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How ‘Bacon and Eggs’ Became the American Breakfast

americantable.org

61–70 of 108 posts

Re: How ‘Bacon and Eggs’ Became the American Breakfast

#61
post #18

It's interesting that the traditional NASA launch morning breakfast is steak and eggs -- apparently protein/fat foods don't cause gas or other GI upset in space, unlike breads, etc. http://www.who2.com/blog/2009/07/t-minus-2-days-and-counting... (although this seems to be less the case now) (Which is why "steak and eggs at [the place astronauts go before launch]" is the ideal answer to "what do you want your last mea…

Nowadays astronauts launch from Russia, where the tradition is a double enema before launch.

I don't know what they have for breakfast, but I guess it doesn't matter much!

Re: How ‘Bacon and Eggs’ Became the American Breakfast

#62
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. People who eat bacon and eggs for breakfast are probably demographically favored not to be obese, because they by implication have access to a grocery store and time to prepare their own food.

Uhhhh.... unless they don't make the bacon and eggs themselves. See: Denny's, McDonald's, Burger King, etc. This is not to say that bacon and eggs are solely responsible for the obesity epidemic, but I think it's kind of silly to say that the only people who eat bacon and eggs are those who cook it for themselves, or are more healthy.

A Bacon, egg, and cheese McMuffin has ~300 calories, which is a perfectly reasonable breakfast.

The obesity epidemic has nothing to do with bacon and eggs, either home cooked or from McDonalds. They're so rich its hard to eat enough to blow your calorie budget.

The problem is french fries (500 for a large order at McD's), soda (~150 per can), pasta, etc. Nobody would order their hamburger with a side of steak, but a side of fries seems to be a lot less food and is much less filling, despite having a similar number of calories. Nobody would order 15-20 slices of bacon after a big meal at the Cheesecake Factory, but will happily order a giant slice of cheesecake or similar desert, which has just as many calories. Nobody would pick up 7-8 strips of bacon on the way home from work before dinner, but will happily grab a donut and coffee, which has just as many calories.

Re: How ‘Bacon and Eggs’ Became the American Breakfast

#63
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trust me, people aren't getting fat off of bacon and eggs. They're getting fat off of sugar water. The simple answer is satiety vs. calories. Bacon and eggs have a lot of calories, but you feel full for a while after eating them. Sugar water has almost as many calories, but you never feel full. So you drink 3000 calories of soda a day, and then you're fat. Basically, any premade food you find in the store is designed…

>Bacon and eggs have a lot of calories I don't disagree with most of what you said, but a lot of people don't realize that eggs aren't really that high in calories. A large egg is ~70 calories. 2-3 is the most you usually get in a restaurant, so you're talking 200 calories for a meal. That's nothing. Bacon on the other hand.... Anyway, let me just say that this thread is like stepping into some kind of bizarro world.…

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Re: How ‘Bacon and Eggs’ Became the American Breakfast

#64
post #57
post #42

A bit of hyperbole, but having married into an East Asian household and spent lots of time traveling around the world, I'm soundly convinced that a well defined breakfast meal, with its own traditions, foods and culinary style, is one of the greatest inventions of western civilization. I have to question this article because the American breakfast is pretty much just a local variant on the traditional full breakfast…

Fuck yes. The best part is the full English has changed into the "all day breakfast" in the last 20 years. When some asshats blew up half of London in 2005, I had a full English breakfast (at 2pm) and two cups of tea, then walked 16 miles home and still wasn't hungry when I got in :) Can't beat it.

Calm down new user. No need to get emotional and swear. And this story isn't very useful; the original submission is off-topic as well.

Re: How ‘Bacon and Eggs’ Became the American Breakfast

#65

Bacon is one of the few things that I refuse to eat. I don't understand how anyone likes the stuff. It makes me wonder, if the all-American breakfast was a bowl of fruit and a glass of milk, would there have been an obesity epidemic?

Are you American? In many parts of the world, "bacon" is almost entirely fat, sold at room temperature, and kind of gross. I've met a lot of non-Americans that were totally grossed out by bacon in their home country (with good reason), until they ate properly fried bacon, with good meat content, in the US. Every single one became an instant convert. :) However, there are certainly plenty of people who think it's too…

Funny that you mention American bacon as having a good meat content as I've only ever seen streaky bacon in the states, which tends to be very fatty. I wouldn't even know where to buy back bacon in the midwest.

Re: How ‘Bacon and Eggs’ Became the American Breakfast

#66
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fuck yes. The best part is the full English has changed into the "all day breakfast" in the last 20 years. When some asshats blew up half of London in 2005, I had a full English breakfast (at 2pm) and two cups of tea, then walked 16 miles home and still wasn't hungry when I got in :) Can't beat it.

Calm down new user. No need to get emotional and swear. And this story isn't very useful; the original submission is off-topic as well.

... says the dude with -1 karma.

Re: How ‘Bacon and Eggs’ Became the American Breakfast

#67
post #6

I can't remember off the top of my head, but it's amazing how many of our american "traditions" are a result of marketing. While there is nothing inherently bad about this, it definitely gives me a sense that something is not authentic when I come to learn it was the result of a marketing campaign. This bacon and eggs breakfast is just one example. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is another. Can anyone recall any othe…

Cotton: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/making-cotton-fab...

Re: How ‘Bacon and Eggs’ Became the American Breakfast

#68
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calm down new user. No need to get emotional and swear. And this story isn't very useful; the original submission is off-topic as well.

... says the dude with -1 karma.

You took the words from my mouth.

For reference, I'm not new here. My account is.

Re: How ‘Bacon and Eggs’ Became the American Breakfast

#69
post #6

I can't remember off the top of my head, but it's amazing how many of our american "traditions" are a result of marketing. While there is nothing inherently bad about this, it definitely gives me a sense that something is not authentic when I come to learn it was the result of a marketing campaign. This bacon and eggs breakfast is just one example. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is another. Can anyone recall any othe…

The lavish white wedding dress and all the Bridezilla-esque trappings?

This. The best decision my wife and I ever made was to go to a Justice of the Peace and the courthouse instead of the bullshit charade that is a modern wedding. While my version was rather extreme, my two sisters are better examples.

Sister 1 had a large, expensive, lavish wedding.

Sister 2 chose my father's rural backyard in the woods overlooking coastline. My father and I erected a gateway made of driftwood, and covered it in leaves and flowers. No money was spent, other than my sister's cheap, plain white dress and the groom's simple suit. It was a beautiful, simple ceremony. The groom's great grandmother remarked on how the wedding was "the way weddings were before everyone went crazy."

Re: How ‘Bacon and Eggs’ Became the American Breakfast

#70
post #6

I can't remember off the top of my head, but it's amazing how many of our american "traditions" are a result of marketing. While there is nothing inherently bad about this, it definitely gives me a sense that something is not authentic when I come to learn it was the result of a marketing campaign. This bacon and eggs breakfast is just one example. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is another. Can anyone recall any othe…

"Country" Music is an amalgam no more traditional than rock and roll - it's worth mentioning mostly because it gives much more of an impression of being traditional.
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