Thereās something about making breakfast in the morning that is just so relaxing. Or maybe itās the eating part thatās relaxing... and the sitting, relaxing part thatās relaxing! Well, whatever it is, it gives us something to look forward to on the weekends that doesnāt involve a multitasking mess of attempting to eat a yogurt with any utensil you can find in your car (sometimes, itās only a pen) and/or cracking a hard boiled egg on your steering wheel in hopes that you can find a safe place to put your shells and yolk so it doesnāt cook on your passenger seat in the sun while youāre working all day.
Also, there are plenty of things that can be done to eggs that provide a healthy and positive way to start your way. Donāt get me wrong, Natanda doesnāt always eat healthy. *See 90% of Natandaās Kitchen posts. But, there really is no better feeling than starting the day with the nutrients you need to be energized until the night time! (Unless this is a mental game, in which, they got me.)
The staples in our breakfasts/brunches include egg whites (some older photos contain yolks although weāve been avoiding yolks for about a year now), an assortment of fresh vegetables (spinach, mushrooms, onions, and broccoli are our favorites), some variation of cheese (most of the time), and something to put on top or on the side (avocado, tomato, toast, fruit). We donāt buy too many breakfast meats, but theyāre always welcomed in any of our dishes! Sometimes we make sandwiches, while other days we go ābreadlessā. The pictures above depict the diverse (and interesting, some might add) forms of our egg concoctions.
As you are probably already aware, we believe the key to any successful meal is flavor. Spices contain an abundance of flavor which is why they are IMPERATIVE in cooking. With breakfast, we stick with the basics: salt (not too much of this!), pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and sriracha (which Natalie drinks). Sometimes we mix the sriracha in the eggs, while other times we use it as a condiment along with ketchup and mustard (youāll slowly realize how weird I am if you donāt already know). When we make sweet potato hash, we use coconut oil instead of olive oil because it provides such a rich flavor that parallels with the Indian and Thai flavors that we adore. As we continue to blog our European, Asian, Latin/Central American recipes, youāll notice that some parts of the world incorporate many more spices into their dishes than the typical American meal would.
There are three photos above that are breakfast meals that weāve made that are different than our standard egg plates. On Motherās Day this year, we made a to-die-for parfait. We used 2% Greek Yogurt (maybe this was the reason they were so good), honey on the bottom, coconut and dark chocolate granola, and a berry assortment on top. Once in the Fall, we had some family over and we made those pumpkin pancakes (Trader Joes). They are plated with apples and pecans that are sauteed with cinnamon and honey. We drizzled syrup atop of the pancakes, naturally. Iām sure your mouth is watering for this combination right now, as mine is. Donāt forget to go to Trader Joes in the fall to stock up on the pumpkin pancake boxes (and the coconut pancakes are also out of this world)! And lastly, there is a photo of paleo pancakes (we had to try it...) that we made with almond meal. The texture was different, of course. They were delicate, gritty, and crumbled before reaching our mouths. I think I would just eat eggs before almond meal pancakes if I ever decided to eat paleo again (probs not).
Hopefully you now have an idea of how to make a sufficient breakfast on your own this weekend. But if youāre lazy, come eat at our house! :)