Smart Breakfasts with P'tit Dej-HOTEL
Why do we need breakfast?
After a night without food, breakfast provides essential energy and nutrition that our bodies need to avoid tiredness and increase concentration. Important studies on attention span and memory show that a breakfast rich in carbohydrates helps to maintain a level mental performance throughout the morning.
What constitutes a balanced breakfast? *
A balanced breakfast follows the 'rule of 4'
• A dairy product for protein, calcium and vitamins A, B2 and D.It helps to build, maintain and renew body tissue: a yoghurt, cream cheese, milk or even cheese.
• A cereal product or bread for an intake of carbohydrates, fibers, minerals and B vitamins: bread, breakfast biscuits, cereal etc.
• A fruit or fruit juice for vitamin C and minerals.
• A drink, cold or hot, to re-hydrate.
Example of a balanced breakfast for an adult male
- 250 ml of milk or one yoghurt
- 60 to 70 g of bread, or 50 g of cereal
- 150 g fruit or 125 ml of fruit juice
- 10 to 15 g of butter or margarine
- 5 to10 g of sugar and 40 g of jam
Example of a balanced breakfast for an adult female
- 200 to 250 ml of milk or one yoghurt
- 40 to 60 g of bread, or 40 g of cereal
- 50 g fruit or 125 ml of fruit juice
- 5 to 10 g of butter or margarine
- 0 to 5 g of sugar and 20 to 30 g of jam
Different types of breakfast
Continental breakfastThe continental breakfast is a classic. It’s the breakfast ‘à la française’, made up of sweet products..Often served at the table, it’s the breakfast one finds in all hotels in France*. It is generally made up of hot drinks (coffee, tea, chocolate), bread, French pastries (croissant, brioche), jam, butter, fruit juice, yoghurts, cereals and fresh fruit. *source : Coach Omnium |
The English breakfastThe English breakfast, as its name indicates, comes from our British neighbours. It is more copious than the continental breakfast, but above all more rich. It is generally made up of toast, butter, jam and/of marmalade, eggs, bacon, sausages, cooked tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, potatoes, sauce as well as orange juice, coffee and tea. |
The American BreakfastSweet and savoury, the American breakfast combines elements of the Continental breakfast and the English breakfast.. Made up generally of fruit juice, flavoured coffee (hazelnut, almond, chocolate), natural and flavoured milk, pancakes and waffles with maple syrup, honey, sugar, jam and cinnamon, cereals, yoghurts, fruit puree, fruit salad, and omelets with vegetables or ham. |
Breakfast through the centuries
Origin The word originates from two words - break and fast. To break = to end, to fast = a period of not eating (overnight).
The Romans
In the morning, the Romans eat bread rubbed with garlic or onion, accompanied with wine mixed with water. For the wealthy, breakfast was more abundant, with more products such as milk, cheese, honey, eggs, fresh fruit and dried figs.
Already at this time, towns were busy with people in a hurry from early morning. They went to « thermopolia » where they could eat on the spot or take away fried fish, grilled sausage, meat kebabs and spicy fried balls.
Those preferring sweet products went to bakers to find special breads from Cappadocia, milk and honey biscuits, and biscuits from Rhodes.
The Gauls
For breakfast ( jentaculum in latin), the Gauls ate mainly cured meats and cheese, accompanied with ‘hydromel’, a drink made with honey and water, and barley water with honey.
In the Middle Ages
Wine soup with bread was the breakfast of the knights. They poured a thick soup flavoured with vegetables, unpasteurized milk and bacon on a thick slice of bread. The origin of the French word ‘copain’ (friend) comes from this practice of sharing bread.
During the Renaissance
It was at this time that something approaching the ‘modern’ breakfast started to appear. In the 16th century, people ate thick slices of grilled or ‘toasted’ bread, covered with salted butter, which they dipped in to warm milk.
At the court of Louis XIV
Coffee first appeared at the court of Louis XIV. It was imported by the Turkish ambassador of the Sultan Soliman Aga, and was presented to the king in 1696, but he preferred an infusion of sage and veronica for his breakfast. Coffee was, for a long period, considered to be a luxury product because of the cost of importation.
Coffee and croissants
Coffee with cream was invented in Vienna by a polish soldier named Kolschitsky, in 1683. In his « salon de café », he served coffee with whipped cream, sugar and milk, to soften the taste. He accompanied it with a pastry in the shape of a half moon, the symbol of the Turkish flag. This combination was very successful in Vienna, and throughout Europe. It was the invention of coffee and croissants.
At the time of the French Revolution
A cup of coffee or tea was the main ingredient of breakfast at this time. During the Revolution, in front of the assembly, mixed grills were served to the deputies on long forks.
It was also at this time that the question as to whether it was better to eat more or less at breakfast began to be posed.
In the 19th century in the countryside
The custom at the beginning of the 19th century was to dip bread in soup. French toast was made with stale bread soaked in milk and dipped in egg, then fried.
The appearance of cereals
It was only towards the end of the 19th century that cereals first made their appearance at breakfast. It was in the United States in 1890, that a dental surgeon called John Kellogg invented the first corn flakes. It was his brother, Will Kellogg, who created the Kellogg company in 1906 … At the same time in Switzerland, Dr Bircher Benner invented muesli, which means ‘small and grated’. The consumption of cereals in France remained relatively week until the 1980’s when the market exploded.
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