Miso butter broccoli & eggs

I’ve been living with type 2 diabetes for about six years now, and for the past four I’ve been using a CGM.

A CGM is a small sensor that tracks glucose levels throughout the day, so you can see how your body responds to different foods in real time. I mostly use it as a way to learn and observe patterns, rather than focusing on numbers.

Over time, it has helped me understand not just what I eat, but how different meals feel afterwards. That awareness has quietly changed the way I build a plate. It is less about restriction, and more about putting things together in a way that keeps me steady, satisfied, and comfortable for a few hours.

I often think of it as a kind of quiet experiment. Watching how different combinations of food behave, noticing what keeps things steady and what creates bigger swings. In a way, it feels like playing with my food, just with a bit more awareness.

It is also what inspired this plate. The idea of building something simple, from what I already had at home, that would feel good both while eating and afterwards.

Not to control everything, but to understand a little more each time.

Yesterday was one of those days where I knew I would be out over lunchtime, with no real option to sit down and eat something properly. So before I left, I put together a plate like this. Something simple, but filling enough to carry me through until I got back home.

Meals like this give me a good base. I do not have to think about food while I am out, and I can come back and eat normally without feeling overly hungry or out of balance.

The idea for the flavours actually came from something I saw on Instagram. It was a New York Times Cooking advert showing asparagus sautéed in miso butter, and it stayed with me.

When I opened the fridge, I did not have asparagus, but I had the last of the broccoli I had picked from the allotment, and a couple of eggs. So I improvised.

Instead of just boiling the broccoli, I gave it a quick sauté in butter and miso, then finished it with plenty of Parmesan. It turned something very simple into something deeply savoury and satisfying. A small change that completely transformed it.

It also made me realise how flexible this kind of plate is. It does not have to be broccoli, and it does not have to be eggs. You can do this with almost any vegetable you have at home, and pair it with whatever protein is in the fridge. A piece of salmon, some leftover meat, or something else entirely.

This is one of those combinations that came out of that process.

Build your own plate

This is the structure I keep coming back to.

Vegetable

Start with something green or seasonal

Broccoli, asparagus, courgette, cabbage, green beans

Flavour

Add something simple but bold

Butter with miso, olive oil with garlic, tahini, yoghurt, lemon

Protein

To make it satisfying

Eggs, fish, meat, yoghurt, cheese

Finish

A small extra layer

Parmesan, herbs, chilli flakes, olive oil

Recipe: Miso butter broccoli & eggs

Ingredients

1 head broccoli or a few handfuls of florets

2 eggs

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon white miso

Parmesan for grating

Chilli flakes optional

Method

1. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the broccoli until just tender. Drain well.

2. In a frying pan, melt the butter and stir in the miso until combined.

3. Add the broccoli and sauté for a few minutes, letting it take on all the flavour.

4. Meanwhile, boil the eggs to your liking, then peel and halve.

5. Plate the broccoli and eggs, then finish with a generous grating of Parmesan and a pinch of chilli flakes.

Notes

You can use almost any vegetable here depending on what you have.

The eggs can easily be swapped for fish or leftover meat.

The key is the combination. Simple ingredients, put together well.