Healthy Recipes | Sunny Asparagus

I have a confession to make-- I don't eat enough veggies. Believe me, I know all about the role that the antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals found in vegetables play in preventing chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease. I get it, really I do. Yet I still, week after week, come up short of the recommended daily intake of vegetables. And it's not that I don't like vegetables. I actually love most of them. So why don't I eat more of them?

It come down to laziness. Sigh. Vegetables, with the exception of baby carrots, aren't portable like fruit (which I have no problem getting enough of). Salads are great, but honestly there are only so many salads a girl can take before she needs a break.

The current recommended intake of vegetables is only 3-5 servings per day. It honestly isn't very hard to meet or even exceed that guideline, if you only make an effort.

1 serving of vegetable equals...

• 1 cup leafy greens, such as spinach or lettuce
• 10 baby carrots
• 5 broccoli florets
• 6 spears asparagus
• 1/2 cup beans, peas, zucchini

So, do as I say and not as I do and start eating more veggies! Try to branch out form the usual broccoli, potatoes, or corn and try kale, artichokes, or sweet potatoes. Have a salad with dinner each night, and switch it up by trying different varieties of lettuce such as Romaine, spinach, or endive. Try adding vegetables to your breakfast by making a pepper and mushroom omelet, or try the following recipe for a gourmet looking meal fit for a lazy Sunday morning.

Sunny Asparagus

1 pound asparagus, with ends snapped off
2 eggs
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper, as needed
Grated Parmesan Cheese, as needed

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees

2. Place asparagus in a casserole dish in a single layer. Drizzle on olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roll asparagus around to evenly coat each spear

3. Place dish into the oven for 10 minutes

4. While asparagus is baking, place butter into medium sized frying pan and heat to medium

5. Once butter is melted, crack eggs gently into pan. Be sure to keep egg whites separated. Cover and cook until whites have set and yolk is still runny (if you prefer a less runny egg, cook a little bit longer)

6. Remove asparagus from oven. Transfer spears to a plate and place fried egg on top of asparagus
7. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese


Serves 2