Recently, I found myself in this conversation:

“You really expect me to just eat two Raisin Bran, two yogurts, and one juice for breakfast?”

I said, “Well, yes.” Previous topics of discussion had included portion control and not gaming the system.

The look of disgust… “How is that a decent breakfast?”

“Tell me how it’s not.”

They just started yelling and then said, “Forget it. This is not a prison and you are not a warden.”

One of my favorite “decent breakfasts”—pumpkin oats in a near-empty coconut PB jar

Which is true. Can you imagine me—not even five feet tall—as a prison warden? It’s actually kind of funny. I don’t like to fight, but when someone really pushes my buttons (especially if they do it repeatedly), it takes all of my energy not to engage. It’s been a very challenging week, so I’m actually proud of myself for walking away without yelling back. I’ve never done that to a patient, but they say there’s a first time for everything. This wasn’t worth it.

Still, it got me thinking, what is a decent breakfast, anyway? To all of us, it’s so different! I know that for me, a decent breakfast is one with a good balance of protein, complex carbohydrate, and some kind of fat. When I think of a decent breakfast, I think of a hearty bowl of oatmeal (like this) topped with peanut butter or tahini or a Greek yogurt bowl or an egg white omelet (packed with veggies, of course) and toast.

Even though my clinical brain says, “Two bowls of cereal + two yogurt=four carbs but with some protein, and one juice=1 fruit/carb…” maybe for someone else (regardless of whether the government is paying for it), breakfast really isn’t complete without 2 boxes of cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, cottage cheese, fruit, juice, and a pastry. I know in some parts of the world, a macchiato and a little something flaky will suffice. So, um, I don’t know—different strokes?

Happy Friday. I’m looking forward to a couple days off. Hope you have a nice weekend.

What do you consider a “decent breakfast?”