I’ve been eating this salad for breakfast, yes breakfast, for many years. I know Americans consider it somewhat unconventional to eat salad for breakfast (though not Europeans and in the Middle East), but I believe it is such a great way to start the day. The success of this salad is built on simplicity. My strategy remains similar, week in and week out. It is never quite the same, but it is always delicious. On occasion, I make it with a sweet potato instead of a white potato. Thank you to Alice Waters for teaching me to eat simply. This salad makes one single serving, but is infinitely flexible if a friend or an army is coming to share a meal. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Breakfast
Testimonial from an Old Friend
I was scrolling back through some posts that I wrote over a decade ago, and came across this one. I decided to include it here once again to highlight the message that diabetes is reversible. A great many people feel that their diagnosis is inevitable, and that once it appears on their list it will stay forever. Not true. Continue reading
Breakfast in Winter
I really love snow, and last weekend Northeast Ohio got more than a foot of snow, a real snowstorm. My neighbors reported that their dachshunds’ morning walk was extremely challenging, and the roads weren’t passable until mid-morning. I myself spent a lot of time shoveling snow, so I needed to eat a breakfast that provided more fuel than usual. Today we’re talking about breakfast. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Wintertime Oatmeal with Apples & Walnuts
In view of the fact that I’ve been asked once again to repost this recipe, and since it’s autumn (the most glorious autumn I can remember in years), I am reposting this recipe for Apple-Walnut Oatmeal. I’ve adjusted the proportions to make enough for two.
Looking out the dining room window as I write this, all I can see are dozens of cool, grey-brown branches against a pale blue, sun-lit sky. It’s beautifully stark, and riveting, calling me to the outdoors while the sun is still low in the eastern sky. But before I venture out into this beautiful day, I’m going to make this oatmeal recipe to warm me from the inside out. This recipe has a lot of flavor, with all the right kinds of yummy. You will probably smile while you’re eating it. I know I do. Continue reading
Old-Fashioned Gratitude
Many years ago, when I was eleven years old, my parents bought a Corning Cooktop stove, a fancy new appliance whose coils remained white even when they were hot. You simply had to take it on faith — or not. No matter how long I stared at that new stovetop, I could not convince myself that the white coils were hot. And that is why I still remember so clearly, this many years later, the perfectly oval burn on the tip of my right index finger. I touched it only once, but that was enough. It was all it took. I couldn’t take anyone else’s word for it. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Baked Oatmeal
Baked oatmeal is a great way to start the day. It’s sort of like bread pudding, but with lots more texture, flavor and, yes, nutrition. Not only can this recipe can be prepared in a single bowl, but it’s guaranteed to keep you cozy and satisfied all morning. One great thing about it is that you can make it on the weekend, and then heat up a slice (or scoop) every day to get you through your mornings all week long. It’s also a very flexible recipe, so you could vary the ingredients slightly every time, and never make it exactly the same way twice! Continue reading
Real Breakfasts for All You Champions
Last week I wrote about the sorry story of how boxed cereals came to predominate morning choices for breakfast; this week I’m sharing some of my own breakfast choices. The first thing I am going to point out is that my breakfasts do not differ significantly from other meals I eat through the day. That is to say, I don’t keep a separate list of breakfast options from lunch and dinner options. While I would say that I probably eat less spicy stuff at breakfast time, it’s more of a suggestion than a hard-and-fast rule, as you will see.
A major category of breakfasts in my house is the leftovers I find in the refrigerator, with or without a little extra something. So it could be that I heat up a bowl of leftover stir-fried vegetables, and that might be enough by itself, but I might also add some leftover rice if there is any. Or maybe I will fry an egg and slide it on top, or melt a slice of cheese (vegan for me) on top. Continue reading
Not a Breakfast for Champions
Breakfast cereals, generally speaking, are not particularly nourishing, although they do have a praiseworthy origin. They were invented near the turn of the 20th century by health spa owners offering an alternative to the eggs, coffee, and beef, bacon or sausage that constituted the usual breakfast of the time.
Not coincidentally, the invention of breakfast cereal also provided an economical use for the crumbs that fell to the bottom of the bread ovens at the health spas. The word “cereal” itself is a synonym for “grain,” and it is derived from Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. We have strayed a long way from that origin. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Oatmeal-Peanut Butter-Chocolate Treats
For almost a decade, I worked side by side with a wonderful doctor, made even better by the fact that his wife, from time to time, would send in a plateful of these seriously yummy oatmeal-peanut butter-chocolate treats. I don’t remember where I put her recipe, but if this isn’t it, well, then it’s close enough. These are sweetly satisfying when you want a treat, and nourishing enough to take the edge off when it’s 2 o’clock and you haven’t had lunch yet. A couple of these with a glass of milk (for snack) or cup of tea or coffee (for breakfast) would also be perfect. And of course they’re not just for grownups. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: French Lentil Salad
If you like lentils as much as I do, this simple recipe is probably looking pretty good to you. I would not have thought of mixing a classic dijon vinaigrette with lentils, but it works oh-so-deliciously. These lentils are exactly the kind of thing I love to find in the refrigerator when I don’t know what I’m looking for. To make this recipe easier (pandemic style), feel free to skip the bay leaf, substitute 1/2 tsp. garlic powder for the garlic, and use some kind of halfway decent Italian dressing instead of the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and spices. Then if you can get yourself or someone else to peel and slice a carrot and onion, the whole recipe will come together. Good enough. Continue reading