BALANCING THE BREAKFAST ACT…WBB / GRILLED TOAST!

O the perils of months’ coming to an end & blog events piling up sky high. I’m huffing & puffing to catch up…for Mansi @ Fun and Food has chosen “Balanced Breakfast Meals” as this month’s theme for WBB#20.WBB, short for Weekend Breakfast Blogging, was started by Nandita of Saffron Trail almost a year ago with the aim of collecting interesting recipes for a weekend breakfast. Preparing balanced meals is not as difficult as you think. Its just mixing up all the good stuff and packaging in a way that’s visually appealing and good for your body too!

• Fruits or vegetables (dried fruits are fine too)
• Grains and Cereals (whole grains, oats, high-fiber foods)
• Dairy (skim milk, low-fat yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese (paneer)
• Proteins (eggs/egg whites, peanut butter, beans, nuts, sprouts, protein isolates)

…& her rules are…”Your breakfast should contain at least one item from the above list. But I’m really expecting all you fabulous foodies to come up with entrees that have more than 2 items from the list!” O boy…can’t believe I actually achieved 3!! How wholesome is this – veggies + grains + dairy…BINGO!!!

This is something I put together with bits & stuff that I had in the fridge. Nothing exotic, but quite tasty. It’s grilled toast with olive oil & garlic, topped with tomatoes…& then a burst of colour with bell peppers, crumbled cottage cheese & basil!! Sorry the pictures aren’t good because the battery really misbehaved that particular day & with tummies rumbling I couldn’t do much! But this was yummy stuff!! Would have been better if I had laid my hands on some GREAT garlic flavoured olive oil at Amy’s @ Familia Bencomo. Check that out guys & you’ll be sold on it!!

Ingredients:

Multi grain bread – 4 slices (I keep mine in the freezer for this toast)
Tomatoes – 1-2 / sliced
Juliennes of red, yellow & green bell peppers – of 1/4 pepper each
Olive oil – 1-2 tsps
Garlic pods – 1-2
Cottage cheese – roughly crumbled – 100 gms
Handful of fresh basil leaves
Salt & freshly ground pepper

Method:

• Put on the grill ( I have a small front opening toaster for this); otherwise preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
• Halve a pod of garlic lengthwise & rub all over the frozen bread. Its a lovely way of adding flavour.
• Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the bread; top with sliced tomatoes; season with salt & pepper.
• Add the crumbled cheese & juliennes & grill for a couple of minutes till the base is crisp. keep an eye out so you don’t burn the toast.
• Once done, give it another dash of freshly ground pepper, top with basil leaves & ENJOY!!!