Spinach and Egg Break-nests

What to eat apart from porridge in the morning?

Rest + Nest = Best

Hello good people of the internet! I hope life is treating you well. Is it? It better be, otherwise i'm going to have to have some stern words with life. Just a quickie to share this with you this evening but it's a goodun I promise.

Now, from looking at the pages of this blog you might get the slight impression that I like my oats in the morning and if you were to live with me you would probably be aware that I consume them practically everyday. Is this becoming a problem? Well, health-wise no, oats are brilliant for you and carry a whole host of nutritional benefits (see the Oat'ed to... page) but I can't shake the feeling that an insidious obsession is beginning to grow. Take last Sunday for example, a bunch of family members had come over to celebrate my Grandad's 79th birthday and the topic of food arose. People were talking about things that can be viewed as controversial such as vegan-ism and weight loss dieting etc and completely off the cusp I just loudly announced to everyone that I loved porridge and that I couldn't be without it :/. It was like coming out all over again... although my family probably found this declaration more surprising. Anyway, it dawned on me that it may be beneficial to both my gut and palate if I first admitted that I had a problem and secondly, switched up breakfast every now and again. So, here goes... 

I Alex Cornwell *raises hand in the Brownie oath position* may (definitely) have an addiction to oats. Phew! That feels better, but what am I going to do to change? Well sweet possum faces, I am going to try and have a breakfast that doesn't consist of porridge/overnight oats/baked oatmeal at least once a week. 

Baby steps. 

Fast forward to now and I have stuck to that promise so far, with these spinach and egg break-nests being my first port of call along the hard road ahead (being slightly dramatic over breakfast options, I mean it's porridge for Christ's sake). These little green bundles of joy are full of protein, veggies and a good kick of spice to wake you up on a cold morning and Lord help us if you live in Britain, we've got a lot of that to come. I could go into a really long speech about spinach and how great it is, but i'll save that for another time as it's getting late. Luckily though, if you're reading this in the evening as well, then at least it might help you decide what to have for breakfast in the morning and if these nests don't tickle your fancy, I would definitely recommend some oats. ;)

  

Ingredients:

2 Eggs

Roughly 2 small handfuls of spinach

Some chopped up veggies (I went for breakfast classics: cherry tomatoes and mushrooms)

Pinch of Cumin and smoked paprika (feel free to get creative and sub in whatever spices and herbs you love)

1 small dried chili pepper (crushed up)

Cooking spray (I went for Fry light - Olive oil spray)

Salt/pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius/300 degrees Fahrenheit (I used a fan oven which is a bit hotter than other settings, so I'd recommend 160-170 degrees Celsius for a conventional oven)
Crack the eggs into a container/jug and beat up with a fork.
Stir in the chopped vegetables, spices and seasoning.
Spray 2 sections of a muffin tin (or 2 ramekins) with cooking spray and then lay out the spinach along the bottoms and sides to form your nest.
Pour the egg mixture into the spinach nests and place in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes until the egg is set. My eggs took only 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven when cooked through and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Loosen the nests by going round the edges with a knife.
Invert them onto a plate to tip them out and destroy them only using your mouth as a weapon.

Tip: These would be great topped with a little grated cheese or with some cooked chicken in the mix. The possibilities are endless! Yay for infinite ways to eat eggs!