I am a disciplined person, and my routine is important. I run frequently. I try to go to bed and wake up around the same time every day. I save a lot of time for reading, watching movies, and certainly cooking meals. But additionally, I scorn the thought of scripting my life into oblivion. So when it comes to routine, breakfast is an area where I allow myself to fully indulge.

I could eat the same thing for breakfast every day. I even wish I did. I enjoy the mystery of lunch and dinner, but it is important to rely on the bedrock of a consistent breakfast.

My perfect daily breakfast consists of the following key elements (ideally all but realistically 3-5):

• 2 fried eggs
• 2-3 pieces of protein (bacon, sausage)
• Half of an avocado
• Fruit (banana, raspberries, strawberries)
• Toast
• Coffee/English Breakfast Tea

I understand this is a larger breakfast than what many consider a reasonable daily breakfast, but I am a large guy with a large appetite. Plus I feel great when I eat a lot early in the day.

Allow me to add one important, undervalued element of breakfast — accompanied leftovers. A perfect breakfast may (and often does) include an element of your previous meals either in addition or in place of one of the key elements.

Some examples ranging from common sense to head turning:

• Roasted potatoes in place of toast
• Caramelized mushrooms and onions on the eggs
• Chimichurri with the avocado
• A roasted chicken leg as the protein
• Eggs placed on top of bed of day-old rice (with soy sauce/furikake)
• Caprese salad in place of fruit

I am not a purist when it comes to what should be eaten at what point in the day.