Make it healthier: smoked salmon and scrambled eggs

What do you eat for breakfast on Christmas Day? Chances are you’ll be tucking into smoked salmon and scrambled eggs – according to a recent poll in BBC Good Food magazine, it’s a favourite. Diabetes is no barrier to a delicious breakfast like this on a special occasion, and there are plenty of things you can do to make your breakfast a little bit healthier. Here’s how to make creamy scrambled eggs without using lots of butter, and three other special breakfast ideas for you to try.

How to make healthy scrambled eggs

You don’t need lots of butter or oil to make scrambled eggs – use just enough to coat your pan. Use a small, deep, non-stick pan. Rub a teaspoon of rapeseed or sunflower oil around the pan with a bit of kitchen paper, or use a spray oil.

Lightly beat eggs and add to the pan with a pinch of white pepper. Stir over a low–medium heat with a wooden spoon. When the eggs have almost set, vigorously mix in a blob of 0% fat Greek yogurt to give them a creamy texture. Resist the urge to add salt – if you’re serving with salty foods, such as smoked salmon or bacon, you really don’t need it.

For extra nutrition, serve with a portion of vegetables such as steamed spinach, grilled tomatoes or mushrooms – why not try a mushroom or spinach scramble. If you want to cut down on salt use flaked poached salmon instead of smoked.

Kedgeree is a fantastic breakfast dish but it’s usually made with smoked haddock, which is really high in salt. This version uses fresh salmon and smoked paprika so it still has the smoky flavour but with less salt and more omega 3. Kedgeree can easily be made vegan if you omit the eggs and use mushrooms or marinated tofu instead of fish.

Please be aware that 'at risk' groups such as infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly and those who are unwell should avoid eating ready-to-eat cold-smoked or cured fish.

Serves 4 – gluten free – prep: 10 mins – cook: 25–30 mins– 1 portion of fruit and veg per serving

1. Cook 300g basmati rice according to the instructions on the packet (around 15 minutes), adding 1 heaped tsp of mild curry paste or powder and 1 heaped tsp of mild (dulce) smoked paprika to the water.
2. Meanwhile, boil 4 eggs for 5 minutes then refresh them in cold water and peel (you could do this the day before and keep in the fridge).
3. In a large pan, add 2 tsps of sunflower oil, then add a finely chopped leek and a finely chopped red pepper. Cook for 5–7 minutes until they are soft.
4. Add 1 tsp of mild curry paste or powder, mix, then add 300g skinless, boneless salmon, roughly cut into 2–3 cm cubes. Cook for 3–4 minutes, making sure it is cooked thoroughly.
5. Add the juice of 1 lemon, 1 tbsp of low-fat yogurt and a handful of finely chopped parsley to the rice and mix well.
6. Fold the vegetable and salmon mixture into the hot rice and top with quartered, hard-boiled eggs.

Per serving:525 Kcals – 28.9g protein – 64.3g carbs (

3.1g sugars) – 

16.6g fat (

3.4g saturates) –

0.3g salt

Breakfast crostini

Easy to make, you can you can create a variety on one tray and take it to the table for people to share. As you’re only flashing things under the grill, you’ll need to pre-cook most vegetables such as mushrooms or sweet peppers. Then, it’s just a matter of assembling the crostini and grilling for a few minutes.

This recipe is really flexible – we’ve suggested fillings below, but you can choose your favourites or use up what you have in the fridge – turkey and cranberry Boxing Day crostini, anyone?

Serves 4 – prep: 10 mins – cook: 10 mins – 1 portion of fruit & veg

1. Prepare all your ingredients: Cut a wholemeal baguette (par-baked ones are fine) into 16 1½-cm slices.  Assemble a selection of toppings – to serve 4, you’ll need  8 sliced cherry tomatoes, 4 sliced mushrooms or 1 sliced red pepper, cooked, 1 slice lean ham cut into strips and cooked, 70g cooked spinach, 2 scrambled eggs and 2 finely sliced spring onions. Finely grate 75g mature cheddar cheese to top.
2. Lay the slices of bread on a grill pan and toast one side, then remove from the grill and turn the bread over.
3. Arrange all the toppings on the bread, creating a selection of different crostini. Make a few of each type. Try scrambled egg & spring onion, spinach & ham, mushroom or tomato. It doesn’t matter if the toppings overlap a little.
4. Sprinkle with black pepper then sprinkle each crostini with a bit of grated cheese.
5. Grill until starting to brown and then serve.

Per serving:

294Kcals – 15.7g protein – 35.3g carbs (

3.3g sugars) –

11g fat (

5.2g saturates) –

1.6g salt

Popular in southern California, burritos make a great breakfast. You can fill them with all sorts of ingredients and it doesn’t need to be spicy. You just need to warm up some wholemeal tortillas, fill them and roll them.

Use wholemeal tortillas, grated mature cheddar cheese and any of these fillings: thinly sliced sweet peppers or spring onions, tomato, scrambled egg, cooked diced potato or sweet potato, cooked beans, such as canned butter beans or cannellini beans, cooked spinach or mushrooms, ham, grilled bacon, or smoked fish.

You can also add salad, chopped avocado and some chilli sauce if you like.

Makes 8 burritos ­–prep: 10 mins – cook: 10 minutes – 1.5 portions of fruit and veg

1. To make 8 burritos, use a pack of 8 wholemeal tortillas, 1 400g can (220g drained) beans, 2 large tomatoes, 1 sweet pepper, 4 spring onions, 100g cooked spinach, 1 avocado, 80g cheddar, 4 scrambled eggs, 4 rashers bacon. Have your cold fillings chopped and ready and have hot fillings cooked and warm.
2. Place the tortillas in a stack in a dry frying pan over a low heat, and turn them regularly so each side is warmed but not toasted. Heat one side of the tortilla in direct contact with the pan and then move it to the top of the stack. Repeat so that all the tortillas are warmed. Don’t crisp the outside – they need to be easy to fold, but you can crisp them up once they’re folded, if you like.
3. Lay the tortillas out then add a few ingredients covering the bottom half of the tortilla
4. Sprinkle on a little cheese and chilli sauce or seasoning (if using) then roll up, tucking in the sides.
5. Place the rolled up tortillas onto a dry frying pan over a low heat, seam side down. Cook for a couple of minutes, turning a couple of times to cook evenly.

Per serving:

354Kcals – 16g protein – 44.8g carbs (

3.2g sugars) –

13.5g fat (

4.9g saturates) –

1.7g salt