Avocado Tomato Cheesy Bread

I whipped this up the other morning and now Webb and I are addicted! Perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner 🙂

2 slices healthy wheat bread (I use sprouted honey wheat)
2-3tbsp. mashed avocado or guacamole
1 roma tomato, cut into 8 slices
1/4c. reduced fat shredded cheese
Salt/pepper
Garlic powder

Spread avocado evenly on both slices of bread, place 4 tomato slices on each piece. Season tomato with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Top with cheese. Toast in a toaster oven or broil in the oven until cheese is melted and beginning to turn golden brown.

This recipe is also amazing topped with eggs cooked any style…though poached is my fav!

**pictured with steamed green beans tossed with sautéed mushrooms and diced tomato

Super Clean Sunday Morning French Toast

Made this today for a lovely breakfast in bed with my love. He wouldn’t wake up so I decided to lure him out of dreamland with a tasty treat. It definitely woke him up! I brought it into the room and before he even opened his eyes he said “Oh man, that smells delicious!”

Makes 2 servings @ about 375 calories each 🙂

4 slices of sprouted wheat bread (I use Alpine Valley Honey sprouted wheat, Ezekiel bread works great too! About 80 calories per slice)
2 whole eggs
2 egg whites
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp. almond milk
Cinnamon, to taste (a few dashes in the mix and more on top)
2 small bananas, sliced (or any other fresh fruit)
Raw honey

Whisk together eggs, vanilla, almond milk and cinnamon. Pour mix in a shallow dish. Heat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Dip bread in batter and cook on both sides until golden brown (there should be just enough mix for 4 slices of bread…waste not!) Top with fruit, drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Jenni’s Power Breakfast Bowl

So as of lately, I have been working hard and working out harder…not to mention tearing my house apart preparing to move.  Needless to say, I have been going non-stop daily for the past month and I can feel the toll it has been taking on my body.  All the while, I have still been trying hard to eat healthy, and yet I ended up getting sick and also have been noticing a general lack of energy.  After recovering from my illness, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out why I was still feeling tired…..and then it dawned on me.  With the increase in my daily activity and new workout regimen, I don’t think I have really been focusing on my caloric intake.  Though I try to eat healthy with lots of fruits and veggies, I think I have been lacking on the heartiness of my meals. I have just been making quick stuff, grabbing an apple or granola bar, rather than thinking and planning balanced meals.  So, in addition to mass quantities of vitamin C, this week has been revolving around heartier healthy meals, while still keeping the calories within reason.  I have to say, I’m feeling much better this week after consciously eating meals to power me through the day. This breakfast bowl is my new favorite post workout meal.  Having cooked brown rice on hand has been a great help in adding healthy sustenance to my meals.  I never thought of rice for breakfast, but its actually quite tasty in this easy scramble.

Jenni’s Power Breakfast Bowl

1 serving

1 tsp. coconut oil or olive oil

Diced bell pepper (about a 1.5 inch strip)

3 Sliced mushrooms

Handful of spinach

Couple spoonfuls of beans (any kind you like, I used organic pintos)

1/4 c. cooked brown rice

1 tbsp. water

Approx. 2 egg whites (I use a carton of Trader Joe’s Cage Free Whites)

Dash of seasoned salt

 

Heat oil over medium high heat in a small pan. Add mushrooms and peppers, saute for 1-2 minutes. Add spinach. Once spinach is wilted add beans. Then add rice and water (the water helps bring the rice back to life after being in the refrigerator) Saute another minute or so. Season with salt. Add egg whites. Scramble until whites are fully cooked. Eat and be powered for your day! 🙂

Sun-Dried Tomato and Feta Benedict -Plus a Note About Breakfast

There’s nothing better than a delicious breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning. Sometimes it’s fun to go out for breakfast, but most of the time I enjoy sleeping in and finally dragging myself into the kitchen, still in my pajamas, to whip up a late breakfast. Breakfast, if you haven’t heard, is the most important meal of the day! We should consume the most calories in our first meal of the day because DUH…we have all day long to burn them. Ideally, snacks, lunch and dinner should consist of less calories. And I already know what you’re thinking, “Hey, it’s all about a huge feast for dinner!” This is just another one of the ways America has our health ass-backward. Dinner should be relatively small because we will soon be off to sleep and be burning minimal calories.

It’s all about the “breakfast of champions” and now I’m sure you’re envisioning a huge country-fried steak smothered in sausage gravy, a side of biscuits slathered in butter, fried potatoes with extra ketchup and two fried eggs. Oh, and don’t forget the bacon! Breakfast in America has got to be one of the unhealthiest meals in the world. Not only are there the extreme restaurant options but also the overly abundant frozen and boxed breakfast items constantly claiming to be “healthy.” When I say have the most calories in the morning, I mean healthy calories that are going to power your day. Oatmeal, fruit, veggies, eggs (cooked without fat), certain cereals, fresh smoothies, etc. You can get full on the previously mentioned American country fried steak breakfast for about 1,000-1,500 calories or more (not to mention the fat, sodium and lack of nutrients) and be hungry again by lunch or you can get full on a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal with fresh fruit, one scrambled egg with veggies and a small smoothie for 400-500 calories. With the latter, you will have already met your 3-5 servings of fruit for the day plus a serving of veggies and all kind of other nutrients, while still keeping it low in fat and sodium. With a small snack before lunch, you won’t need much more than a sandwich and a salad to power you through until a small snack before dinner. By dinner you can fill up on veggies and grains and call it a day. It’s much easier to eat healthy than you think, as long as you start off right from the beginning of the day.

Anyway, back to my lazy Sunday breakfast….if I eat a nice, healthy breakfast everyday of the week, I don’t see a problem splurging a little on a Sunday morning. Don’t get me wrong, this recipe isn’t super-splurge mode, it’s still relatively healthy. Though I did decide to use a bit of feta to make a healthy breakfast inspired by the classic dish, Eggs Benedict. My mouth is watering just thinking of Eggs Benedict, all smothered in Hollandaise sauce…I used to order it quite frequently, but now I know better 🙂 Usually, you get one English muffin, halved with two eggs and double everything. In my quest for smaller portion sizes, I think one half with one egg is plenty for one person. So, this recipe will make 2 servings, using one half muffin per. The eggs aren’t necessarily poached, I suppose the closest cooking method would be steamed. Whatever you call it, it’s my special method, cooked in vegetable broth, not oil. Go figure! I cook everything in vegetable broth 🙂 This method makes a flavorful, light and delicious egg every time. It can be cooked hard or be runny, all you have to do is adjust the cooking time. This egg dish is so tasty, you’ll never miss the sauce! Serve it up with some fresh fruit and coffee, and good morning!

Sun-Dried Tomato and Feta Benedict

Makes 2 servings

1 whole wheat English muffin, halved and toasted

2 eggs

2 c. baby spinach leaves, stems removed

1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips

1/4 c. crumbled feta cheese

1-2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (enough to coat the feta and tomatoes)

1/2 c. vegetable broth (enough to have about an inch in the bottom of a small pan)

2 tbsp. hummus (any flavor will work)

Italian seasoning

S&P

First, in a small bowl mix together feta, sun-dried tomatoes, oil and italian seasoning- season with S&P to taste (easy on the salt because feta is already pretty salty). Set aside. Next, in a small non-stick pan (the same pan you will use for the eggs) wilt spinach using a splash of vegetable broth. Set aside. To cook the eggs, put about an inch of vegetable broth in the bottom of your non-stick pan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once it is boiling, crack the eggs, one at a time into the pan. Make sure you do one on the left and one on the right. Do not crack one on top of the other. They should be separate, though the edges will touch in the middle. Reduce heat to medium-high and cover. After a minute or so, carefully slide a spatula under each egg to make sure they aren’t sticking to the pan. Continue to cook, covered. You do not need to flip the eggs. Once the whites are cooked, the eggs are done. Depending on how you like the consistency of your yolks you can cook them longer. I usually let mine go for about 3-4 minutes for it to be just past over-medium (slightly runny but firm around the edges). Use your finger to gently press the yolks to test for softness.

To assemble the benedict, place each half of the English muffin on a plate. Spread each with a tablespoon of hummus Put half of the wilted spinach on each muffin. Top each with an egg. Then spoon the tomato and feta mixture evenly over each. Enjoy!

© 2011 Jenni Baker

Kale Zucchini and Roasted Tomato Frittata

If you have left over Roasted Tomato Jam from the Meatball Pizza recipe this is a great way to use it up! (Or, you can make more jam because it’s so easy and incredibly delicious) When it comes to frittatas, they can sometimes be a pain to get out of the pan. In my frittata making days, I’ve had them stick plenty of times. With that being said, this method works for me now and they come out perfect. However, keep in mind that if it does stick, its still totally edible…so eat it!! And make another one tomorrow 🙂 With frittatas, just like the pizza, be creative and add any veggies that you have on hand (or meat if you swing that way) If you eat cheese, this particular recipe would be great with feta sprinkled on top!

1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch rounds

1 1/2 c. kale (or spinach)

4 eggs

1 tbsp. almond milk (regular milk or cream works too)

1/4 c. Roasted Tomato Jam (from the Meatball Pita Pizza recipe), reserve about 1-2 tbsp. to spread on finished product.

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 c. vegetable broth

1/4 c. shredded cheese or feta, optional

Salt, Pepper (I like to abbreviate, S&P)

Garlic powder, optional

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Whisk together eggs and almond milk, season with S&P and garlic powder, if using. (And for frittatas really whip it good! The more air you get in those eggs the fluffier your finished product will be.)

Heat olive oil in a medium oven proof skillet over medium high heat. Saute zucchini in olive oil about 3-5 minutes, just until tender (season with S&P) Remove from pan. Return pan to heat and add vegetable broth and kale (season with S&P). Cook about 5 minutes, turning kale as it cooks down in broth. Most liquid should be evaporated when kale is done. Remove kale from pan.

At this point you should have your kale, zucchini and tomato jam standing by.

Wipe out your oven proof skillet and place it back on the heat. Thoroughly coat pan with cooking spray. Turn heat to high and…*read the next few steps before you do it because it should be done rather quickly…

Place zucchini in one flat layer across the pan, then try to place kale as evenly as possible over the zucchini (cooked greens tend to clump a bit…which is ok) Next drop small spoonfuls of tomato jam around in the pan (again, this stuff is sticky, so just kind of wing it) Pour the egg mixture right over top (your pan should be super hot..so you should hear the egg sear) Then sprinkle with cheese, if using. Give the pan a couple of shakes and pop it right into your oven.

Cook for about 20-25 minutes until it puffs up. I like to place it under the broiler for the last 5-7 minutes to get a golden brown and nicely puffed top. You’ll know its done when the egg is set (which means it’s not jiggly). Remove from oven. Be careful, the handle of your pan is HOT…and will still be hot for a while after you take it out of the oven. DO NOT grab the handle with your bare hand. (I’ve done this too many times!)

Now for the tricky part…take a rubber spatula and carefully go around the outside of your frittata to lift it from the pan. Once you have gone around the edges, slide the spatula further underneath the frittata to get it out. I like to tilt the pan (holding the HOT handle with a towel) and slide the frittata right onto a cutting board. Spread with remaining tomato jam, and cut into quarters. Enjoy!

*If it is sticking to the pan, just leave it…spread with jam and serve it right out of the pan.

© 2011 Jenni Baker