Since I'm a self-professed "sugar whore," I usually like to start my day with something on the sweeter side (like these amazing pancakes) but every once in a while I crave something more savory. On those days, my favorite thing to make and eat is this tofu scramble. Sure, this takes longer to make than scrambled eggs but at the end of the 20 minutes of prep and cooking your house will smell amazing and you won't have to eat any disgusting eggs.

Serves 2 (or 3 if you're a lighter eater)

16 oz block of extra firm tofu

1/4 cup carrots (thinly shredded)

1 small onion (diced)

2 cloves of garlic (diced)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp turmeric

2 Tbsp water

Press and drain the tofu to remove most of the excess water. Put the tofu in a medium bowl and break it apart into whatever size crumbles you'd like.

Dice the onion and garlic and shred the carrot with a small grater or microplane. 

In a small bowl combine the spices (do not include the nutritional yeast) and two tablespoons of water and mix with a fork until the salt has dissolved leaving you with a mustard-colored slurry.

Heat a cast iron skillet or other heavy pan over medium high heat. Add the oil and spread it around the skillet to heat it up a bit before adding the ingredients.

Add the tofu, onions, garlic and carrots and stir these ingredients to mix together. Allow everything to cook so that the tofu starts to brown and char a bit before you take a metal or wood spatula to turn the scramble. You don't want to constantly stir and disturb things because a bit of char gives this a rich flavor.

After a few minutes add the nutritional yeast and spices and mix to combine.

Let the scramble continue to brown a bit more until you have the preferred texture. If things seem a bit too dry, go ahead and add water a tablespoon at a time.

Serve immediately with a side of fresh fruit and some toast or whatever else you'd like to make this a part of the proverbial "complete breakfast" all of those cereal commercials tout.

Nutritional information: Per serving 272 cal., 11 g fat, 27.5 g protein