Ask Angie: moving Israeli thread to new start, with questions

Anonymous

Ladies, when you speak of cheese and pastries for breakfast, can you tell me what you mean by pastries? I doubt you mean the bear claw variety.

Also Angie, I am curious, how many different countries/cultures, have you lived in? I know you have been all around the globe and am curious as to what cultures have influenced you? (Big question! HaHa!)

17 years ago

General

23 replies

Latest reply was from christie

Ele

(website)

Active Member

Ooh, I want to know, too! It always seems to me that Angie has the most fascinating life- she's lived in so many places!

Mmmm, cheese and pastries. Can't help you with what it is, san, but it's making me hungry;)

17 years ago

christie

Active Member

I'm not Angie, but when I eat pastries for breakfast, I usually like the croissant variety.

I lived abroad in Quebec City with a family, and one of the things they ate for breakfast was cheese on toast. They would toast thick slabs of bread, spread butter and jam on it, and layer slices of white cheddar cheese on top. It was super delicious!

17 years ago

taylor

Veteran

Yeaaaa , Angie moving onward...head held high, stronger than ever!!!! More trips, more photos...more happy ylfers!!:)

17 years ago

Dashrashi

Veteran

I can't speak for Angie, but Israeli breakfasts tend toward the fresh and the savory. There will be fresh vegetables, an assortment of (savory) cheeses, hard and soft, lots of breadstuffs, hard-boiled eggs (usually) and often some fish. There will also (assuming you're at a hotel) be some concessions to the Westerners in the form of "breakfast food": cereal, pancakes, waffles, eggs, orange juice. Not much bacon, as you might imagine.

It can be very eye-opening in terms of your eating habits. It really gets you out of the pancakes-cereal-eggs rut--one of my favorite breakfasts now is miso soup.

17 years ago

Laura

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Wow, I love the Israeli breakfast idea. I liked the breakfasts in Germany/Austria a lot too -- meats and cheeses and soft boiled eggs and fresh rolls. It helps avoid that big blood sugar crash that comes after eating too much sweet stuff for breakfast!

17 years ago

Dawn

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Active Member

Oh I love the sound of Israeli breakfast! I really must start eating food like that for breakfast rather than toast or Irish breakfasts. Unfortunately I can't eat cereal due to my lactose intolerance and hatred of soya milk so I often struggle with breakfast as a meal... and needless to say an Irish breakfast (read sausages, rashers, eggs, baked beans, pudding and lots of buttered toast) is not that healthy.

17 years ago

Lena

Active Member

Ooh, Israeli breakfast sounds so delicious.

When I was growing up in Russia, something like English or Irish style breakfast was the norm. Lots of meat, eggs, toast, dairy. When I was small my favorite breakfast dish was a type of dumpling with sweet cheese (similar to Italian Ricotta). Yum!

When I came to the US I switched to cereal, and I think I'm growing tired. I get hungry too soon and never feel as good as I feel after a more substantial breakfast. After Easter I got into the habit of eating hard boiled eggs with pumpernickel toast and whatever fresh fruit is available. I don't mind fish for breakfast, but I would avoid fried things.

17 years ago

tarzy

Veteran

Another big fan of pastry here. There is a Cuban bakery near where I live in Los Angeles, and they have some pastries that rival anything I had in France. Light, flaky, buttery - they do a guava filling that is amazing, and the croissants are heavenly. Plus they make a cup of coffee that puts Starbucks to shame. We're there every weekend!

17 years ago

Dawn

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Active Member

Lena- when I lived in Poland on study abroad placement, I often ate pierogi ruskie (dumplings) for breakfast. It was often the only thing that would set me up for a cold day. I tried pierogi with cheese in them as well but I didn't like them that much.

17 years ago

shiny

Veteran

Laura, that's interesting: when I lived in Austria, the standard breakfast on the farm was thick slabs of whole grain rustic bread smothered with fresh farm butter and tons of honey.

I personally prefer savory breakfasts - like eggs and toasts or the cheese toasties Christie describes or the Israeli breakfast Dashrashi describes. I don't like the pastry and croissant type breakfasts and I can't eat pancakes and waffles without going into sugar shock.

But lately, my favorite breakfast is a yogurt, banana, flax seed, and berry smoothie. Or oatmeal with berries and flax seed. On Sundays I go for omelets packed with veggies.

17 years ago

Angie

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Fashion Stylist

Oooooh! YUMMY.

I’ll start off with the first part of this question:

o I like to eat a small breakfast. I don’t do brunch– British or American breakfast is not my cuppa tea. But I’m addicted to good tea and have loads of cups throughout the day starting breakfast time.

o I like to eat a small almond croissant, pain au chocolat, cinnamon Danish, custard Danish or scone with butter and jam for breakfast. I do not eat anything savoury at that time of the day. I would feel sick. A few hours later I could have dark brown seeded bread with cheese – but not melted cheese. It has to be room temperature cheese. I love young, soft cheeses – French and Dutch are my favourites, with Israeli cheese coming in a close second!

17 years ago

Lena

Active Member

I forgot about oatmeal. I really like the slow cooking kind (in US market they call it Irish oats). Oatmeal with ground flaxseed and berries - yum!

Dawn, my favorite pierogi come with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. Hee, I'm drooling now.

17 years ago

taylor

Veteran

The Israeli breakfast sounds like a solid healthy way to start the day.

I can't believe people still eat pancakes ,sausage, bacon, and waffles first thing in the morning.

17 years ago

Inge

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Moderator

Like Angie, my stomach just doesn't seem to appreciate anything savoury for breakfast (exception: a soft-boiled egg on holidays, when I'm staying in a hotel etc. or when I wake up late I don't mind digging into brunch immediately;-).

Maybe it's weird, but I can eat the same thing for breakfast for months on end, then I get tired of it and move on to something else. I probably ate two slices of toast spread thickly with chocolate spread (accompanied by a glass of cold milk) for a year on end, then it was fresh home-made bread with cream cheese topped with jam and now I usually eat two slices of bread (no butter or anything) with a glass of chocolate milk.

Lunch and dinner are much more varied, rest assured;-)

(as a foodie, I'm loving this thread!!!)

17 years ago

HannahC

Active Member

San,
I just have to ask: what is the "bear claw" variety of pastries?

Israeli breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, hands down. In restaurants and cafes it is a little less varied than in hotels - it consists of two eggs (omelette, scrambled, sunny side up - any way you choose), a fresh salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, sweet basil, olive oil), a variety of white and of hard cheeses, olives, vegetable spreads, freshly baked bread, and jam. Oh, and of course a glass of orange juice and coffee. Yum!

17 years ago

yublocka

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Veteran

MMMmmmmm perogies. The Russian and Ukrainian in me is drooling at the thought. If only I could convince my Babushka to make me a stash more often! Or maybe I should just learn hey.

My "go to" breakfast is toast with cottage cheese heaped on, often with vegemite. Add a glass of orange juice and a coffee and the day is off to a good start. Yum!!!

17 years ago

Ele

(website)

Active Member

So funny how this has become a topic all about breakfasts. I love it!

I can pretty much eat anything for breakfast- sweet, savory, small, large. I like to mix it up a lot, but can also go through "phases" where I eat the same thing for weeks on end, like Inge. Right now I've been making a lot of smoothies, which are excellent and not too heavy if I'm going out for a run in the morning.

I also like to bake in the morning. It seems weird to some people but I love waking up and puttering around the kitchen in my pj's whipping up some scones or muffins or cinnamon buns. It really doesn't take me very long, and the smell coming from the kitchen has proved very useful in waking up others, too!

My all time favourite breakfast, however, is cold, leftover homemade pizza. Eaten right in front of the fridge. I know some people balk at the thought, but to me it's breakfast nirvana.

17 years ago

Laura

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I love this topic! I am so hungry right now The Israeli breakfast sounds most amazing to me of all.

Like Shiny, blood sugar crashes are a big problem for me so I'm always looking for protein! Right now, I'm on a whole-grain waffle topped with yogurt kick. It's sweet without being too sugary. One store in our area carries Emmi yogurt from Switzerland, and the pink grapefruit flavor is heaven!

17 years ago

Anonymous

The "bearclaw" pastry is a very common pastry in the U.S. You see it in packages in the grocery store. They are just white flour sweetbread with a cinnamon type filler and then drizzled with white icing.
I am on a very bad kick at breakfast these days. I was eating a good ceral for a couple of years and then somehow I got on a kick of Kellog's toaster pastry's which are not very good for me. They are made of white flour, sugar, and jelly.
The reason for the question in the first place is because I didn't think other people started their day with the kind of pastry that I am eating right now.
Thanks for all of the interesting answers.

17 years ago

tarzy

Veteran

Hannah - the "bear claw" is a very American pastry (shaped like the claw of a bear.) It is very yummy, if you like sweets:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi.....pastry.JPG

17 years ago

Patience

Veteran

Laura, I also love the Emmi grapefruit yogurt best of all yogurts in the US. A few years ago I had yogurt for breakfast in England and have since been on the look out for such yogurt. The Emmi comes the closest. I'm sure the yogurt I had in England was just some regular yogurt that's everywhere there. Sigh.

I'm on a protein kick right now so I've been eating scrambled egg on whole wheat toast followed by cottage cheese for a mid morning snack. I'm afraid I love buttermilk pancakes but agree they are not the best for managing blood sugar levels so I only make them on Sundays. I do tend to prefer sweet breakfasts-- the one exception is breakfast tacos! Breakfast tacos have got to be one of the top 10 reasons for living in Texas.

17 years ago

Kari

Veteran

Wow, is anyone else thinking we should do a YLF breakfast? *grin*

I am a light eater first thing in the mornings. Lately my breakfast is a pot of tea at home and V-8 when I get to work. I'll sometimes have a small bowl of cereal if I'm hungry enough. I usually have a late morning snack (yogurt, fruit, cheese) if I'm going to have a late lunch.
I'm not big on large, meaty, traditional American breakfasts, but I love omelettes for brunch and can make a pretty good batch of full, fluffy buttermilk pancakes from scratch.

Good to know that I am not the only tea addict! As a lifelong Pacific Northwesterner, I'm really in the minority here among the coffee-happy people. However, my boyfriend & I bonded on our first date after meeting at a coffee house & discovering that neither of us drank it.

The traditional Israeli breakfast (as described by Dashrashi & HannahC) sounds fascinating - fish and salad for breakfast! For me, the meals you describe would make a delicious lunch. I'm not sure if my tummy could handle so much savory food early in the day, but the food sounds delicious.

17 years ago

christie

Active Member

I usually eat one of two things for breakfast: good bread (not the sandwich variety, and usually home-baked or a baguette from the local bakery) toasted with butter and honey or jam. We get our butter and honey from the farmer's market, and they are both rich and delicious. Or plain yogurt with granola and a little (again local) honey. I've been making my own yogurt lately. It is super easy to do, and it tastes fantastic.

Oh yeah--and copious amounts of coffee. No fewer than 3 cups to start my day. (I often switch to tea in the afternoon, as it is gentler on my stomach after lunch).

I can't imagine not eating breakfast first thing in the morning. I am starving by the time I wake up, and that's with eating dinner at 9 or 10, right before I go to bed. It's interesting how different all of our bodily-systems are.

17 years ago

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