Tea with a teacher: Q&A with English teacher Nancy Wassner

Charli Galkin and Shira Godin

Lion’s Tale: What is your favorite breakfast food?

English teacher Nancy Wassner: I think my favorite breakfast food is a very cheesy omelet, preferably with guacamole and salsa. But that’s sort of a new thing. When I was younger, I was all about the sweet breakfast food. Now, I’m all about the savory breakfast food.

LT: On a day to day basis, what would be your go-to breakfast food?

NW: So, my go-to breakfast food is actually a granola bar because what I found is I get to school a little bit after seven in the morning and what I found is that if I eat a granola bar at like 7:30 in the morning I don’t really get [hungry] until lunchtime.

LT: What would you say is the best time to eat breakfast?

NW: In a perfect world, my best time to eat breakfast is probably about 9:30 in the morning.

LT: Why?

NW: Because when left to my own devices, I wake up between seven and eight in the morning and I don’t want to eat right away, I like to futz around a little. I want to make some coffee, I want to listen to the radio, so for me, it’s like wait ‘till I get a little hungry, fold some laundry or something. 9:30 a.m.; breakfast time.

LT: What do you think of breakfast in general? Is it actually the most important meal of the day?

NW: I think it really depends on the person if it’s the most important meal of the day. I can’t say that, but I will say that breakfast is sort of in theory my favorite meal of the day because I think breakfast has become an excuse to eat all of the foods that you otherwise wouldn’t eat as a meal. So for example, smoothies, breakfast milkshakes. Muffins, breakfast cake, right? So even cereal to some degree, breakfast soup. When are you going to eat sugar soup otherwise? That’s what breakfast cereal is. So breakfast is amazing because it is an amazing excuse to eat all of the things that you feel you shouldn’t be eating like really early.

LT: What are your opinions on brunch? When does brunch start? Should there even be a brunch?

NW: Well, brunch is fine. It’s not my preference. It’s just late breakfast, early lunch. You’re eating sugary things. I think of it more as breakfast. I don’t know, I don’t have strong feelings about brunch, it’s fine. But I will say that if when people are like ‘let’s meet at 11 for brunch’ I have to eat breakfast before that.

LT: Should breakfast be comprised of deserts or protein filled dishes?

NW: It depends on what you want out of it. That’s the truth. If you want to not be hungry later on, then I guess the protein is better.