I inherently distrust people who self-identify as "not a breakfast person." What is that, even? Breakfast is essential to being a better human (for those of us suffering hangry tendencies, at least) and a choose-your-own-adventure morning activity. Yes! You can eat whatever the hell you want to kickstart your day. Of course, eating trends vary by geographical location. As such, breakfasts differ by country. And seriously? A lot of these countries make a compelling argument against the classically American bowl of Cheerios. (I have yet to be convinced anything better than a breakfast burrito exists in this realm, but that's another topic for another post another day.)
Traveling is lovely and all but it sure can add up in terms of draining your budget, vacation days, and overall energy. Alternatively, you could save dollars and time while honing mad cooking skills at home just learning what goes down in other countries' breakfast nooks. It's an exploration! And even if you're not quite so excruciatingly optimistic, look at it this way: It's food. Food is hardly ever bad and breakfast food is bad with even less frequent occurrence. So let's be real and start making these other countries' breakfast foods in America ASAP:
Cheese and bread
Folks in France celebrate the morning with soft cheese and crusty bread and right now I'm experiencing very intense feelings that maybe I'm secretly a reincarnated French person because that sounds DIVINE. France typically enjoys slices of baguette paired with toppings like fruit jam or or butter or Brie. Hi, yes. I would like this to be my morning ritual and guess what? Nothing is stopping me OR you from adopting this delicious, daily idea. I know we have a slightly similar adaption of this in the States via cream cheese and bagels but it doesn't have that je ne sais quoi.
Chilaquiles
A typical breakfast in Mexico is a fun brunch choice in the US but honestly, it should be enjoyed much more often than that. Chilaquiles, if you're not hip to them, are basically fried corn tortillas with eggs, cheese, refried beans, and verde salsa. And it is incredibly, especially when doused in your hot sauce of choice. They sound tricky to pull off, but they're really not with a step-by-step tutorial like this one.
Rice and miso soup
A traditional Japanese Wafuu breakfast involves a lot of savory components like rice balls, salad with avocado, and miso soup. Sounds soul-warming to me.
Dosas
Essentially, these perfect pastries is a mega-thin, fermented crepe stuffed with spiced potatoes. Traditionally enjoyed among morning greetings in South India, I feel I now need this dish for breakfast every day in South Atlanta.
Arepas
Another thing-within-a-thing kinda like dosas, arepas are a Venezuelan staple. They're little corn flour pockets stuffed with cheese or meat or veggies (or a combination!). Then fried, because, like I said, these are all food items that are nearly perfect.
Dinner's leftovers
Apparently many people in Colombia simply ate leftovers from the night before's dinner. This is genius. This is everything. This is my new breakfast habit, for sure. Saves time, money, and your soul from the garish cereal aisle at the grocery store. That's a triple-win, folks. Take note.
