One of the most popular breakfast combinations, salmon and cream cheese on a bagel, is also one of the worst foods for any time of day.The bagel offends because it is made with highly processed, refined flour that has just about zero nutrients left to the grain after so much milling. The cream cheese offends me in a variety of ways. Barring the dairy, it's also so high in saturated fat. I have the least problem with the salmon. High in omega-3 fatty acids, salmon is a good source of a linoleic acid that has been found to have an anti-inflammatory affect on your blood, boosts your mood and makes you feel full longer. The problem with smoked fish has to do more with the high salt and carcinogens linked to the smoking technique.
So why am I spending so much time on deconstructing this combo? Friday night, I was the offender. After having seen a really fun Gomez show in Williamsburg, we were hungry. We'd passed on dinner beforehand.
And by the time the show got out, all the local restaurants near Bedford Street were closing up shop (probably to make way for the cheesy nightclub scene that unfolds. Is that chav? Must ask husband), save the 24-hour bagel joint near the subway.
Harking back to a time in college when we'd roll into Columbia Bagels next to the old Marlin bar on West. 115th Street, I had pretty much this order pictured above.
Only this time I ordered tofu cream cheese.
I am evolving.
