Breakfast Mackerel with Poached Eggs

Breakfast Mackerel and Eggs

What about this for a fantastic start to your day? A beautiful and tasty food combination that’s packed with goodness and also helps defeat Arthritis! It’s not just for Breakfast though, you can enjoy Breakfast Mackerel with Poached Eggs at any time of the day and it won’t cost the earth.

Serves: 1

• 1 Fillet smoked mackerel
• 1 Large slice of whole-grain gluten-free bread
• 2 large Free-range eggs
• Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
• Black Pepper, to taste

Method

Prep: 5min  › Cook: 5min› Ready in: 10min

1. Take out a saucepan and fill it with water, bring it to the boil and turn it down to a simmer once boiled, add 1 tablespoon of Vinegar.
2. Turn on your grill full heat and allow time for it to come up to temperature.
3. Take out your Mackerel and place in onto the grill, cook under the grill on high heat for around 4 minutes each side, when the first side is done it’s time to prepare the eggs and the toast
4. Break 2 x eggs into the simmering water, the vinegar helps to keep the egg yolk and the egg white together. Simmer for 3 minutes or until the eggs are cooked to your liking
5. Place the gluten-free bread under the grill, I like to just toast 1 side as this keeps the whole wheat bread a little softer but if you prefer both sides toasted just put it under the grill a little earlier.
6. Remove the toast and pour on a little olive oil and wait for the Mackerel to finish cooking
7. Once cooked, place the Mackerel on top of the toast
8. Take out the poached eggs and place them on top of the Mackerel, pour on a splash of Olive oil and grind a little black pepper over the top to finish.

How much does breakfast mackerel and eggs cost?

I think this is pretty good value as a basic meal and excellent value when you consider the slew of goodness you’re going to be getting by eating this but let’s look at the numbers.

We bought a pack of 3 unsmoked Mackerel from Sainsbury and they came up at £2.50.

We also bought the gluten-free loaf from Sainsbury, it cost £2 and yielded around 10 slices, so 20p a slice!

The Organic eggs we get from a local farm for £1.80 per half dozen. £0.30 each!

That’s an astonishing total of just £1.53 per meal!!!!! That has got to be some of the cheapest, most nourishing food you get your hands on, arthritis or no arthritis!

The health benefits of eating more eggs

As Wade and myself are self-confessed egg freaks, it’s no wonder we love this dish but why are eggs so important for sufferers of Arthritis?

Well, eggs are natures perfect food, they contain enough goodness to turn a single cell into a Whole Chicken! Where else can you get results like that? I know it’s a little gross to think about it like that, but just imagine for a second what is actually going on in that process and the nutrients the egg must contain to achieve such a mighty feat of nature.

Check out the table below to see all the good stuff that eggs contain

• Vitamin A: 6% of the RDA.
• Folate: 5% of the RDA.
• Vitamin B5: 7% of the RDA.
• Vitamin B12: 9% of the RDA.
• Vitamin B2: 15% of the RDA.
• Phosphorus: 9% of the RDA.
• Selenium: 22% of the RDA.
• Eggs also contain good amounts of Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Zinc and Calcium

What you are eating is a nutrient-dense superfood with fantastic regenerative properties, the perfect food for your body to convert into whatever it needs.

Eggs are one of the most nutritious foods on the planet, they contain almost every nutrient required to help the body function properly.

Please, don’t add table salt to your eggs, if you can help it. I like to use pink Himalayan salt but there’s going to be plenty of salt in the fish and the bread so you shouldn’t need to load up with anymore.

Although we don’t advocate adding too much salt to meals pink Himalayan salt does contain tons of trace minerals that can help arthritis and mineral deficiencies. We love adding a good dose of ground peppercorns though, pepper is a fantastic addition to any savory meal and the Piperine content of pepper can magnify the bioavailability of certain nutrients many times.

Another reason we love eggs is that they provide us with the eggshell membrane, although you won’t get ESM from this dish please take a moment to investigate the benefits of this excellent Arthritis battling supplement by reading our article here

Mackerel in all it’s glory

Once Mackerel was strictly the preserve of the lower classes but now people are starting to realise it’s true health potential many more well-heeled folks are taking notice of this beautiful, meaty fish.

Experts believe eating just one portion of oily fish per week can be enough to halve the risk of developing Rheumatoid Arthritis if that isn’t a good enough reason to get the family eating mackerel then I don’t know what is.

Mackerel is a powerhouse of essential fatty acids such as Omega 3 and Omega 6, these fabulous fats are essential for healthy joints, a healthy brain and many other vital functions of the body

You should try and avoid smoked mackerel, for that matter anything that is smoked can interfere with your Arthritis and or Gout.

To further supplement your Arthritis busting diet you should add a good quality fish oil supplement to your daily diet regime.

We recommend everyone should take at least 2,000 milligrams (mg) per day of EPA and DHA. Those with Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis should consume 3,000 to 6,000 mg split up and taken throughout the day with meals.

Please be aware that using fish oil supplements to lower cholesterol levels this may actually thin your blood. If you are taking medications such as clopidogrel or warfarin to thin the blood, please consult your doctor before taking high doses of EPA and DHA.

Propose a toast?

Here’s the thing, this a recipe for Arthritis and it contains bread!

Wade and myself try and avoid all bread products but there is some evidence that whole grains can help in the battle against RA and while we certainly would not recommend processed foods like white bread, we do have to look a little deeper into whether high quality, whole grain gluten free bread could be integrated into this diet in moderation for those tolerate it well or don’t react to it. Be very very careful here, bread is generally a really bad idea but I also understand that some people may fail a diet totally if they don’t have some familiar foods.

Most people couldn’t survive on a diet with no bread whatsoever and we understand that so maybe now and again a little bread is necessary to make us feel human, after all, it’s one of the first foods we eat as children and it’s fiendishly difficult to give up.

If you can give up bread you have the power to do anything! Switch to a gluten free diet and I can guarantee you will see immediate results.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study that found people who consumed more whole grains like brown rice, oatmeal and barley experienced reduced levels of C-reactive protein. People with Rheumatoid Arthritis can see levels of C-reactive protein rise during a flare. C-reactive protein is a measure of bad arthritic activity throughout the body.

Lots of whole grains, wheat pasta and bread contain selenium which is an inflammation-fighting antioxidant. Some people with RA have lower levels of selenium so eating these foods could act to top up your reserves.

Looking for more breakfast ideas? Click here to find more!