On a lazy Sunday morning a little while ago, I was wondering how to spice up my breakfast with some leftover vegetables, eggs and a bit of cheese. A classic omelette or scrambled eggs just didn’t appear very exciting, so I got creative and came up with an amazingly delicious recipe for my Rainbow Breakfast, which has become a regular breakfast dish in our house.
Let me tell you a little more about eggs, as there is a lot of false data going on out there, which unsettles a lot of people.
Eggs have had a rather bad reputation mainly because it was assumed that high cholesterol leads to heart diseases. Therefore, all foods that increase our cholesterol level, including eggs, have been considered bad for us. However, multiple studies have shown that a high cholesterol level and heart disease were merely a correlation and that eggs actually contain a lot of good cholesterol (HDL) as well as mostly good fats. Today eggs are considered a healthy food, since they contain lots of vitamins and essential amino acids, which are vital for our health.
Many athletes praise the egg white for its protein content in the hope of supporting muscle growth, but it has actually been shown that the egg yolk is far more nutrient dense and delivers more vitamins than the egg white as well as about half of the protein content. Bear in mind that the egg yolk contains all the essential nutrients a living creature needs to grow and be viable, otherwise there would be no chicks.
Lastly, there is a lot of concern about inhumane conditions of poultry in terms of cage batteries, lack of exercise, excessive feeding to increase chicken size and egg production, and the use of antibiotics or hormones. I recommend to find a source in your area where you can get organic and free range eggs from happy and healthy-sized hens.
Back to the Rainbow Breakfast! It’s a great opportunity to process leftovers and a great source for a variety of vitamins. The more colorful the Rainbow Breakfast looks, the more vitamins and nutrients it eventually contains. You can use any vegetable you like, depending on your taste and supply. For a large panΒ you will need the following ingredients:
- 2 spring onions
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 red or yellow pepper
- 1 large tomato (or a handful of cherry tomatoes)
- a handful of fresh mushrooms
- 5 eggs
- fresh parsley, cilantro at any other herbs
- a small piece of parmesan (or any other hard cheese)
- 1 Tbs. ghee or butter
- 1 tsp. turmeric
- 1 tsp. cumin
- salt and pepper
Start by cutting up all the veggies and grating the cheese. Melt some ghee or butter in a pan, Β place the spring onions in first and cook them for a bit. Gradually add the remaining vegetables, firmer ones first (peppers) and softer veggies last (tomatoes). As you sense the smell unfold in your kitchen, spice the veggies with salt, pepper, turmeric and cumin and stir well. When the veggies are cooked close to al dente, make some space for the eggs, crack them in and let them cook alongside the veggies. Since the eggs won’t have as much space in the pan as if you would cook them alone, it will take a bit longer for them to cook. Once the egg white has turned a bright white but the yolk still appears raw, flip the eggs over-easy one after another with a spatula. Salt the eggs, add the herbs and sprinkle the cheese on top of the vegetables and the eggs. The dish is perfectly ready when the egg yolk is still soft from the inside and when the cheese has melted. You can serve the Rainbow Breakfast with some plain yoghurt or fresh whole grain bread, but it tastes just as deliciously on its own.
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