Harissa Hash & Eggs: Potatoes for Breakfast
Have you been wondering what to eat for breakfast that is healthy?
It's not always easy to know what to choose. That is why, as a nutrition coach, my favorite infographic is one created by Precision Nutrition, titled "What should I Eat?" The graphic gives an easy to understand display of food to eat more, eat some and eat less of. When you’re thinking of what to eat for breakfast that is healthy, eggs potatoes for breakfast probably spring to mind.
Ingredients in Harissa Hash Potatoes for Breakfast
The ingredients for this recipe are mostly staples you will have on hand in your kitchen, avocado oil, potatoes, red pepper, red onion, cottage cheese, broth, and eggs.
One ingredient you might not be as familiar with is a harissa sauce. You may be able to find it in your grocery store, or you can order it delivered to your home.
The recipe called for red peppers which I didn't have on hand, so instead of going to the grocery store, I used some of my roasted and frozen into ice cube trays, garden red and green bell peppers.
Check out the video before you start to see how simple this recipe to prep and make. One thing to note, I cut the potatoes into large chunks which made the cooking process a bit longer. If you want to speed up cooking time, cut the potatoes smaller.
Where do the ingredients for Harissa Hash & Eggs land in the healthy category?
They all fall under the EAT MORE category. That’s setting the tone for a great start to your day.
(For the purposes of understanding what I mean here, these categories are talking about including a type of food more or less frequently in your overall eating pattern, and not about the volume per meal.)
Eating healthy breakfasts will help give you lasting energy throughout the day and keep you feeling fuller longer. However, this isn't the case when you choose to eat less healthful options. A healthy breakfast will include foods that contain fiber, protein, healthy fat, and nutrients.
When looking to understand the macros of the Harissa breakfast hash, let’s break it down this way - what foods offer protein, vegetables, smart carbs and healthy fats?
Using the "What should I Eat?" graphic from Precision Nutrition you will see that there could be variations in the EAT MORE category to help create this recipe. I choose avocado oil to cook with, but you could instead use extra virgin olive oil. Or, instead of a potato, sweet potato would also work well.
Will you like it?
What makes you want to make this more than once? The taste! Eating because you know it is healthy for you is fine and good, but when you eat something because you know it tastes good and is healthy - well that is a recipe to bookmark and share. When I asked my family if they liked the cottage cheese and eggs with the harissa flavored potatoes for breakfast, they said it was something they'd want to have again. And that's success right there.
What are harissa spices?
You can make this recipe using salt and pepper as your only spices or you can rock your world with the Harissa spice combination of roasted red bell peppers, red jalapeño peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red onion, date paste, guajillo pepper puree, garlic, coriander, cumin, crushed red pepper, and cinnamon. I made it easy on myself and used Haven’s Kitchen Zippy Chili Harissa premixed sauce packet.
This packet is enough sauce to make about 5 meals. Unless you use it like tabasco as my family does.
What does harissa taste like?
Harissa is a spicy chili sauce, popular in North Africa and the Middle East. It is made from dried red peppers, garlic, olive oil, salt, and coriander. It’s spicy but not too hot.
You can eat it alone or use it as an ingredient for other foods such as soups, stews, or just about anything.
You can continuously tweak harissa recipes to suit your tastes by adding more or fewer spices.
Mealtime conversation starters
Conversations empower our relationships because they keep them current. By giving people something to share, they create a sense of community.
We encourage you to start conversations with your friends and family members about the things that matter most in life. You’ll be amazed at how much more connected you feel when you talk with others.
Q: What's the wildest thing you hope to do one day?
Harissa Potato Hash & Eggs
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Ingredients
- 3 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 pound potatoes (2-3 medium, diced into bite size pieces)
- ½ red pepper (diced)
- ½ red onion (diced)
- ½ cup vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp harissa sauce
- 1 pinch salt to taste
- 1 pinch ground pepper to taste
- ½ cup cottage cheese
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F
- Using an oven-safe skillet, heat the avocado oil on medium high until shimmering, then add the diced potatoes, pepper, onion. Cook for 10-15 minutes stirring frequently, until the potatoes are soft enough to be pierced easily with a fork.
- Spoon in the harissa sauce over vegetables, then sprinkle generously with salt & pepper to taste. Add the broth and stir. Cook for 3-6 minutes.
- Using a spoon, create 4 holes in the hash mixture for the eggs. Distribute the cottage cheese evenly into each hole, and then crack one egg into each hole.
- Move into the oven to finish cooking for another 5-6 minutes!
- Serve hot.
Video
Hand Size Portions
Hand Portions
Some handy advice: You can use your hands to practice calorie control without weighing and measuring.
Using hand position size is an alternative way to decide how much to eat visually. It gives you a way to quickly estimate what's on your plate, using the size of your hand as an alternative to counting macros (which generally has you weighing and reading nutrition labels to count protein, carbohydrates, and fat).
To learn more, read How to Get Started with Hand Portion Sizes.
Michelle Johnson Jerome is an expert on busting through perfectionism. She is passionate about helping others live life with purpose and joy. By drawing on her extensive experience as a nutrition coach, personal trainer, and yoga instructor she helps develop a realistic approach to goal setting that allows you to make progress and stop obsessing over mistakes.
Find other articles written by Michelle on her coach profile. Discover your "easy button": learn how to manage life's unpleasant parts so you can move forward, reach your goals, and live your best life.
