The Little Lunch

Image by Jana Bouc

Time to put on your beret and your best gallic pout.  Okay, ready?  Let’s talk about breakfast, or le petit dejéuner as the French call it, literally translated as the little lunch.  Thinking of the first meal of the day as my little lunch changes the menu completely.   All at once a new array of savory offerings are on the table.  Gone are all those swoggy foods (sweet and soggy, soaked in syrup, jam and honey; I call them swoggy) and  pointless breakfast cereals.  The Western world is eating too much sugar and refined white flour, and it starts the minute we wake up. Delaying that sweet fix until later in the day will help the body off to a better start and a better day.

A tartine or open faced sandwich on some crisp rye bread layered with a dab of butter, flakes of smoked fish and a spritz of lemon might work.  The other day I grabbed a piece of romaine lettuce, wrapped it around a stick of Gruyère  and added a swipe of grainy mustard for my little lunch.  Some mornings, I must confess to eating my porridge oats topped with butter and few flakes of Maldon sea salt; not perhaps what I would have for lunch, but at least it’s not swoggy!  Other days I have quinoa and  some crunchy walnuts and celery with a drizzle of walnut oil and lots of black pepper.  A friend has miso soup  with soba noodles for breakfast.   Eggs are always delightful … I like mine with some sautéed mushrooms or wilted spinach.  In a rush?  How about some hummus and red pepper strips?  Some of last night’s leftover vegetable curry would be fun.  A really smart fifth grader of my acquaintance sets out cubes of goat’s cheese Gouda and slices of apple for her family’s little lunch on busy mornings.  Once you get the hang of it, having a little lunch for breakfast opens up the morning to a panoply of delicious choices.  What is your favorite little lunch?