I need to get you switched to Word Press! You’d like it so much better. Like either of us has time? LOL!
Well, you and I were raised in the same house, and I will occasionally eat out for breakfast. I mean, I’ve never had croissants delivered or anything, but there are days when I pick up a muffin to eat in the office instead of eating at home before I leave. (Usually when I am out of milk for cereal.) Personally I feel like time spent making an egg or toast could be better spent sleeping.
yeah, pre-kids I would have occassionally picked up a muffin or what-have-you but WITH kids getting into the car to get breakfast is far more time-consuming than pouring milk over cereal…
but I certainly didn’t do so everyday! The expense of it!
I thought that guy was a total loon. I mean, telling his wife she can’t use tampons?? And as soon as she got to work, she was taking the elevator and using a computer. Not to mention borrowing refrigerated and frozen things from the neighbors. I think being low impact, or as low impact as you can be, is a worthy goal, though.
PS It’s pretty common for New Yorkers to eat/order out for everything. Their apartments are TEENY and the kitchens even tinier.
you know, if another woman suggested another tampon alternative, I would probably entertain the idea. Or, you know, google it. But a man? A man better not be standing too close to me when he DOES suggest it…
I haven’t gotten too far into the book, I do enjoy his sense of humour thus far, though. And I was impressed with the fact that he took a long, hard look at his garbage. I always turn a blind eye because it’s so …depressing…
I have to be a lot more up close and personal with my garbage now that I live in the boonies. There’s no garbage collection, so whatever you put in the (hopefully) animal-proof containers will be there until you haul it to the dump. You don’t have to pay for recycling, but you do for garbage – how’s that for motivation?
I have to admit we do like the weekend breakfast out occasionally. There is something decadent about not having to make the first meal of the weekend. That and Robin is addicted to Phil’s pork chubbies.
We will eat the occasional breakfast out when we have weekend guests. And the occasional Friday when I don’t have to get the kids up and out of the house I’ll sneak McD’s (bad, I know) for breakfast. But 29 days out of 30 is oatmeal and fruit and thankfully our rockin’ babysitter feeds the kidlets.
We do, however, eat out/order in far too often for supper. My goal is to be more organized and actually get the food out of the freezer so it is in a preparable state when we get home from work… I wish I liked to cook…