Recipe Rehab: Asparagus Omelet

Our weekly feature, Recipe Rehab, takes a recipe -- sometimes basic, sometimes decadent and sometimes just plain unhealthy -- and turns it into a scrumptious and healthy dish, pumped up with nutrition. Sometimes all it takes is a few alterations to prepare a dish that would make even your nutritionist proud.

There are a few ingredients that really say spring - like asparagus, which is also full of vitamins. Most recipes smother it in hollandaise sauce or wrap it in bacon, but this simple omelet (which is just as good for dinner as it is for breakfast) really lets it shine through. Try to get the smallest asparagus spears possible, and leave out the cheese for even less calories.

Asparagus & Shitake Omelet

1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed
1/4 pound shitake mushrooms, sliced
2 egg
5 egg whites
2 tablespoons skim milk
dash salt
dash of freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce lowfat cheddar cheese, grated

If large, cut the asparagus into 1 inch pieces. Boil for two to three minutes, until tender. Drain.

Spray a pan with cooking spray and saute the mushrooms until soft. Remove to a plate.

In a small bowl, beat together the egg, egg whites, milk, salt, and pepper. Spray the pan with cooking spray and when hot, add half the egg mixtures. Rotate the pan, using a rubber spatula to lift up the edges, until the eggs are almost fully cooked through. Place half the asparagus, mushrooms and cheese on the center of the eggs and, using a spatula, roll the other half of the omelet over them. Cook one to two minutes more, until the cheese melts. Serve immediately.

Rehab Rundown

• Egg whites were substituted for half the eggs, cutting down on fat and calories
• Non-fat milk was substituted for regular milk, cutting down on fat and calories
• Cooking spray was substituted for butter
• The amount of cheese was reduced and changed to low fat

Rehab Reveal

Based on 1/2 the recipe