I'm always struck by the differences in peoples' food choices.
This week, all of the food shows have been about breakfast or brunch...because of New Year's.
I got to thinking about how radically different my breakfasts were growing up, depending on who's home I was at.
My mother was not a morning person, so we got our own breakfasts, often cereal, or other instant food choices. Sometimes, on a weekend, my dad wanted something for breakfast, so we got pancakes, waffles, or French toast.
On the other hand, her mother, born in Texas, would make my grandfather bacon and eggs...his preference, and chocolate and biscuits for we children if we happened to spend the night. Which was shared by cousins and my aunt, because they knew that we would ask for it, and get it, and they loved it, too.
Whereas, my other grandmother, from N.Y., and who could cook wonderfully, had whole other ideas. She was the working woman one who worked for the rocket scientists with the govt., so my grandfather cooked a lot of the meals when she worked, as she got home late.
But, my grandmother, convinced that my parents were not keeping our nutrition in mind, was more health minded. We were given a 1/2 grapefruit (sprinkled with sugar, and with a cherry on top.), followed by a bowl of oatmeal, and served with a glass of milk, and a juice glass of orange juice.
As you know, I wasn't a milk drinker. I drank shakes, and ate cereal with milk in it, but we were not like most children of the time, being served milk with meals to drink.
My father did not agree with my grandmother that we were deficient. Nor did he agree with non-babies drinking milk alongside meals. We ate many types of food, including, each week...meat such as steak, meatloaf, etc. with potatoes such as baked potatoes, browned, mashed, etc with vegetables, etc. Casseroles, pasta dishes, homemade soups, stir fries, and more.
But, my grandmother meant well, and was going to have healthy grandchildren.
So, how did breakfasts differ at home vs. at grandparents' homes, etc.?
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