I’m not a good breakfast eater, even though I understand the importance of this first meal of the day. I tend to skip breakfast entirely or grab something easy.
Every source I looked at stressed how crucial it is to break the long fast between dinner the night before and the new day’s meal. Eating a healthy breakfast boosts metabolism, curbs cravings, provides energy and better helps to maintain or even lose weight. Breakfast can even stave off serious illnesses.
“After a healthy breakfast your blood sugar increases a little bit, but it will take a while for your body to absorb it,” says Eric Rimm, Sc.D., a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. “So you might not be hungry for lunch for 5 hours. If you don’t bother with breakfast, though, the prolonged fasting might lead to a bigger than normal boost in ‘hunger hormones’ such as ghrelin, encouraging you to overeat at your next meal and leading to spikes and dips in glucose. Over time, if your pancreas is constantly producing insulin to compensate for high levels of glucose, it will burn out and you’ll develop diabetes.”
Today I surrendered to starting my day off with a healthy breakfast. After drinking a cup of warm lemon water, I decided to try a recipe that I saw a picture of online, one that featured eggs and avocados. I didn’t save the recipe but I recalled what the finished product looked like. I was eager to see if I could duplicate it.
After washing the outer skin, I halved a ripe avocado and removed the pit.
I sliced off the rounded portion from each half, so that the avocado would lie flat, and cut a hole in each slice, leaving the peeling on. I added those chunks of avocado to my plate, to eat with my breakfast.
A non-stick skillet was heated over medium high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. I added the avocado slices and cracked an egg into each cavity. One yolk broke. It tasted fine…it just wasn’t as pretty! After sprinkling salt and pepper over each slice, I browned the first side and then carefully turned the slices and continued cooking.
When the egg whites were set and slightly browned, I removed the avocados from the heat.
These were delicious! The yolks were slightly runny, which is the way I like my fried eggs. They could be cooked longer for a firmer yolk. The outer skin isn’t consumed, and the cooked avocado easily separated from its peel.
Avocados are super foods, full of nutrients and good fat. I love them in salads, on sandwiches, made into guacamole or sliced and eaten plain with my meal. And now, I can enjoy them for breakfast!
I might become a breakfast eater yet!
