Breakfast

Whenever I manage to improvise something to eat that is appealing to adults, healthy, easy to make with readily available ingredients, and actually gets eaten by my children, I want to shout it from the mountaintops. This only happens once or twice a year. Ostensibly I am motivated to share this information with some other hapless parent facing this near-impossible set of challenges, but deep down I want to brag about this brief shining moment as a successful Supermom while it lasts. Having a blog does foster a bit of a narcissistic impulse, after all.

This morning we had one of those moments. I give you:

Greek Style Scrambled Eggs with Grilled Tomato and Mangoes

Per serving:

1 ripe good quality tomato
pinch of kosher salt, to taste
cooking spray or olive oil
1/2 mango
small handful fresh spinach (we get washed baby spinach in the bag unless it is actually in season locally)
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt (you may want to use a bit less as the feta is a bit salty)
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp feta cheese (reduced fat works OK here)
olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

1. Prep your ingredients first, as the food cooks pretty fast. Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise, and use a paring knife to scoop out most of the seeds. Spray the cut surface with cooking spray or brush/mist with a little olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and set aside.
2. Chop the spinach (the smaller you cut it, the more likely it won't get picked out of the eggs)
3. To prepare a mango for serving, make two cuts lengthwise just off the midline (you're trying to just miss the pit on either side). With each half, use a paring knife to make a crosshatch pattern in your fruit - you want to cut just down to, but not into, the peel. Then turn your skin inside out so that the little squares of fruit will be easy to cut or pull off. This is much easier to describe with pictures so you may want to google it if you are unsure. You can also cut the bits of fruit off the pit with the paring knife, or do what I do: gnaw it off over the sink like a barbarian.
4. Crack your eggs into a bowl and add the salt and milk. Whisk to desired consistency (I like to get mine nice and frothy for fluffy eggs, but you can also just stir it up a bit to get yellow and white streaks if you prefer). Stir in the feta.
5. Put a cast iron skillet, if you have one, over high heat and let it get really hot. Throw on the tomatoes, cut surface down, and let them cook a couple minutes until the surface is slightly charred. Take off the heat and set aside - you can drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle on some freshly ground pepper if you like.
6. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and put over medium heat. Add your spinach and cover. Cook until the spinach is wilted. Add the eggs and cook, uncovered, turning with a spatula as the surface in contact with the pan cooks, until the whole thing is cooked through.
7. Put grilled tomato halves, cubed mango, and egg on a plate and serve. Enjoy!

Notes: don't be intimidated by the length of this recipe - it is actually pretty quick to come together, but I like to be detailed in my descriptions of what to do. Just have everything prepped and "good to go" before you turn on the stove, and you will spend minimal time trying to multitask the time-sensitive work of cooking with keeping small children from tearing apart the kitchen. You may also want to give them the mango to eat while you are cooking the hot food.

Substitute other fruits or cheeses for variety. Of course you can skip the tomatoes - they were mostly for me anyway, although Lily did eat some. In general, we have been able to sneak all kinds of healthy food into eggs, which themselves have good nutritional value and are well-liked by the kiddos. Basic scrambled eggs (just the eggs, salt and milk) cook very fast and go over well on a weekday morning.