Dietitians Reveal Pros And Cons

Most Americans probably don’t start their day by chomping into a whole pepper, but the Balkan breakfast trend circulating on TikTok has encouraged many to give it a try.

Inspired by ingredients and eating habits from the Balkan region of the world, people have been posting videos of themselves on social media eating whole raw vegetables, bread, cheese, cured meats and pickled vegetables directly from the table, Yasi Ansari, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells TODAY.com.

The meal also often includes vibrant dips and spreads made from sweet peppers, spices and eggplant, such as ajvar.

“The Balkan breakfast trend is a really great example of how cultural food traditions around the world can provide variety and nutrition to our diet,” registered dietitian Kelly LeBlanc tells TODAY.com.

“And it’s a great reminder that breakfast around the world doesn’t always look like what Americans think of as breakfast,” says LeBlanc, who is also the vice president of nutrition at Oldways, a Boston-based nonprofit that provides education and culinary tours focused on traditional diets.

With no cooking required and an emphasis on whole, fresh ingredients, the Balkan breakfast can be a nutritious, flavorful way to start your day, dietitians say. But there are a few caveats to keep in mind before you start chowing down.

What is the Balkan breakfast trend on TikTok?

The video that started the trend, from user @.dayi, was originally posted in August and now has over 6 million views. It shows him taking large bites of whole sweet peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, bread and crumbly cheese.

Since that video was posted, others across the platform have re-created the meal with their own twists. Other versions of the breakfast might include scrambled or boiled eggs, cured meats and sausage, Ansari says. There also people eating entire loaves of bread, LeBlanc adds.

“I like to think that Americans are looking for an easier and more creative ways to get breakfast in and ways that add more flavor,” Ansari says, adding that it’s similar to the approach that brought us the “girl dinner” trend.

Kristina Vavura, a Bulgarian dietitian who also works with patients in Scotland, tells TODAY.com that the meals on TikTok resemble more of a snack in Bulgaria than a breakfast. (While the geographic definition of the Balkans varies, the region is named after the mountains that extend through Bulgaria.)

For Vavura, a classic, convenient Bulgarian breakfast is banitsa, a pastry made with eggs, a feta-like cheese and yogurt, she explains. “They’re usually making it the night before so they can have it as breakfast the next day,” Vavura says.

But the ingredients in the Balkan breakfast videos feel authentic. In particular, she notes the use of lyutenitsa, a spread made from red peppers, tomatoes and eggplant that people often put on toast for a quick breakfast.

“Our grandmas used to make it in the summer and store that in jars so they can have it during winter,” Vavura says. But, while convenient, lyutenitsa on toast is not a complete breakfast, she says. “I usually advise just taking a little bit more protein there,” Vavura says, like cottage cheese or a lean meat, like chicken or turkey.

Is the Balkan breakfast healthy?

“Generally speaking, it’s a healthy trend,” says Ansari, adding that she’s thrilled to see people eating breakfast at all.

“Starting the day off with something to eat can really help support healthier relationships with food,” she explains. It can help you be mindful of your hunger and fullness cues and stay on track with your overall eating plans.

And, of course, there are specific ingredients in the Balkan breakfast to be excited about too. The vegetables are “filled with fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants,” LeBlanc says. And the fiber in the vegetables also acts as a prebiotic, which supports your gut microbiome and overall gut health, she adds.

Bell peppers in particular contain antioxidants capsanthin, violaxanthin, lutein and quercetin, Ansari says. They’re also a good source of vitamins C, A and E, as well as potassium, which supports blood pressure control and heart health.

The cheeses present in the meal also contain some healthy nutrients, like protein and calcium. And the bread, if made with whole grains, provides fiber, protein and other healthy nutrients.

However, not all versions of the Balkan breakfast trend that you’ll see on social media are equally healthy, the experts warn, and it’s better to eat some of the ingredients in moderation.

While the cheese and meats offer filling protein, they also contain saturated fat and sodium, which you may need to limit. “If the cheese is a higher sodium product, but the rest of your day is low-sodium, it may be OK, but it’s just something to consider,” Ansari says.

And when it comes to cured meats, “that is an area that I wouldn’t recommend that people imitate because cured meat have been shown to cause colorectal cancer, and they are considered a carcinogen by the World Health Organization,” LeBlanc says. Cured meats have also been linked to heart disease, she adds.

If those are foods you already have in your fridge and you want to use them to add a bit more flavor to your Balkan breakfast, that’s one thing. “(But) I would hope that people who are trying to make their own Balkan breakfast don’t suddenly start eating more cured meats than they used to,” LeBlanc says.

If you want to try the Balkan breakfast trend…

Think of the Balkan breakfast trend as a reminder that what you eat in the morning doesn’t have to be limited to certain foods, LeBlanc says. “If you’re feeling like you’re in a rut, maybe making a little board with some veggies, cheese, whole grain bread and a dip could be a great way to mix it up,” she suggests.

But all the experts TODAY.com spoke to agree that it’s important to keep portion sizes in mind — and to know that the volume of food people are eating on social media isn’t something to replicate on a daily basis.

“While the foods in the Balkan breakfast might have their roots in tradition and have some very nutritious components, a lot of the TikTokers seem to be exaggerating the portion sizes for comedic effect,” LeBlanc says.

“In some of the videos I’ve seen, people have eaten a pound-size wedge of cheese,” she adds. “With the cheese, I would definitely encourage people to go for for quality over quantity and just using a little bit as flavoring.”

The experts also wanted to impart a word of caution when it comes to fiber: Folks in the U.S. generally do not get enough fiber in their day, but increasing the amount of fiber you eat too quickly can result in gastrointestinal issues, like constipation, bloating or diarrhea.

If you’re someone who doesn’t usually eat a lot of fiber or who struggles with eating a lot of fiber at once, “you may need to ease yourself into this trend,” Ansari says. Add just a little more fiber at a time, make sure to chew adequately and increase your water intake along with the fiber.

Breakfast can be a way to connect to tradition

To see Balkan and Bulgarian recipes spreading around the world is “quite amazing,” Vavura says. She hopes other healthy Balkan recipes start to take, off such as tarator, a refreshing Bulgarian soup made with yogurt, cucumber and garlic that’s traditionally eaten cold in the summer.

Balkan cuisine “is a little more about culture and feeling part of nature because we often make things ourselves, like yogurt,” Vavura explains. “It’s very important to make things from scratch, to actually know what we put in our meals and to enjoy eating them.”

Eating fermented foods and whole grains “might be a nice way to reconnect with tradition” or a “back-to-the-land kind of existence,” LeBlanc adds. And that may help us actually and enjoy our food and the eating experience a little more.

In the U.S., people tend to “eat on their feet” or to have meals alone, Vavura says. “Whereas here in Bulgaria, we tend to enjoy our meals with our loved ones, friends or our colleagues,” she adds. “This cultural aspect brings a lot of joy to the food and the whole meal.”