Rhode Island Red Toast

Egg-in-a-hole toast, or what I’ve always called Rhode Island Red Toast, is a simple and easy vegetarian breakfast that can be made in minutes!

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Today is April 1st, 2019. It is incredibly ironic that I am making my big announcement today (it’s April Fool’s Day), but I post on Mondays and this is just how the timing worked out, so here goes.

STARTING TODAY, WELL AND FULL WILL BE A RESOURCE FOR BOTH VEGAN AND VEGETARIAN RECIPES.

If you’ve been a long time follower of my blog, you’ll know that I announced I wasn’t vegan in 2016, and even tried to transition my blog to being vegetarian in 2017. But the timing wasn’t right back then. I still had a lot of growing to do as a person. At that time, I was still living my life on other people’s terms. I was still letting other people’s opinions dictate how I lived my life. 

But I’ve grown up now. Over the past few years, I have really struggled with my health, especially my mental health. There was a point where I was so low that I thought my life was coming to an end. I haven’t really gone into too much detail about that time of my life because it is still too raw and painful to talk about. But after going through an experience like that, after seeing yourself lose the will to live and then gaining it back again, I have learned that life is too short to live on anyone else’s terms but your own.

It’s finally time to post a complete, accurate picture of what I eat here on my blog. I still eat vegan quite often, so there will be plenty of vegan recipes going forward. But I also eat vegetarian foods, so there will be some of that too. I have a number of reasons why I’ve made this decision, and I hope you’ll take the time to read them.

1 // MY HEALTH

I was vegan for almost two years, and I loved having that experience. And let me be perfectly clear that I ABSOLUTELY believe a vegan diet can be completely healthy and nutritious. However, it was not the right diet for me. My body did not feel healthy on a vegan diet – I had low energy, I was tired most of the time, and I had daily symptoms of stomach pains and nausea. Please keep in mind that this is just how my body reacted to veganism – I know many people for whom a vegan diet works. I was just not one of them. And I no longer feel comfortable solely promoting a way of eating on my blog that did not work for me personally.

2 // MY FUTURE

When things started getting serious with my (now) fiancé, I came to the realization that I want to be a mom someday. I have already started discussing this possibility with my doctor, who strongly recommended that I do not follow a vegan diet while preparing my body for a pregnancy one day. I trust my doctor’s opinion on this. My doctor explained that female body needs higher levels of certain nutrients that would be extremely difficult to consume on a vegan diet. For the record, my doctor went to John’s Hopkins Medical School and is an adjunct professor to Harvard Medical School in addition to having her own private practice.

3 // AUTHENTICITY

I “came out” as not being vegan on my blog in 2016, although I kept my blog plant-based up until now. All of the vegan recipes I posted here were authentic because they were what I actually ate (and still continue to eat). However, they did not present the full picture. My goal is to be as transparent as possible, and I want to post ALL of the foods that I regularly eat here in this space.

4 // VEGETARIAN MORALITY

When I was vegan, I thought that veganism was the ONLY moral and ethical way to live. However, since that time I’ve grown up a lot, and learned to take a kinder, more empathetic view of the world (which veganism is supposed to be all about anyways!). I do not believe that vegans have a monopoly on morality. Vegetarianism is ethical, kind, and practical. Someone who eats one vegetarian meal a day is ethical too. Someone who eats a non-vegetarian way but recycles, reduces their plastic use, and overall environmental impact is ethical.

There is not just ONE way to be ethical – there are many little ways each and every one of us can do our part. An ethical life may look different on your neighbor than on you, but I believe that every step towards an ethical lifestyle should be celebrated.

5 // THANK YOU

If you made it this far, thank you. Thank you for hearing me out. If you have read all this and decided that you no longer wish to follow my blog, I understand and respect your decision. But if you read this and will continue to follow and support this blog, then THANK YOU. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart.

Upon reflecting on this transition, I realized what is at the bottom of everything I do here at Well and Full. Service. I post recipes here and on Instagram to serve you, to bring positivity into your life, and to add value to your day. Thank you for letting me share a part of my life with you, and in turn for you inviting me into yours. I appreciate you so much.

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Today’s recipe is one that’s a fond throwback from my childhood. When I was in the 5th grade, I was assigned the state of Rhode Island for my school’s state fair. We each had to come up with a presentation about our state, in addition to researching a food indigenous to that state. In one of the books I borrowed from the library, I learned about Rhode Island Red Toast, which is a toast where you cut a hole in bread and cook an egg in it.

Almost 20 years later, I can’t remember in what book I found the name “Rhode Island Red Toast”, and I have never found another source to verify that name (LOL). I’m pretty sure the rest of the world calls it Egg-in-a-Hole toast. But it’ll always be Rhode Island Red Toast to me!

P.S.

If you make this recipe and post it on Instagram, be sure to tag me @wellandfull and #wellandfull so I can see! I love seeing your takes on my recipes :)