The Mac & Cheese Millionaire

24PurposeLike Coffee, Without the Crash

“In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”

—Mother Teresa

One of the most difficult parenting moments I have ever experienced was formulating a response to a single question from my young daughter Ellie: “Why can’t I have ice cream for breakfast?” I initially dismissed the query as the silly daydream of a toddler. Everyone knows you should eat something healthy to start your day off right, so I told her that we were going to have pancakes instead. She responded by asking why we couldn’t have ice cream on the pancakes, or after the pancakes like dessert. I was going to have to dig a bit deeper. I had to ask myself what makes ice cream acceptable as a dessert for dinner, but not as a dessert for breakfast? Another unfortunate chink in the armor: Did I, or anyone, really filter breakfast options for their health benefits? When I paused to dissect the content of my proposed “healthy alternative” of homemade pancakes loaded with white flour and butter, I wasn’t sure they were actually any more nutritious than a scoop of ice cream.

Because the answer for why things are done a certain way is generally not based in reason or logic, but in long-accepted habits that society perpetuates without question. And like the prohibition on ice cream for breakfast, I found myself increasingly concerned that the bill of goods I was raised with—the foundation of society as I understood it—didn’t make ...