idly grazing

After paying some bills and clearing the dreaded post-London credit card I idly meandered back to my emails. An article about America's worst breakfast foods caught my eye as I clicked on the green back button.

I am incredulous! Not only are the statistics incredible, but I had no idea that people really did eat such a big range of unhealthy things for breakfast.

It reminded me of the number of finger-lickin cooked chickens eaten in south Auckland for breakfast.

Here in Italy the country runs on caffeine and sugar, with the fat from the cornetti to keep the wolf from the door until lunch time. Eaten to excess, our breakfasts are not a lot better than the large American meals. I was a custard-filled cornetto fan until I baked my own and watched the fat running out of the pastry and onto the oven tray.

My mother insisted that we eat mince on toast, baked beans, scrambled eggs or even porridge before we set off for school. If we had been successful eeling at the river then eels were our preferred "brain food" and we skinned them as they hung out under the water tank, anticipating a good breakfast the following morning. That's my idea of a good start to the day. Mothers do know best!

Dear Mum,
How do I reconcile dining so late at night and waking in the morning still feeling replete with re-establishing in my diet those good healthy breakfasts you made?
.