A healthy take on the diner breakfast

I am a morning person and breakfast is my favourite meal of the day.

Strong coffee and a hearty morning meal make me feel like I’m on vacation, luxuriating in hashed-brown-and-bacon heaven, without a health or calorie care in the world.

But eating like a lumberjack when you have a desk job makes no sense, unless you really are on vacation. For a more quotidian option, try my Country-Style Skillet Breakfast.

I use just a few strips of real pork bacon to keep things feeling authentically diner-ish. Onions, sweet yellow peppers, spinach and garlic all add a ton of flavour (and nutrients) but hardly any calories. The real nutrient and calorie-saving workhorse of this recipe, though, is: cauliflower.

I swap out the breakfast-skillet staple hashed browns for riced cauliflower. It works beautifully, and not only do you save the calories of the potatoes, but all the extra fat you need to make those hashed browns crispy and tasty.

Country-style Cauliflower Breakfast Skillet

Start to finish: 25 minutes Makes: Four servings 3 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces 1/2 yellow or sweet onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped (about 1/2 cup) 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp dried herbes de provence (or dried oregano or thyme) 1 tsp smoked paprika 3 cup cauliflower rice (raw) 1 Tbsp lemon juice 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess moisture gently squeezed out 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 3/4 tsp kosher salt • Freshly ground black pepper • Chopped parsley, for garnish 4 eggs, cracked into 4 small ramekins or bowls Preheat oven to 350 F. In large oven-safe skillet, cook bacon over medium low heat until starting to crisp, about five minutes. Add onion and bell pepper and cook until tender, about six minutes. Add the minced garlic, herbs and smoked paprika and stir.

Add the cauliflower and cook until tender, about five minutes, stirring frequently. Add the lemon juice, stir, and then the spinach, and stir until well-combined. Remove from heat and sprinkle the cheese evenly over the mixture. Gently make four wells in the mixture with a wooden spoon. Spray each well with nonstick spray. Pour one egg into each well. Bake until eggs are done, about seven to eight minutes for runny yolk, longer for firmer yolk. Sprinkle with black pepper, more salt if needed, parsley and serve.

Nutrition information per serving: 219 calories; 117 calories from fat; 13 g fat; 235 mg cholesterol; 804 mg sodium; 11 g carbohydrate; 3 g fibre; 4 g sugar; 15 g protein.