By: Elizabeth Redhead Kriston
Years ago, I
suffered through my morning routine groggy and lonely until I discovered
morning television!
Back then, the
Today Show with its peppy co-hosts Matt Lauer and Katie Couric were my go to
breakfast buds. The Today Show’s opening jingle was always perfectly timed with
the whistle of my teapot. I poured the hot water over the fresh ground coffee
piled high in my
Listening to
their soothing voices deliver all kinds of bad news made the carefully
choreographed routine of preparing breakfasts for my family smooth and easy.
While the
coffee dripped and Matt and Katie had some light banter on easy news days (or
spoke in professional concerned tones on hard news days), I prepped my daily smoothie
with banana, OJ, frozen blueberries, Greek yogurt, and milled flax seeds.
By the time
the smoothie was prepared, the coffee was ready for me to add honey and
cinnamon to the aromatic dark roasted elixir which I topped it off with milk.
Matt and Katie continued to read the Teleprompters informing me of all the bad
things happening in New York (and sometimes even other places).
As my family
entered the kitchen with the pep and verve of a slumber of sloths, I would turn
to making my girls’ breakfast. Much to their consternation (because “everybody
else gets to eat donuts and Coco Puffs for breakfast”) I made them a” healthy”
breakfast. I piled their plates high with fresh fruit, raw almonds, and a whole
wheat mini-bagel. I spent countless hours extolling the virtues of protein to my
churlish children.
This was our
routine for years up until the great Ann Curry debacle of 2012. After that, I
could not look Matt Lauer in the eye even through my mini flat screen TV that
sits on my kitchen counter.
To fill my
morning “news” jones, I switched networks. I tried the CBS morning show, but
the anchors were a bit lack luster for me. I needed the pep and good humor of a
Katie Couric or even a Meredith Vieira. Feeling a bit dirty, I tuned into GMA,
the Today Show’s show biggest competitor.
It took some
adjusting, but eventually, I grew to love Robin Roberts and George Steph-a
something-ness. Even the rotating cast of co-anchors got my attention and
earned my admiration, except for Michael Strahan. I like him, but he appears both
uncomfortable and annoyed to be there. Not to mention the weird negativity I
sense between him and Amy Robach.
Along with
the change in shows, my breakfasts changed some too. I had to learn to eat
gluten free. I mastered cooking and eating GF oatmeal which I simmered slowly
while I made plates for my girls still pushing the protein and fresh fruit. I
topped my oatmeal with almond milk, cinnamon, honey, and walnuts.
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Other
ingredient changes occurred like switching the OJ to coconut water in my
smoothie improved health benefits. My flax seeds also have chia seeds to keep
on trend with super foods. My fair trade, organic coffee is locally roasted
whenever possible. It steeps in a French press pot no longer dripping from a
Melitta. My blueberries are from my own garden or the farmers market.
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As we attend to
breakfast, on GMA, Ginger Zee’s weather forecast marks the transition from real
news to fluff news. My oatmeal is ready to eat. Ah, fluff news, it makes eating
oatmeal seem so much more decadent.
By the time
Robin throws it to the local news, the plates are cleared and the girls are off
to school. We are ready for the day with full bellies and just enough
information to keep us up to date on the big news stories, and disturbingly,
what the Kardashians are up to.
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