Previously on Poor Impulse Control, we took up the curious case of the deceptively fantastic diet.

The difference between a restrictive regimen and a culinary adventure lies in one’s frame of mind. Are you willing to settle for feeling like you’ve lost out on what everyone else does or can you see past everyone else to what you want? Our off-limits list may give us pause, but after that hiccup, all I see is glorious eats.

No grains, then. Is breakfast impossible? No. Breakfast is actually our easiest get. In America, we think breakfast is cereal or oatmeal or a cup of coffee and ennui, but in other parts of the world, people eat some variation of rice and vegetables. Rice is off our ingredient list, but so?

Combination One
Cheese omelette
Fruit compote
Juice
Tea

Combination Two
Fruit salad with cottage cheese
Bacon
Juice
Tea

Combination Three
Plain yogurt with honey and sliced banana
Ham steak
Juice
Tea

Combination Four
Prosciutto and mozzarella pinwheel
Melon balls
Juice
Tea

Combination Five
Scrambled eggs with swiss cheese
Sauteed spinach with lemon juice
Juice
Tea

Yes, it is that easy. This is just a template anyone can use to create simple, nutritious and filling breakfast plates, and anyone should. There’s also a whole class of breakfast thingies we should not overlook: custards.

Ta darling, you exclaim, custards are dessert. We can’t have that for breakfast! That’s – It’s – Am I a bad person if that sounds exciting?

Too many rules! For every little voice in your head that says, No no no! you should hear mine purring, Ya hunh. Got any gum?

Yes, but only flourless chocolate cake for you, my darlings.

What’s in custard? Beaten egg, milk, sugar and usually an extract, either vanilla or almond. For our purposes, skip those. You can think of this adventure as permission to consider other flavorings. Lemon, orange or grapefruit zest are traditional custard flavorings, but you can consider brown sugar, jugo de naranja or dried fruit. Simple egg custards are wonderful and flan or tembleque make fantastic breakfasts. Where will you get recipes? Fortunately for you, you’re sitting next to the world’s largest encyclopedia and cookbook and evidently both your curiosity and hunger are insatiable. And don’t forget marvelous curds.

Remember these exciting words: whatever else you make, fruit is your best friend and tropical fruit makes your life positively thrilling.