I feel like we have not done a nice, “brunchy”, recipe on the blog in a while, so I thought this week’s recipe would be perfect: Spicy Breakfast Bowl. This recipe is possibly one of the very first recipes I have ever created when I decided to start a blog. Cooking and shooting it certainly brought back memories of me coming up with recipes – clueless of the future name of my blog, as well as what can happen in the almost 12 months that we have now been live 💕.
What I really like about this recipe is that it is super versatile: You can mix up the beans you are having with this and swap it with what is in your cupboard. You can also totally change the style of egg you are having. I used hard-boiled eggs because they display a bit of the rest of the bowl as well for the shoot (🤣). Scrambled, fried, or poached would also work perfectly well. I love doing different kinds of breakfast and this one is definitely a treat – filling, satisfying, and incredibly delicious 🥰.
You are basically cooking this in succession – using just one pan to go through the entire process. Black beans and corn hit fried onions and garlic, along with some Homemade BBQ Sauce and lime juice. If you do not have BBQ Sauce at hand (only takes about 15 minutes to make, is super easy and incredibly delicious), you can use other Chili or Steak Sauce – just be mindful of the potential sugar content in the sauce. You then keep this in the oven to stay warm whilst frying off tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and a bit of tomato paste. Afterward, use the same pan in order to scramble or fry the eggs (or use a pot for poached/hard-boiled ones). This Spicy Breakfast Bowl also re-heats super well so you can just easily make this a Spicy Lunch Bowl for your workweek 😉.
Why is this Spicy Breakfast Bowl good for you?
Black Beans
Black beans are a star for both its fiber content, as well as being rich in plant-based protein. They contain Potassium, Calcium, and Magnesium, all of which have shown to naturally decrease blood pressure, which is great for your heart health. Beans may also lower cholesterol levels, which can present an increased risk factor for heart disease. Black beans are particularly high in an antioxidant called “Polyphenols”. Antioxidants are important for our body because they fight free radicals. The body needs to have a balance of antioxidants and free radicals, as else it cannot function optimally. If there are too many free radicals they can cause something called oxidative stress (= your body cannot counteract the free radicals through antioxidants any longer). Free radicals, ultimately, mean that your body can be triggered into a number of human diseases.
Tomatoes
Technically a fruit, Tomatoes are high in antioxidants, as well as Vitamin C, Potassium, Folate, and Vitamin K. The antioxidant mainly present in tomatoes is called “Lycopene”. Lycopene is a carotenoid, which basically provides tomatoes with its gorgeous red color. Lycopene, lutein, and beta-carotene (all of which are present in Tomatoes) are great supporters for your eye health. This combination for your eye health, really, is a triple power: It protects your eyes against light-induced damage, cataracts, as well as degeneration whilst aging. Additionally, there is also some promising data that lycopene may help cancer and cardiovascular disease risk, however further studies need to be taken in order to fully prove this.
Avocado
I do not think I have ever written about the health benefits of avocado on the blog before 🤯! Avocados are a fruit that grows on the avocado tree. The fruits of the Avocado tree can greatly vary in shapes and sizes. Here in Europe, we tend to get the pear-shaped Hass Avocado mostly. But when we traveled in Brazil, Avocados kind of had the size of a small watermelon (try and eat all of that when they are just ripe 🤣). Avocados contain a range of Vitamins and Minerals, most notably Vitamin K, Folate (Vitamin B9), Vitamin C, and Potassium. Potassium is involved in balancing fluids in the body and supports the process of muscle contraction, and nerve cells.
Avocados are very much high-fat. The majority of the Hass Avocado contains monounsaturated fats (71%), polyunsaturated fats (13%), and saturated fat (16%). Studies have shown that Avocados are great for your heart health and may also support weight management, as well as healthy aging. Avocados are also loaded with fiber – both the soluble and the insoluble kind. Soluble fiber slows down digestion and keeps your tummy full for longer. It also presents a great feeding ground for healthy gut bacteria. Insoluble fiber speeds up the elimination of waste and is essential for a healthy gastrointestinal tract. Last but not least, Avocados can also play a vital role in managing hormones in the body.
How can I adjust this recipe to my dietary requirements?
This recipe is vegetarian and nut-free. If you would like to make this recipe vegan, simply omit the eggs or replace them with this tofu scrumble from the Simple Vegan Blog. Due to the grain content in this recipe, it is sadly not suitable for the paleo lifestyle.
And there you have it for this week 🤗I hope you enjoy this different kind of breakfast or brunch (or really – you could also make it as a speedy lunch for the week 😉). Please let me know what you think and how you are liking the recipe! You can find me on Instagram under @life_and_lemons_foodblog and with #lifeandlemonsfoodblog or – feel free to leave me a comment below 💕.
Spicy Breakfast Bowl
Course: Breakfast, brunchCuisine: FusionDifficulty: Medium4
servings20
minutes20
minutes30
minutesThis Spicy Breakfast Bowl is so easy, healthy, and delicious! A savory kick-start to your day, this dish packs flavor, protein, fat, and healthy carbs.
Ingredients
- For the bean and corn mixture
1 onion
1 -2 garlic cloves (depends on how garlicy you like it)
2 tsp olive oil, butter or ghee
1 can (ca. 400 gr.) black beans, rinsed
1 small can (300 gr.) corn, rinsed
Pepper – optional
1/2 cup (120 ml) Homemade BBQ Sauce – see notes* for details
Juice of ½ a lime
- For the tomatoes and red peppers
9 – 10 cherry tomatoes (or 4 -5 larger tomatoes)
Half a glass of roasted red peppers
1 tbsp tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne to your liking (bear in mind how much heat your sauce may already have)
- Remaining ingredients
4 eggs
1 medium ripe avocado
1 Lime
- Optional for serving
Lime
Cheese
Nachos
Cilantro
How to
- For the bean and corn mixture
- Pre-heat oven to 100 degrees Celsius (200 Fahrenheit) – so that you can keep the food warm whilst working in succession
- Finely chop onion and grate garlic
- Once heated through pour into a bowl and put into the oven to keep warm
- For the tomatoes and red peppers
- Whilst your onions and garlic are starting to cook (see step 3) – quarter the cherry tomatoes and cut the red peppers into bite-sized pieces
- Use the same pan as previously and stir in tomatoes and red peppers. Season with salt and pepper and add tomato paste. Once heated through, pour into a bowl and also put into the oven to keep warm
- For the egg and avocado part
- For the egg and avocado part:
- In the same pan, either fry the eggs, scramble them, or poach or hard-boil in a separate pot of water
- Whilst the eggs are cooking to your liking, halve the avocado, take out the pit and cut it several times length (for easy scoping)
- To serve – simply assemble bean and corn and tomato and pepper part alongside avocado (with a squeeze of lime juice) on a plate and top with egg of choice
- Optional to serve
- A little bit of cheese, lime, a few crumbled nachos for an extra bit of crunch, some cilantro or cheese. ENJOY!
Notes
- * you can also use salsa, steak, or chili sauce (if using store-bought – be sure to check the sugar content to keep it to a minimum)
