Breakfast: 5 ideas for the weekend

Breakfast ideas for the weekend

Many studies have linked eating breakfast to good health, including better memory and concentration: so, no matter how busy you are, you should always find time for what is considered to be the most important meal of the day. If you’re one of those people who are not hungry in the morning, try some new recipes: sometimes, waiting for something delicious can whet your appetite. Here are 5 ideas to start the day with a boost of energy and taste.

Porridge, the healthy breakfast

One of the healthiest ways to start the day is porridge, a product that can be enriched with sweet and savoury ingredients. It is a simple mixture of oat flakes and water (or milk), cooked together over low heat until it reaches the consistency of a cream, more or less dense according to taste. The recipe was born in medieval times as a poor dish (originally, in fact, it was made only with water and oat flakes), simple, cheap yet substantial: the ideal meal for accompanying workers during the day. In summer, you can opt for the cold version, with overnight oats: leaving the oats in the liquid - about 30 grams of flakes per 80 grams of water - overnight and in the morning you will have your breakfast ready.

Buttered toast with marmite: love it or hate it

Love it or hate it. It's with this famous slogan that Marmite has become popular throughout the UK and beyond. We are talking about one of the most controversial products ever, capable of polarizing the opinion of consumers between admirers and detractors. The spread of brewer's yeast extract is often used at breakfast on a slice of buttered toast. With its sticky consistency and dark colour, Marmite was discovered by chance by a German scientist, Justus Liebig, who at the end of the 19th century accidentally concentrated brewer's yeast, only to realize that it could be edible. The first company to produce it, however, was the British Marmite Food Company, founded in 1902 in Burton-upon-Trent, in Staffordshire county, and which bought yeast directly from the many breweries around town.

Toast with nut butters: a vegan choice

Brad toasts are always a good idea for breakfast: filling, delicious and healthy at the same time, toasts are still one of the most popular choices in the morning. Butter and jam is a classic combination, but if you need a boost of energy, you can also try all the vegan alternatives made with nuts. Of course, a peanut butter and jelly is one of the best pairings ever, but try to give a chance to almon, hazelnut or cashew butter: these reach and tasty creams have a smooth consistency, and a bit more liquid than peanut butter, but they are perfectly suitable for spreading. You can then add some jam or honey on top, or even agave syrup for a vegan recipe: plus, don't forget to use some fresh fruits,

Yogurt and granola, healthy and fast

Oats, honey and mixed dried fruits: this is the traditional recipe for granola, a product created by John Harvey Kellogg, director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan, a firm advocate of vegetarianism and the inventor of corn flakes. By cooking the wholemeal flakes, he obtained a new product that could substitute sweets and sugary snacks for a good breakfast. Kellogg, in fact, wanted to create a healthy alternative that could be light, tasty and rich in fiber. The best pairing is the one with yogurt, but you can also add your granola to a glass of milk or use it to make an easy and perfect crumble for desserts.

Milk and corn flakes, classic never dies

Let’s go back to Mr Kellogg: his most famous invention dates back to 1894, when he recommended corn flakes to his patients as a balanced and nourishing meal to stay fit. They were simple toasted corn flakes, when his brother William – known as Will – suggested the addition of sugar to make them tastier, a proposal that John turned down at the time, even though the most famous cereals today are rather sugary. The product had such a great success that the doctor established the Kellogg Company (today known as Kellogg’s) and patented the recipe in 1896. Corn flakes started to make their way into the American society, who seemed to really appreciate them: hence continued Mr. Kellogg to experiment, until the release in 1928 of the famous Rice Krispies, crispy puffed rice cereals created by Eugene McKay, head of the company’s research and development team.

by Michela Becchi