I'd like to Cook a non english breakfast

June 6, 2008 9:31 AM

help me find some healthy *and* cooked breakfast possibilities.

Dear hive, I would like to start my day with a real cooked meal (meat, vegetables, etc.). It seems that in my case hot food sends positive signals that cold food (non toasted bread) does not.

Traditionnal english breakfast (eggs, sausage, bacon, etc.) feels a bit fatty to me. I'm looking for something hot on my plate, healthy and balanced.

What do you suggest I cook myself while waiting for the first coffee of the day to kick in ?

posted by Baud to Food & Drink (23 answers total)

Huevos Rancheros. Eggs Florentine, the variation on Eggs Benedict which substitutes spinach for the ham. There a million variations of hot egg sandwich you could do, too, and of course you can substitute egg whites for whole eggs if you want to reduce the fat content.
posted by bcwinters at 9:40 AM on June 6, 2008

I love Cream of Wheat. My dad would always fix it for my brother and me on cold mornings before school. It tastes like happy. (And sugar...add sugar and milk.)

And real oatmeal with a little bit of brown sugar and a little bit of maple syrup (the pre-mixed stuff packets is not what you want).

And a toasted English muffin with cream cheese and blackberry jam.

And omelets!
posted by phunniemee at 9:44 AM on June 6, 2008

Oh yes, and poached eggs. On a piece of toast with a little bit of pepper.

God, I love breakfast.
posted by phunniemee at 9:45 AM on June 6, 2008

Well there's always oatmeal. Add whatever you want to it - fruit being the standard obviously. Also pancakes or waffles. Takes 10 min either way.

And whats wrong with warmed up leftovers? I do that all the time. Pasta for breakfast is awesome. If you actually want to cook something up and not spend a lot of time doing it, well then your options may become a bit more limited. A quick stir fry (of whatever you want) and some rice would take only 15 min or so. Same with most non-leftover pasta recipes. Or make some biscuits with berries, cinnamon etc (although a basic biscuit recipe does have a lot of butter in it). If you prepared some of the ingredients ahead of time (beans, rice for example) and cooked the rest of the ingredients you could whip up a big ol' hearty burrito in no time. "Breakfast burritos" - eggs, sauteed veggies, some cheese are quick and easy too.

Endless possibilities.
posted by elendil71 at 9:58 AM on June 6, 2008

mmm, tortilla espanola (or tortilla de patatas). Just add an extra egg and use half the egg yolks to boost your health-factor.
posted by changeling at 10:13 AM on June 6, 2008

a toasted bagel and scrambled eggs
posted by sandra194 at 10:14 AM on June 6, 2008

Grits with a fried egg on top. A serving of grits gets you about half of your RDA in iron.
posted by sciurus at 10:46 AM on June 6, 2008

Slow cooking Irish oatmeal, with a pat of butter, some blueberries, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Sublime.
posted by LarryC at 10:50 AM on June 6, 2008

I like hot food in the morning, but kind of loathe actual breakfast foods in the morning. I think omlettes and waffles are great, just not before like 3:00 PM. When I have time, I particularly like things like a black bean quesadilla with salsa, a little pizza made from half an english muffin, a small baked potato with broccoli and cheese inside, or udon noodles in broth with leftover bits of chicken and vegetables.
posted by mostlymartha at 10:52 AM on June 6, 2008

How about some jook/congee? You can make them in advance for reheating and you can experiment with adding all kinds of proteins and veggies.
posted by gyc at 10:54 AM on June 6, 2008

Crockpot. Slow cooking Irish Oatmeal. Chopped apples. Brown sugar and cinnamon. Throw it all in and set it to cook slowly overnight. Wake up in the morning to the best taste and smell EVER.

Or, English muffin + piece of lean Canadian bacon + slice of Baby Swiss = sandwich. Use a drizzle of maple syrup or some tomato and dill to make it really awesome. Mmmm.
posted by jeanmari at 11:07 AM on June 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

I like to make avocado bearnaise on days that I have a few minutes of time.
Mr. Breakfast has lots of recipes, too.
posted by idiotfactory at 11:10 AM on June 6, 2008

Steak and eggs can be pretty healthy depending on your cut of meat.

I love huevos rancheros too.

Egg over easy and some rye toast is the best!

What about don buri ... this is probably easier with leftovers of course.
posted by shownomercy at 11:20 AM on June 6, 2008

I don't know if you microwave, but I used to make the best Egg McMuffins when my microwave bacon cooker was smaller than my microwave. In the time it takes to toast an English muffin you can microwave two strips of bacon (about 1min) and scramble up some eggs. After waving the bacon, use a trick I learned when I worked downtown: you can use a 4" (or so) round tupperware container (or similar) with a squarish bottom for the scrambled eggs: one egg, a little milk, mix them up, then into the microwave for about 50sec (depending on your power). The toast should pop up right about now, you throw it all together with a slice of cheese and munch it down.
posted by rhizome at 11:51 AM on June 6, 2008

You can't beat a huge bowl of porridge;
http://www.goldenspurtle.com/porridge.htm
Enjoy!!
posted by kenchie at 12:30 PM on June 6, 2008

frittata! A baked egg dish that you can alter with any combo of veggies, such as onions, broccoli, tomatoes, herbs, asparagus, cheese, etc etc etc
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 1:51 PM on June 6, 2008

Baked beans on toast. Fiberiffic and delicious!
posted by gaspode at 2:00 PM on June 6, 2008

You can have anything you like for breakfast - you don't need to limit yourself to 'breakfast foods'

I have toasted low fat cream cheese bagels for breakfast every day - they're very filling (sometimes I forget to have lunch til 3pm) to make them toasty hot I put the cream cheese and a slice of ham or chicken in the bagel before I toast it (I find that cold cream cheese from the fridge + bagels from the toaster = luke warm bagels :( )
posted by missmagenta at 2:10 PM on June 6, 2008

A fava bean dish that is considered breakfast food in the Middle East is foul moddamas - this recipe turns it into a blended dip, but I've had restaurant versions that leave the fava beans more or less intact. The latter form is how I do it -- though I'm also more inclined to make big batches of it on the weekend and bring it as an easy lunch.
posted by shelbaroo at 3:16 PM on June 6, 2008

I start many a day with a faux mcmuffin. My version is quite a bit healthier than the real thing, though. I toast a Thomas' Multi-grain English Muffin Light (100 calories, 1/3 your daily fiber in that little muffin). While it's toasting, I spray a little ramekin or teacup with a bit of oil or butter, plop in an egg and scramble it up. It goes into the microwave for < 1 minute and comes out cooked fine and in perfect mcmuffin shape. For the meat, I often use morningstar's sausage patties. They're nicely textured and spiced and in a mcmuffin I can't tell the difference. If that turns you off, use a lean piece of ham or some turkey bacon. Squirt with ketchup if desired, add a piece of fruit or something and eat. Breakfast will be less than 300 calories, quick, and provide lots of fiber and protein.
posted by theantikitty at 4:49 PM on June 6, 2008

(didn't see rhizome's similar but slightly different approach above) I know oatmeal's also been mentioned, but don't underestimate it with a small handful of shaved almonds, raisins, a chopped apple, a bit of cinnamon, and maybe some of that flavored creamer stuff.
posted by theantikitty at 4:52 PM on June 6, 2008

Soup!

- It's hot, healthy and balanced.
- It's cheap.
- You can easily make a big pot that lasts you a few days.
- The only cooking left to do in the morning is reheating a portion.
- You can vary according to your taste/mood/the season. The possibilities tastewise are absolutely endless: a simple vegetable soup, Thai noodle soup, a thicker soup with potatoes, soup with dumplings, bouillabaisse, egg drop soup, minestrone, etc.
- You can add as much vegetables/meat/fish/starch as you want.
- It's tasty!
posted by lioness at 5:03 PM on June 6, 2008

I love eggs with veggies for breakfast, as it's a good source of iron & protein, plus I have seven grain toast and usually some avocado & salad or something, but I'm a vegetarian, so don't need to worry as much about fat (but if you're eating organic eggs, it's all good fats anyway - just make things fresh and add lots of fresh veggies - mushrooms, spinach, etc). I sometimes like some salsa on the side or a little hummus

But if you really want to avoid eggs, tofu scramble is a great replacement - personally I dislike the taste of scrambled eggs, so if I'm not in the mood for fried eggs, I like a tofu scramble instead - a touch of miso paste or soy sauce is nice flavoring, but again it's all about the fresh veggies mixed in.
posted by mdn at 10:56 AM on June 7, 2008