The 20 Biggest Breakfast Mistakes You’re Making
While you may have already known that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, have you ever stopped to wonder if there was a better way to make your favorite morning dishes? From dry eggs, bread-like pancakes, soggy hash browns, to a lack of nutrition, find out all the ways that you’re sabotaging the start to your day.
Using Cold Eggs
Eggs play a part in a lot of different breakfast dishes, and most recipes call for room-temperature eggs. Why is this?
For recipes that require a batter, like pancakes, waffles, or crepes, room-temperature eggs result in a fluffier or lighter result that is easy to mix together, resulting in an overall more enjoyable eating experience.
Overmixing Leads To Hard Pancakes
Are your pancakes coming out too hard and bread-like? This mistake is caused by overmixing the batter. While you may feel like you need to get rid of all the lumps in your batter, it’s actually okay if there’s a few here and there.
Overmixing creates more gluten in the batter, which is why the resulting pancake cooks more like bread! Make sure you mix the batter just enough so that it comes together smoothly and pours out without sticking to your bowl.
Undercooking waffles
Undercooked waffles looked deceptively cooked. One bite and all you’ll taste is flour, not to mention the risks of uncooked egg. The culprit? Your waffle maker is too hot!
While the automated timer may indicate the waffles are done, your best bet is to lower the heat and cook them for a longer amount of time to make sure they’re fully cooked and safe to enjoy.
Cooking Your Bacon Cold
Cooking cold bacon over a hot pan is a good way to avoid crispy bacon. Just like your eggs, cooking your bacon once it reaches room temperature leads to more even cooking and overall better flavor.
The reason for this is that the fatty part of the bacon stays colder for longer than the actual meat. Letting the bacon warm-up for 15 minutes allows both parts to reach the same temperature and cook more evenly.
Soggy Hash Browns
In order to get your hash browns crispy, but not dry, your potatoes must go through a rigorous process in order to remove excess starch. One method to avoid both gummy and soggy hash browns would be to grate the potatoes over a bowl of cold water, which will remove the starch from the potatoes.
Follow this step with a quick rinse, then pat your grated potatoes with a clean towel before moving them to the frying pan.
Using The Wrong Pan For Omelets
Using the wrong size pan for an omelet can affect how likely it’ll break when flipping. It can also result in an unintentionally thinner or thicker omelet than you might've intended. A good measure is to remember a typical single omelet consists of 2-3 eggs, which fit perfectly in pans of 7-9 inches.
More than 3 eggs would need a bigger pan, so keep in mind how many omelets you plan to make.
Using Table Syrup vs Maple Syrup
You may have never really thought about, what does it matter if you’re using table syrup or “real” maple syrup? While natural maple syrup may be thought of as the healthier alternative, both syrups contain similar amounts of sugar.
The real difference? The number of preservatives in table syrup. With the unknown long-term effects of preservatives on the human body, maybe the sweetest choice is good-old natural maple syrup.
Not Using Rolled Oats For Overnight Oats
While you can technically use any type of oat for your overnight oats, using the wrong oats will affect the overall texture of your oats. Instant oats, which are a lot thinner than rolled oats, become mushy overnight.
Steel-cut oats are generally a lot chewier, and this remains true when used in overnight oats. Old-fashioned rolled oats are ideal for maintaining the perfect texture.
Eating Only Toast For Breakfast
Sometimes you’re pressed for time and a quick slice of toast seems like the only option for breakfast.
While it’s better than having no breakfast, the long-term effects of having only toast can have negative effects on your body, depriving it of nutrients and vitamins needed to start your day.
Not Whisking Scrambled Eggs
The perfect scrambled eggs are just the right amount of fluffy and melt in your mouth. The best way to achieve this is by whisking the eggs in a bowl before adding them to the pan, rather than just cracking them into the pan.
By doing this, air is added to the eggs, resulting in that familiar fluffy texture. Whisking also ensures that the egg white and the yolk are perfectly blended together, rather than cooking unevenly.
Not Including Enough Vegetables
If your breakfast plate is mostly brown or beige in color, you’re not getting enough vegetables!
Other than just adding some color to your plate, adding at least one vegetable to your breakfast can help you start your day feeling fuller and give your body nutrients to run efficiently throughout the day.
Drinking Coffee On An Empty Stomach
The thought of starting your day with a delicious cup of hot coffee and nothing more may feel like it’s giving you a boost of energy, but it may in fact make you feel more tired, not to mention the long-term effects on your digestive system.
Coffee is both dehydrating and an appetite suppressor, which can lead to headaches throughout the day. Coffee also causes your stomach to produce less acid, making it harder to digest food in the long-run.
Using The Wrong Bread For French Toast
When you think of french toast, you imagine a lightly crisped but fluffy bread, sitting in syrupy, cinnamon goodness. And as a bread-focused dish, the right bread makes all the difference.
Rather than using any sliced bread, a thicker bread like brioche will more easily soak up the custard and maintain both its shape and flavor after frying.
Using Water When Making Oatmeal
Oatmeal already has a reputation for being bland and dull, and this is usually due to cooking your oatmeal with water instead of milk.
For a richer flavor, texture, and added nutrients, use milk or a non-dairy alternative to liven up your oatmeal.
Pricking Your Sausages With A Fork
You may have heard that it’s good to prick your sausages with a fork in order to release the fat, but all this does is is release the unique flavor inside. Sausages are, let’s face it, mostly fat, and this is what makes them so delicious.
Stop pricking them and let them cook in all their fatty goodness. And remember, if the casings burst on their own, the temperature is too hot.
Starting The Day With A Sugary Smoothie
You may think that just having any smoothie is a healthy breakfast option, but it’s important that the ingredients in your smoothie are nutritionally balanced and energizing.
It’s easy to overdo adding ingredients that are rich in calories and sugar, like yogurt, peanut butter, honey or other syrups. Another trick is to reduce the number of sugary fruits you add, instead opting for berries, watermelon, and oranges.
Using Only Egg Whites
You may have heard that eating only egg whites is the better choice for losing weight and reducing cholesterol levels, but avoiding the yolk may also result in a loss of vitamins and other essential nutrients. Egg yolks contain many different vitamins including B12, D, and B2, as well as essential fatty acids and protein.
Rather than avoiding the yolk altogether, a diet low in saturated fat can be followed in order to reduce the effects of raising your cholesterol. Of course, you must always speak to a doctor to find out what’s right for your individual situation.
Not Drinking Water After Waking Up
Dehydration is a serious condition that results in migraines, hypertension and sinusitis, just to name a few complications!
As you sleep, the body dehydrates, so that glass of water when you wake up also wakes you up internally. Drinking water as soon as you wake up also helps to build a healthy habit to start your day.
Skipping breakfast entirely
Although it may be debatable how much of a negative impact skipping breakfast can have on your body, depriving your body of nutrients and calories it needs on a regular basis, particularly after a night of sleeping can affect your health.
Not having breakfast can also cause you to crave foods too high in sugar or salt, and overall be more prone to snacking, filling your stomach with empty calories.
How To Avoid Rubbery Poached Eggs
Poached eggs are a delicacy on their own and as a topping on avocado toast.
Avoid dry and rubbery poached eggs by dropping your eggs first in a small bowl or cup, and then slowly pouring them into a pot of simmering water and vinegar.
