Tips, Tools, & Anecdotes « (y)our food choices™

Pink Lady Apple, Whole Milk Yogurt and Pistachio

I used to be a breakfast skipper. As a teenager, breakfast seemed out of the question because of my poor eating and sleeping habits. The thought of eating first thing in the morning made me feel ill because my belly usually felt queasy from my food hangovers. I’d stay up late every night, sleep in until the last possible second and then dash out the door to class, school was a short few blocks from home. Cereal took too long to pour into a bowl and my folks weren’t paying attention to my mid-week eating habits. Breakfast wasn’t a big deal in our home unless it was prepared on a weekend morning. I suffered from the lack of calories and struggled to stay awake in class. By the time afternoon rolled around, I would have made up for it by downing a couple of sodas, a Mars Bar and a Hostess Fruit Pie … or two! By the time most people were headed to bed, my gut was full of fat and sugar and sleep wouldn’t be possible even if I wanted it. The sugar and caffeine were enough to keep me going well into the night and the cycle continued.

Kashi Autumn Wheat Cereal, Whole Milk and Strawberries

Breakfast is now a must, no matter how pressed for time we might be. If we’re thinking ahead, we’ll prepare muesli and set it in the refrigerator before bed. Or we’ll set a pan on the stove, add water and steel cut oats, and then cover it to soak overnight. It cooks much more quickly the next morning. We keep boxed whole grain cereal on hand for a quick bowl before dashing out for the day. At the very least, breakfast on-the-go means a pb&j taken in hand for a quick nosh on the train or in the car on the way to the office.

If you google the phrase “importance of eating breakfast” you get approximately 250,000 hits, all on point and each reiterating the other. We need food when we wake to help us manage our blood sugar levels. If you think skipping breakfast will help you lose or keep the weight off, you’re missing an important fact of weight control. By starving in the morning we set ourselves up to give in to the temptation to eat more later on in the day. And we tend to succumb to the temptations of “junk food” more easily when we feel we’ve “earned” a reward for our morning abstinence. But I’m no dietitian or nutritionist and I’m writing from personal experience here, not from any position of authority. Honestly, we all know we should eat small meals throughout the day and that our consumption should be when we get out of bed and stop well before returning to bed in the evening.

Waffles with Vanilla Bean Scented Pan Roasted Pineapple

On the weekends, we pull out all the stops and indulge in all the things we equate with a bountiful, decadent breakfast – eggs, bacon and/or sausage, potatoes, pancakes, waffles. We don’t hold back on hollandaise and cheese. We cook with butter or bacon fat without thinking twice. If we had the time, we’d probably eat that way every morning and reduce our consumption throughout the rest of the day.

I can’t imagine returning to breakfast-free mornings. Thankfully, I never have to worry about where my next meal will come from.

Bacon Avocados (yes, that's the real name of these beauties)

As a kid, avocado was a color; an ugly throwback to a time I couldn’t connect with and the sad dark color of the deep pile shag carpeting in my teenage home. Avocado wasn’t a food my parents ever contemplated and because Idaho isn’t the sort of place you’d expect to find an avocado tree (except, of course, on the kitchen window seal of the seed sprouting hobbyist), they were never on my mind.

When I finally discovered the creamy, nutty flavors of avocado, they were adulterated with mayo in what can only be described as a redneck, white-trash take on a Mexican classic. I fell in love instantly! The silken, herbaceous and delicate earthy flavors of avocado were to me at the time the sort of thing to be indulged with crunchy corn chips or as a cool base for crab or shrimp Louis salad. It was a lunch or dinner thing, in a nice café or in front of the boob tube or on a picnic.

Why not avocado in the morning? It is a big berry after all, and it pairs equally well with eggs and toast or any of the delightful winter citrus now in the market. The silky ripe avocado isn’t just for guacamole anymore. We’ve started eating the sexy, silky fruit with soft-boiled eggs, sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper and crunchy gray sea salt. With a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a slice of warm crunchy toast, the avo-ovo breakfast has become a favorite at our breakfast table.

Who needs cereal?

The perfect avocado will be soft but not mushy. Choosing a nice ripe avocado takes some practice. Regardless of the variety, the avocado’s skin shouldn’t be dented and beaten up looking. Avocados bruise as any other fruit and once the flesh has been knocked around, it will turn brown. A ripe avocado will still be somewhat firm to the touch but it’ll give a little under the careful pressure of a thumb. The avocados pictured at the top of the post are “bacon” avocados. According to the California Avocado Commission, there are approximately 500 varieties of avocado. California produces 7 varieties for commercial sale.

The perfect soft-boiled egg will be creamy and soft in the middle without falling apart into an under-cooked mess. The technique for cooking soft-boiled eggs is learnable and worth the care. The word “boiled” is a bit misleading because you never want to cook eggs at a rapid boil. Eggs need to sit in water that is just at the simmer point for the desired length of time. We heat water in a saucepan and gently lower the eggs into the hot water to better control for time. If you place the eggs into the pan while the water is still cold, you’ll have a much harder time gauging just how cooked they are. To prevent cold eggs from cracking as they hit the hot water, use a thumbtack or pin to puncture the “flat” end of the egg. This allows air to escape while the egg quickly expands inside the shell, relieving pressure and ensuring you don’t end up with egg-drop soup. For soft, creamy centers, large eggs should simmer for 7 minutes. Smaller eggs will require less time. I’d say probably 5-6 minutes. Every minute matters so experiment until you figure it out on your own stove.

To the naysayers who worry about the fat content of avocado, I say phooey. The fat in avocado is among the best kind for your health and it quells hunger leaving you feeling satisfied and well fed. Better to put down the bag of chips and eat all the avocado you want. Both your heart and your waistline will benefit.

Cheers, Steve