I spent a few days in Istanbul once. We arrived late, in the dark. I had no impression of the city or the hotel. So when I awoke, I was hungry. As breakfast was included, my first impression of Istanbul will always be that breakfast.

The brightly lit breakfast room had a long buffet, on which were displayed traditional North American fare – eggs, oatmeal, rolls. The other end, the one that captured my imagination and taste buds – had rich red, tomatoes, sliced delicately. Cucumbers in contrasting green. Room temperature, simple, unadulerated.

That breakfast turned around how i thought of breakfast. Until that moment breakfast had been problematic and boring. Even when I traveled. The Japanese served gruel. Germans, sliced meat and cheese. The Italians – well a cold bun and an espresso isn’t breakfast.

Since that momentous day, my idea of breakfast embraces fresh vegetables, pasta, cold chicken. If I eat for lunch or dinner, I eat it for breakfast. Porridge, and eggs, and toast are still on the menu, but occasionally, alternating with lip-smacking, eye-pleasing things with colour and texture.

For health reasons, tomatoes are banned now. You don’t know how much I miss a toasted tomato sandwich in the morning. When temptation gets too great, I remember that first breakfast in Istanbul, pull out the veg drawer in the fridge and construct a breakfast salad.

Breakfast doesn’t have to be boring, people!