The Most Important Meal of the Day

When it comes to food, I am a major creature of habit. I like to eat the same thing every day, at about the same time, for months on end. This is especially true when it comes to breakfast. For the past few months I've been having a Costco muffin and cup of coffee every morning some time between 6:30 and 7:30 AM. Well, for the last few days, we've been out of muffins and my mornings have felt totally chaotic. I had a backup plan, toast with Nutella... then we ran out of bread. Today I was really at a loss, no muffins, no toast (and I got up too late to get my dad to fry a few extra eggs for me), no bueno. I ended up with a bowl of instant oatmeal and was ready to gnaw my own arm off by the end of my second dance class! I'm embarrassed to admit I just finished inhaling two grilled cheese sandwiches (with tomato, so kinda healthy right?) and then high-tailed it out of the cafeteria in shame.

Why don't I just go to the grocery store? I could tell you how busy my schedule is, how I'm saving every penny for a plane ticket to the Miller/Taylor wedravaganza, or how my mom prefers to do the grocery shopping each week, but the real truth is I'm just really lazy. Going through the whole Costco experience for just one dozen muffins seems like an awful lot of work and adding a trip to the grocery store on my way home for somewhere rarely ever works out. I get home and then realize "Oh, I meant to stop for bread... oops."

The thing is, I didn't really realize how necessary that breakfast ritual is to me. I firmly believe it is the most important meal of the day. Without breakfast, I am ravenous, unfocused and short-tempered. I make terrible lunch choices on days I don't eat breakfast and they never really satisfy me anyway. As for the "ritual" part of it, I like starting my day the same each morning. It helps me to feel organized and in control of the day to come. I can arrive at class confident that I remembered to put on deodorant, brought the correct books and locked my car door. Any little change to my morning and all bets are out the window. All I know is, thank goodness today is a dance day or I would totally be the stinky kid...

Are you a breakfast eater? Do you have a morning ritual or just freestyle through life? Do you carry deodorant at all times or just on days you know you'll be working out?