What's for Breakfast?

Do you ever feel that choosing what to eat can sometimes be more of a hassle than privilege? It's the dilemma of the wealthy for sure, and when I say wealthy, I don't mean people who vacation in the Hamptons with their yachts and their big beautiful hats. No, when I say wealthy I mean all people who live in and have access to an abundance of food. Personally, I am no where near wealthy, but I do spend the majority of my disposable income on food and food related activities. I have food all over my kitchen but it seems like I have nothing to eat. At this point, I go through a little ritual.

Step 1: How hungry am I?

I know myself well enough to know that when I have a hard time settling on something to eat, that I may not be hungry enough. So, I put my hand on my diaphragm to center my mind on my stomach and I think about the intensity of my hunger. My stomach is not growling, but their is a twinge of discomfort. It feels empty but it is not churning. Their is a ghost of a hunger pagne, but that's about it. This is incredible because just a few minutes ago, I would have sworn that I was starving. In fact, on a scale of 1-10 (1 being stupid hungry and 10 being Thanksgiving stuffed) I am probably a 4.

Step 2: What would feel good to eat (that I have access to)

I move onto this step if I decide to eat at my current hunger level. I may be only a 4 (a slight hunger) but if I know it is something that I need right now, I don't feel guilty about it. I am taking care of myself in one way or another. Currently though, I am not ready to move on to step 2. For now I will finish describing my process as if I was ready to eat.
So, what would feel good to eat right now? I do two things to figure this out. First, I draw my attention to my mouth (which is slightly salivating) and I think of what I have in the kitchen. If I come across something in the kitchen that I think I might like, I compare it to the sensations of my taste buds. If these two things match up, then it is likely that I would enjoy eating this food.

Step 3: Prepare the food

This sounds obvious, but I want to stress that it is important to prepare the food in the manner in which my taste buds would enjoy the food at this moment. Yes, I like eggs for breakfast but not just any preparation will do today. I'm thinking hollandaise sauce sounds divine, Canadian bacon, and maybe even some avocado. The anticipation of this rich mouth feel would be quite enjoyable. I point this out because hurriedly made dry scrambled eggs just won't do. Eggs Benedict is not something I have the ingredients or the skill to make, so in order to eat this, I may have to go out. That is unless I can find something else my body is accepting of that I do have access to.

Step 4: Eat

It's like opening presents on Christmas morning. The anticipation is over and I'm ready to eat (hypothetically that is, I am still a 4 and not ready to eat quite yet). I sit down with my eggs Benedict and visually devour my meal. Enjoying the appearance of my food is just as important as enjoying the taste. Now I'm ready to take my first bite.

Unfortunately, this is something I have to do in order to write about it. So, I will continue again with "Eating Breakfast, Finally!"