One of the biggest marketing triumphs in the Western world was defining breakfast. Think about it. Cereals, pancakes, and bread-centred foods are considered appropriate breakfast fare, while around the world many people simply treat it as another meal. Soup for breakfast? Very common. So are rice dishes, curries, and countless other savoury foods.
When I started keto, my body naturally transitioned to eating only two meals a day. I still call the first one breakfast, but I don’t eat it particularly early. The second usually happens in the mid-afternoon. I didn’t set out to practise intermittent fasting; I simply evolved into it naturally. That means both meals tend to be fairly substantial.
Breakfast also had to be easy to assemble. I’m not grating cheese that early in the day! I’ll do a little chopping, but not much. From start to finish, I want breakfast on the table in about 15–20 minutes.
Nigella Lawson famously said, “If in doubt, put an egg on it.” I love eggs, so they always form part of my breakfast. A few slices of mozzarella over the top just make sense.
I started adding vegetables to breakfast quite early on. In the absence of bread, I needed something more substantial. Over time, it evolved into a simple way of front-loading my day with vegetables, leaving me more freedom to be creative with my second meal.
When I was still working in an office, this breakfast often went straight from the pan into a glass container and came with me to the office. I don’t enjoy eating very early in the morning, so it was the perfect solution. It reheated well, kept me satisfied for hours, and made it easy to start the day with plenty of vegetables before work got busy.
So what vegetables do I add? Usually some combination of:
- Mushrooms (almost always)
- Tomatoes
- Spinach
- Sliced cabbage
- Leftover salad greens
- Baby marrows
- Onion
They form the base of the dish. I might start by sautéing a little onion in butter, followed by mushrooms until softened. A generous handful of spinach goes on top, where it wilts down quickly. Then I crack a few eggs over everything, add the cheese, and put the lid on. The eggs steam gently while the cheese melts into the vegetables below.
If I’m feeling adventurous, I might season everything with chipotle salt, but more often I simply season at the table with Himalayan salt, if needed.
I also make a point of eating some live-culture yogurt every day, along with kimchi or sauerkraut when I have it available. Rather than serving them on the side, I put them on the plate first and spoon the hot breakfast over the top. The yogurt, kimchi, and pan juices mingle together, creating a creamy, tangy, slightly spicy sauce that flavours the whole dish.
One pan. Fifteen to twenty minutes. Plenty of vegetables, plenty of flavour, and a great start to the day.
And on the mornings when even that feels like too much work, I make my Flaxseed Porridge instead — a warm, comforting bowl that always reminds me of the Maltabella I grew up with.
