Breakfast is the first meal of the day. The word is a compound of “break” and “fast”, referring to the conclusion of fasting since the previous day’s last meal. Breakfast meals vary widely in different cultures around the world, but often include a carbohydrate such as cereal or rice, fruit and/or vegetable, protein, sometimes dairy, and beverage.
Nutritional experts have referred to breakfast as the most important meal of the day, citing studies that find that people who skip breakfast are disproportionately likely to have problems with concentration, metabolism, and weight
Traditional breakfasts in the United States and Canada derive from the full English breakfast and other European breakfast traditions and feature predominantly sweet or mild-flavored foods, mostly hot.
Typical items include hot oatmeal, other hot grain porridges, egg sausage or small link sausages, pan-fried potatoes, biscuits, toast, pancakes, waffles, bagels, French toast, English muffins, pastries such as croissants, donuts, and muffins, and fresh or stewed fruits of various types. Steak may be served with eggs on the traditional menu. Cold cereal has become nearly ubiquitous in recent decades, and yogurt is widely popular. Coffee, tea, milk and fruit juices are standard breakfast beverages.
American breakfast customs derive from those of rural England in the 18th century, and some divergences probably reflect changes in the latter since that time. For example, modern English hot breakfasts not uncommonly include lightly fried tomato slices or a sautéed whole mushroom, but neither are found in the U.S. Breakfast kippers are also uncommon in the U.S. On the other hand, the steak-and-eggs breakfast is rare in England and probably a recent American import. English muffins not to be confused with the British crumpet are commonly eaten as a breakfast food in the United States.
Some regions of Canada especially Quebec, New Brunswick and parts of eastern Ontario will commonly include maple syrup with crêpes, French toast, pancakes, or waffles.
