From Tracie: Breakfast Is Code For Dessert

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Breakfast Is Code For Dessert

This morning I had ice cream for breakfast. There was a quick moment, standing in the kitchen in the early hours of the morning while the rest of my family slept, where I halfheartedly defended my choice by thinking about the dairy content in ice cream.

But, really, it was ice cream. Neapolitan ice cream to be exact.

Ice cream is dessert.

Breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day. But for most of my life, breakfast has been an excuse to eat an early morning dessert without being bothered by pesky things like eating an actual meal first. I usually stick with the socially acceptable dessert breakfasts - those foods we all seem to pretend are legitimate breakfast foods instead of desserts - but I have also finished off a piece of leftover cake or pie.

Socially Acceptable Dessert Breakfasts:
1. Anything made by Little Debbie
2. Cinnamon Rolls
3. Coffee Cake
4. Danish
5. Doughnuts
6. Eclair
7. Muffins (more chocolate chips, less bran)
8. Nutella Crepes
9. Pancakes and Syrup (anything with syrup, really)
10. Pop Tarts
11. Reese's Puffs (and other sugar-laden cereals)

When I am not trying to fulfill my dessert requirements early, I am more likely to reach for a piece of cold pizza than something actually healthy.

I have to wonder, are the rest of you are out there making egg white omelets each morning? Steel rolled oatmeal without a generous addition of butter, whole milk, and brown sugar? Non-sweetened Greek yogurt with protein powder stirred in for good measure? Or do you break your fast with one of those socially acceptable dessert breakfasts?

The blame for my breakfast choices could be laid with my father, who usually picked up something at the gas station on the way to school (and thus began my love affair with Little Debbie treats), but I am thirty years old. I am responsible for my choices, and I could be making better ones. Clearly I did not decide to do that this morning when I reached for the ice cream.

But, honestly, I enjoyed every sugar-filled bite, and I do not feel bad about it.

48 comments:

  1. hey, it takes carbs and caffeine to kick start my metabolism in the morning. poptarts, pancakes, biscuits and bacon, golden grahams, coffee cake, 800 calorie blueberry muffins...

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    1. True story: I can not tell you the caloric content of any food in my home.

      Biscuits and bacon and sound yummy. Especially if the biscuits are warm, and you put butter and jam on them.

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  2. I have been known to have a nutritious diet pepsi on occasion for breakfast. But usually I am the protein powder smoothie girl. Funny how I can go between such extremes!

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    1. I usually stay on the unhealthy side of things, and don't see that other extreme very often. Smoothies are good, though.

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  3. I love all of the fake-breakfast desserts, especially doughnuts! And pancakes! And coffee cake! Yum.

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    1. Yum, indeed. There is a reason I keep going back to the bakery section when I am buying breakfast.

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  4. Nutrigrain bars are my breakfast splurge. They aren't that bad for you (compared to chocolate cake) but they aren't healthy either. They just pretend to be in fancy packaging. I mostly just do a protein shake or bowl of cheerios. I'm shockingly more disciplined at breakfast than I am with other meals. Right now I'm eating fries and a butterfinger blizzard for dinner. (That's my confession to balance your ice cream confession.)

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    1. We do the Nutrigrain bars around here, too. They are pretty good. I love that you said they just pretend to be healthy with their fancy packaging.

      Your dinner sounds amazing. Now I seriously want french fries and a butterfinger blizzard. LOVE that your confession balances mine out. :-)

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  5. I'm not seeing a problem with your choice! Neopolitan gets your fruit in, too! As for the poptart: I've started buying the ones with oatmeal in it so I feel like I'm making a healthy choice!

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    1. You are so right. I had dairy and fruit this morning.

      Breakfast win.

      We've been getting those oatmeal poptarts, too! LOL. I have noticed that they feel heavier than normal poptarts. Not in a weight way, but in a "this is a more solid food" way. Does that make sense?

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  6. Hello soul sista!! love your breakfast list!! i'll admit sometimes i buy these pretend 'healthy' cookies. but i wouldn't trade dessert breakfast for anything!

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    1. Hello! I am pretty sure you were cheering me on this morning when I talked about my ice cream on twitter! ;-)

      The pretend "healthy" cookies are awesome. I had some Fiber One brownies the other day, and totally bragged about the health food I was eating to my husband. (sidenote: I expected those to be kind of awful, but they were actually really yummy!)

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  7. So I can eat my Swiss Cake Rolls for breakfast? Awesome!

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    1. You most certainly can. Many are the mornings I have had Swiss Cake Rolls for breakfast!

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  8. Stopping by from YeahWrite 31dbbb.
    @JLenniDorner

    Waffles! Chocolate chip ones. Or filled with berry-goo.

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    1. Mmmm. I love Chocolate Chip waffles...especially the ones at Waffle House. YUM!

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  9. In Italy, it's almost blaspheme to eat anything BUT sweet foods for dessert. And they apparently have some of the best food in the world, so they should know what's up. I've never been, but it sounds like my kind of place.
    Also, I could substitute ice cream for any meal of the day, with a small side of guilt. Sigh.

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    1. Clearly I should be living in Italy! It sounds like my kind of place, too.

      Loose the guilt, and scoop yourself a second bowl! ;-)

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  10. You had me at Nutella! My go-to breakfast in summer (when it's hot) is Greek yogurt (fruit flavored) and granola. Sounds healthy but actually is loaded with sugar!

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    1. That sounds pretty tasty.

      Nutella is always the answer - no matter what the question.

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  11. I am a firm believer in the dessert breakfast. My favorite? Pumpkin pie for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving...

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    1. Mmmm. I like that!! Do you put whipped cream on it? (for dairy purposes, of course)

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  12. At work, every morning, I have a poptart for breakfast. So much so that my boss and some other coworkers tease me about it... I don't care though. They're not even that great, but compared to what I used to do (not eat breakfast at all), they're great. :) I approve of your ice cream choice!

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    1. Pop Tarts are awesome. I especially like the Brown Sugar Cinnamon ones.

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  13. Muffins are totally acceptable for breakfast. So are pancakes. And cinnamon rolls. Sticky buns. Ice cream. Chocolate.

    Mmmmm.

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    1. I have seen your cooking....so I know I would LOVE breakfast at your house!

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  14. I've always loved leftover pumpkin pie for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving.

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    1. You are the second person to say that. I am definitely going to have to try that this year. Yum!

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  15. I adore cinnamon rolls and donuts. For any meal, honestly. Love this post!-Ashley

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    1. "For any meal..." <---this is why I love you!

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  16. Oh yes I agree the best breakfast foods are the dessert type foods

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    1. It is good to know I am not alone in my dessert breakfast eating!

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  17. I ate a pop tart just this morning. S'mores flavour. It was probably the last pop tart available to me in Japan, until I order more from Mom or the Foreign Buyer's Club. I usually save them for special days, like... ... Independence Day! Yeah that's today, I'm not American but I wanted to celebrate anyways... ah, who am I kidding. I just wanted a pop tart. You don't need an excuse, either! ;)

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  18. I hope this doesn't totally gross you out but I am back on a low carb diet. This morning ... I ate tunafish for breakfast and scrambled eggs for dinner. No dessert though unless you want to count a handful of berries!

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  19. As you know from my tweet, my kids had ice cream for breakfast yesterday. I think they need a dessert breakfast once a week - at least in the summer. And I may need to get a few ideas from your list!

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  20. My daughter is your breakfast soul sister. She would eat nothing but chocolate-glazed doughnuts or chocolate fudge Pop Tarts every morning. I'm tempted more by salty fare. Sausage I love. But it does taste even better dipped in some syrup.

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  21. That sounds like the prefect start of a day to me! I might try a variation of the ice cream flavor, but I've done it. When there are Girl Scout cookies in the house, all bets are off.

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  22. I think you are my soul mate! If it's got sugar, I say bring it on! And Little Debbie snack cakes are the way to go for breakfast. Unless Cap'n Crunch is handy! ;)

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  23. I must confess, I love my sugar too! Thanks for sharing with us!

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  24. I make a cupcake with bacon and maple syrup. It would be the best of both worlds!

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  25. When I was in high school I usually had Instant Breakfast™ for breakfast. A frozen Instant Breakfast would be ice cream. :-)

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  26. Absolutely!! That is one of the best perks of adulthood!

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  27. Cinnamon rolls, muffins, coffee cake, pancakes ... some of my fave breakfasts!

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  28. nutella crepes, pop tarts & all things sweet! I'm now so hungry.. Someone please pass me a doughnut covered in chocolate icing and sprinkles!

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  29. Honestly, I don't like eggs or breakfast sausage or bacon, so all of my breakfasts consist of the sweet stuff. Except when I am feeling healthy and make a green smoothie.

    However, I can totally relate to you on the ice cream front because every year for my birthday, I eat cake and ice cream for breakfast literally everyday until it's gone. It's the happiest breakfast week of the year!

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  30. I'm not much of a breakfast person so I feel completely justified in my horrible sugary choices when they are closer to noon ;-)

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  31. Yummmm - those are my kind of breakfasts. I especially like nutella and banana crepes with vanilla bean ice cream on top!

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  32. Hallelujah! Someone who sees through the disguise. Fifty percent of the things that are "breakfast" are actually "morning dessert." And the other half is "leftovers" or "things that take less than 5 minutes to make because I'm late for work for the the third time this week."

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