Breakfast for champions
V.S. Mahajan

HOW many among us really enjoy our morning breakfast? I am afraid not many. Students and office-goers, who are in a rush early in the morning, do not think twice about foregoing their breakfast or hurrying through it. Most of them generally come to the breakfast table at the last minute and virtually swallow whatever is served without bothering about how much of it is likely to be accepted by the system.

This is not a healthy way of starting your day, for instead of enjoying the first meal of the day, you treat it as a mere ritual to keep the body system going. Such a notion should be dispensed with. You should make a resolve to be serious about breakfast and make it virtually the principal food of the day.

In other words, you should spend a minimum of half an hour over it. Every bit of item you eat should get converted into a feast of nourishment.

You should therefore follow a well-thought-out menu and enjoy it to your heart’s content.

The first resolve should be to spend at least half an hour on the breakfast table. Thus breakfast should never be rushed through, for that could do a lot of damage to your system. To avoid nausea during the day, resolve to stick to this vital rule.

While on the breakfast table, your mind should be calm and composed. Your sole objective should be to concentrate on breakfast and enjoy it to the maximum.

Also you should shut yourself completely to any temptation like reading the newspaper or scanning through office files. These temptations should be forgotten otherwise you would not be sincere to your breakfast. Your thoughts should not be elsewhere while you are eating breakfast.

The second resolve should be to cultivate a cheerful disposition, a happy mood and a smiling face. That will help to bolster your appetite and make you derive the maximum benefit from whatever you are eating.

Breakfast eaten with a sullen mood will do no good. Rather when you are in such a state, it will be better if you skip your breakfast. Even then whatever you choose to eat, give it time and never hurry through.

The third resolution should be to eat or drink what suits your appetite. It should, however, be healthy and nourishing. It may be difficult in a family to meet your individual requirement but you could take the trouble to prepare the stuff yourself before sitting on the breakfast table. It may not be always possible to do so but occasionally you could go in for it. The best way would be to adjust your taste and food habits as per the family needs. That would also reduce the load on the housewife.

Also ensure that whatever you eat or drink is done in a slow and measured way. For instance, while eating a solid food like paranthas, don’t rush through it. It should be slowly eaten bit by bit and chewed thoroughly. Even while drinking liquid, avoid gulping it. In short, you must enjoy whatever you eat or drink and the best way to do it is to invest time in it.

Another very important resolution is to rest for a while after breakfast, may be just for a few minutes. It has been observed that those who relax after breakfast and also have a comparatively light breakfast — but of course not so light that it would arouse hunger soon after — they are far better prepared to face the battle of life than their counterparts. Thus relaxation is a great elixir of life.

Practising these resolutions would ensure a healthy start to the day.