Huber Huevos Rancheros

This meal is our family’s traditional Christmas Day breakfast. Christopher mans the comal after the Santa festivities, while we all fill our coffee mugs and wait for our plates.

1 cup organic, low-fat refried beans
8 small corn tortillas
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 large eggs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
sour cream, salsa and hot sauce to taste

Preheat broiler with 2 oven oven racks placed in the top third and bottom third of the oven. Spread a 1/4 cup of beans onto four tortillas, sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of cheese and top with another tortilla. Arrange on a cookie sheet and broil in the bottom third of the oven for 3-4 minutes, until just turning color and crisping. Flip and cook another 3-4 minutes.

While tortillas are cooking, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Swirl the oil and crack the eggs into pan. Cook 2-3 minutes, until whites are just set. Season with salt and pepper.

Take the tortilla pan out and carefully transfer one egg to the top of each tortilla. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and broil in the top third of the oven for 1-2 minutes (watch carefully not to burn), until the cheese is bubbly and the egg white is completely set.

Transfer to plates and top with a dollop of sour cream and salsa.

Serves 4

Creamy Millet with Blueberry Compote

If you haven’t tried millet, this recipe from Rebecca Katz’s The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen (Celestial Arts) is a great introduction. As she notes, it looks very similar to quinoa, and it’s also gluten-free and a good source of protein. Millet and orange have anti-inflammatory properties, while spices like allspice, cardamom, ginger and cinnamon aid digestion. Coconut oil has antibiotic properties (you can find it with the other oils in health-food stores), and blueberries are rich in cancer-fighting phytochemicals. This is a nice make-ahead breakfast–just stir in a little extra almond milk and warm it up in a saucepan over gentle heat. It’s a powerfully nourishing start to your day.

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Blackberry-Ginger Muffins with Hazelnut Streusel

Bake a batch of these muffins on the weekend, and you’ll have no excuse for skipping breakfast during the week. Whole wheat pastry flour is milled from a soft white winter wheat that makes it a great go-to flour for everyday baking (try it in Lia’s Thin and Chewy Oatmeal-Flax Cookies). It yields whole wheat muffins and other baked goods with a nice, tender texture. As with any muffin batter, whisk the dry and wet ingredients together until just combined. Don’t overmix, or your muffins will be tough. You can substitute different berries for the blackberries, or even use frozen berries.

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