Back to school is everywhere. You can’t go into a store without seeing back to school sales or school essentials being displayed. It always amazes me the amount of items now available. Unfortunately, most of us are more worried about keeping up with the school fashions or gadgets than what are eating. Healthy breakfast are crucial to a good diet. For years the health guru’s of the country have been advises all of us to loose weight and eat healthier foods. I don’t know any person that wants to be unhealthy. Everyone I talk to wants to eat healthier, loose weight, and live a long life. If everybody wants the same goals, than why do we keep getting fatter and sicker? We’ve hit critical mass.
When I refer to critical mass I make reference to the all mighty dollar. Nothing is wrong with wanting to be comfortable in life and if that means striving for money than do it. However, when the desire and drive for money becomes an obsession over the good of mankind there arises what I call critical mass. Companies begin looking for ways to prolong food shelf life and cheaper ways to produce it at our expense. Foods are processed, stripped of their nutritional values than sprayed with vitamin enriched water, packaged, marketed and sold to the masses.
Before you get upset and the corporations that produce the massive quantities of food we consume, take a look in the mirror. We have no one to blame but ourselves. We are the corporations. Pushing for higher yields on our retirement investments, paychecks, bonuses, and pension funds have forced companies to seek for higher profits. These higher profits come back to us as dividends and that makes us all happy.
Before we hit critical mass and implode in on ourselves sit back and make a decision to take charge of one aspect of your life, food. This simple item, food, is the one common denominator of all mankind. Learning the basics of cooking can mean the difference between a healthy life and an unhealthy life. With back to school in full swing make an effort to include a healthy breakfast in your day.
Most people have their own interpretation of healthy. To me healthy means foods that are prepared with the freshest ingredients. Foods in there raw and natural states combined to create delicious meals is my definition of healthy. The best lesson on cooking starts with breakfasts. A healthy breakfast is the foundation of a great day and a wonderful foundation to learn cooking.
French toast is one of my favorite breakfast foods. It’s easy to make and most people have the ingredients. Eggs and milk are whisked together with salt and pepper to create the coating for the bread. Some people like to add honey, vanilla, cinnamon or any combination of spices to create exotic creations. You can use any variety of bread but I like challah or brioche breads because of the texture and flavors. Heat a large skillet up and lightly coat it with vegetable spray to prevent sticking. Dip the bread slices in the egg mixture and fry each side of the bread for a couple of minutes to create a beautiful golden brown color. When the French toast is cooked, serve it with your favorite jam, syrup, or topping. Be sure to serve up a side of fresh fruit and yogurt to complete a very nutritious breakfast.
Whatever you choose to serve for breakfast, start with fresh ingredients and get away from the processed package foods that are full of sugar and chemicals. I will post my french toast recipe on my website www.chefbryanonline.com. Take charge of the food you eat and start to take charge of your health!