Let’s Make Breakfast: Cumin Fried Egg with Fennel, Squash & Kale

Sometimes when I wake up, the thought of having to decide what to eat for breakfast and then having to make it is so overwhelming I just want to go back to sleep. I would just skip eating it altogether, but I get hungry (or as some people call it, hangry). Plus I like breakfast. When I finally figured out you could eat something other than cereal, I was hooked. Eggs? Bacon? Biscuits? Waffles? Leftover burrito? Yes, please! Plus, breakfast is just one giant excuse to drink coffee.

For those of you who feel the same way about breakfast as I do, and who have a little time in the morning (or the insane motivation to wake up earlier), I thought I’d start this little series of breakfast recipes that you make fresh, first thing, without the microwave.

One of my favorite breakfasts is a fried egg with various spices and vegetables. I love vegetables for breakfast, and if you think about it, this isn’t so strange: if you’d eat it in a quiche, you can eat it as a breakfast side. And don’t worry, I include potatoes as breakfast vegetables. YUM.

Also, this is my second month as a member of Our Naked Life, an online fitness community with monthly challenges and lots of inspiration. Our February challenge is to eat 7 to 11 servings of vegetables each day. Oh my God. That is a lot of vegetables. I thought I was pretty healthy. I mean, I’m a health coach. I eat organic food. But I do NOT eat 7 to 11 servings of vegetables each day.

I’m the kind of person who feels obligated to follow rules and complete challenges. Maybe it’s a deep-seated desire for approval. Maybe it’s the fact that I am so competitive my husband won’t play cards or chess or Monopoly with me anymore. But darn it, I am going to start eating 7 to 11 vegetable servings each day if it kills me!

Right now I’m cheating by drinking my husband’s Mean Green juice (he’s on a crazy 10-day juice fast), but I also came up with this really yummy egg & veggie breakfast recipe the first day of the challenge, after I ransacked the fridge in a panic that I would actually have to go to the grocery store.

If something in the recipe below freaks you out, just omit it. Also, I can get a little funky with the spices, so just use what you have. It’ll taste good.

 

As you may be able to see from the photo, I ate this with a leftover whole-wheat banana pancake from 100 Days of Real Food. These things are amazing, but they’re even more amazing if you make them with coconut oil instead of butter. Trust.

And seriously, that didn’t take long! You so could have made that before work. Whatever.