When we took up rowing, my friend Sue and I would often have a small bite to eat before practice (at the crack of dawn), and then a larger breakfast when we returned to refuel. “Power Breakfast,” as we affectionately termed it, is a protein-packed meal that goes great with a coffee, an orange juice, and the drive to GO HARD. Inspired by my friend Ally’s taste for yogurt with eggs and my own love affair with sauteed greens, I give you The Breakfast of Champions.

Step 1: Sautee your greens and onions

Step 2: Push them to the side

Step 3: In go the eggs

Step 4: Serve with yogurt or labneh and tomatoes or beets

Champions require the following ingredients:

• 1/3 cup onion, cut into rough chunks
• A very liberal handful or two of your favorite greens, to be wilted (spinach, kale, mustard greens…)
• Two eggs
• 1/3 cup labneh, Greek yogurt, or plain yogurt (the thicker the better, I think)
• 1/3 cup small tomatoes or pickled beets
• 1 tsp mild chili powder
• Salt and spices for the yogurt (I use za’atar and finely ground red pepper)
• Olive oil

This isn’t so much a recipe as an instruction kit, and you can really work with what you have on hand. These are the basic elements of an awesome start to your morning.

Pour some oil into your frying pan. Olive oil has a low smoke point (around 400°F), so you’ll want to do everything on low-to-medium heat to keep it from burning. Sautée the onion (red, white, yellow… doesn’t matter) with the greens and chili powder. I often add mild chili powder to onions when I’m cooking them in olive oil, because a friend once taught me that it adds an extra bit of bold flavor–can’t argue with that!

Once the onion and greens begin to cook, push them to the side of the pan to make room for your eggs, and add them when you’re ready. You’ll have to judge how long you want your greens and onion to cook, and reconcile that with how long you’ll cook your eggs. I do mine over-easy, since runny yolks go really well with this dish, so I let the greens and onion cook for about 3 minutes before cracking my eggs into the pan, and I let everything continue to cook together until the eggs are done (another 2 minutes or so).

While everything is cooking, slice your beets or tomatoes (both are equally delicious in this dish), and plate them along with your labneh or yogurt. Add some salt and spices to the labneh or yogurt if desired. Add the contents of your frying pan to the plate once they’re cooked, and you’re ready to go! I try to get a bit of everything on the plate in every bite.