NEW YORK – QSRs love breakfast so much that they fight over it, and consumers can’t get enough of bacon. No doubt the morning is a lucrative daypart for foodservice operators, with some locations offering breakfast fare 24/7.

From bagels to sandwiches and egg whites, to mile-high pancakes and fresh fruit bowls, cracking the code on breakfast can reap substantial sales dollars. So, to help us all learn a bit more about breakfast, its origins and rise in popularity, TIME magazine offers up five facts:

Breakfast food is a recent invention.
According to Abigail Carroll, food historian and author of “Three Squares: The Invention of the American Meal,” the concept of breakfast food didn’t exist in the United States until the mid to late 1800s, writes TIME. “People ate breakfast, but it looked a lot like dinner or a snack,” she says, which likely consisted of leftovers, cheese and bread.

James Caleb Jackson, writes Carroll, created the first breakfast cereal in 1863 called Granula. “He took the graham flour, mixed it with water, baked it, took it out, broke it up, baked it again and came out with the first breakfast cereal which was to be eaten soaked in water or milk,” Carroll told TIME.

Yogurt for breakfast in the United States is not even 40-years-old.
TIME notes that according to some reports, yogurt as a breakfast option got its boost in the 1980s when low-fat yogurt options came to market, which is about the same time as the low-fat diet craze. The trend continues today thanks to the popularity of protein-rich Greek yogurt.

It may not be the most important meal of the day.
“The general question about whether breakfast is ‘the most important meal of the day’ is not grounded in scientific data but more of an old saying,” James A. Betts of the University of Bath told TIME. Betts authored a study suggesting that eating breakfast in the morning doesn’t improve one’s metabolism.

Choose fiber and protein.
The most important factors to a healthy breakfast are fiber and protein, notes TIME, writing that the Mayo Clinic recommends a morning meal made up of whole grains, lean protein and fruits and vegetables.

Don’t skip dessert with breakfast.
This doesn’t mean folks should have a slice of cake for breakfast, but combined with a healthy meal, a morning pastry isn’t necessarily a bad choice. TIME cites a 2012 study that found people who ate a low calorie diet and a healthy breakfast, but also incorporated a dessert, achieved better weight loss results, had fewer cravings and felt less hungry throughout the day.