Many new low oxalate dieters are at a loss for what to eat for breakfast, especially if they used to eat a lot of whole grain toast or muffins. Corn tortillas may help fill this gap (2.5 mg. oxalate per “medium” white corn tortilla, or 6.5 mg. oxalate for one GF, Mission Brand, yellow corn tortilla). Tortillas can be eaten plain, with cream cheese, with Sunbutter or as the wrapping for a breakfast burrito. I especially like to make breakfast tostadas, especially in the summer or early fall when all of the veggies come fresh from my garden.
I admit my family is pretty boring when it comes to breakfast. We’ve adjusted well to mostly grain-free breakfasts. We eat eggs almost every day, occasionally with sausage or ham, occasionally with yogurt or coconut flour banana bread. Sometimes on a Saturday morning we like to dress things up and have Paleo pancakes, cottage cheese pancakes or these breakfast tostadas. I eat mine with lots of veggies. The boys eat theirs veggie-free with some fruit on the side. Breakfast tostadas are very versatile and can accommodate many dietary restrictions and variations. I rarely make mine the same way twice.
Here’s one low oxalate combination that I especially enjoy.
Breakfast Tostadas
2 white corn tortillas (7 or 8 inch)
1 T cooking fat or your choice (I use lard, butter or olive oil)
2 ounces shredded cheese of your choice
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
1 T fresh chopped fresh cilantro
Pinch cayenne pepper
4 eggs
1/2 cup low oxalate tomato such as big beef (1/2 inch dice)
plain yogurt or sour cream for a garnish
Warm the corn tortillas in a medium-sized skillet with oil over medium low heat. Flip tortillas as soon as they become pliable (tongs work well for this) and add 1 ounce shredded cheese to the top of each. Put the lid on and cook for about 1 min. Remove the tortillas and set aside on two plates. Add the onions to the skillet and let sweat for 1-2 minutes. Add the peppers and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add the cilantro and cayenne pepper. Push the veggies to the side of the skillet and crack in four eggs for over easy or over medium eggs (alternately, you may scramble them). Put the lid on and let eggs cook for about 3 minutes until the eggs are set on bottom but still runny on top. Separate eggs with a spatula and flip. Cook for another minute or two to desired yolk “doneness.” Top each cheesey tortilla with two eggs and half the veggies. Add the tomatoes and garnish with a dollop of plain yogurt.
Serves 2
Note: This is my one skillet method for making one or two breakfast tostadas. If you are making breakfast tostadas for a crowd you might want to use 2 – 3 skillets and cook the tostadas separately from the veggies and eggs, so that everyone’s tostada is done about the same time.
Veggie Variations: You may use any combination of low oxalate veggies that you wish. I also really enjoy these with zucchini or yellow squash, dino kale, garlic, green chilis, sweet banana peppers, and shredded lettuce (raw). You may want to try other low oxalate herbs, too, such as basil. I tend to use whatever is fresh in the garden at the time.
Dairy-free: Simply leave out the cheese and garnish. You may also want to use three eggs instead of two if you want your breakfast to be more filling.
Low Oxalate Info: All the ingredients in breakfast tostadas are low oxalate as long as you choose a low oxalate tomato variety such as big beef or pink girl (early girl, German Johnston, brandy wine and yellow pear all have less than 6 mg. oxalate per half cup and also work well in this recipe). Breakfast tostadas have about 6.7 mg. oxalate per serving when using big beef tomatoes.
Updated July 2013: Please see the comment section below my post for Low Oxalate Tacos for a discussion of white versus yellow corn tortillas, how and when they were tested and oxalate values of each.
Other Diets: Breakfast tostadas may also be appropriate for gluten-free and vegetarian diets. They also may be appropriate for dairy-free and GFCF diets with modifications.
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