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Ask HN: What do you have for breakfast?

11 points by derialstrazus ↗ HN
For a lot of people, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If I don't get a good start with some good calories, my productivity is severely hampered. At the same time, preparing breakfast requires a certain amount of effort. I am interested to hear how others have dealt with this.

48 comments

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jmkr
Banana smoothie and coffee.
[deleted]
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giantg2
Usually nothing, but today I ate cake and candy since I'm bored and stressed at work.
WalterGR
That’s lovely! I hope you have a good day.
thendrill
Wake between 8 and 9. But can't eat until 12 - 13. Then usually I eat a sandwich. Meat vegg and bread
LinuxBender
2 cups of coffee with Collagen powder and EAA powder mixed in. A few EAA and collagen capsules. types 1 2 3 5 10 collagen Also CoQ10 in the morning.

With that and each meal I also take: A Tumeric/Curcumin formula, 200mg Oregano Oil on odd days, 15k IU's D3, 200µg K2 MK7, 200 mg magnesium taurate dont do this, 200mg calcium lactate, 400mg potassium, 5000µg biotin, mushroom capsules with 6 types of mushrooms, various adaptagens, berberine, lycopene, pepzin GI, chelated copper, liposomal fisetin, liposomal quercetin, kyolic formulas 102 104 and 109, l-arganine, 2000 FU's of Nattokinase, B50 complex once every other day, 20 digestive enzymes depending of food intake, choline, inositol, cod liver oil, 1g krill oil. With fatty foods or protein I sometimes also take 250mg of TUDCA. Amounts and molecules have evolved over a period of about 15 years. All of this requires not eating sugar or highly refined/processed/enriched foods. If I am in a hurry I just take a multivitamin.

My beverage of choice outside of breakfast is diet cranberry juice with electrolyte powder and a large amount of apple cider vinegar.

Disclaimer: Not suggesting to do any of this. Just answering the question.

RonVandenburg
I can lookup the individual supplements, but is there any specific reason (if you are willing to share) to take this combination? Also, I'm curious about the caveat for magnesium taurate, it seems harmless enough?

If you don't mind me prying, could you point me in the right direction to read more about this regimen? Is it anti-aging research?

LinuxBender
I should do a write-up some day of what each molecule does both good and potentially bad. The reason I warn about taking that much magnesium per meal is that some people starting at that level may experience difficulty breathing. There are prerequisite processes to build up to some levels of some minerals and not everyone needs that much. Even taking 15k IU's of D3 per meal can cause hypercalcemia in some people if they do not build their way up to it over time and also use enough K2. Knowing ones renal health is also very important when taking large amounts of certain molecules. Some of those things work together and some can work against each other depending on the person. The list is ever evolving. There is also a myriad of outdated known information about each thing which makes research a lot harder.

I arrived at that combination for myself after years of researching papers on nih.gov, linked studies from examine.com and binge watching thousands of videos by nutritionists and scientists of whom do not always agree with one another. I tailored that combination to me but there could be benefit in researching each thing. The ingredients and amounts will change with time.

Is it anti-aging research?

One could find some of those things mentioned in anti-aging and tissue/organ repair studies.

tm55
Two boiled eggs and a ham and cheese toasted sandwich, plus coffee. Takes me a minute or two to prepare them and then ~10 mins for the eggs to boil, but I can use that time for my morning prep. I noticed as well that my productivity is impacted if I don’t have breakfast.
boring_twenties
Microwaved coffee and a few stale cigarettes.
giardini
Do you microwave the cigarettes in the coffee or simply eat them raw?
boring_twenties
Well, there are good days, and then there are the bad days...
giardini
You made my day a good day! Have a cigarette...
Graffur
Nothing until lunch most days. I could eat but I just don't need to really. If I do want something I have one of the following banana, yogurt, oats (with seeds and/or nut butter).
NoboruWataya
Usually, scrambled eggs on a slice of toast. I'll sprinkle in some cajun or paprika seasoning and smother it in hot sauce.

If I'm in a rush, or I know I'm having an early/big lunch, I'll just grab an apple or a banana.

In either case, an americano as well.

more_corn
This is my favorite interview question. I like to start them off with a win to break the adversarial atmosphere.
wreath
And then proceed to criticize their foos choices? J/k
NiagaraThistle
It varies between a fruit and yogurt smoothie, homemade pancakes/french toast/waffles with bacon or sausage and some fruit/berries, croissant with jam or nutella, REAL porridge (not that instant oatmeal in a paper packet garbage), toast and two eggs with bacon/sausage, italian breakfast "sandwich" (slice of ciabatta, fried egg, slices of prosciutto, slice of provolone cheese, topped with marinara sauce and broiled until the cheese bubbles). Fresh brewed tea or espresso. If I grab my coffee on the 'commute', I get an orange chocolate latte instead. These are my go-tos. On the weekends or a big Rangers/Scotland match I will do a full Scottish fry up.

It's about 15-20 minutes depending on the meal, but I LOVE breakfast and have two young boys who do too, so I make a point of making good ones.

sertorius
3 parts oat bran, 1 part psyllium husk - mix and put through a flour mill. Add some baking powder. Store this mixture and then at breakfast time add 1 egg and milk and fry as a pancake. I eat it with honey and butter. You'll probably want to make sure to have a glass of water with it, as the psyllium is soluable fiber.

Really tasty, and also an enjoyable experience 24 hours later.

fetus8
2-3 cups of coffee, a cup of yogurt, and a banana.

I'm a creature of habit, but this has worked for me for almost 15 years now. It all started in college.

godzillafarts
I've noticed that if I skip breakfast, I intently focus on how hungry I am until lunch time. However, if my breakfast is too "heavy", it makes me feel extremely tired. My go-to these days is whole milk greek yogurt and homemade granola.
smileysteve
2 eggs scrambled with spinach (sometimes mushroom,sometimes salsa or Parmesan on top)
yellowapple
Eggs. Meat (usually spam). Sometimes cheese. Veggies if I have 'em. Copious amounts of hot sauce. Mix 'em all together in a hot frying pan. Also cook up some pancakes or waffles if it's the weekend.

I usually restrict myself to one big meal per day, usually around lunchtime. I guess that'd technically be called "intermittent fasting", but it doesn't feel that way (and I cheat sometimes, e.g. because someone invited me over for dinner and I don't want to be that asshole who's like "nah I already ate").

throwaway889900
Sandwich.

I've managed to piss off my coworker by eating the same thing for lunch every day for several years though, so that's good. Sandwich, yogurt, and some tangerines.

culopatin
A few mates. Maybe a cookie or two. If I ate very early the previous night, a banana and yogurt. This usually keeps me going until 10:30.
kerrsclyde
Porridge, Scottish style. Just milled porridge oats with whole milk. 5mins in a microwave. Salt to taste. I row for an hour or so every morning before breakfast so this hits the spot and keeps me full until lunchtime.
NiagaraThistle
Love this. I make it on the stove top, but Scottish porridge is delicious.
rags2riches
Nothing. I used to think breakfast was essential. Turns out it's just another habit. Two good meals a day is perfectly fine.

I also hate the feeling of going to the gym on a full stomach. Working out around ten am or so works great.

joegahona
Same. I skip breakfast and eat only between noon and 6pm. Best decision ever, never hungry, never tired. I do have coffee every morning (black).
adamhp
1/2 cup of Coach's Oats with a tbsp of chia seed and 1/2 cup of blueberries or a banana. Wake up, put the water on to boil for my oatmeal and coffee, grind my beans (hand grinder), drop the oats, brew coffee in Aeropress, sip coffee while the oats are cookin. Toss in the banana or blueberries and chia seed towards the end and eat while I do my morning reading HN or something else.

https://www.amazon.com/Coachs-Oats-Whole-Grain-Oatmeal/dp/B0...

cypherg
coffee, banana, maybe some left overs. maybe avocado, eggs, rice. got tired of oatmeal but it's a good option, especially if you add dried fruit, etc
navs
I have a reasonably large breakfast because I’m usually hitting a 18hr fasting window by breakfast.

A protein shake with some collagen. 2 slices of toast with an avocado and some ground flaxseed.

This usually fills me up but without the lethargy.