Broccoli-Parmesan Frittata

I cannot believe this is my first post of a fritatta–this recipe is a staple in my kitchen and what I love about it is that you can make it with any combination of vegetables that you have on hand. Serve with a side salad and you’ve got a perfectly satisfying meal!

Ingredients:

Eggs

Onion

Garlic

Broccoli

Parmesan Cheese

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

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1. Heat oven to 350. Put eggs in a bowl and beat them with a whisk. Add salt and pepper. I use between 6 and 8 eggs per batch–sometimes it is all eggs, other times a combination of whites and eggs. Your call.

2. Sautee onion in a pan with olive oil, add garlic, salt and pepper. It is important to season (with salt and pepper) both the eggs and the sauteed vegetables otherwise it ends up being bland and that’s blah!

3. Add broccoli and cook for up to 5 minutes. DO NOT over cook the broccoli (it should still be bright green) because it’ll cook again in the oven.

4. Take the broccoli pan off of the heat and add grated parmesan to the mixture. Allow sauteed vegetables to slightly cool before adding to the bowl of eggs.

5. Mix veggies and eggs together until even combined. Oil (spray with PAM) a pie pan (a glass 9″ pan is my preference) then pour in egg/veggie mixture. Gently jiggle the pan to even out the mixture.

6. Put dish in 350 oven and cook for 25-30 minutes. (Start with 25 and check the status…) Once it looks cooked (no jiggly egg in the middle–ewww) remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.

This is delicious warm and room temperature. I love it for potlucks, brunch, and to take to work for breakfast! You can substitute the step of sauteeing broccoli for any other combination of vegetables: asparagus, red peppers, artichoke hearts, zucchini…get creative!

Secret note: if you want to add arugula/spinach (genius idea!) but do NOT cook those greens. Simply add them to the mixture of eggs and the already cooked vegetables and let the oven cook the those greens–otherwise they’ll be mushy and mushy is blahhh. 😉

 

Mango-Banana Lassi Smoothie

I was soooo excited by how this turned out! This smoothie is a perfect way to start your day because it is delicious, satisfying, and offers many health benefits, including:

Mango: Antioxidants, fiber, pectin, vitamin C, lowers cholesterol, vitamin A, vitamin E, normalizes insulin levels …..

Lemon: Alkanizes the body, vitamin C, liver stimulant, citric acid, antibacterial properties, contains anti-cancer compounds …

Banana: Potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, magnesium, manganese, natural energy boost, tryptophan (betters your mood and reduces stress)…

Turmeric: Anti-inflamatory, support healthy joint function, promotes radiant skin, improves digestion…

Ingredients:

1 Mango

1 Lemon, juice

1 tsp. turmeric

1 cup milk (almond/coconut/hemp/cow–follow your preference)

1 frozen banana (Note: always keep a bag in the freezer!)

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1. Mash mango pulp, lemon juice, and turmeric into a paste of sorts. (I prepared this in the evening to use for my morning smoothie…can be made and used immediately). FYI: This makes about 1 cup of mango paste so keep in a sealed container in the fridge.

2. Add 1-2 Tbsp mango paste to a blender with 1 cup of milk and the frozen banana.

3. Blend until a smooth and creamy consistency.

4. Pour in a glass and mmmm!

Mexican Salad Duo

Bookmark these recipes for your summer parties: 1. everyone loves Mexican food 2. these salads go with everything a summer BBQ has to offer 3. they can handle the summer heat!

Remember, avocado is always welcome to join this party 😉

Black Bean-Corn Salad

Ingredients:

Red Onion

Cumin Seeds

Jalapeno

Corn

Black Beans

Cilantro

Olive Oil

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1. Dice onion and sautee with olive oil. Add cumin seeds to toast then add diced jalepeno.

2. Add corn to sautee pan, then add black beans.

3. Mix and season to taste.

 

Tomato-Zucchini Salsa

Ingredients:

Cherry Tomato

Zucchini

Cilantro

Red Onion

Lime, zest and juice

Avocado Oil

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1. Chop tomato, zucchini, cilantro, red onion and add to a bowl with lime zest, juice and oil.

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Serve with tortilla chips, rice, in a tortilla, or on a green salad!

 

Asparagus Pea and Goat Cheese Frittata

I love frittatas!

Follow the recipe and add in any combination of veggies that you have on hand–you can’t go wrong!

Ingredients:

6-8 Eggs, you can mix whole and egg whites to cut down on the fat

1 Onion

1-3 cloves Garlic

Olive Oil

1 bunch Asparagus, cut off tough ends and then cut remaining into ~1 inch pieces

1 cup Peas

1 handful Parsley, Italian

Goat Cheese

Salt and Pepper

Crushed red pepper flakes

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1. Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil. Once golden, add crush red pepper flakes, salt, and asparagus and cook for 3-5 minutes before adding peas and herbs. Don’t overcook the veggies in the pan because they’ll cook more in the oven.

2. In a bowl, beat eggs. I like to use a combination of whole eggs and egg whites.

3. Add sauteed veggies to the bowl with eggs and mix until combined.

4. Pour batter into a sprayed pie dish. You could use a cast iron pan but I think the pie dish is easy to handle.

5. Put drops of goat cheese over the top of the egg dish.

6. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, until it is obviously cooked through and no wiggly egg. Sprinkle salt and fresh pepper on top.

Serve warm or room temperature. You can keep unrefrigerated for a day, any longer than that keep in the fridge.

Serve with a side salad, on its own, or as a side dish with a meal.

This is a great dish to bring to a potluck because you can make it ahead of time and one dish can feed a lot of people (for not that much $$)!

Strawberry Yogurt Cake with Rhubarb Sauce

Inspired by my first strawberry-rhubarb pie from  Pie in Seattle; Take a Megabite’s  rhubarb syrup.; and The Kitchn’s yogurt cake, this Strawberry Yogurt Cake with Rhubarb Sauce was born….and it is delicious!

Ingredients:

Strawberry Yogurt Cake

Slightly adapted from The Kitchn:

1 1/2 cups strawberry yogurt

2/3 cup olive oil

1 1/4 cup sugar

1-2 tsp orange zest

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Rhubarb Sauce

Adapted from Take a Megabite:

6 stalks rhubarb, chopped

1 cup water

1 cup sugar (coconut sugar is welcome)

1/3 cup coconut milk

1 tsp rosewater

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1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a bundt pan with coconut oil and then dust with flour.

2. Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, sugar, eggs, orange zest and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt then add in thirds to the liquid. Blend to combine.

3. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 45 minutes (her recipe called for longer time but I am glad that I set time for less because the cake was perfect in my oven after 45 minutes). When a tester comes out clean, transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.

4.While the cake bakes, add rhubarb sugar and water to a sauce pan and bring to a boil for a few minutes then turn down to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Once the solids are cooked out (you’ll see strings of the rhubarb in the sauce), remove from the heat and add the rose water then coconut milk. With a hand blender, blend until a smooth consistency. Store in a  mason jar for up to a week.

 

Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Remember those Quaker Chewy granola bars? These are better!

Keep this in the freezer and grab on your way out the door. A great grab-n-go breakfast that will satisfy you for hours!

Ingredients:

2 cups Rolled Oats

1 1/2 cups Walnuts, pulse in food processor to a chunky consistency

1 Tbsp Cinnamon

1/8 cup Flax Seeds, ground

1/8 cup Chia Seeds

1 – 1 1/2 cups Raisins (depending on your passion for raisins)

1/2 cup Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup dates

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup maple/agave

1/4 cup hemp milk

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1. Add dry ingredients to a bowl.

2. Put dates, coconut oil, and maple in food processor and blend until an even consistency is formed.

3. Pour wet ingredients into dry bowl and mix all together until well combined.

4. Form balls or pressed into a 8×8 brownie tin (lined with parchment paper) and chill (fridge or freezer).

5. Once solidified package in a sealed container and your go to breakfast/snack is ready when you’re hungry!

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Nutty Caramel (Breakfast) Bars

Just look at this:

I am obsessed with this recipe! A coworker said (after I taste-tested the office) “It is amazing how you make those healthy ingredients taste like candy” It is so delicious and satisfying (I know I say that a lot, but that is what you get from vegetarian food 😉 ) I am so grateful for finding this at OhMyVeggies; after following her recipe, I slightly adjusted the recipe by using more dates and less maple but both are equally delicious!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

3 tablespoons coconut oil (solid, not melted)

1/2 cup dates, (soaked in hot water so they’re extra juicy)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup coarsely chopped raw almonds

1/8 cup chia seeds

1/8 cup coconut flakes

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1. Toast coconut flakes and oats in 300 degree oven. (You can also have them raw but I liked the change in texture from toasting them). Toast coconut flakes seperately from the oats and they brown much faster. In a 300 oven, toast coconut for about 5 minutes (until browned but keep an eye on them because they can burn quickly). Toasting the oats should be about 15-20 minutes but using them raw works if you want less work.

2. Mix wet ingredients in a food processor: dates, coconut oil, peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla and blend for a few minutes until a caramel is formed.

3. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl : oats, chia, coconut flakes, almonds.

4. Pour caramel into dry mix and stir until all well incorporated.

5. Press into a 8×8 pan that is lined with parchment paper (this makes removal easiest.

6. Allow to chill for at least 15 minutes before cutting into bars. Once broken up, keep sealed in plastic bag in fridge or freezer.

Date-Carrot-Cinnamon Bars

Inspired by Beard and Bonnet’s recipe, I made these because a) they looked delicious b) I had all of the ingredients!

I substituted sesame seeds for hemp seeds, crystallized ginger for fresh grated ginger (because that’s what I had on hand), and added an extra teaspoon or so of cinnamon.

These are simple, delicious, and a great to-go snack. I recommend freezing them. Enjoy!