Friday 5 April 2013

Wondering about breakfast...

I have many moments now where my mind is occupied with thoughts, plans, to-do lists surrounding the impending move. None seems to be taking up quite so much head space though as the thought 'What am I going to feed my kids for breakfast in Canada?'
Yes, I know that they have food there, supermarkets etc. I know I could buy bread, eggs, bacon. The issue lies in the fact that my kids are exactly what the ads say Aussie kids are.
They are WEETBIX KIDS.
More to the point we are a weetbix family (or rather 3 out of 4 of us are). I have grown up on weetbix. It is my breakfast cereal of choice. I have raised my children on it. It is a staple in my pantry, and an empty box is enough to prompt me to rush out and do an unscheduled grocery shop. So much is weetbix an integral par of the family diet, that I can only buy one size of box. Regardless of the better value of the larger bulk box, it has to be the size that fits inside the commemorative weetbix tins - of which we have two. One cricket. One soccer.
Not only do my children have it for breakfast, but I am proud to admit, on days that they come from child care too cranky to eat, I feed them weetbix for dinner too. Yep. Me and my girls, we live on weetbix.
I guess I could feed them toast - but if I do, do I then forego the sandwiches at lunch? I seem to have this aversion to using bread for 2 main meals. And sandwiches for lunch now, will surely help the progression into sandwiches being the acceptable school lunch option?
I do feed them, yoghurt, fruit and cheese as supplementals to their cereal, but I just can't see myself making porridge - I have this inability to cook anything that I won't eat myself...
And although eggs and bacon could be an option, I am watching The Biggest Loser and am conscience  of setting a good dietary example - or at least appearing to be (if you ignore the mountain of Easter chocolate sitting on the bench, or the iceblocks readily available in the freezer, or my stash of chips for when I need a salt fix...)
Maybe you think I am mad. I mean, it's only Canada we are moving to. But I can't help remembering one particular North American breakfast experience, shared with my sister many years ago.
We were visiting her student exchange family in the states. We told them of our hotel in LA where all they served for breakfast was a buffet table of doughnuts. Perplexed by our bafflement at the situation they responded with 'but when else would you eat them?' To them doughnuts = breakfast food versus us seeing it as junk. A few days later, we were the early bird shoppers at the Mall of America in Minnieapolis, and while waiting for the shops to open, we spotted a vendor advertising 'healthy breakfasts'. Keen for something healthy to start out day, we headed over, where to our amusement the 'healthy option' was the equivalent of fruit loops glued on to a stick...
I am sure that Canadians are far more enlightened than this - after all they serve pancakes with maple syrup (can I live on that for breakfast for two years??)  but still, I am going to mull over this quandary for four months, as I plan out my weetbix care packages from Oz (accompanied by slabs of Vegemite, Milo and Timtams.....)

On a final note, many thanks to my beautiful friends who have offered such amazing words of encouragement and support as I start my little piece of internet journalling. I love that you visited and enjoyed the chat. If you are crazy enough to revisit, please subscribe or follow - then you'll never miss me and my ramblings...

J x




4 comments:

  1. Great writing, Jen! All the best with the moving...and with breakfast choices! Love Kim

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  2. Thanks Kim! And thank you for popping my comment cherry :)

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  3. Thanks Jen for your wonderful writing :) I love that you are already thinking about the important things like what to eat for breakfast! Am so looking forward to being able to keep in touch while you are in Canada. love Louise x

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