Jan. 18: What's Your Favorite Breakfast Veggie?

Sure, I know you're proud of your healthy-breakast regimen. Most

runners are. After all, you've read plenty of RW articles that encourage a morning meal substantial enough to break the fast and to fuel the day. You might even have heard that, according to several epidemiological studies, breakfast-eaters live longer than those who slide through until lunch. So you have your wholewheat toast, your natural peanut butter and 100 percent orange juice. Or perhaps you make your own whole-grain pancakes, served with fresh fruit. Or bake a thick, protein-packed frittata.

Many of you have oatmeal with added nuts, wheat germ, raisins and maple syrup. I know you do, because when we meet each other here and there, we talk about our fondness for oatmeal-based breakfasts. And naturally we mean the real-deal, coarse, steel-cut oats, not the processed pablum that comes in single-serve boxes with sugar and cinnamon.

I used to have steel-cut oats for breakfast nearly every day. But that was before I became a better person. That was before I decided to concoct the world's healthiest breakfast. That was before I began adding veggies to my breakfast--lots and lots of veggies.

That was a week ago.

Now my breakfast consists of steamed black beans, carrots, and broccoli with sliced apples, Craisins and almonds on top. Plus a healthy shake of ginger and allspice. Then I mix well with several dribbles of honey. (So I've got a sweet tooth. Go ahead and shoot me.) I call this concoction my breakfast gruel.

I blame the feds for my final lurch into nutritional lunacy. How many fruit and veggie servings do they want us to eat per day? Is it five? Seven? Nine? Sixty-three? I lost count a long time ago, about the same time that I realized it was mathematically impossible.

I know, it would have been smarter to switch to a diet of high-fructose corn syrup and Pringles. I'm sure many people did. But one of my idiot principles of life goes something like this: When faced with impossible odds and certain defeat, fight like hell anyway. Don't let the bad guys score an easy win; take a few prisoners if you can.

Translation: Eat broccoli for breakfast.

I'm curious. How are you doing in your losing battle with the monolithic fruit and vegetable rules? And what's your latest and greatest breakfast?

I'm warning you, though: Don't try to top me. I've got a few new ideas on tap. I could probably use more protein for breakfast, so I might add some oily Omega-3-rich chunks of salmon to my breakfast gruel.

And if forced to ante up on the veggie side of the ledger, I'm ready. I've been chopping a lot of purple cabbage lately.  I think cabbage might prove right tasty at 7 a.m.

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