Okra provides a natural thickener for soups and stews, and the deep-fried stuff tastes like heaven. It’s crunchy and a little sweet when fried, giving stir-fries a little something extra. It even makes a pretty garnish for salads. However, okra isn’t just a Southern treasure, nor is it just for the dinner table. Next time you pick up some okra, try it for breakfast -- as coffee. Roasted okra seeds make a tasty substitute for coffee, giving hope to those weaning off of caffeine, but unwilling to drink decaf or give up that coffee taste.

Heat a small pan over medium low heat until you can feel warmth radiating up off of the pan with your palm.

Pour about a cup of raw okra seeds into the pan. Let them roast until they turn dark brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir the seeds every two or three minutes with a wooden spoon to keep them from burning.

Pour the hot, roasted okra seeds into a nut grinder and pulverize them into powder. You may skip this step if you don’t have a nut grinder; the grind just makes the coffee flavor a little stronger.

Pour the ground okra seeds into a coffee filter.

Crack an egg into an egg separator over the coffee filter. Allow the white to fall into the coffee filter.

Gently squish and mix the egg white into the ground okra seeds with a small spoon. Place the coffee filter into your coffee maker and use as you would to make coffee.