Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Janice's Healthy Egg Scramble

Get your day off to a fabulous and filling start with this delicious breakfast. You can check off at least two servings of your day's veggies with this 192* calorie dish. When served with a slice of whole grain bread spread with a bit of jam it will keep you going strong til lunch.

* If you do not want to add oil at all, reduce the calories by 44. You can simply steam saute the onions, peppers, and veggies in a little water (about 1 tablespoon to start). You are not really sauteing as the word implies the use of oil, but we will throw caution to the wind and say that sauteing in water is a far healthier way to saute for those that need to reduce fat in their diet. Add more water a little bits (a teaspoon or so) at a time as it evaporates and stir until the veggies are softened - a short time left alone in the pan after evaporation with very little stirring will give you some nice browned bits and make it as visually appealing as the traditional olive oil saute. The World's Healthiest Foods suggests that it is better to add the olive oil after cooking anyway as it's properties are compromised when heated.

The nutrition facts for this recipe can be found at Calorie Count!

Healthy Egg Scramble
before adding the eggs
Serves one

Ingredients:

1/4 cup or more of chopped onions
1/4 cup or more of chopped sweet red pepper
1 t habanero olive oil
1 cup or more of torn fresh spinach
1/8 t or more of turmeric
2 good quality eggs, beaten well with a fork

Directions:

Coarsely chop the onions and sweet red pepper. I like to have it sit a few minutes as research suggests that there is a chemical reaction when onions and garlic are cut and exposed to air that allows a health-promoting allicin to form.

Add one teaspoon of olive oil to a good non-stick pan and bring to a shimmer over medium heat. Add the onions and sweet red pepper - stir occasionally until the onions start to turn translucent. Sprinkle with turmeric and stir one minute. I use more, but if you are new to turmeric, start with 1/8 of a teaspoon. Turmeric is one of the foods and herbs that work wonders for my arthritis. Add a cup or two of torn spinach and saute until wilted. Finally add two eggs (if you can't get good eggs from a farmers market, try looking for Country Hen eggs or any free range eggs) and scramble til you get the consistency you like. 
Remove from heat. You can drizzle with more olive oil after cooking or use more to saute if you need more healthy fat in your day. Incredibly aromatic way to start the day.  

Notes:

Try folding the egg scramble inside of a slightly warmed tortilla.

Don't add cheese - I've tried it and it competes with rather than enhancing the other flavors, this may be due to the turmeric.

7 comments:

  1. This looks delicious! I'm going to give it a try! Thank you for the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love how you have sidestepped the "sautee away in oil" way many of us learned to cook. There wasn't any info in your recipe that I didn't "know" about already, but you illustrate with a light touch actually applying all the info! I am in the process of altering how I cook so many things and it makes me feel at times that I don't know how to cook anymore. Your recipe drops helpful information so gracefully...tumeric, for inflammation, try it without cheese....use good eggs. Really a great recipe. Thank you for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you, Jeannette. :D

    I'm so glad everyone likes this. It really is my favorite breakfast. When I make this, my husband (who eats the same food every day - Cheerios or a blueberry bagel and muffin) exclaims - "your breakfasts always smell so good!" One day he'll try this and be hooked like I am.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This sounds yummy! I do a similar scramble with Kale, apples, onions and eggs. The sweet apples offset the sharp taste of the kale and make an equally yummy combo. I will give yours a try on Sunday! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I eat a version of this every day! I have started to add purple yams, sweet potatoes or regular potatoes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. what a wonderful idea for things to add! I love sweet potatoes and the purple ones are so fun! You are now my hero as I never once thought of adding them to the mix!

      Delete