My first thought when I woke up was that I wasn’t very hungry at all. This is unusual. We did eat a little late last night, so maybe that’s part of it.
It could be that I’m just anxious about this challenge too. My breakfast routine has been pretty basic and, now that I write about it, downright boring for the past several months: Peanut butter on multigrain toast. That’s it, along with a coffee. Now that both of those are out of the question, I peeked into the fridge for some inspiration. What could I eat? Unfortunately the fridge was looking a little bare. I decided to go ahead and have my coffee, and flip through those borrowed cookbooks for some inspiration.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the breakfast choice quickly became clear: Eggs. Both books (that is, Make It Paleo and Paleo Comfort Foods) have an abundance of egg recipes, from scrambled to fried to atop beef hash to baked in muffin cups. Eggs in ways I hadn’t thought about, before now. The few ingredients I did have, in the fridge and the herb garden, were enough to turn out a Mediterranean inspired, very Paleo-friendly breakfast. And you know? I liked it. Maybe not as much as peanut butter toast, but it would do just fine.
I turned my attention to the Paleo cookbooks again. Turns out there are some interesting ways to avoid bread, potatoes and all grains. Raw cauliflower, pulsed in a food processor and sauteed with some onions, becomes “rice”. Almond meal subs in for all purpose flour in muffins. And what’s this? Coconut flour. Wow. And here I thought I had to give up all my beloved baked goods. All of a sudden I felt a new energy come over me and I started dreaming about bread. If I can bake, I can definitely make it through the challenge.
Adapted from Make It Paleo by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason
Ingredients
- 1 tomato, sliced in 1/4 inch thick slices
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar or glaze
- 2 free range eggs
- 5 Kalamata olives, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped fine
- salt and fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler on high. Place the slices of tomato on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Broil for 2-3 minutes, or until the tomatoes are heated through.
- While the tomatoes are broiling, heat the other 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Break the eggs into the pan and cook until the whites set up. Flip the eggs over and continue cooking until they’re done to your desired likeness. I like my eggs pretty well done.
- Place the tomato slices on your plate. Sprinkle the olives over the tomatoes. Stack the 2 fried eggs over the tomatoes and sprinkle the oregano over the plate.
More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30-day challenge