In Venezuela, we are areperos (we like to eat arepas). It's rare to find a Venezuelan who doesn't like arepas, although there are some. I'm not one of them; I love my arepas.
Maybe some will think that this dough of ultra-processed flour has nothing special, but I have come to think that they must add something addictive to the flour. I have been eating arepas since I was a girl, a couple of stuffed arepas with butter and cheese could not be missing at breakfast and if there were leftovers, because my mother made a kilo of flour at once, they were reheated for dinner, nobody complained.
I have never gotten tired of eating arepas, maybe there is a day I do not eat one or that I suddenly want to vary, but then I go back to my usual arepa without too much time passing.
Sometimes when I vary, I prepare empanadas or I buy them, which are made with the same flour as the arepas but the dough is thinner, filled and then fried in abundant oil, it is very tasty, but very greasy, so I eat empanadas few times.
Once I went to have breakfast with a friend at her house and she prepared oatmeal and sesame bread rolls, they were accompanied with a salad and fried egg. A breakfast of this style I can also consume very frequently, I like it and it satisfies me, but it is complicated for me to make homemade oatmeal bread daily.
Years ago I traveled to Peru and the first 2 days were difficult for breakfast. At the hotel they served cold bread with jam and a chamomile infusion. Oh, no... I do not like to consume jam at breakfast, I prefer something salty. By the third day, I went to a supermarket and bought bread, cheese, and ham, I felt better in that sense. By the fourth day I stayed at a hostel for Venezuelans, they gave us arepas for breakfast, coffee and fruit juice, that was very timely and saved my breakfasts on that trip. Definitely habits are a serious matter.
On Sundays I work in a bakery from early and I almost always have breakfast at home, a stuffed arepa with scrambled eggs generally. When I do not have time to eat at home, I take the arepa and some clients notice and are surprised that I eat arepa instead of freshly baked bread, but it is that bread does not satisfy me the same as the arepa, I feel that something is missing, that my stomach inflates, that after a while I will want to eat again, I prefer my arepa, freshly made, soft inside but with a crunchy crust, thin so I feel there is a balance between the filling and the dough.
It's not about addiction; because I have gone through some periods without eating arepas due to urgent matters, specifically health reasons, and I've been able to stay calm without them. But when my body feels good, a stuffed arepa with avocado and cheese, eggs and ham, chicken salad, or sautéed vegetables is always irresistible for a happy breakfast.
Accompanied by hot chocolate, coffee with milk, fruit juice, or simply water, it can brighten up your morning.
