Omelets are a wonderful breakfast, because they are full of protein.  If we exercise before we eat breakfast, our bodies are forced to use body fat for energy.  But sometimes it’s not physically possible to exercise first.  Then, a protein rich breakfast gives similar results.  With few or no carbohydrates to draw energy from, the body will burn it’s own fat.

Whole eggs are the best choice because the yolks are full of vitamins!  But if you feel the need to go yokeless, 1/4 cup of egg substitute or 4 egg whites works too.  I don’t worry about cholesterol in the yolks because the egg whites are full of lecithin which naturally combats an overload of cholesterol.  It makes me smile how God created everything so balanced!  I know some of you are on a special yokeless diet from your doctor, and you can follow that and still make a yummy omelet. 

When you use 2 large eggs with vegetables (no cheese or meat) like I’ll show you below, this breakfast has only 200 calories! 

1.  Start your omelet by beating 2 eggs (or 1/4 cup egg substitute) in a custard cup (or small bowl) until they are uniform in color and frothy. Set them aside.

2.  Prepare 1/2 cup chopped vegetables from any of the following:  onion, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, broccoli, spinach, lamb’s quarter or kale.  Place it in a small non-stick skillet (I use cast-iron) sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and saute until crisp-tender.  For a fancy omelet you can move the cooked veggies to another dish during the next step.  Otherwise just pour your eggs right on top of them.

3.  Pour your beaten eggs into a warm skillet and let cook on one side until a  skin has cooked on the bottom.  Gently lift up the cooked egg and tilt the pan so the liquid eggs can run underneath and cook.  Keep lifting and tilting until the surface is fairly solid.  Then sprinkle your vegetables right on top.   

4.  At this point you can flip the whole circle (my favorite way) and let the top side cook for a minute or so until firm, or you can just leave it on the one side and fold in half, so the inside is still soft.  Flip the omelet to a serving dish, enjoy!

Tip:  I use a pan that is the size I want my omelet to be when I’m done.  My omelet pan has an 8 inch diameter.

Adapt it!

Try adding special herb blends to your eggs to change the flavor.  For example, mushrooms and broccoli with lemon pepper is great

Or tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and peppers with basil and garlic–is a pizza omelet

Or peppers and onions, with chili powder and cumin is a fajita omelet.

The combinations are limitless.  I hope you’ll leave a comment with your favorite combo or one you’d like to try.

Cheese?

I love lots of gooey melty cheese.  But adding it to my omelet uses up calories I’d rather save for later in the day. I’ve been making mine without and it helps me spread my calories out through the day if I skip it in my omelet.  If you are really missing cheese, try 1 teaspoon of grated parmesean with your veggies.  It only adds 5 calories, but tons of flavor.