Obtain the Grain
Claiming that I like bread is an understatement. I love bread. I've spent approximately 90% of my time on this Earth consuming bread. If my house was on fire, I would toss my valuables aside and run straight down to the kitchen to save my stash of bread. If you had the last piece of bread on the planet, I would trade you my little brother for it. I would have a PhD in Bread Studies, if only that was an actual thing. I've memorized almost all of the words to Parry Gripp's "I Love Bread" (highly recommend you look it up on Youtube, you won't be disappointed). The point is, I really really REALLY love bread. Allow me to explain why.
"Bread" is an incredibly broad term which encompasses a great variety of foods and flavors. You have garlic bread, bread rolls, breadsticks, sliced bread, baguettes, bread bowls, and more! You can put bread crumbs on literally anything, or get some cream cheese and enjoy some bread in bagel form. Some of my favorite kinds of bread include garlic bread from Zas, cheesy breadsticks from Domino's, and tomato basil bread from Panera. Eating soup? You can have bread on the side! Got a salad? Add some croutons! Bread is an amazing food that can be flawlessly incorporated into nearly every meal you eat.
My fondness for all things bread was not inherited. I think it stemmed from my love of running. Athletes need to eat a lot of food in order to have enough energy to give their all in workouts. Specifically with runners, I've seen a lot of emphasis on "carbloading" before races in order to maximize performance. The cross country team has pasta parties the night before Saturday meets for this very reason. We each eat about a pound of pasta and breadsticks while watching Tiktoks and gossiping about the latest tea at school. It's always my favorite time of the week, having the chance to bond with my teammates as we hype ourselves up for our races the following day.
As the years went on, I found myself dropping more time as I ate more carbs, and decided that the sole reason that I was getting faster had to be that I was eating more bread. I can't quantify how much gorging yourself on carbs actually helps your performance the next day, but I don't think it hurts. Even if it's just a placebo, I've grown to love carb-rich foods because I always associate them with the sport I love, and the people I love. I have had countless discussions with teammates and friends about whether Einstein's or Panera has better bagels (I can't decide!), or how much bread one person can reasonably consume in day (your bodyweight, at least). Out of all the possibilities of things that one can put in their body in large amounts, I don't think bread is the worst option. Even if you don't run, I highly recommend you try sitting down for an afternoon and eating your feelings in bread (and hit me up when you do so I can join you!).
As the years went on, I found myself dropping more time as I ate more carbs, and decided that the sole reason that I was getting faster had to be that I was eating more bread. I can't quantify how much gorging yourself on carbs actually helps your performance the next day, but I don't think it hurts. Even if it's just a placebo, I've grown to love carb-rich foods because I always associate them with the sport I love, and the people I love. I have had countless discussions with teammates and friends about whether Einstein's or Panera has better bagels (I can't decide!), or how much bread one person can reasonably consume in day (your bodyweight, at least). Out of all the possibilities of things that one can put in their body in large amounts, I don't think bread is the worst option. Even if you don't run, I highly recommend you try sitting down for an afternoon and eating your feelings in bread (and hit me up when you do so I can join you!).
The first thing I thought of when I saw what your blog was about was your homestay in France. All I remember you telling us about was how your host family had elaborate breakfasts with a lot of bread, which would be regularly replenished. Although, to be completely honest, I understand why you love bread so much. I just like it because it's good, but you actively connect it to a group of people and activity close to your heart.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this post, I think you should consider a career as a bread saleswoman. You did a really good job of convincing me that bread is one of the greatest things on earth. I think the constant mention of the word bread really helps hammer this idea into the reader. After reading this, I went to my kitchen and got out a loaf of bread and started eating.
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