I noticed that I haven´t posted about food lately. This morning I found myself sitting down to a colorful and healthy brunch and thought I should share how easy it is to enjoy food and be healthy at the same time.
As I had just completed a tough workout my body was looking for eggs. While Mike made the coffee and prepared to fry eggs, I checked out the fridge and the fruit and veggie baskets for something to create colorful side dishes. I love creating dishes from what’s in my kitchen. It makes me feel like I’m a contestant on Chopped or Master Chef, given a basket of food and told to create.
This morning I came up with half of a large bag of washed spinach, some red pepper and an onion, an avocado, half a mango and an orange. Let the creation begin! Before you read any further, think to yourself, “What would I make?”
We like wilted greens with our eggs. A habit we picked up when we followed the Suzanne Sommers diet and later came in handy when we went Paleo for awhile. Anyway, I pulled the Cholula sauce from the cabinet and put it on the table and proceeded to chop some red pepper and half a small onion.
I put the onion and half of the peppers on to sauté. While I waited for them to soften, I finished taking the mango from its pit and cubed it. Cleaned and cubed the avocado and tossed in the other half of the red pepper I had chopped for the greens. Quick stir of the onions and peppers on the stove and back to peeling the orange and cutting it into chunks to match the rest of the fruit. Topped off the fruit bowl with a little salt to liven the avocado and a squirt of lemon juice. You can add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper if you want some kick.
As the flavors of the salad melded, I added the spinach to my pan of onions and peppers. You have to do this a little at a time unless you use a really big pan. It is amazing how small a batch of cooked greens you get from a huge bunch of fresh.
I liberally sprinkled the greens with salt and stirred frequently to see that everything wilted appropriately. As soon as all of the leaves were wilted, I removed the pan from the heat. Spinach doesn´t take long to cook, but you may find that you want to leave other greens, chard or especially kale, on the heat a little longer to soften.
By now Mike had the eggs going. I put the bread in the toaster and set the table. Out came the eggs and we were ready to enjoy our meal.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I need to tell you that at the time of this post we are living in Spain where fresh (no preservatives) whole-grain bread is made twice a day on every other street corner. Because the bread is just so damn delicious and nutritious, we find ourselves eating a whole lot more bread that we used to. Something about no preservatives and the EU´s ban on certain agricultural chemicals seems to make bread less of an issue for us these days.
So why did I share this breakfast with you? Because it was so easy and so quick. The food tastes good and is good for you. In a world that wants to tell you how difficult it is to be healthy; I want to say healthy food is tasty. Healthy food is easy and quick. Healthy food deserves YOUR time and YOUR energy to prepare. And most importantly, YOUR time to enjoy.
Make time for you because you are more important that any TV show. You are more important that any Facebook post and more important than keeping up with the Joneses. When you choose your health over the distractions life throws at you, you will find the time and money to take care of yourself. Remember, everyone has the time and money for what they value. It’s time to value YOU.