Breakfast from Around the World

When it comes to breakfast in our home, we always struggle. Dann and I do not really eat breakfast – I am intolerant to eggs and dairy. Neither of us enjoy bread or pastries, there just isn’t a lot of options left. When it comes to our children, Kai hates eggs unless they are in something, nobody is a huge fan of bread, and they cannot really agree on breakfasts that all three of them like. In an attempt to find better breakfasts and encourage trying new food, we spent the summer doing Breakfast Around the World. This meant I researched a bunch of breakfasts for specific countries and made them for the majority of the mornings this summer holiday, so we could all try new breakfasts!

We did have optional “back up” breakfasts – scrambled or fried eggs, or a choice of cereal. We didn’t force our kids to eat food they didn’t want to eat, though we did give each item a good bite to try and then discussed what we did or didn’t like about each food.

Germany: Sausages and Pretzels

For Germany, I fried up some of the white German sausages, though I was told after by a friend who lived in Germany that these should be boiled with a bit of lemon juice until done. I also made homemade pretzels to go with it, which is a surprisingly easy recipe as long as you do not dunk the pretzels in the baking soda water for too long. The sausages went down well, however the pretzels were enjoyed by most, which was very good to hear. This breakfast wasn’t fun to photograph or anything, but it was very filling.

Mexico: Huevos Rancheros

Huevos Rancheros was enjoyed by everyone equally, though Dann really loved this breakfast so much. It was actually really easy to make the warm salsa, and I feel I could make this ahead in the future, so I’d only need to fry up some eggs, warm some beans, chop an avocado and grate some cheese. We made homemade tortillas, which is really easy and makes all the difference. I like that the warm salsa (the red sauce in the breakfast) can be customised – we added far less jalapenos then suggested, and toned down the cumin too! This was another really filling breakfast.

France: Pastries and Fruit

France felt like such an easy breakfast, perfect for when you have no time in the morning. We had pre-made croissant rolls and pan au chocolate rolls. We also had chopped up fruit and jam. This was Robin’s favorite breakfast in the end, as she loves bread. Kai and Amelia felt this breakfast wasn’t very filling or a good start to their day really, as it was primarily bread and fruit, and they needed a snack not long after that contained more to it.

Poland: Sausages, Cheesy Eggs, and Potato Pancakes

A quite big feast, we have Poland next! We sliced and fried up some cottage sausages, made some cheesy (with cheddar) scrambled eggs, and made some potato pancakes. To serve with the pancakes, we had sour cream and ketchup. This breakfast was very filling – we had extra sausages and potato pancakes at the end, which we saved for another day. There was plenty of food, though it did feel a bit greasy between the sausages and the pancakes.

America: Pancakes

Another super easy breakfast, as an American, pancakes, sausages and hashbrowns are a classic. We also had some strawberry jam, strawberries and syrup to go on the pancakes. This is a breakfast we have had before, and was an easy go-to, though Amelia, Kai and Robin do not eat many pancakes, they did fill up on hashbrowns and sausages too.

Israel: Shakshuka

Shakshuka is a meal that Dann really enjoys, but I do not. I make mine with not only tomatoes, but also courgettis and egg plants, along with peppers and onions, chopped and fried, then add some tomatoes from a can, let that cook down with seasonings, and then add the eggs on top. We had balsamic dressing to go with it too, along with some toasted bread. This one had mixed feelings with them, which was fitting to be honest!

Vietnam: Beef Pho

Now, Beef Pho kinda of feels like cheating. We love beef pho in our family and eat it regularly for dinner. It’s one of the main meals Dann makes, that everyone loves. Our noodles aren’t the proper pho noodles (though we still use rice noodles) and we are missing bean sprouts, but its one thing everyone loves. Dann made up his beef broth in the early hours of the morning, then cut up steak and cooked it quickly in the broth. He cut up limes for everyone to squeeze in, as well as spring onions. This was served with these two sides, as well as hot sauce, chili oil, and sesame seeds. This is my favorite dinner, and I cannot believe we can just eat it for breakfast.

Italy: Strawberry Pie

What child isn’t going to like a strawberry pie? This breakfast felt like a treat and was very simple to make, as I used pre-made pie dough, strawberries and jam. That was it. It didn’t take long to make, it was fun to eat, though it’s not the must filling breakfast we had as breakfast around the world, it did feel like a bit of a treat.

Turkey: Pogaca

This is a sort of savory bread roll, filled with feta. We used a vegan fetta as I am very intolerant to feta and really cannot eat it anymore. The roll itself was very easy to make, though it came out very dry despite having the cheese in the middle. It feels like this breakfast needs some sort of dip or something to make it better, and again had mixed opinions from everyone.

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