They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Not only because it’s healthy, but because it needs to be tempting enough to get you out of a warm bed and joyful enough to shoo away any morning blues.

And yet, we frequently remove breakfast from our menu. First of all, we’re always late: the kids are ready for school, e-mails are already pinging in your inbox, and you know that if you don’t leave in five minutes, you will get stuck in the morning rush. So instead of investing time and love in an omelette, we just pile some cereal in a bowl, drown it in milk, and swallow it all in one go. And secondly, most breakfasts attract plenty of bad publicity: a full English breakfast is too fatty, a crunchy fresh pastizz will soar your cholesterol levels, and croissants are just a big dollop of carbs.

The reality though is that a good breakfast will set your mood for the rest of the day. Especially when you’re on holiday and trying to organise a full day of sightseeing, a breakfast is what keeps you going. So go on, say good morning to what the country you’re in has to offer.

France

• The combination of flour, yeast, water, eggs and butter is deceivingly simple. Given time, patience and plenty of elbow grease, it’s a recipe which goes beyond the list of ingredients to become something magical. The French know something about this because no other nation in the world does carbs the way they do. Bakeries compete against each other for the accolade of having the best baguette, macaron, croissant and pain suisse in town. And that’s no mean accolade. For instance, the winner of the annual Grand Prix de la Baguette de Tradition Francaise de la Ville de Paris gets to supply the Elysees Palace for one year.

A traditional French breakfast can be so life-affirming

So it’s no surprise that a traditional French breakfast can be so life-affirming. The croissant is the king of the French breakfast: flaky and buttery, you can eat it plain, dunk it in your cappuccino or cut it in half and fill it with jam or butter. Delicious. Also, invest some waistline in pain au chocolat, pain au raisins, or pain suisse which combines two of the best ingredients in the world: cream and chocolate nuggets.

Turkey

• A Turkish breakfast is one of the healthiest you can have. Typically, it includes cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese, olives, honey, jam, spicy lamb sausage and eggs: it’s an all-rounder of a meal which will give you plenty of energy and nutrition for the rest of the day.

Italy

• Our neighbour shows all its elegance in its appreciation of simplicity. When it comes to food, the simpler a dish is, the better it tastes. Just consider a plate of spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino: just four ingredients which make the dish greater than the sum of its parts. The Italians take the same approach to breakfast. Cappuccino e cornetto may sound too simple, but when combined with a dash of gossip and the latest news from the football ground, it becomes an essentially beautiful ritual.

The UK

• You can eat a full English breakfast anywhere in the world. However, the best can be found in its home country.

A full English breakfast isn’t for the weak of heart and traditionally includes bacon, poached or fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, toast, sausages, baked beans and black pudding. Wash it down with a mug of builders’ tea. In recent years, trendy restaurants have refined their offering and offer modern flourishes such as smoked bacon chop, grilled bone marrow, boar sausages and gourmet burgers.

For a Scottish version, add more meat and a couple of tattie scones.

The US

• In the US, you can have anything for breakfast. And large portions of it too.

However, the most classic of American breakfasts is a stack of thick pancakes with a generous drizzle of syrup and berries of your choice. Top that with a few rashers of bacon and you have the breakfast of champions.

China and Japan

• A traditional Chinese breakfast is all about the perfect balance between protein and carbohydrates. Sweet foods are strictly off the menu in favour of dumplings filled with vegetables or meat, soymilk tea and congee, which is a type of rice porridge. Another favourite is jian bing, which is a thin pancake topped with green onions, a spicy bean paste and an egg. Guaranteed to keep you going until lunch.

Across the East China Sea, a Japanese breakfast typically consists of boiled fish, miso soup, rice and tofu. Sounds strange, especially to European tastes, but it’s definitely healthy.

Russia

• The breakfast of choice in Russia is called oladi. Unlike blini, which are thin pancakes, oladi are thicker and puffier. They are usually served with fresh berries, honey, jam and sour cream.

Venezuela

• A Venezuelan breakfast has it all: fruit, meat, salty cheese, fish and starch. And all in one arepa. An arepa is corn flour bread filled with cheese, fish, beef, chicken and fruit: try your own combinations such as chicken and avocado or shredded beef and eggs. Arepas are usually served with black beans and washed down with a fresh fruit juice such as papaya, orange, cantaloupe or pineapple.

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