Saturday, January 29, 2011

Breakfast Recipe

So I have a big day ahead of me today - a five mile walk if I'm going to accomplish my 14 mile goal for the week.  That's going to include one mile to the gym, 3.25 on the treadmill, and a mile home.  For that I knew I was going to need a good, healthy breakfast but I didn't have the ingredients to make anything in my new cook-book so I decided to wing it.  The following recipe is inspired by Cook This Not That but isn't actually in the book.

SUGAR BOWL EGG
1 tsp olive oil
1 oz onion
2 oz spinach (I used canned but you can use frozen or fresh)
1/2 can of tuna
2 oz diced tomato
1 large egg
juice of 1 lime
fresh cilantro
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Warm olive oil in skillet; add onion, cilantro, spinach, salt, pepper, and lime juice and cook until onions are soft and spinach is slightly wilted; toss in tuna and tomatoes, drain excess liquid/oil, and move to an oven safe tureen or ceramic dish (I used my ceramic sugar bowl).  Crack egg on top of the spinach and place the dish in the oven.  Cook ten minutes or until whites are cooked but yolk is runny.  Sprinkle on some Frank's Red Hot for added flavor.  Makes 1 serving.

Calories: 215

I can't even begin to describe how delicious this was (and filling/satisfying)!  Aside from sushi the other night and nacho's two weeks ago I have to say that this breakfast was the single most tasty thing I've eaten since this whole blogging process started ... and really healthy.  I don't even like tuna and this was so good that I forgot the sugar bowl had been in the oven, tried to lick it, and burned my tongue.  If any of you try this, and believe me you really should, be sure to pop in and let me know what you thought of it k?

Although both filling and delicious there was one down-side to this breakfast.  I know that my usual 3.25 miles on the treadmill burns over 450 calories plus I plan on walking to and from the gym and, from past experience, I've learned that when I go to the gym having eaten fewer calories than I burn I end up feeling really horrible after so the 215 from this dish just isn't going to be enough.  So I waited about 30 minutes after eating, snarfed a Fiber One bar and took another one with me just in case I still need the pick-me-up during/after the workout.  If you actually needed to increase the calories in this you could try adding some crumbled bacon to it or some prosciutto; or you could serve with a side of toasted English muffin or a bagel-thin.  I didn't have either of those, actually I don't even have bread but I'll keep those in mind for the future.  Something tells me this is going to be a new frequent breakfast.  Post gym: The egg was so good I made another one after the gym so "Temptation" could try it but he didn't like it so I ate it for lunch.

P.S. More on the home-made taco's tomorrow but according to "Temptation" they were "the best thing [I've] ever made".  Now ... coming from temptation the idea that a 348 calorie meal was "the best thing ever" is a very very big compliment.  I know I'm not the world's greatest cook but I've made some pretty damn good food for him in the past so if these trump things like carrots boiled in butter and brown sugar, bacon potato salad, and my mom's secret adobo recipe (all things of the past for me now) then WOW!



Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
2 servings "Sugar Bowl Egg"
1 Fiber One bar
1 can hearts of palm
2 chicken soft taco's (from the new cook book)
2 oz home-made pico de gallo
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Daily Caloric Intake: 966





Activity:
Walking: (outdoors) 1 mile to the gym, slightly uphill
Treadmill: 2 miles at 3.3 mph
Treadmill: 1.25 miles at 3.5 mph
Walking: (outdoors) 1 mile home from the gym, slightly downhill

5 comments:

  1. That recipe sounds good...especially with the Frank's on it, right? ;-)

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  2. That breakfast does sound good!

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  3. Oh yeah. franks makes everything better. And remember, that recipe is my own whack-job creation because I just used what I had. If you don't have the exact ingredients you can wing it like I did and come up with something all your own. Also remember, I don't like tuna. Half a can is just enough to add protein but doesn't add much flavor over the spinach and onions so if you're not a tuna person, like me, try it anyway. Or use something other than tuna: shredded chicken, ground turkey, diced ham ... you name it. The most satisfying thing about that breakfast is how absolutely easy it is and how "gourmet" it looks/tastes.

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  4. thanks for the recipe sounds really good!

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  5. You're welcome Kay ... if you decide to make it be sure to let me know what your thoughts are and if you decide to tweak it I'd love to hear your modifications. I'm a firm believer in making small changes to a recipe to keep it interesting.

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