Research on the criticality of breakfast is inconclusive, as is much research on nutrition.
In formulating the Standardized Meal System, I was overwhelmed with dietary advice, much of it unscientific, contradictory, or exaggerated in terms of its potential benefits. It became obvious that my original goal of making the system nutritionally perfect, based on universally accepted research, was not feasible.
Instead, I identified five principles likely to provide a high proportion of the health benefits available from food choices1. Obviously, if you are (probably irrationally) convinced of the benefits of some “superfood” item or category, you will tailor the system to accommodate it. It is unlikely your health or weight will be significantly affected2.
The principles are:
1. No junk food.
2. A variety of fruit and vegetables every day.
3. Red meat once or twice a week, with remaining meals based on poultry, seafood, and / or vegetables.
4. No alcohol (strongly recommended but ignored in my case).
5. No rigid rules (hence, ice-cream is permitted on Autumn Sundays and chocolates once a week).
I decided to eat breakfast regularly because it provides a consistent start to the day; is a useful vehicle for delivering fruit, fiber, and caffeine; and reduces the impact of missing lunch if I become occupied with an interesting task.
I eat the same generic breakfast every day, all year, potentially forever, only varying the fruit component. I receive no criticism for this. People who consider the repetition of a dinner after an interval of seven days to be “boring” or even indicative of mental illness are prepared to eat the same breakfast after a delay of only twenty-four hours.
My original breakfast consisted of uncooked oats, to which I added dried fruit and nuts, plus fresh fruit. Rosie added yogurt to hers. I didn’t, due to not liking yogurt. I have now upgraded to granola, using largely the same ingredients, but with the addition of a toasting process. It has three major advantages:
1. Assembly (excluding the fresh fruit) is done in bulk, in advance, in a relaxing context.
2. By formalizing the recipe, consistency is improved and ongoing refinement is more easily managed.
3. Superior flavor.
The average number of serves from the specified quantity is 71, i.e. 35 1/2 breakfasts for two people. Granola production can be undertaken at any time, though Sunday is the obvious choice.
COMMON RESOURCES: GRANOLA
4 tbsp vegetable oil
300 g pepitas
750 g oats
60 g brown flaxseed
400 g pecans
750 g almonds
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp honey
2 tsp vanilla essence
250 g Turkish dried apricots
300 g dried cranberries (“craisins”) – dried cherries are superior but more expensive
EQUIPMENT: GRANOLA
3 sheets baking paper
3 oven trays
Large bowl
Airtight jars for storage
Food processor
PROCESS: GRANOLA
Time: 68 minutes.
Preheat oven to 175 degrees and cover 3 oven trays with baking paper.
Put almonds and pecans in the food processor, and use chop mode briefly to halve size. Or chop manually.
Chop each dried apricot into 8 pieces.
Mix all ingredients except dried fruit together in a bowl.
Spread 1/3 of bowl contents onto each of the 3 oven trays.
If you are confident that the temperature of your oven is uniform across 3 shelves, you can use 3 oven trays concurrently, thus saving 32 minutes, minimum. But many ovens produce different temperatures at different levels and depending on what shelves are in use, creating a nightmare.
Ideally, you would purchase an oven without this problem, saving at least 5 hours and 29 minutes per year. If you are, for other reasons, replacing your oven, you could insist on a granola test. But I would not recommend replacement for this reason alone. The 5 hours and 29 minutes is not wasted if you timeshare other tasks, including unstructured reflection, and the money (in my opinion) would be better served in expanding barbecue options. Most of my oven use is simple, and a superior appliance will make minimal difference to the result.
Put first tray in the oven – commence timing.
After 8 minutes, stir the ingredients, bringing in those on the sides as these are susceptible to burning.
After 16 minutes, remove tray from oven.
Repeat for remaining trays.
Immediately after removing a tray from the oven, add 1/3 of the dried fruit and stir to create a homogenous mix.
Allow to cool and store in jar(s) in the pantry.
Fresh fruit (I recommend berries, stone fruit, oranges, apples, bananas)
Yogurt or other dairy product or substitute (optional)
Coffee
PROCESS: BREAKFAST
Time: 3 minutes.
Put granola in bowl.
Prepare fruit for eating (peel; cut into pieces; remove stones as necessary).
Add fruit and (optionally) dairy product or substitute to bowl.
Accompany with coffee (or alternative preferred beverage).
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1 I am not a professional dietician and you should not rely on my advice. But you should trust it more than that of unqualified authors of diet books and journalists reporting research. Or anyone suggesting that diet replace medicine.
2 If you are concerned about health: do not smoke, exercise regularly, maintain a healthy BMI, and pay attention to the quality of your relationships (preferably with a live-in companion who can provide emotional support and take action in case of accident or illness: this companion will be motivated to stay to enjoy your cooking). Statistically, these strategies are more effective than any extensions to my diet principles.