I have very fond memories of my grandma's weeekend breakfast spread. Much of it was salty and fried. Yum!
Many years ago some friends and I restarted the tradition of cooking and sharing a large Sunday breakfast/brunch. We would make biscuits (with gravy of course), scrambled eggs (with cheese), bacon, sausage, some kind of fried potato thing and more. We'd eat until we were so stuffed all we could do was lounge on the couch and watch tv. It was fun but it wasn't healthy.
Now Cakewalk (for new readers, Cakewalk is my fiance) and I like to make our own Sunday breakfast. But we try to keep it healthy yet still tasty and filling.
This past Sunday we made a meal largely composed of local, fresh ingredients. We made light french toast with fruit and scrambled eggs on the side.
BREAD
For the french toast we started with a light bread. We have two types of bread on hand usually. We have a thick, hearty loaf with lots of fiber. And we have a light, low calorie loaf for light lunches and meals such as this. For this recipe we used the lighter bread so that it would crisp up nicely.
EGGS
We also have two types of eggs. We have store bought cage free eggs and we have cage free eggs from the farmers market or a local person. I swear I used to think an egg was an egg. But I am not convinced that is not the case. Eggs purchased at the store, regardless of whether they are cage free or organic or what, will usually all taste the same. I purchase cage free based on personal, moral preference not based on health or taste. However, fresh, local eggs do taste a lot better. They maintain a firmer, plumper, brighter yolk and, in my opinion, have a richer, more buttery taste. So we use the former for baking and recipes and the latter for scrambled eggs, baked eggs, etc. Right now we actually have green eggs from a local farmer. (Only the shell is green....and no, I am not also eating ham with them.)
FRUIT
I love fresh fruit. I eat at least 4 servings a day. How many do you eat a day? For this meal I sliced up some fresh strawberries from the market along with some kiwis I got on sale (while I prefer to buy local or organic when possible, I am also thrifty and realistic, so I buy produce at the local grocery and don't pass up a good bargain when I see one.) The berries are good, but will be even better soon. It's almost strawberry season!
ADDITIONAL ITEMS/NOTES
Instead of syrup or sugar, we used a touch of homemade jam on the french toast. I had strawberry and cherry that a friend made for me. I topped each sliced with a bit of jam and then ate it with a piece of fresh fruit.
As for the scrambled eggs, I have to say myself that I am the best scrambled egg maker in the whole wide world. Ok, maybe not the absolute best, but I do make a mean egg. I start by only using fresh, local eggs. Then I add a bit of S&P, a splash of milk if I have it on hand (which I didn't for this meal but they were still delicioso), and herbs if I have them. Well I had them! I got thyme, oregano, and dill from my herb garden, chopped them up finely and then added them to the eggs prior to cooking. Then I cooked the eggs in a nonstick skillet, just until cooked and no longer slimy/liquidy but not until dry and hard.
If you are watching your calories or cholesterol intake, you could do the same thing but with egg whites, or mostly egg whites. One trick I learned doing diet educations at a hospital was that you don't have to eat ONLY egg whites. You can break three eggs, put the whites from 2 in a bowl and put the entire third egg in, discarding the other yolks. This will cut down on the "bad" stuff but will give the same color and similar texture as the full deal. I do eat egg whites when it is an option, just to cut down on unnecessary calories. Did you know that 1 whole egg has about 90 calories while an egg white has only about 25 calories??? That's a significant difference! Simply by switching to all egg whites for a three egg omelet will save you nearly 200 calories (all toppings and such being equal).
I would like to note that I used real butter in cooking my eggs. But I don't use a lot. I think real butter can be used sparingly to add a rich flavor to certain meals/foods. Rather than use a lot of margarine or something that tastes like credit cards, I choose to use a little bit of butter, but I am very careful about the amount and frequency. For my eggs I melt 1/2 a tablespoon in the pan before I add the eggs. It adds a great flavor and really doesn't add many calories.
Finally, I wanted to note that I used my new-ish cast iron skillet for the french toast. It gave it a very nice taste and crunch. Cooking with cast iron can be good for your health, especially if you have low iron levels.
TOTALS FOR THE MEAL
I had 1.5 pieces of french toast with preserves and fresh fruit and 2 scrambled eggs. I estimate that entire meal was about 4oo calories and I'm probably overestimating.
It took us about 10 minutes to make the entire meal. I chopped fruit and made the scrambled eggs while Cakewalk made the french toast.
I don't have an monetary estimte for the cost of this meal, because many of the items I used we already had. The fresh eggs cost about $3 for the dozen. The fresh berries were $4. The bread cost maybe $2. But we only used a fraction of these items. Eating at home is soooo much cheaper than eating out! For a similar (but heavier and fattier) meal out we probably would have paid $15 with tip.
Many years ago some friends and I restarted the tradition of cooking and sharing a large Sunday breakfast/brunch. We would make biscuits (with gravy of course), scrambled eggs (with cheese), bacon, sausage, some kind of fried potato thing and more. We'd eat until we were so stuffed all we could do was lounge on the couch and watch tv. It was fun but it wasn't healthy.
Now Cakewalk (for new readers, Cakewalk is my fiance) and I like to make our own Sunday breakfast. But we try to keep it healthy yet still tasty and filling.
This past Sunday we made a meal largely composed of local, fresh ingredients. We made light french toast with fruit and scrambled eggs on the side.
BREAD
For the french toast we started with a light bread. We have two types of bread on hand usually. We have a thick, hearty loaf with lots of fiber. And we have a light, low calorie loaf for light lunches and meals such as this. For this recipe we used the lighter bread so that it would crisp up nicely.
EGGS
We also have two types of eggs. We have store bought cage free eggs and we have cage free eggs from the farmers market or a local person. I swear I used to think an egg was an egg. But I am not convinced that is not the case. Eggs purchased at the store, regardless of whether they are cage free or organic or what, will usually all taste the same. I purchase cage free based on personal, moral preference not based on health or taste. However, fresh, local eggs do taste a lot better. They maintain a firmer, plumper, brighter yolk and, in my opinion, have a richer, more buttery taste. So we use the former for baking and recipes and the latter for scrambled eggs, baked eggs, etc. Right now we actually have green eggs from a local farmer. (Only the shell is green....and no, I am not also eating ham with them.)
FRUIT
I love fresh fruit. I eat at least 4 servings a day. How many do you eat a day? For this meal I sliced up some fresh strawberries from the market along with some kiwis I got on sale (while I prefer to buy local or organic when possible, I am also thrifty and realistic, so I buy produce at the local grocery and don't pass up a good bargain when I see one.) The berries are good, but will be even better soon. It's almost strawberry season!
ADDITIONAL ITEMS/NOTES
Instead of syrup or sugar, we used a touch of homemade jam on the french toast. I had strawberry and cherry that a friend made for me. I topped each sliced with a bit of jam and then ate it with a piece of fresh fruit.
As for the scrambled eggs, I have to say myself that I am the best scrambled egg maker in the whole wide world. Ok, maybe not the absolute best, but I do make a mean egg. I start by only using fresh, local eggs. Then I add a bit of S&P, a splash of milk if I have it on hand (which I didn't for this meal but they were still delicioso), and herbs if I have them. Well I had them! I got thyme, oregano, and dill from my herb garden, chopped them up finely and then added them to the eggs prior to cooking. Then I cooked the eggs in a nonstick skillet, just until cooked and no longer slimy/liquidy but not until dry and hard.
If you are watching your calories or cholesterol intake, you could do the same thing but with egg whites, or mostly egg whites. One trick I learned doing diet educations at a hospital was that you don't have to eat ONLY egg whites. You can break three eggs, put the whites from 2 in a bowl and put the entire third egg in, discarding the other yolks. This will cut down on the "bad" stuff but will give the same color and similar texture as the full deal. I do eat egg whites when it is an option, just to cut down on unnecessary calories. Did you know that 1 whole egg has about 90 calories while an egg white has only about 25 calories??? That's a significant difference! Simply by switching to all egg whites for a three egg omelet will save you nearly 200 calories (all toppings and such being equal).
I would like to note that I used real butter in cooking my eggs. But I don't use a lot. I think real butter can be used sparingly to add a rich flavor to certain meals/foods. Rather than use a lot of margarine or something that tastes like credit cards, I choose to use a little bit of butter, but I am very careful about the amount and frequency. For my eggs I melt 1/2 a tablespoon in the pan before I add the eggs. It adds a great flavor and really doesn't add many calories.
Finally, I wanted to note that I used my new-ish cast iron skillet for the french toast. It gave it a very nice taste and crunch. Cooking with cast iron can be good for your health, especially if you have low iron levels.
TOTALS FOR THE MEAL
I had 1.5 pieces of french toast with preserves and fresh fruit and 2 scrambled eggs. I estimate that entire meal was about 4oo calories and I'm probably overestimating.
It took us about 10 minutes to make the entire meal. I chopped fruit and made the scrambled eggs while Cakewalk made the french toast.
I don't have an monetary estimte for the cost of this meal, because many of the items I used we already had. The fresh eggs cost about $3 for the dozen. The fresh berries were $4. The bread cost maybe $2. But we only used a fraction of these items. Eating at home is soooo much cheaper than eating out! For a similar (but heavier and fattier) meal out we probably would have paid $15 with tip.
What do you like to make for Sunday morning breakfast? Or any breakfast, for that matter???
