Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with food and breakfast

Who's got my onion rolls?

monospace — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:44:48 -0800

It used to be that pretty much any old deli in town had those classic NY onion rolls, but lately they seem to have become increasingly hard to find. Are there still places where I can get a nice toasted onion roll with butter for breakfast, especially in the Penn Station area?

Breakfast and ice cream spots near Hotel Andra, Seattle?

DakotaPaul — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:38:23 -0800

I would like to have great breakfast and ice cream in Seattle. Can you help? Nearer to Hotel Andra the better. The family is taking a road trip to Seattle soon and we are looking for great breakfast and ice cream spots. We're staying at Hotel Andra, so walking/Monorail/short drive distance from there would be preferable. Bonus points if the breakfast place is 21-month-old-toddler-friendly. If you have a to-die-for breakfast recommendation we could hit on the way out of town we'd be up for it, too. Thank you!

Lean and Mean

freddymetz — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:26:20 -0800

Help a skinny guy shape up! more after the jump! some facts:

i do some sports, used to jog almost every day (although in the past few weeks ive slacked off)

I eat a lot, but i dont eat healthily (i.e. no fruit and veg)
A typical week would see me eating meat pretty much every day with pasta or potatoes. Fast food (mcdonalds/burger king) is also consumed at least once a week . I drink a lot of unhealthy sugary drinks and fruit juices. Greasy meatloaf or full english for breakfast (ocasionally) .

I need a goal and results. Im pretty lazy, and slack off if i dont see results, but can get very motivated if it's a foolproof plan and i see results after a while.

Right now i want to put on some weight, yes also fat, because i look pretty skinny. I dont know if that's advisable, or if i should just look at starting with a tabula rasa and gaining muscle mass (which would probably be more difficult).

I have mild scoliosis, which affects my posture a bit and makes me slouch. I try to work actively against slouching by pushing my upper chest forward and my stomach in. is that the correct thing to do? I think gaining weight, especially muscle, would help my posture too, right?

I have a fast metabolism, i think, so what should i do guys?

For 75 bucks they'd better serve liquid gold

The Whelk — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 10:28:27 -0800

Post-ComicConFilter: Best Sunday brunch in San Diego that's not the Hotel Del Coranado? Near downtown a plus. Views or unusual atmosphere doubleplus.

Streamline my French toast production!

zardoz — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 05:19:20 -0800

I loves me some French toast, but find it's kind of a pain to make. I don't need a recipe for French toast, I need a battle plan. Recipe is easy: eggs, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon sugar. Mix, dip bread, fry. It's that "fry" part that drives me nuts. I have a frypan (no big griddle, unfortunately) in which I melt some butter, toss in my batter-laden bread and cook up.

Problem is the pan is only big enough for one, maybe one and a half pieces of FT. So I put the finished ones aside and the butter that I used originally is now a blackened, gunky mess. So I clean that off but have to let the red-hot pan cool down a bit doing so, and when I add more butter for the next batch the pan is waaaay too hot. Big sizzle! And I'll have immediately scorched butter unless the pan is cool. So I have to wait to cool the pan, then repeat. Meanwhile all my finished FT is cooling off to room temperature--no good.

If it were just me eating one slice of bread there'd be no problem. But it's at least my wife and sometimes others, so we're talking 5, 6 pieces of toast at the very least. My point is it's all very time consuming, so can you give me some pointers about how to have a streamlined French toast production plan? How do you feed an army French toast in record time? Am I overthinking this plate of French toast? BTW, I've recently tried cutting the toast in quarters for French toast sticks, thinking this is a good shortcut, but unfortunately not--doesn't make a difference.

What non-pancakes can I make out of pancake mix?

Xere — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 23:47:39 -0800

I've somehow ended up with 5 lb (2 kg) of Krusteaz pancake mix. Pancakes, fruit, and syrup are getting boring, and I don't have a waffle maker. Is there anything else I can make with pancake mix, other than pancakes? Or are there any other awesome things I can add to pancakes, to make them less boring? I've done my googling, but all I can come up with are recipes for making ... more pancakes! Ahhh! Help!

How do you manage a good breakfast in the morning?

peanut_mcgillicuty — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:33:03 -0800

I've been eating bagels or instant oatmeal at my desk for almost four years, and it needs to change. First, I'm tired of eating so many meals at my desk (breakfast, lunch almost every day, AND dinner on nights that I have graduate school!). But more importantly, I want something more substantial that's better for me and will keep me full longer than empty carbohydrates. Part of the problem is that I'm afraid if I eat at home, I will be ravenous by the time lunch comes around. As it is right now, I eat at 9 a.m. and am hungry for lunch at 12, to the point of feeling faint by 12:30 or so. If I eat breakfast a full hour earlier, won't I be hungry for lunch that much earlier? Having a snack seems to defeat the purpose of eating breakfast at home.

I should say that I might not get enough protein in my diet in general--I'm just transitioning from being a vegetarian for my entire life to eating a little bit of meat (so far, only chicken and things that aren't exactly meat but aren't vegetarian either, like ramen, soups with chicken or beef stock, gelatin, etc). Suggestions for getting more protein are very welcome.

Mostly, though, I want to hear what you eat for breakfast and how (at home, at work, etc) and what you think I should eat.

Specific criteria:

1. Yogurt is 100% out in all shapes and forms. I can't even tolerate the smell of it. Same with cottage cheese.
2. I don't want to cook meat that looks like meat (so, turkey sausages would be ok, raw chicken not so much).
3. Cold cereal grosses me out--all that soggy stuff floating around in a pool of white liquid...
4. I cannot eat on my commute (packed subway). It's either at home or at work (where I do have access to a refrigerator and microwave, and for the most part, no problems with people stealing food out of the communcal fridge).
5. I'm looking for quick-fix, minimal-dishes-and-mess ideas rather than elaborate ideas. I'm going to have to start getting up earlier to eat breakfast at home; no point in making it more complicated than it needs to be.

Things I have already thought of: breakfast burritos (especially when prepared ahead in bulk, frozen and then heated in the microwave), minute oatmeal with honey and bananas, egg-and-cheese on toast/bagel/roll or egg-in-a-boat/hole/whatever you call it, etc.

What do you eat in the morning?

Optimal Junk Cereal: Can it be done?

majick — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:10:14 -0800

In a box of cereal containing two objects of differing density, how does one ensure a roughly even ratio throughout the box's use? That is to say, how do you keep the bottom of the box from being all grain and no marshmallow? Given a box of, say, Lucky Charms comprised of marshmallow bits of density d and cereal bits of (for argument's sake) density 1.25d and thus having a tendency to separate into layers what's the best practice for keeping the low density bits from floating on top of the high density bits? Assume non-optimal distribution at the time of purchase -- contents may settle during shipment. Furthermore assume equipment likely to be in the average household.

Lightly agitating the box while pouring appears to exacerbate the problem. During the box's first few uses, the marshmallow ratio remains high, but at the cost of a high proportion of "grain only" spoonfuls toward the end of the box. I want to avoid those.

Pouring out the entire box and stirring it makes it even worse. Stirring a massive salad bowl full of cereal seems to quickly float the low density bits to the top.

I would be perfectly willing to have a lower marshmallow ratio at the top of the box if it were possible to create an approximately even distribution somehow. But how? How does one create a very rough macro-scale suspension of lightweight cereal bits in a medium of grain bits, and furthermore how do you keep it that way?

You would think this problem has been addressed somewhere in various industrial processes: creation, handling and distribution of rock aggregates, soil mixes, compost, and various other mixed materials that may be prone to settling before and during use.

Unusual breakfast ideas

PTCHFRKR — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:56:16 -0800

I'm looking for unusual/exotic/foreign breakfast ideas - I've become tired of the usual cereal option, and would like something new. Doesn't matter if it needs cooking, because I have plenty of time, and should preferably be relatively healthy.

Where can I buy brioches in America?

Nickel — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:19:17 -0800

When in Italy I love to eat brioches, the typical bar breakfast. Where can I find these tasty sweets in America (Massachusetts or California)? These are shaped like croissants, but I find that instead of being buttery and flakey like the croissants I am used to, these brioches are dense and sweet. In bars and cafes, they come filled with cream or marmalade. Supermarkets also sell them in packs of 8 or so without any filling. I was just in Italy and bought a few packs of Parigine brand "soffici brioches semplici" but they won't last me forever.

Are there any supermarkets, bakeries, or cafes in American (specifically in the Boston/South Shore/Metrowest area of Massachusetts and the Bay Area of California) that sell these? Or anyplace online where I can order Italian pastries?

Why yes, I do fancy a fry-up.

thedaniel — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:42:19 -0800

This mefi post made me hungry. Are there any restaurants in LA that serve a Full English breakfast? I consulted one of my old coworkers who was in town from Ireland for a while, and the closest he got was buying the fixins from the Irish store on Vine and making it himself.

Help me figure out how to stick to a good healthy breakfast.

actionpact — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:24:13 -0800

Eatingfilter: I'm an admitted chronic meal-skipper, trying to mend my wicked ways. Help me enjoy a healthy filling breakfast and stick to it! I know there were a few similar questions on MeFi, but none really solved it for me. So here goes!

When I was a kid, I ate normally. When I got into high school, I often skipped lunch for the library; and then the crazy schedules of college left me eating erratically and sometimes in all you can eat portions. Now, at 24, I'm finding it insanely hard to eat breakfast. My eating habits are okay, but need improvement. I sometimes don't feel hungry at all, and othertimes overeat in big portions/crave snacks/multiple meals. I'm trying to get fitter, but also regain more energy and feel more productive (as a freelancer who works from home, productivity and self-motivation are super-important!).

I am trying to eat healthy: I've cut out approximately 80% of high fructose corn syrup out of my diet, adding whole grains into the mix, as well as bulgur and beans to start. I don't each as much fruit and vegetables as I'd like, because I live with someone who doesn't care for vegetables, and lately the selection's been not so great. Still, I eat them when I can. But breakfast eludes me. I'm retarded about it-- even though I wake up from 8-9am each day (I am shooting for getting up between 6-7, but I think breakfast is a good first step? I find it hard to drag myself out of bed early just yet), I find it hard to put together a healthful breakfast without a lot of muss and fuss (read: dishes). Much less keep up at it consistently for longer than a week. Today I picked up a box of Kashi GoLean cereal and some organic milk and bananas, and while it's not very sweet and gives me a touch of heartburn, I'll eat it for now.

So what I'm looking for are your good suggestions for breakfast. If the three big factors are easiness to prepare, healthiness, and cheapness, I'll go with the first two, because even though I'm on a budget I'd rather spend a bit more to feel healthier than shovel junk down my throat. Of course, budget options are also appreciated :)

I know eggs are a good solution, but they seem to be more effort than I'm capable of in the morning. I don't want to eat bagels or granola, I'm not a fan of hot cereals or oatmeal, and certainly not cottage cheese (anything with that consistency, or is like mayo/cheese based typically makes me queasy). I am a big fan of foods I can batch-prepare/cook (perhaps in a crockpot?) and eat throughout the week with easy reheating-- would even be happy to learn a healthy muffin recipe or some such thing. I like almost all fruits except for grapefruit; and breakfast ideas can be savory or not typical American breakfast foods too. So what of it, Mefites? I know I'm picky on what I like, but you may be the thing that actually makes me like breakfast again. For that, I love you in advance!

Pimp my oatmeal!

catlet — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:52:56 -0800

I eat oatmeal for breakfast pretty much every day. Help me build a bowl that is as jam-packed with nutrition as possible, while still tasty. I've never been much of a breakfast person, so whatever I eat in the morning has to be worth it in terms of nutrition and flavor, or I'll skip it and just drink extra coffee. Recently, I've figured out a process that works for me: I make a big batch of steel-cut oats in my slow cooker once a week or so, and store in serving-sized plasticware in my fridge. It's just oats, water, and salt. In the morning, I dump a serving into a bowl and add a fistful of frozen fruit from the various bags in the freezer - blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, or cherries - and microwave. After it's hot and the fruit is thawed, I add some raw walnuts or pecans, cinnamon, a spoonful of ground flaxseed, a spoonful of Benefiber (powdered guar gum supplement), and either unsweetened almond milk or regular cow milk. It's very "one from Column A, one from Column B" and it is delicious.

What else could I add that would boost the nutrition even more? I am interested in both sweet and savory approaches, vegetarian or not, that will fuel my day. (Bacon's nutritious, right?) Ideas involving other grains (rice, wheatberries, groats, but probably not kasha first thing in the morning) are also excellent.

3 BREAKFASTS = BREAKFAST + LUNCH + DINNER?

defmute — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:45:06 -0800

If I eat three breakfasts and then don't eat for the rest of the day, is that the same thing as eating breakfast lunch and dinner? lately (based upon a rumor i heard, the fact that i love breakfast, and having an erratic sleep schedule) i've been eating breakfast in large quantities (as in i eat till i feel pain) and then eating nothing for the rest of the day. is this okay for my body? will this kind of diet make me gain weight? lose weight? also, i should note that for the past week or so i've been sleeping at 11am and waking up at 7 pm. i've also been smoking about a gram of weed a day. i smoke cigarettes (about 5-10 a day) if that means anything.

What time should I eat breakfast?

Faint of Butt — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:08:44 -0800

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." "Breakfast improves your metabolism." "Breakfast makes you work, think and feel better." Okay, fine, you've convinced me to eat breakfast. But what time, smart guy? If I wake up at 6:00 AM and eat my first meal at 2:00 PM, that's still technically breakfast, but I'm pretty sure that's not what people are talking about. So, for optimal health benefits, how long after waking up should I eat?

Maguro, frittatas and Oly-- Oh My!

dersins — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:17:33 -0800

Seattle recommendations, please? Sushi? Sunday breakfast / brunch? Dive bar? So we're going to be in Seattle the weekend before Christmas. One place I know I want to eat is Quinn's; I'd love to get a recommendation for great sushi the other night we're in town.

I've heard good things about Nishino and Umi Sake House, but I'm open to any suggestions.

We're staying at the Edgewater, but will have a car and a sense of adventure, so we're willing to travel in the greater metro area for the sake of great food.

I'd also love recommendations for the following:

1. Excellent Sunday breakfast and / or brunch.

2. A pleasant neighborhood-y or dive-y bar not far from the hotel (something in Belltown, maybe?). We like to eat kinda fancy but prefer to drink kinda homey, if that makes any sense...

And, yes, I have explored the other Seattle questions here, but restaurants open and close all the time (for example, Quinn's, where we're eating one of the nights we're in town, wasn't even open the last time a similar question was asked) and up-to-date information would be much appreciated.

Cheeseburger for breakfast, cereal for lunch

lubujackson — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:57:53 -0800

Why do we eat "breakfast foods"? When did this originate and why? So eating my pancakes this morning, I started to wonder about the strangeness that is breakfast. There are foods for breakfast that you don't eat at other points of the day, while you don't eat most other dishes for breakfast. It hasn't always been this way. Why the cultural shift?

BLUE #1 makes for blue #2

carsonb — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 09:19:50 -0800

Is there a supplement or other item I can ingest with breakfast that will help me digest BLUE #1? I love my sweetened breakfast cereals (Cap'n Crunch w/ Crunchberries and Fruit Loops) but pooping bright blue or green later in the day honestly freaks me out. After some empirical eating I think I've narrowed down the blue poop culprit to the common cereal ingredient BLUE #1. What can I eat with my morning milk-filled bowl of delicious, sweet cereal that will keep my poop a 'normal' color and my delicate sensibilities intact come midday evacuation?

I know this sounds ridiculous, but I have to approach such a weird and intimate neurosis with a bit of humor. Please just answer the question, and if you need to address my querying style I have email or there's MetaTalk.

Why am I hungrier on days when I have breakfast?

raf — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 11:54:06 -0800

Why am I hungrier on days when I have breakfast? I don't usually eat breakfast. (I do maybe one day out of three.) When I do, I'm much hungrier for the rest of the morning: if I don't have breakfast, I can wait till 1pm or later to have lunch, while if I do I'm starving by 11:30. This seems odd to me, since I've always heard it's healthier to eat breakfast (and that it helps you eat less overall).

Possibly relevant background info: I'm currently on a mild diet. (I just stopped drinking soda and snacking as much, but I pretty much eat normal meals and have a small snack whenever I'm hungry. I've lost 15 pounds in three months.) I don't think there's a difference in how busy or awake I am on days when I have breakfast, but there might be one I'm missing. The breakfasts I do have are usually fairly small: a bowl of instant oatmeal or cereal.

How can I cater a brunch by cooking way in advance?

brianvan — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 23:23:49 -0800

I need to provide breakfast/brunch-type food to a large number of people. What are some good ways to cook typical breakfast dishes such as omelettes, pancakes, french toast, eggs, bacon, etc. so that I can store and reheat them? I'll be having a party late at night that will be serving brunch food. Since I may very well be occupied with other things over the course of the early evening, I won't have time to pre-cook anything right before the event; also, waiting until the time of the event to do the cooking is a bad strategy, mostly because cook-to-order food takes a while to cook (especially when 8 people are asking for it at once). I basically want to set up a buffet but have the food ready from hours before - reheated, of course.

I have an oven with a broiler and a typical range, so cooking anything is pretty much not a problem. And I know how to make all kinds of breakfast food. But what should I keep in mind while cooking or storing this stuff? Should I parbake anything or prepare it differently from normal so that reheating it leaves it in better condition, or should I just cook everything normally, store in aluminum pans, and reheat when ready? I don't want to serve soggy stuff if I don't need to, and I don't want to have to cook 90 things at once.

Break my fast.

popcassady — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 10:30:26 -0800

What can I have for breakfast?
I get up, wash, leave the house, all in the space of twenty/thirty minutes.

I'm always late for work.

I never have breakfast.

I miss breakfast.

My days are better when I have breakfast.

What is there to eat that's: quick, tasty, healthy, not cereals (including cold porridge), not toast/poptart, not yoghurt, not just a banana, nor cold pizza?

Making an omelette, the Pepin way.

Brian James — Thu, 25 May 2006 14:32:02 -0800

Help me master this simple, straightforward omelette recipe. I'm trying out the omelette method seen in Jacques Pepin's Techniques, the same recipe is also present almost verbatim on Pepin's website, seen here.

1. Beat £ large eggs with a dash of salt, finely groundpepper and 2 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs ( a mixture (or plainof parsley, tarragon, chervil and chives) in a bowl with a fork until well combined; pieces of egg white should no longer separate from the yolk; the egg should be well homogenized. Melt 1 1/2 teaspoons of unsalted butter non-stick 6 to 8 inch skillet. Swirl the butter in the pan and, when the foaming has subsided, add the eggs. Holding the fork flat, stir the eggs as fast as you can while shaking the pan with your other hand so the eggs coagulate uniformly.

These instructions seem pretty easy, but it's that last sentence that's giving me trouble. I cannot get my omelette to look anything close to how it appears in the photo (#2) on the website. I'm doing this with 3 eggs in an 8-inch nonstick omelette pan under high heat. After adding the eggs, I wait 6 seconds for them to coagulate, then, using a silicone spatula (so as not to scratch the nonstick coating), I stir up the coagulated eggs at the bottom. What I wind up with is a bunch of peaks surrounded by raw egg, producing a runny omelette--if i wait for all the egg to cook, the bottom will be burnt. (Even if I went to a 10-inch omelette pan, I still don't think I could match the pictured result.) I can't get the omelette to form the evenly coagulated, textured surface that is in the photo:

So, can someone expound on how to reach the result shown in the photo? Is Pepin omitting a step? Should the omelette be flipped at some point?

[Mind you, I'm not interested in just any omelette recipe--I want to better understand this particular one.]