Dolly Parton's Favorite Weekday Breakfast Was Honestly So Humble

What did it take to keep a superstar like Dolly Parton going? To give her strength and energy to put on musical performances, fundraise for her charity, promote medical research and disaster relief, and be the face of a major amusement park bearing her name? Why, a good breakfast, of course.

Parton, who died at the age of 80 today, August 25, reportedly liked to eat a simple yet filling breakfast: "Egg salad on toast with tomato, and sometimes I'll have a bagel with cream cheese, cucumbers and tomatoes," Parton told The Wall Street Journal Magazine. Sometimes she'd have eggs with just a side of either bacon or toast. If she wanted to go a little lighter, she would opt for poached eggs with fruit. For a more of a stick-to-your-ribs kind of start to her day, Parton often preferred sausage and biscuits. And to give her an extra caffeine boost, since she was often awake and going by 3 a.m., it was Folgers coffee, heavy on the cream — but no more than a cup and a half. Her affinity for bagels aside, Parton admitted that she usually tried to watch her carbs during the week, especially when her various jobs or projects kept her busy, but she allowed herself to splurge and indulge a bit on weekends.

Not only was Parton's breakfast humble, but she was, too. Known for being approachable and kind and adored by most anyone who knew her or knew of her, she was the type who would have sat down for breakfast with strangers. And she once referred to her own cooking as not very fancy.

Parton was born and raised in East Tennessee, so a love of good, Southern cooking was ingrained in her — even if that meant eating squirrels or groundhogs. Whether it was fried chicken and potato salad for Sunday dinners when she was young or her family chicken and dumpling recipe that she made as an adult, Parton stayed true to her Tennessee roots. She also made a mean milk gravy and enjoyed whipping up a batch of potato salad or coleslaw for gatherings with friends or family. She especially loved anything with potatoes.

And that weekend splurge she mentioned? There's a good chance that it could have been peanut butter fudge, since she often made some for the cast and crew of movies she starred in. If she made a trip to her namesake theme park Dollywood, she would be sure to treat herself to a funnel cake. Parton also started her own line of baking mixes, including chocolate cake, banana pudding cake, pancakes, and cornbread mixes, which were inspired by her own sweet tooth. The southerner in her really loved a good banana pudding.