I recently got to go to the Seattle Westin hotel to sample and select the menu for Northwest Kidney Centers’ May 15 annual Breakfast of Hope fundraising event. We aim for a menu that’s delicious and at the same time low in sodium, because that protects our hearts, blood vessels and kidneys.

It was fun to work with a professional chef, and good to educate everyone about where salt (sodium) lurks in our food. Together the chef and I came up with a great breakfast entrée – baked egg rolls – that anyone can make on a bright weekend morning.

This egg-and-bread dish does everything to pack flavor into a low-salt recipe. It adds savory and spicy flavors, fresh herbs, mushrooms and blue cheese for kick, and it gets underlying complexity from the rosemary and thyme, so you don’t miss salty ingredients at all. Plus, of course, the bread already has about 200 to 300 milligrams of sodium per serving – and 400 milligrams is plenty of sodium for anyone at one meal.

These egg rolls are a nice alternative to those incredibly salty breakfast sandwiches at fast-food restaurants. Most contain more than half the salt everyone should have in a whole day.

We rounded out our menu with fruit salad, choosing low-potassium fruits to suit breakfast guests who are on kidney dialysis. For them, too much potassium is life-threatening, and berries and grapes are good choices.

If you have healthy kidneys, add the mango to the salad recipe below. Studies show that, for healthy people, potassium helps lower blood pressure.

I can’t wait to see these recipes expanded at the Breakfast of Hope, when the chefs at the Westin will feed more than 800 people. How many eggs is that?

Breakfast of Hope Baked Egg Rolls

4 rosemary rolls or small baguettes
1/2 cup sautéed fresh mushrooms
2 green onions or 1 leek, sliced
1 teaspoon olive oil
5 eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 ounces gruyere cheese, grated
3 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped fine
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Sauté mushrooms and green onions or leeks in olive oil. Hollow out center of rolls, removing about half of the bread. Place on baking sheet. In a small bowl, beat eggs and cream together with a fork. Add cheeses. Fold in sautéed mushrooms with onions. Add the paprika, dry mustard and herbs. Pour into each roll and bake 25-30 minutes, until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes. Bread will moisten and become easier to cut. Serve with fruit salad.
Nutrition Info: Serves 4
Calories: 324, Carbohydrates: 20 g, Protein:16 g, Sodium: 399 mg

Breakfast of Hope Fruit Salad

1 cup blueberries
1 cup strawberries
1 cup grapes
1 diced mango (optional)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped fine

Mix all ingredients. Taste and adjust honey and lime to sweetness of the fruit.

Nutrition Info: Serves 4
Calories: 143, Carbohydrates: 37 g, Protein: 2 g, Sodium: 3 mg

Katy G. Wilkens is a registered dietitian and department head at Northwest Kidney Centers. She has a Master of Science degree in nutritional sciences from the University of Washington. See more of her recipes at www.nwkidney.org.