For the past 18 months, people have been spending more time at home, a trend that has impacted breakfast attitudes and behaviours. A recent study done in the US evaluated how 1000 employed people feel about cooking and eating breakfast, specifically during the workweek, and how the COVID-19 pandemic played a factor into these changing attitudes and behaviours.
In the study, conducted by OnePoll for Bob Evans Farms, 2 in 3 working people said they make it a high priority to eat breakfast during the workweek, despite 63% admitting they would rather have an extra hour of sleep than get up early to cook breakfast. Interestingly, nearly half (46%) believe they make healthier breakfast selections now than they did before the pandemic.
Why is it so tough to get breakfast in the morning?
Commute or no commute, mornings can be rough. In fact, over half of the employed people surveyed (56%) said they were too busy to make breakfast in the morning during the workweek, and perhaps not surprisingly, most of those who agreed that they were too busy are parents (87%).
When asked why it was so challenging to get breakfast together on weekdays, respondents answered that the physical act of cooking (40%), deciding what to make (39%) and cleaning up (38%) are the most difficult aspects of cooking breakfast during the workweek.
Solving the breakfast dilemma in the morning
To make breakfast prep easier in the morning, over 3 in 4 respondents (76%) reported purchasing refrigerated heat-and-eat breakfast items at least once a month. The survey also found 2 in 5 of the employed respondents (41%) are more interested in refrigerated heat-and-eat breakfast items than they were before the pandemic. Today, the top three reasons people are interested in refrigerated heat-and-eat breakfast items are because of their:
* Convenience (60%)
* Taste (58%)
and
* Price (51%)
Selecting the best heat-and-eat breakfast choices
For anyone looking for meal options for breakfast that are hearty as well as convenient, you can check product labels to choose items containing higher protein and lower carbs and sugar to help you and your family get moving on busy weekday mornings.
