I was talking to my friend Brett on the phone at 8 AM the other day when suddenly I heard muffled crunching.
“Hey, B, whatcha eating?”
Silence. Crunch, crunch.
“Dude. I asked you what you are eating.”
Crunch “I can’t tell you,” crunch, “because” crunch “you’ll make fun of me.”
“Well now you have to tell me!”
Silence. Crunch. “OK. I’m eating croutons.”
“For breakfast?”
Crunch, crunch, “Yeah.”
Now, Brett is one of my most grown-up friends. He is successful, intelligent and extremely responsible, which made this glimpse of his food tendencies give me pause…and it made me think that if Brett, who has a Ph.D. in molecular biology, is eating croutons for breakfast, it’s likely that a lot of other guys are starting their days on a similarly nutritionally empty note…or worse, not eating breakfast at all.
Breakfast, as your mother has told you, is the most important meal of the day. Not only does it jumpstart your metabolism but studies show that those who eat breakfast daily outperform their non-breakfast-eating counterparts in both physical and intellectual tasks.
So boys, during the workweek, drag yourself out of bed 10 minutes early and throw together an easy, protein-and-fiber-packed breakfast, like these delicious breakfast burritos:
Ingredients
- 2 medium whole-wheat tortillas
- 4 eggs, 6 egg-whites or ½ cup egg substitute, lightly beaten
- 2 scallions, sliced
- sliced jalapeno to taste
- 1/4 cup shredded pepper jack or Monterey jack cheese
- Salsa or hot sauce to taste
- 1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
- 1 tsp vegetable oil, divided
Directions
In a medium frying pan, heat the remaining tsp of oil over medium heat. Add the eggs, jalapeno, and scallions. Stir frequently until the eggs are fluffy and scrambled. Remove from heat.
To assemble the burritos, heat the tortillas briefly, either in a dry frying pan or in the microwave for 30 seconds on high. Divide the cheese, eggs, salsa or hot sauce and cilantro between the 2 tortillas. Roll up and serve.
Makes 2 burritos.
As a woman, I can tell you that when a man offers to make me breakfast the morning after an, ahem, evening together, his sexiness factor increases by about a zillion. Serve it to her in bed and prepare to go down in history as the most amazing man she’s ever met.
This easy omelet is fancy-looking and absolutely delicious:
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 2 oz. soft goat cheese, such as chèvre or Boucheron
- 1/2 white onion, diced
- 3 tbsp butter, divided
- 1 small bunch basil, chopped
- 1 small bunch flat leaf parsley,
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a small frying pan, melt 1 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the onions and cook slowly, allowing to caramelize, about 6 minutes.
While the onions cook, beat the eggs in a small bowl until fully scrambled. Melt 1 tbsp butter in another (or the same, after removing onions) small frying pan, over medium-low heat.
Add half of the beaten eggs and immediately begin moving your spatula around in the eggs. Once the bottom of your omelet is firm, top with half of the goat cheese, half the caramelized onions and half the fresh herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Gently fold in half and transfer to a plate.
Repeat with remaining omelet ingredients and eat. If necessary, the first omelet can be kept warm in a 180 degree oven briefly while the second omelet is cooked.
Serve hot with toast, potatoes, bacon, a green salad, fruit etc—or just on its own.
Makes 2 omelets.
