Swap Your Toast for This Protein-Packed Zucchini Nest Egg Breakfast (Your Hormones Will Thank You)

Gabriella Ratner
Dec 4, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Feb 4

If your “standard” breakfast is toast and coffee, you’re not alone. It’s quick, easy, and often leads to feeling wired, hungry, and reaching for sugar by 10 am. For women aged 35–55, that classic carb-heavy start can quietly work against hormone balance, energy, and metabolism. The good news? A few simple tweaks can completely change how you feel for the rest of the day.

Enter: protein-packed Zucchini Egg Nests – a one-pan breakfast built on protein, healthy fats, and fibre, using real food you probably already have at home.

Why Toast Isn’t Doing You Any Favours

Most toast-based breakfasts (even the “healthy” ones) are:

High in carbs, low in protein – which leads to a fast rise and crash in blood sugar.
Low in fibre – providing less support for your gut and hormones.
Light on healthy fats – meaning you’re not satisfied for long.

That “mid-morning slump” you feel? Often, it’s just your blood sugar crashing after a quick hit of carbs without enough protein and fats to keep you stable.

What Your Breakfast Should Be Doing

A hormone-friendly breakfast for women aged 35–55 should:

Anchor your blood sugar (no wild spikes and crashes).
Keep you full for at least 3–4 hours.
Support your nervous system (less anxiety, less “tired but wired”).
Feed your gut with fibre and colour.

That’s why I’m always talking about the PFF formula:

Protein + Fat + Fibre

These zucchini egg nests tick all three boxes.

The Star Ingredients (And Why They Help)

Here’s what’s happening on your plate nutritionally:

🟢 Zucchini

Adds gentle fibre to support gut health and elimination.
Provides hydration and minerals with very few carbs.
A simple way to get a serve of veg in before 9 am.

🥚 Eggs

High-quality, complete protein to stabilise blood sugar.
Rich in choline and healthy fats for brain and hormone support.
Actually keep you full – unlike that lonely slice of toast.

🫒 Olive oil + Parmesan

Olive oil provides heart- and hormone-friendly monounsaturated fats.
Parmesan adds extra protein, calcium, and flavour.
Fat + protein together slow how quickly glucose hits your bloodstream.

This is the kind of breakfast that helps you feel:

Satisfied (not searching the pantry).
Steady (not jittery and wired).
Clear-headed (not foggy and snacky).

Recipe: Zucchini Egg Nests (Protein, Fat & Fibre Breakfast)

Serves: 2 (2 nests per person)

Time: ~15 minutes

Ingredients

2 medium zucchinis, washed
2 tbsp olive oil (divided)
2–3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese (divided)
4 eggs
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Method

Prep the zucchini
Wash the zucchinis and create “spaghetti” using a spiralizer.
No spiralizer? Use a vegetable peeler to shave them into thin ribbons.

Sauté
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.
Add the zucchini and sauté for about 1 minute, just to soften slightly (you still want some bite).

Season + add Parmesan
Sprinkle over 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese.
Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Toss everything together so the zucchini is lightly coated and cheesy.

Shape the nests
Divide the zucchini mixture into four small portions in the pan.
Shape each portion into a round fritter/nest, using your spatula to create a small well in the centre of each.

Add the eggs
Carefully crack one egg into each nest’s well.
Keep the heat on low–medium so the bottoms don’t burn.

Cover + cook
Place a lid on the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes, or until:
Egg whites are set
Yolks are still runny (or longer if you prefer them firmer)

Finish + serve
Remove from heat.
Season again with a little extra salt and pepper if needed.
Sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan.
Serve immediately.

How to Make This Work for Your Mornings

A few ideas to make this recipe part of your weekly rhythm:

Add greens: Serve with a handful of rocket, baby spinach, or leftover roasted veg on the side.
Extra protein boost: Add smoked salmon, a spoon of cottage cheese, or some crumbled feta on top.
Family version:

- Keep seasoning mild for the kids.

- Let them crack the eggs (with supervision!) to get them involved.

Busy morning hack:

- Spiralise zucchinis the night before and keep them in a glass container in the fridge.

- In the morning, you’re only sautéing, cracking eggs, and cooking.

Why This Beats Toast (Every Time)

Toast gives you:

Quick carbs
A short burst of energy
A mid-morning crash

Zucchini egg nests give you:

Protein from eggs + Parmesan → better blood sugar control, fewer cravings
Healthy fats from olive oil + yolks → satiety, hormone and brain support
Fibre from zucchini → better digestion, more stable energy

Same pan. Similar effort. Completely different impact on your day.