Breakfast 101

Well this morning my electricity was off when I woke up so I let a local restaurant prepare my coffee and breakfast this morning. I have not ate breakfast out in quite some time so I was a little shocked whenever I had to fork over $4.89 for a semi healthy breakfast at McDonald's and it did not even taste all that great! I have chosen not to eat breakfast out for two reasons.

My health. I realized I was eating out way to much last year and when I decided to get on my new "get Lara healthier campaign" I cut breakfast out of my plan. (Keep in mind I still eat out my fair share at other meal times!) I want to be healthier and also “practice what I preach to others” so to speak.

I feel that part of being a family and consumer science county agent’s duty is to encourage others to make healthy lifestyle choices for themselves and their families. I want to be a living breathing example to the people I serve in Monroe County. I feel that others will value my advice and information if they know I have tried it myself and have been in their shoes before.

Trust me making this new lifestyle change was not easy! These restaurants make it look so convenient, easy, and tasty with their big flashy advertisements. Pulling through a drive thru is so much easier than having to get up earlier and prepare a quick bite to eat at home…or so I thought before. It does not take long to brew my own coffee at home and grab my yogurt and fruit out of the fridge or prepare a quick bowl of cereal & milk or oatmeal. In the same amount of time in the line at drive thru window I can have my breakfast prepared at home and enjoy it while I’m watching the news!  

Cost. $4.89 here and $4.89 there adds up over time. I save around $150.00 each month on my "eating out" spending plan by eating my breakfast at home. What I prepare myself at home cost pennies compared to the $4.89 breakfast I had this morning! Plus what I prepare at home fits into my new healthy eating routine.

I can count on my had the number of times that I have had a biscuit within the last fifteen months and the majority of time those biscuits were homemade because I could not resist my mother’s home cooking around the holidays or a special occasion! It has been a while since I ate out of the morning so I was a little in sticker shock whenever I had to fork almost $5.00 for breakfast. Oh well...life...right??? Everything cost money and everyone wants to try to make a buck or two when they can.  

So let’s compare my usual breakfast versus the breakfast I had this morning.

 

$1.00 to $1.50 depending on the "season" for my fruit & what exactly I have to eat.

$4.89 on 3/12/2013 in Tompkinsville, KY. Even if I had of ate a yogurt parfait and coffee from the same restaurant I still would have had to pay over $2.50 for my breakfast. I guess I  splurged a little this morning in more than one way!

 

This is something for you to think about tomorrow morning whenever you are hungry and thinking about food. Which option will you choose...the drive thru or an "at-home special"?