The "why" behind this is pretty simple: sugar and fat without any real protein is not a good way to start your day. Not only do you end up with a quick insulin spike, but - and this is anecdotal - it just doesn't keep you full. At all. There's not much to run on.
I needed protein-focused breakfast alternatives. And, since I'm kind of lazy and not at all interested in cooking every single weekday morning, I needed (or at least really wanted) stuff that could be made ahead of time, preferably the night before, with minimal work in the mornings.
Here's what's been in my rotation the past few weeks.
Option 1: go to DiBruno's in the Comcast Center and pick up a made-to-order omelet, usually with bacon, tomatoes and green pepper.
Pros: very tasty, and the least work possible, since someone else is doing the cooking. DiBruno's cooks with clarified butter, and the ingredients are decent quality. Cons: it's not cheap. An omelet is $4.99. And obviously, it's just not possible to get an omelet without coffee too (even if I've barely finished the first cup that I made at home), so it ends up being closer to $8 after tax and all that good stuff. Who needs to spend $40 a week for convenience?
Next: scrambled eggs with whatever's in the fridge. This is from this morning and included grape tomatoes, crumbled bacon (I bought a big bag of precooked bacon crumbles at Costco), and spinach.
Pros: much cheaper than an omelet from DiBruno's and just as tasty. I definitely know what's going into it since I made it myself. Cons: more time-consuming than buying pre-made breakfast and no make-ahead option (scrambled eggs do not reheat so well). Still, time commitment was moderate - about ten minutes total, including time to wash the pan and spatula.
Next: smoked pork topped with two over-easy eggs.
Pros: god, this is delicious. And it's easy. The pulled pork is Kirkland brand from Costco, with a surprisingly paleo-approved ingredients list. I had some for dinner one night, and then reheated the rest over the course of a few days for breakfasts (and leftover dinners). Cons: it's definitely fatty, which can leave me feeling a little sluggish if I'm too generous with the pork. I think next time I will add in some spinach or something a little more "fresh" tasting. This is also not a make-ahead deal, but cooking and cleanup time is minimal at six minutes total.
Finally: soft-boiled eggs, smoked salmon, spinach, grape tomatoes.
Pros: a complete make-ahead breakfast. I soft-boiled six eggs on Tuesday night and made two of these neat little containers with 4oz of smoked salmon each, a handful of tomatoes and a handful of spinach. It's lower in fat than some of my other breakfasts (cough, smoked pork, cough) and it doesn't need to be heated. Cons: smoked salmon can be kinda stinky. And it's pricey, which bumps the cost of this breakfast up a bunch. Also, I haven't mastered the soft boiled egg yet (that's not really a con, it's just me).
So...that's what I've been rotating through. So far, the salmon dish has been my favorite. It's cold and refreshing and not heavy but still unbelievably tasty. I'm going to try steaming my next batch of soft-boiled eggs, which promises to be simpler and also help the shells peel more completely, so I don't waste half an egg by picking the shell off bit by bit.
Lots of benchmark workouts this week, since we're between strength cycles:
Monday: A little snatching, followed by Crossfit Disco. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of box jumps (24/20) and pull ups. Cap of 10:00, even if you're as RX'ed...which I was not. I used the average band for my first couple sets of pullups and then quickly realized I was failing every couple reps, so I added the mini band so I could finish within the cap. I fucking suck at pull ups. 9:57.
Wednesday: Some kettlebell snatch work, followed by Helen. 3 rounds for time of 400m run, 21 American KB swings (1.5/1pood), 12 pull ups. I used the RX'ed weight but did Russian swings as American were bugging my left shoulder, and average + mini bands. 11:51. In the third round, I was failing every third or fourth pull up. BAH.
Thursday: Elizabeth. 21-15-9 of power cleans (135/95) and ring dips. Last time we did Elizabeth was during the last week of September, when I didn't log a single workout. I know I used 65lbs and recalled it being relatively easy, and I know I'm not so hot at ring dips, so I estimated that it took me over 10 minutes to complete. This may not have been correct. Using the light band for my dips and 65lbs, I completed this in 8:41. Time to move up in weight. Not in dips (I did them 2-3 at a time and failed a few reps in the last two sets).
Tonight is Jeremy, which I haven't done since my very first on-ramp class. And, since that was with a PVC pipe and still kicked my ass, I'm pumped to see how today goes. Happy weekend!
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