What's for Lunch 2: Open-faced Egg Sandwich

I'm luck enough to live close to my office, so I can head home for lunch on days where there aren't a lot of meetings or impending deadlines. The other day, I was craving something breakfast-oriented, so here's what I came up with: an open-faced egg sandwich on wheat bread with a slice of grilled tomato. And you know what? It was delicious.



This isn't really a recipe because it's so simple. I thought I'd just share how I made it, what inspired it, and some information about its ingredients that you may not know. Once I popped one piece of wheat bread into the toaster, I sprayed a little olive oil cooking spray in a small pan, cut one thick slice of tomato, and plopped it onto the pan to "sauté" for a couple of minutes. Then I took it out of the pan, cracked an egg, and fried it over easy. Assembly of the sandwich was simple, and I ate the sandwich with a fork & knife.

A lot of people like ketchup or salsa with their eggs, so the combination of tomatoes and eggs isn't exactly a novel concept. However, I had never had the combination until graduate school when I became friends with several Chinese students in my program. They used to cook the best meals - real feasts! One staple that was oftentimes an included dish was Tomato & Egg. The recipe was simple: throw chopped tomato and green onion in with a little oil and cook until soft, remove from the pan, scramble some eggs, and when the eggs are just about done, put the tomatoes and green onions back in the pan to finish off. It's such a simple concept, yet so, so delicious! Ever since then, I've liked the combination.

Something I learned a couple years ago when meeting with a Nutritionist/Registered Dietician about tomatoes: they're an excellent source of potassium! Because of my glucose concerns (which at the time weren't as big of a deal as they are now), my nutritionist suggested that I reduce the amount of fruit I was regularly including in my diet. When I claimed (jokingly) that bananas, which are very high in sugar, are a great source of potassium, the dietician asked if I like tomatoes. Turns out, including these babies in your sandwiches is a great way to get your potassium. Since I like tomatoes, this is a win in my book!

I should also note that he suggested I eat the whole egg, not the egg whites. This aids in feeling full, and because I do not have an issue with cholesterol, I can afford to eat the yolk too. Remember kids, fats are a part of a healthy balanced diet too!

This was a great lunch - filling and satisfying, and I felt satisfied but not gross or stuffed. It did well to tide me over until dinner, which is a success in my book.

How about you? What's your favorite breakfast lunch?