What's for Breakfast?

The plan is to remove animal proteins from my diet.  This means no eggs, no milk, no butter, no cheese, no meat.  The reason I won't call myself a vegan is because I won't be spending my time reading the back of packages to make sure that there aren't any dairy products present.  I won't be turning my nose up at dinner at friend's homes, and I won't be scoffing at people who choose to continue to eat meat products. 

Some of my favorite food blogs are filled with yummy meaty-creations.  When I feel that I'm healthier (I can walk up the three flights of stairs to my apartment without feeling like I'm going to die) I'll probably re-introduce certain things sporadically.  For now, I'm doing my best so stick to the plan.  Still on days like today, when beautiful eggs are still in my refrigerator just waiting to be eaten, I eat them. 

The amount of food that Americans waste could feed every person in Haiti for a week.  I learned that watching the documentary Dive! over the weekend.  In my daily life I try not to add to food waste.  As I did before Passover when we remove all chamez (bread-based, leavened foods) from our homes I've been slowly eating my way through products in my fridge.  The milk was the first to go, whipped into a banana mango smoothie.  The butter soon followed by way of caramelized onions.  The eggs are holding out for something great.  Today it was a Deconstructed Spinach Omelette.

Real omelettes take a certain je ne sais quoi that I never had.  I've tried, unsuccessfully, to make omelettes on several occasions.  They always turn into scrambles which are tasty, but rarely pretty to look at.  This morning I wanted eggs, but I wanted to try to make them as healthy as possible.  They were delicious-enjoy!

Deconstructed Spinach Omelette

Ingredients

two eggs
a small handful of spinach washed and roughly chopped
about 5-6 mushrooms sliced
half of one small onion sliced
butter substitute or healthy oil

Brown the mushrooms in a pan over medium-high heat in about a tablespoon of butter substitute. When they're mostly browned (5-7 minutes) add the onions until they're transparent.  Using a fork or slotted spoon removethe mushrooms and onions from the pan into a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan turn heat up slightly (there should be a bit of oil left in the pan from the onions and mushrooms) add the washed chopped spinach.  The combination of remaining oil and the water from the washed spinach should wilt the greens rather quickly.  I kept them on the heat for only about 2 minutes because I wanted the greens to be firm, but warm.  When their to your liking lower the heat and remove the spinach and plate.  Add the mushrooms and onions on top of the spinach

Return the pan to the flame to medium and add the eggs.  Cook in any fashion.  I scrambled mine with a touch of salt and pepper, but a fried or poached egg would also be delicious.

When the egg is finished cooking place on the spinach and mushrooms.  Enjoy!

Recipe Notes:
This recipe can be made Kosher and is Vegetarian

Ingredient Notes:
I used a soy butter substitute
Spinach is a great source of iron, Vitamin C, betacarotene, folate lutein and calcium.
From Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson: "Researchers are finding that the phytonutrients in spinach have strong anticancer properties, particularly against cancers of the colon, lung, prostate, breast, stomach and skin.  In the case of prostate cancer, active ingredients in spinach seem to cause some cancer cells to self-destruct and others to go into a state of stasis, inhibiting proliferation of the cells."
I put spinach into all of the juices I make...now I know why it will remain a staple for my juicing!