Breakfast - My favorite meal of the day

(these look a lot better than mine, but basically the same thing)

Since I've been pregnant, protein for breakfast really helps me for the rest of the day.  Plus, my husband always wants me to have homemade Mexican charro beans on hand to prepare with EVERYTHING.   So, 3 or 4 times a week, including today, we will have a Mexican-style breakfast and maybe I add a little southern "flare" :-)

Today consisted of refried charro beans (pinto beans), scrambled eggs, tomatillo salsa, queso fresco, tortillas & homemade biscuits.  Sound like a lot, I know, but the biscuits were mainly for my two little ones as they don't really eat the beans or tortillas. 

Now, how did I make all this with low or no sodium, you may ask?  Well, normally with the beans, I make a huge batch of them and we just eat them all week long.  I make them in my dutch oven and it's only a 1lb. bag of dried beans, but it's lasts us a while.  Before changing to our new lifestyle, I would cook the beans with lots of salt & bacon for flavor.  This time around I used only 1/2 tsp of sea salt & 1 slice of bacon instead of the normal 3.  So each 1/2 cup serving ends up only being 90 mg of sodium.

We eat the eggs and beans as tacos with our warm corn tortillas.  The tomatillo salsa adds excellent flavor and so does the queso fresco (Mexican crumbling cheese).  This is actually a very typical Mexican breakfast in most parts of Mexico. 

I made the biscuits using my normal recipe using regular milk instead of buttermilk and I only used 1/8 tsp sea salt.  The recipe made 12 biscuits & each biscuit is 25 mg of sodium.  My corn tortillas are 25 mg. of sodium each so I limit my intake to 2 tortillas, although my husband eats about 5 or six sometimes :-0

So, our entire breakfast: 
2 beans/egg tacos w/ salsa & cheese & 1 biscuit w/ jelly & 1 cup of milk = 306 mg sodium

A bowl of cereal with milk can be up to 400 mg of sodium, so I think this was a pretty hearty and low sodium breakfast.

Here's are the recipes I used for the beans and biscuits:

Frijoles Charros
1 lb bag of pinto beans, rinsed
8 cups water, hot
1/2 onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 slice bacon

Place all ingredients in a large pot an bring to a boil.  Once at a boil, cover and lower temperature to low.  Cook 3-4 hours or until beans are tender.  Stir occasionally. 

This can also be done in a crock-pot or slow-cooker.

90 mg sodium for 1/2 cup serving


Buttermilk Biscuits
3 cups all-purpose flour (I prefer White Lily brand)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup shortening or butter

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder & baking soda.  Add shortening or butter and mix with hands until crumbly (like bread crumbs).  Place in freezer for 5 minutes.  Measure milks and add salt to milk to slightly dissolve.  Remove flour from freezer and add milk mixture.  Mix just until combined and turn out onto a floured surface.  Knead slightly, but not too much.  Roll out to 1/2 inch thick and cut into circle (I use a cutter that is 3 in. wide).   Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.  Makes approx. 12 biscuits.

25 mg sodium per biscuit