Breakfast is a ritual in this house. My family LOVES big weekend breakfasts. Piles of eggs and sausages and homefries. But there’s one small problem. I don’t really like breakfast food. Where are the vegetables??!!! And let’s face it, no matter how much they love it, it is NOT a healthy meal. For so long I would make their giant meal and then settle down with my coffee, cottage cheese, fruit and toast with almond butter. It’s my regular breakfast. But it just didn’t seem right and I was breaking my own rule – We don’t make multiple meals in this house. Everyone eats together and eats the same thing. I had to do something about this.
I created this recipe for breakfast, but I’ll tell you, we have enjoyed it for snacks, lunch and dinner as well. I started with spruced up homefries years ago. Adding spinach, onions, peppers and garlic. It’s great…. but it gets better!
- sweet potato
- peppers – roasted or fresh, green, red, yellow, orange. Mix it up.
- onion
- spinach
- mushrooms – shittake and button
- garlic
- rosemary
- olive oil or coconut oil
- sea salt
- pepper
You can cook the sweet potato by slow roasting or, if you aren’t afraid of the potential harmful effects of the microwave, you can cook them for a few minutes until they are soft. Either way you want the potatoes tender but not too soft. Next lightly saute the veggies in oil. Add to sweet potato and saute 2 minutes. Add the garlic, seasonings and spinach. Cook until the spinach is just wilted. Enjoy!
You can also steam all these veggies and combine them if you feel that a better option for you. However, I feel that much of the talk of steaming being better than sauteing is not fully correct. Many of the reasons this thought is based on – no absorption of oil, less nutrient loss, ect. – can be argued. If you are using a small amount of a healthy oil, a fat your body requires, this oil absorption is not a valid claim toward an “unhealthy” means of cooking. As for nutrient depletion, chopping the veggies larger and not cooking until they are soggy, will have nearly the same effect as steaming. Furthermore, if you just hate the taste and/or texture of steamed vegetables, resulting in consuming fewer of them, you aren’t doing yourself any favors. The benefits don’t always out weigh the results. I say steam sometimes and saute sometimes, but be sure you are making something you will eat!
The benefits of sweet potato over regular potatoes are tremendous. They are actually a completely different vegetable. They contain a concentrated form of vitamin C, vitamin A, and beta carotene. The vitamin C and beta-carotene work together to form powerful antioxidants. This helps eliminate free radicals. The high dietary fiber content of the sweet potato slows down digestion and the release of sugar. They have a low glycemic load. When consuming a sweet potato your blood sugar will rise about 30% less than with a white potato. They are also rich in chlorogenic acid which could help reduce insulin resistance. You will even get more potassium from a sweet potato than you will a banana.
Enjoy a HEALTHY breakfast!
Live Well!
~S
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