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Healthy Living Recipes

Deb Morgan: Beginnings are so important—and what better way to start a new year than to commit to starting each day with a breakfast that will fuel your vitality? This month I offer you three breakfast options: poached eggs over veggies, scrambled tofu, and my favorite warm breakfast cereal, millet and quinoa with dates and almonds. Whichever you choose, combine it with a warm herbal, white, or green tea, and breathe and relax into a new day.

Be sure to check out John’s commentary on poached eggs, quinoa, and almonds below.

Poached Eggs over Braised Vegetables

Serves two.

3–4 cups chopped vegetables of your choice: onions, broccoli, spinach, grated carrots, potatoes, and yams all work well
3–4 organic eggs
1 tablespoon fresh herbs (rosemary and thyme recommended)
Pinch of salt and/or pepper
Minced ginger and/or garlic (optional)

Place 1 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a sauté pan. Add minced ginger and/or garlic, if you desire. Add hardest vegetables to be braised, cover, and bring to a medium temperature. Cook until vegetables are tender, and then add broccoli or other softer vegetables. When vegetables are about halfway done, gently crack eggs on top of vegetables and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and fresh herbs. Cover and allow to simmer until eggs reach your desired level of hardness. Add pepper if you like. Serve.

Read John Bagnulo’s commentary on Poached Eggs: A Superfood.

Poached Eggs: A Superfood

One of my five superfoods—providing an incredible amount of nutrients in a small package—poached eggs increase the nutrient density of your diet and go a long way to offsetting the organ reserve loss that many of us experience as we grow older. Choline, one nutrient found in egg yolks, is particularly important for the liver’s efforts to detoxify our bodies and is also critical for normal brain development in children. Many Americans are low in choline because they shun the egg yolks for fear of the cholesterol, even though dietary cholesterol isn’t a significant factor in the development of cardiovascular disease.

Poaching, hard boiling, or soft boiling eggs is the best way to prepare them as it keeps the yolk intact and prevents the lipids inside from becoming oxidized (as they do when they are fried or scrambled). The cholesterol in an egg yolk only becomes a problem when it is oxidized (enhanced by the heat of the pan and the presence of oxygen) and forms an oxysterol. This molecule contributes significantly to atherogenesis, but does not form if you leave the egg whole and are cooking in water, as with poaching.


Scrambled Tofu

Serves three to four.

1 pound firm tofu
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon curry powder
½ small onion, chopped
2 cups chopped spinach or chard
½ carrot, grated
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon basil
1 tablespoon tamari

Sauté onion over medium heat in olive oil. Add curry and stir. Rinse tofu and crumble into onions. Combine well. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer until heated through. Serve.

Millet and Quinoa with Dates and Almonds

Serves two.

½ cup millet
½ cup quinoa
4 cups water
½ teaspoon cardamom
Pinch cinnamon
¼ cup chopped dates
¼ cup chopped almonds

Rinse millet and quinoa in a saucepan. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer, add cardamom and dates, and simmer until grains are soft—about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chopped nuts (roasting optional). Enjoy!

Read John Bagnulo’s nutritional point of view.

Bone-Building Breakfast

Each a rich source of calcium and magnesium, quinoa and almonds form a great bone-building recipe. This is especially rare for recipes with grains, as most grains are low in minerals—but quinoa is definitely the exception. Used and relied upon for thousands of years by the Incas, quinoa is also a source of high-quality protein that is much more complete than most other grains. This recipe is also gluten free, so it can be used by people with gluten sensitivities who are trying to reduce consumption of the sometimes-problematic protein.

Find more delicious and nutritious recipes in Kripalu Recipes.