My Breakfast Creation

I’m trying to become a morning person. When I go to bed earlier than usual (pre-1am) and wake up while the day is still new I wake up feeling so invigorated. I can get so much done and still have so much of the day left to do more. Like I said though, I’m trying to become a morning person. This morning I was feeling like I needed to catch up on some extra sleep, so I slept in until 10am and it felt glorious. While I love to have more of the day to get stuff done if I’m going to be spending that entire day tired because I didn’t get enough sleep, I’ll take the extra sleep. ;p

I woke up to this little girl snuggling my legs. Bailey loves morning cuddles but gets frustrated that I don’t wake up as early as she likes. So many mornings I would open my door to find her waiting and huffy that I took so long. She recently discovered that if she runs into my door when its closed it’ll open up. My door must not be made correctly because I feel like most doors don’t do this. Since she figured that out I have been woken up by frequent morning Bailey visits. Smarts + stubbornness= Bailey usually getting her way.

Andy moves at more of my morning speed. If he’s feeling particularly energetic or I sleep in really late he’ll be outside my door waiting for some attention. Usually he’s just as groggy as I am though, and today was no exception. He was curled up on his blankie sleeping the morning away. Can you tell he got a haircut over the weekend? He always looks like such a skinny minnie afterwards.

I wake up with an appetite and this morning, just like most mornings, I was craving eggs. Through trial and error I have discovered my perfect breakfast. Its a breakfast tortilla stuffed with eggs, cheese, broccoli, onions, and tomatoes. I have not-so-creatively named it Breakfast Burrito. I love it because it is chock-full of good-for-me foods, is simple to make, keeps me full for hours, and most importantly tastes delicious! I thought I’d share my breakfast burrito creation with you.

Prep your veggies. I usually use five grape tomatoes, four or five pieces of broccoli, and a huge chunk of onion.

All cut and ready for cooking! I keep my cuts pretty big, I love sizable pieces of veggies in my burrito.

I’m not the only veggie lover in this family. Bailey and Andy get broccoli at every dinner. Bailey’s carrying a little more weight around than the vet thinks she should be so we were advised to replace some of their kibbles with veggies. They were keeping me such good company while I cooked I thought they each deserved a little piece. 🙂

After cutting the veggies its time to scramble the eggs. I use two as that’s the perfect amount to fill me up. I’m sure you all know how to make scrambled eggs so I won’t detail that but I did want to show you something I learned when I was little that has always made my eggs taste light and fluffy: milk! I add a little splash before I scramble them and put them on the stove and it makes them so soft!

I heat up the pan with a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. I’m totally weird and use olive oil for every food I cook. If you prefer Pam or a little butter that works too, but I love the taste and natural health benefits olive oil gives.

Once the eggs are 90% cooked I add the veggies and cook for an extra minute.

Yum! Once the eggs and vegetables are cooked its time to transfer everything into the tortilla.

I use Wegmans spinach, garlic, & pesto tortillas. They are so good!

I line the tortilla with cheddar cheese. This is what takes the burrito over the top! (If you are trying to cut down on your cheese intake you can substitute hummus for cheese and spread a light layer over the whole tortilla. Or you can use both. I highly recommend that! ;p)

After the cheese is down I add the eggs and veggies. Mmm.

I then roll up the tortilla and place it on the stove for a few more minutes of cooking. This helps the tortilla get nice and toasty soft and melts the cheese into the eggs and vegetables. I am not an expert burrito folder and some days are better than others. I’d give this one a 3.5/5. Not my worst but definitely not my best!

All cooked! Lightly browned and ready for my belly!

About halfway through I give up on manners and just use my hands. So good I never get tired of them, and I eat them for breakfast every day during the week!

After breakfast it was time to get down to business. I had some finance homework to do and while I worked I capped off my breakfast with three squares of Hershey dark chocolate. I heard on Oprah way back in the day that dark chocolate makes you feel fuller longer so I always start my day off with a few pieces.

After finance class it was time for my aerobics class. I love taking a fitness class as it forces me to get my butt moving. I’m doing it for a grade! Today we were doing a short cross-training circuit. I did fifteen minutes on an elliptical at 58% of my target heart rate, and then fifteen minutes on a treadmill at 85%. I probably would have kept my heart rate down around 70% on the treadmill but Country Girl (Shake It for Me) by Luke Bryan came on the room’s speakers and it made me want to push it. A lot of things about going to a school in a very country environment are less than ideal but having your gym teacher put on country music over the loudspeakers and everyone in the class getting excited kind of rocks. I spent a portion of my childhood in Florida and as a result LOVE country music!

I broke a serious sweat in class and came home with a huge appetite. Diane made her famous pasta salad over the weekend so I knew that would be on today’s menu. While it has a lot of whole wheat pasta it also has a TON of veggies and cheese for protein and fat. I crave this stuff.

This bowl went pretty fast. I may have snuck seconds.

Someone noticed! ;p

After lunch Bailey was looking for some attention so I pulled out her ropey for her to play with.

Bailey loves playing with her ropey.

In true younger-sibling fashion Andy loves playing with whatever Bailey is playing with.

What a bully!

And that’s been my day so far! In a few minutes I’m going to start making dinner. I think its going to be a peanut butter and strawberry banana sandwich night! 😀