9 US Presidents And Their Favorite Breakfast

As the saying goes, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It replenishes your energy and gets your mind and body ready to take on whatever may be on your daily agenda, whether that's taking a difficult test at school or, let's say, running the entirety of America and the hundreds of millions of people that live within it.

Even the busiest people in the world need to make time to eat, and our country's leaders fall within that category. But since we've already explored much of what our presidents like to munch on, from their preferred sandwiches and absolute favorite snacks to the way they order their steaks, it's time that we take a look at their morning meals as well. Breakfast, be it a modest bowl of cereal or some eyebrow-raising raw concoction, is what launches them into their jam-packed schedules and extensive decision-making, after all.

The current President of the United States, Donald Trump, isn't much of a trendsetter when it comes to the food scene. Just take a look at the divisive way he orders his steak, which would be well-done with a side of ketchup. This sort of preference has trickled into breakfast as well, as Trump revealed to People in 2015 that his morning meal of choice is "bacon medium and eggs over-well." "Eggs over-well" likely means that the leader eats the protein fully cooked through, with nothing runny about it.

And when it's not this classic breakfast item he's beginning his day with, it's Raisin Bran (one of the worst cereals on U.S. grocery store shelves, if you ask us) that he needs "right from the fields out of Iowa," according to an interview he'd done with Jesse Watters in 2016. This is all if he even eats breakfast at all. The president himself has said that he usually skips it.

Donald Trump isn't the only one who goes for a humble bowl of cereal. Joe Biden does, too. He doesn't reach for Raisin Bran, though; he opts for Special K, another cornflake-type option. While there are several variations of Special K cereal, from the fan-favorite flavors with fruit and yogurt to the seasonal picks with cinnamon and pecan, Biden keeps it classic with the dried strawberries add-ins. It's one of several foods you'll always find him stocked up on.

You can also count on finding low-fat yogurt, red grapes, eggs, sliced bread, and apples within his personal stash. This is all rather standard breakfast fare, but what shakes things up is his beverage. Rather than energizing himself with something like coffee, tea, or hey, even a glass of milk, Biden kickstarts his day with a bottle of Gatorade. The orange one, to be more exact, which in a standard 12-ounce bottle contains 80 calories, 21 grams of added sugar, and, of course, a whole lot of electrolytes.

Barack Obama has championed not only major efforts in areas like healthcare and reforms helping the economy bounce back after the Great Recession, but also food culture. The 44th President of the United States has often been found at various foodie destinations, which the general public has had a guilty pleasure of relentlessly keeping up with, whether that meant staying updated on his family's favorite Mexican restaurant in Washington, D.C., or even the New York Times guacamole recipe he disapproved of.

So, in 2008, when Saveur published what Obama liked to eat for breakfast, it's no surprise people took special note of that, too. It was a little hard not to, considering his go-to often consisted of a whopping six eggs. And that is alongside additionally hefty sides like potatoes, wheat toast, and the occasional oatmeal, bacon, or fruit. His powerhouse of a breakfast could not be any more different than how his wife, Michelle Obama, grew up eating her morning meal – with no eggs at all, since she hated them, and instead opting for a traditional peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day.

If Franklin Roosevelt were alive today, he probably would've loved the concept of grabbing something quick from Dunkin' on particularly busy mornings in the office. After all, the president was known to enjoy starting his day off with a Berliner pfannkuchen, a traditional German treat consisting of a round ball of deep-fried dough that's been coated with powdered sugar and filled with jam. Roosevelt loved these jelly donuts so much that his housekeeper, Henrietta Nesbitt, often had large amounts of them whipped up for him both for breakfast and dinner.

But when Roosevelt had a hankering for less saccharine meals, he was also said to gravitate toward foods like scrambled eggs, which he presumably preferred in the morning. Added to that list are savory options such as grilled cheese, hot dogs, and fish chowder, though we can imagine the former president fancied these for lunch and dinner as well.

We know the favorite cocktails of many U.S. presidents, from John F. Kennedy's love for daiquiris to Andrew Jackson's affinity for a whiskey punch. But Woodrow Wilson's go-to was far from the balanced mix of sweet and sour flavors that usually cocktails provide. The 28th President of the United States threw back a glass of raw eggs in juice every morning.

It's safe to say this isn't a concoction Wilson drooled at the thought of having day in and day out, but he did have it daily at the recommendation of his doctor, Cary Grayson, who was determined to help the leader through a wave of serious health problems. One way was by having him drink a couple of eggs mixed in with either grape or orange juice, creating a combination Wilson has likened to "an unborn thing." This clearly doesn't sound like the safest idea, knowing raw eggs can cause a dangerous case of salmonella, though they are known to be dense in nutrients, such as protein, fat, phosphorus, vitamin D, and more.

Along with efforts like expanding foreign trade and holding the position of both president and Supreme Court Justice (though at separate times), William Howard Taft's legacy is arguably more tied to his eating habits and physique. In fact, the White House Historical Association documented that during his time in the White House, the food served was particularly "ambitious and varied."

This extended into breakfast, where instead of your typical sausage and bacon, the public figure enjoyed a hearty 12-ounce steak at 8:30 a.m. on the dot almost every day. Taft would also have toast on the side and enjoyed sipping on a cup of coffee to wash it all down. You'd never find eggs on his plate, though, as he didn't have a liking for them.

Later on, Taft was recommended to follow an altered diet in an effort to bring his weight down. This meant doing away with the 12-ounce steaks and replacing them with a 6-ounce piece of lean, grilled meat, accompanied by an unsweetened beverage and biscuits.

As it turns out, some of the all-time favorite desserts of U.S. presidents would also double as their favorite breakfasts, too. That's the case for Theodore Roosevelt at least, who enjoys a Fat Rascal (along with hard-boiled eggs and coffee) seemingly at any time of day, whether it's part of his first meal in the morning, as a midday buttery snack, or as an accompaniment to hot tea.

If you're wondering what a Fat Rascal is, it's essentially a sweet, flaky baked good hailing from Yorkshire, England, though the ones made by his very own wife, Edith, were what Roosevelt loved best. They're most comparable to a biscuit or scone and are made of just a few key ingredients, including flour, milk, baking powder, butter, and the usual sugar and salt. There are also some dried currants thrown in, which add some tartness to brighten up the cake-like treats.

We can look at Abraham Lincoln as the direct opposite of Barack Obama, who dabbles in both simple and diverse cuisines wherever he goes. Honest Abe, on the other hand, kept things consistently modest. He wasn't much of a foodie and thus had no preference or care for what he was served or how it was prepared.

In fact, he often forgot to even eat his meals at all. Breakfast was especially glossed over, as he certainly had a lot on his plate already, what with running the country during such a monumental time in history (the four-year American Civil War, in particular). Those days when he did eat, though, a meager, singular egg was on the menu as well as toast and a cup of Joe. His other meals (again, if he had them at all) were usually equally simple. Instead, the former president thrived on little snacks like cheese and crackers.

When we think of the eating habits of the first President of the United States, cherries often come to mind. George Washington grew up with cherry trees blooming all around him at his Mount Vernon home in Virginia, after all. But while he usually enjoyed consuming the fruit in the form of boozy drinks and pies for dessert, hoecakes were what was on his plate for breakfast.

Essentially, the savory version of a pancake, hoecakes were made with a base of an egg, water, cornmeal, dry yeast, and salt. They were prepared on a griddle that was oiled with beef suet to further add a mildly rich flavor to the meal. It was then balanced out with generous amounts of honey and butter atop the finished cakes, which Washington typically paired with some hot tea in the early mornings of his day.