I'm usually at the hospital between 7:15 and 7:30 in the morning so I try to sleep in as late as I possibly can (and by late i mean 6am-ish). That, combined with having a roommate to share a bathroom with and trying to get to the parking lot in order to make a shuttle TO the hospital, my mornings are a bit rushed and there's no time for a good breakfast until I get to my desk. Usually I stick with my go-to oatmeal or another whole grain cereal, rice cake or whole grain bagel with peanut butter, yogurt, fruit, etc. but I was getting so bored!
I love a good, hearty egg breakfast so I tried to think of a way to take an omelette or "egg-scramble" to work with me. My mom is amazing and bought me these really great Avon multi-colored travel dishes that come with plastic sealable lids (and are microwave safe!) so I grabbed one and went to work on my experiment (which, I'm sure has been done by most of you! but it's new to me! :D ).
I had a package of pre-cooked turkey sausage in my fridge and grabbed that along with my farmers market eggs, red pepper for a veggie, shredded jack cheese and some spices. I whipped this together in about 5 minutes and stuck it in the microwave for about 3 minutes and voila! A perfect ready made quick omelette :) It was sooooo good and made our office smell like we were out for brunch (sorry girls!).
I did this the night before, stuck it in the fridge and brought it to work to microwave the next morning. You'll need:
- 1 egg, 2 egg whites (or just 4 egg whites, or you can use egg substitute)
- Splash of skim milk
- 3 turkey sausage links, precooked (I used Jimmy Dean fully cooked) and diced
- 1/4 cup Jack cheese, shredded
- 1/2 small red bell pepper, chopped (could try mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, etc. too!)
- 1/2 tsp minced dried onion
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
Beat egg well with splash of milk. Mix in cheese, sausage, red pepper, and spices. Spray microwave safe dish (mine is about 4-5 inches in diameter and about 2 inches deep) with non-stick spray and pour in egg mixture. You can either refrigerate overnight or pop in microwave immediately. Microwave on high about 2-3 minutes (may vary depending on your microwave so keep an eye on it!).
This dish is about 354 calories and 35 grams of protein.
I usually have it with fruit to bump my morning meal to about 400 calories and get some carbs in to get my brain going and hold me over until lunch :) If this is too much for you, you can always cut back on sausage (or remove it altogether!), add more veggies, use egg substitute and/or only egg whites, less cheese...make it your own!
Quick benefits of breakfast:
Quick benefits of breakfast:
- Boosts metabolism and helps with weight control: When you're sleeping at night for those 8 hours (right?!) your metabolism slows down and goes into rest mode. You're basically fasting all night and in order to get your metabolism going again you need to add some fuel (break-fast). Studies show that people who eat a healthy breakfast every morning weigh less than those who skip out. It can also help to regulate your appetite for the day. If you eat a good, healthy meal in the morning it should hold you over until lunch so you won't overeat later on.
- Increases concentration: You need food to stimulate brain activity (especially good carbs!) and help keep you focused at work or school. Also, if you skip out on breakfast and begin to feel hunger sneaking up on you mid-morning, you're less likely to be able to concentrate on that meeting or test.
- So feed your brain and body and eat up! Even if it's something small like fruit and peanut butter or yogurt, a high fiber granola bar, cereal and milk, a whole grain bagel or toaster waffle, fruit smoothie, etc. just get something healthy into your stomach in the morning. Try to pair good carbs with lean protein and some fiber for maximum staying power.
