We've been traveling a lot in my house lately, and one of the results of that hectic schedule has been almost weekly trips to Bush Intercontinental Airport during the wee hours. When I'm the one doing the dropping off I usually try to eat a healthy snack before I leave and then a good breakfast when I get home, and top it all off with an early-morning workout.

This week, not so much with the health and the exercise. Instead, I stopped at Shipley Donuts on Richmond. I am so bikini-ready--you should see my abs.

(You and I both should. But we won't.)

Back in February I started my kolache journey at Christy's Donuts on Montrose. The comments section quickly filled with suggestions on where to find the best, most authentic kolaches in Houston. The very first comment recommended the Big Earl from Shipley's, but unfortunately at 5 a.m. sharp the Big Earls were not ready; I settled for two regular jalapeno, cheese, and sausage kolaches instead, and then threw in a cake donut--just because I hadn't had one in about a million years, and they smelled great.

The dough on the Shipley's kolache was much less sweet than the one I got at Christy's. That wasn't a problem for me, but I don't have a huge sweet tooth so I ended up preferring the more savory dough at Shipley's. The sausage was very smoky and flavorful, and the added heat from the pickled jalapenos was certainly eye-opening enough for my morning meal.

I turned to the cake donut--half of it anyway. It's called moderation, people. The donut was super-fresh at 5 a.m.; moist without being greasy, and very spicy and warm. It was the perfect "dessert" to go along with my coffee. I'll be paying for this meal at the gym for a few days, but it only cost me $3.93 at Shipley's--a solid deal for an early morning meal.

Nutrition Information: Sausage & Cheese Kolache: 326 calories, 16 g fat, 22 mg cholesterol, 703 mg sodium, 34 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 11 g protein

Nutritional information for cake donut not available on Shipley's Website.