A discourse on the modern-day phenomenon of eating breakfast at work.

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It makes me feel sad when I see people with bowls of cereal at work, have we really come to this that people no longer feel they have time to eat breakfast before they get to work? I know there must be a multitude of reasons for doing so, yet still it irks me.

― jel --, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:21 (eighteen years ago)

Sometimes I'll have a bagel, muffin, or yogurt to hold me off until lunch, but I can't bring myself to eat cereal.

― tokyo rosemary, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:25 (eighteen years ago)

I eat breakfast at work because I don't have fresh bialys and scallion scream cheese delivered to my home daily, I should think that's self-explanatory.

― Laurel, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:25 (eighteen years ago)

commuting is probably a big reason.

― tremendoid, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:26 (eighteen years ago)

I've taken to on-the-road toast.

― kingfish, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:27 (eighteen years ago)

There is free milk here. Some people take advantage of this by bringing bowls, spoons, and boxes of cereal to work.

― Jordan, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:27 (eighteen years ago)

Breakfast in mine own home is one of those liminal zone experiences that gets me ready to face the outside world. I could not imagine eating breakfast at work! Let alone imagine facing the morning commute without a cup of tea and a nice bowl of muselix in my stomach. I mean, that might buy me an extra 20 minutes sleep in the morning, but not worth it.

― Masonic Boom, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:27 (eighteen years ago)

eg. every ten minutes i delay the hop into l.a. traffic adds lots of time and congestion to my commute. I don't care cause I'm the tardy type but I'm sure this is the thing for most people.

― tremendoid, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:28 (eighteen years ago)

every . . . single . . . day

― J, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:28 (eighteen years ago)

It's bad enough I have to eat lunch here. I suppose it's more the encroachment of home time onto work - which is actually a good idea to take back some of the time work encroaches on home. But still, I like breakfast too much, and I *have* to eat it by myself, without talking to annoying other people.

― Masonic Boom, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:29 (eighteen years ago)

it really makes me appreciate breakfast on the weekends when i make an enourmous pot of coffee then make eggs, sausage, potates, etc.

so much better than the bus station coffee and pastry of questionable age i usually have.

― chicago kevin, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:31 (eighteen years ago)

mmmm bialys

― tokyo rosemary, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:32 (eighteen years ago)

I wonder what they do at the Kellogs factory?

― jel --, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:32 (eighteen years ago)

There are no vending machines in my house. :(

― nabisco, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:33 (eighteen years ago)

I eat a bowl of cereal every weekday at home, mostly because I like having some time to sit down and read my e-mail, check the weather, etc., even if it's only like 5 minutes. And also because cereal and soy milk and orange juice and a vitamin is generally healthier than what I get when my supply of groceries runs out and I have to eat on the run, which is usually a muffin from Dunkin' Donuts or 7-11.

― jaymc, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:40 (eighteen years ago)

I only eat breakfast at work when:

1) I have none of the following at home and have to stop for a bagel or croissant: bread, eggs, cereal, frozen waffles.

2) I'm hungover and need some kind of egg/sausage breakfast sandwich. I'm not above a "pancakewich" from PDQ.

― Jordan, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:41 (eighteen years ago)

― lauren, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:43 (eighteen years ago)

Hmmm, I think I might start taking high tea at work. Scones/Crumpets at around 4, pinkies out.

― jel --, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:45 (eighteen years ago)

I wonder what they do at the Kellogs factory?

I'm picturing an endless buffet of cereals, all free for the asking. And if not, well, where's the justice in that?

― Tantrum The Cat, Friday, 16 March 2007 19:01 (eighteen years ago)

I have a small fridge at work in which I keep green tea plus bagels, for breakfast. It's all I need, really.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 16 March 2007 19:01 (eighteen years ago)

(an extra half hour of sleep is a huge deal for me)

For me too, but it only takes me 5 minutes to pour a bowl of cereal and eat it. What are you eating at work?

― jaymc, Friday, 16 March 2007 19:03 (eighteen years ago)

i don't particularly care for cereal for breakfast, plus i hate wolfing food down. i have a cup of coffee first, then i usually have organic instant plain oatmeal and a hard boiled egg or a couple of eggs and some fruit or a roll with laughing cow cheese and olives. once a week (usually fridays) i buy something on the way in, like egg whites and tomato on toast.

― lauren, Friday, 16 March 2007 19:17 (eighteen years ago)

bacon egg and cheese on a role and a tropicana pure premium oj almost every day I'm at work.

― dan selzer, Friday, 16 March 2007 19:32 (eighteen years ago)

mmmm bialys

tokyo rosemary on Friday, 16 March 2007 18:32 (1 hour ago)

i hope it doesn't say too much about me that in a conversation about breakfast i read this as 'baileys'

― modestmickey, Friday, 16 March 2007 19:43 (eighteen years ago)

i work from home but i never eat breakfast ;_;

― ghost rider, Friday, 16 March 2007 19:43 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.minnesotademocratsexposed.com/Siren_animated.gif TV'S THE WANKETTE: "I DON'T EAT BREAKFAST" http://www.minnesotademocratsexposed.com/Siren_animated.gif

― jaymc, Friday, 16 March 2007 19:47 (eighteen years ago)

hahahahaha kudos

― ghost rider, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:01 (eighteen years ago)

Even for those of us on salary pay I imagine the desire to eat at work vs at home might stem from a gut-level wage-pay clock-milking instinct, ie better to get paid to eat breakfast rather than not.

yr pal,

nickalicious, not really a breakfast eater

― nickalicious, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:24 (eighteen years ago)

Now that I think about it, the only months of the year I eat any breakfast at all are probably the same months when clementines are in season haha.

― nickalicious, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:25 (eighteen years ago)

I saw a mcdonald's breakfast tray at someone's desk the other day and got pavlovian hunger/jealousy, made me feel like I was in an ad, craved so much I started writing run-on sentences.

― Abbott, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:26 (eighteen years ago)

there's a slim guy here who eats large mcdonald's breakfast combo meals on an almost daily basis. i hate him/am so jealous of him.

― lauren, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:28 (eighteen years ago)

Maybe he's so slim because he undoubtedly shits the entire contents of his internal systems on a daily basis.

― nickalicious, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:31 (eighteen years ago)

I really hate how effectively captivating the smell of McD breakfast foods is. It might as well be the sound of a razor blade scraping across a mirror.

― nickalicious, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:33 (eighteen years ago)

breakfast at work means less "work" time working, more time sleeping. i don't do it regularly but if i can ever be arsed to keep cereal at work i might start.

― lex pretend, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:34 (eighteen years ago)

i eat breakfast at work because if i eat breakfast at 6:30 am I am starving by 10, if I eat breakfast at my desk at 9 I get hungry for lunch at the appropriate time

― homosexual II, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:40 (eighteen years ago)

plus all my energy before i leave for work in the morning is focused on consuming enough caffeine so I can stay awake for the 45 minute commute

― homosexual II, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:41 (eighteen years ago)

Sometimes I really hate my suburban lifestyle but then I remember my commute is like 12-15 minutes and it's in my own car instead of on a bus between crusties and crying babies and blueberrying douchefaces etc.

― nickalicious, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:45 (eighteen years ago)

That was the worst thing about all public school...eating lunch at 11:30 a.m. just felt unnatural.

― Abbott, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:46 (eighteen years ago)

breakfast really is only for children

― sexyDancer, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:51 (eighteen years ago)

i went to an over-crowded junior high where certain kids had to eat lunch at 10:30 in the morning.
i was in the last lunch group and had to eat lunch at 2.
I REMEMBER THINKING IT WAS THE APOCALYPSE.

― homosexual II, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:10 (eighteen years ago)

plus all my energy before i leave for work in the morning is focused on consuming enough caffeine so I can stay awake for the 45 minute commute
homosexual II

homosexual is totally OTM here. But everything changed for me once I started eating the Breakfast of Warriors - a small piece of kangaroo steak every morning. Now I can't wait to get out of bed and start cookin'!

― moley, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:38 (eighteen years ago)

breakfast really is only for children

THANK YOU. This and short pants.

― walterkranz, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:44 (eighteen years ago)

Adults who eat their breakfast at work while wearing short pants make my blood boil!

― walterkranz, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:45 (eighteen years ago)

Hey how has your breakfast of warriors been going moley? Any further marsbars of shame to report? ;D

― Trayce, Friday, 16 March 2007 23:23 (eighteen years ago)

Hi Trayce - hope your birthday went well.

My daughter is into it now too, and so is her little friend down the road (not sure whether her parents approve). It's going well, though we run into trouble frequently due to lacking fresh roo nearby. I go into the city and buy a weeks worth, wondering what the checkout chick thinks of me.

The health benefits appear to be subtle but positive - the main thing I've noticed is, no 3pm slump! And fewer sugar cravings around that time too. Not sure why. It could all be placebo (the effect, not the band).

I also notice fewer cravings for a big dinner, and hence less of a bloated feeling going to bed.

Hmmm, should I bring my roo to work for breakfast? I don't think so. One thing though, our kitchen smells like an abbatoir every morning (to quote a friend), and that must be hell for our vegetarian flatmate, haha.

― moley, Friday, 16 March 2007 23:37 (eighteen years ago)

I'd say it is the protien density at breakfast that does it! Perhaps any lean red meat would do the trick? I wonder if 'roo is higher in protein than say, a good lean beef or lamb.

― Trayce, Friday, 16 March 2007 23:40 (eighteen years ago)

I dunno, but I am dying for protein savoriness in the morning, no sweets for me. My ideal breakfast would be highly salted/seasoned and involve a steak or corned beef hash and several eggs, eggs cetera. I think kangaroo in the AM could work out very well.

― Laurel, Friday, 16 March 2007 23:44 (eighteen years ago)

I'm the same Laurel! I've been finding a good light breakfast is miso soup, and if I have time, eggs, or even sliced boiled eggs in some ramen. I dont usually do hot food like meat much but on weekends I might have bacon. But cereal? Bleugh. I hate sugary things and the boy has a lactose intolerance so no cerealz in our housez.

― Trayce, Friday, 16 March 2007 23:47 (eighteen years ago)

Do you think it would work if I ate a more widely available meat in my area? Like menudo or lengua or something? Or just humble ole beef?

My favorite breakfast is last night's leftovers! Also my favorite lunch.

― Abbott, Friday, 16 March 2007 23:48 (eighteen years ago)

Well Abbot, I think you could try the leanest meat available, and that would be OK, as Trayce says. It was pointed out to me the other day that people consider it perfectly normal to have sausages and bacon for breakfast, so it's not objectively bizarre to have lean red meat, just culturally bizarre. So, I'm no nutritionist, but I'd say sure, why not? We have lean beef if we haven't got round to buying roo. It's more expensive though.

― moley, Saturday, 17 March 2007 00:22 (eighteen years ago)

!!! That's great. I imagine it would be $14.14/lb. here (roo meat) because it's so 'exotic.' You know.

I'll eat anything for breakfast. I don't care. Warrior breakfast w/coffee sounds like a good hangover cure. (Kids, avoid having to cure by drinking pleanty of water w/you Bacardis Twisted.)

― Abbott, Saturday, 17 March 2007 00:30 (eighteen years ago)

Breakfast at work isn't so bad, it helps me to continue my ability to roll out of bed at the last possible second and still make it to work at a reasonable time. So, it's roll out of bed, shower, drive the ten minutes to work, drop stuff off in office, and then walk with my coworker to get cereal and coffee at the cafeteria.

― mh, Saturday, 17 March 2007 14:35 (eighteen years ago)

I had lunch at 10 am for three years in high school.

― tokyo rosemary, Saturday, 17 March 2007 15:02 (eighteen years ago)

I get cranky if I don't get a full hour drinking tea and reading the paper. Luckily I live 30secs walk from work and don't start until half ten at the earliest.

― Matt, Saturday, 17 March 2007 15:07 (eighteen years ago)

i have usually a serving of plain oatmeal with a banana and a touch of almond butter and honey (not a lot, just for flavor). i think it'd maybe be better to have more high protein and less carb but i never want to have meat when it's early in the morning! perhaps i should switch to greek yogurt + banana?

― daria-g, Saturday, 17 March 2007 17:17 (eighteen years ago)

i eat breakfast at work every day. aside from the time issue (an extra half hour of sleep is a huge deal for me), i try not to go to lunch until 1.30 or 2 so if i ate before leaving the house at 9:15 i'd be dying by then.

lauren on Friday, March 16, 2007 2:43 PM (Yesterday)

plus all my energy before i leave for work in the morning is focused on consuming enough caffeine so I can stay awake for the 45 minute commute
homosexual II

lauren and mandee are like my soul sisters! i have gotten in the habit of making coffee in the mornings, which i consume while getting ready, then take a travel mug for the train. i keep a box of instant oatmeal in my desk at work because honestly, i can't be assed to do any real work in the first 30 min i'm there anyway, so i might as well make some oatmeal! i also like to put off lunch until 2 or 2:30 if at all possible so I have less time when i come back (also, regardless of what i eat at lunch i am a zombie afterwards so it's best not to have too much work left when i return).

― tehresa, Saturday, 17 March 2007 17:27 (eighteen years ago)

Breakfast at work = you eat breakfast in work time = extra time in bed. Nobody in my office does any work for the first hour anyway.

Actually I usually eat breakfast in a cafe on the way into work, which I like because it makes me feel like I'm connecting a bit with the outside world and not just darting straight from home to office.

― Matt DC, Saturday, 17 March 2007 17:48 (eighteen years ago)

At my last time-clock job, I usually got an apple fritter on the way to work and ate it during my 9:30 break. The two dingbats I worked with saw this and eventually decided to take it a step further -- they left the office at 9:30, went across the street to a coffee shop and got back at the end of their 15 minutes with their breakfast, which they then ate while they were supposed to be working. Management issued memo, "do your fucking work, not eat your fucking breakfast." I gave it two weeks and then went back to my usual routine, which was okay with my supervisor because I wasn't a production bottleneck like the two dingbats were.

― Rock Hardy, Saturday, 17 March 2007 17:54 (eighteen years ago)

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