PETALING JAYA, March 22 — Think breakfast and the first thing that comes to mind is a steaming, flavoursome plate of nasi lemak. The more health-conscious among us will often think of this dish as being overladen with calories and cholesterol, but guess again. Nasi lemak has surprisingly been recognised in Time magazine as one of the 10 most healthy international breakfasts! 

This ‘"supremely delicious" offering is said to offer "lots of manganese, protein, and carbs". The article, published today, also advised one to eat less of the rice to reduce the amount of fat since it does have ‘"more fat than is good for you". According to the article, "the chili in the sambal also boosts the metabolism (depending which nutritionist you talk to)".

Another healthy breakfast featured in the article is the Turkish breakfast spread with olives, tomato, white cheese, eggs and sausages. Eggs are a feature in another breakfast, the Israeli shakshouka, which is basically eggs poached in a tomato and vegetable sauce.

Asian breakfasts from Japan and Vietnam were also on the list. Japan’s offering is a breakfast of side dishes and rice while Vietnam’s well-known pho is chockfull of herbs and vegetables

Egypt’s breakfast from the time of the pharaohs is ful medames, with fava beans being the main ingredient. Another bean dish featured is Costa Rica’s Gallo Pinto, black beans with rice.

Elsewhere from Europe, we have two variations of porridge: Iceland’s hafragrautur oatmeal porridge, and Russia’s kasha, consisting of various grains and cooked in milk.

One more featured in the list is India’s upma, made from semolina and suitable for vegetarians.

So the next time you think twice about having nasi lemak for breakfast, don’t. After all, Time says it’s healthy.