The 10-hour diet: Antioxidant English breakfast

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The 10-hour diet: Antioxidant English breakfast

By Jeannette Hyde

Published: | Updated:

English breakfasts get such a bad press. With a range of tasty plants in there – tomatoes, mushrooms, courgette, black beans and rocket, for example – you can get lots of antioxidants to counterbalance the nitrates in the bacon (which may be carcinogenic in large quantities in a diet with little veg to counteract them).

SERVES 2

4 slices smoked streaky bacon or pancetta

a splash of extra virgin olive oil (the high polyphenol count helps protect this oil from damage when heated)

large handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

handful per person of any type of mushrooms you fancy, sliced

1 small courgette, topped and tailed

a sprinkling of sea salt and ground pepper

2 whisked eggs

200g black beans in chilli sauce from a tin (I like Biona brand)

handful of washed rocket salad, to serve (optional)

  • Dry-fry the bacon in a frying pan on a medium heat on the hob until crispy (or however you like it!), then remove to a plate and put in your oven on a low heat to keep warm while you cook the rest of the breakfast.
  • Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil to the pan if needed alongside the remaining fat from the bacon.
  • Sauté the cherry tomatoes on one side of the pan and the mushrooms on the other until both are soft and slightly shrunken (add a little more oil if needed). Keep these warm alongside the bacon in the oven.
  • Grate the courgette and then sauté in the pan using any oil still there, or add a small drop more if needed. Stir for a minute or two until cooked through. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
  • Add the whisked eggs to the courgette and stir around until they start to set, then remove from the heat. Season to taste.
  • Warm your beans in a microwave or a saucepan for a couple of minutes.
  • Add the eggs and beans to the plate from the oven with all the other ingredients and enjoy.