You can pry my croissant from my cold, dead hands

Eating a balanced diet full of vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein is a laudable goal. Such a diet can help you stay healthy and avoid certain diseases. Endless advice is available on what foods to eat and which to avoid if you want to achieve this goal, such as the recent article from The Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food on items that will leave you still feeling hungry, and what to eat in their place. This advice is solid and uncontroversial, but it left me cold.

The article suggests that a croissant is not a good breakfast option, although it offers a caveat that if you add cheese and an orange it would be a slightly better choice. However, eggs are recommended as a superior alternative to a croissant altogether. I could not disagree more. From a purely numbers-oriented standpoint the article is correct. The carbs and fats in a croissant offer little in the way of nutrition and may leave me still feeling hungry. But they feed me in a different way. I adore a croissant for breakfast (preferably one that is slathered in this Sicilian pistachio spread). Biting through the outer layers that shatter before yielding to the buttery, rich interior is like being offered a glimpse into Elysium, and it satisfies me in a way that a plate of scrambled eggs could never do.

I can eat croissants for breakfast as often as I desire and I acknowledge this tremendous privilege. I have not always been in this position, and that makes each croissant even more precious. While it may not be the choice recommended by a dietician, sometimes a dose of indulgence is just what the doctor ordered. With the world swirling in chaos and the future as hazy as the Canadian wildfire smoke wafting down around me, I will take moments of joy where I can find them. One of those is inside a buttery, flaky croissant.

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8 Comments

  • FuzzyChef  on  June 4, 2025

    Personally, if i have a croissant for breakfast, I’m good until lunch

  • lean1  on  June 4, 2025

    As long as its made with butter and no preservatives go for it!

  • Pamsy  on  June 4, 2025

    A little of what you fancy does you good!

  • FJT  on  June 4, 2025

    Takes so long to make them though and I’ve never found a decent gluten-free one to buy, so I only treat myself once a year!

  • rmpostonmfandt  on  June 4, 2025

    I agree and love this article. There is no good or bad food – it’s just food for crying out loud!

  • averythingcooks  on  June 4, 2025

    “Everything in moderation…including moderation” (quotation credited to several different people going all the back to Socrates).

  • Pamsy  on  June 4, 2025

    FJT – Take a look at Monty & Vito’s Diner on Etsy. They are also vegan as I can’t have dairy and eggs but honestly a million times better than M & S (for example).

  • ASHCOSHWEIN  on  June 6, 2025

    I completely agree! I live in France and when I first moved here, I ate one nearly every day for two years. Since then, I have to work hard not to continue that habit. If I go into a boulangerie, I inevitably leave with at least one. I also eat it in two bites before I even make it to the car door.

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