Tag: breakfast

Strawberry Breakfast Grains

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This is a vague nod to the strawberry grain pot from Starbucks – ala @fitmenchef on Instagram. It’s hearty, packed with protein, and quick to whip up in a batch.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Strawberry Breakfast Grains

First, set the grains on to cook by combining:

1c quinoa

3C water

And cooking like you usually cook quinoa. I put mine on the “rice” setting of my slow cooker.

While that is working, make the strawberries.

To do so, combine:

800g frozen strawberries

100ml orange juice

6tsp cinnamon

4t butter

Sprinkle salt & black pepper

1 tsp vanilla powder

Sauté over medium until most of the water evaporates and the mix gets syrupy.

While those are both cooking, make the crème by combining:

350g soft tofu

10Tbsp collagen protein

1c oat milk

1tsp vanilla powder

Blend to combine.

When the quinoa is finished, mix in:

1.5c rolled oats

Let sit to cool.

When all is done, mix the crème into the grains and divide into 7 portions. Top with the strawberries.

To serve, you may want some added sugar – I ended up adding about a teaspoon and a half of maple sugar to each portion. I also added some of my favorite seed mix, though shaved almonds would be even better.

Serves 7

Tropical Overnight Oats

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These decadent-tasting overnight oats are so freakin good – just the thing to welcome myself back into the swing of not-vacation life.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Tropical Overnight Oats

1/3 c rolled oats

2-3 Tbsp pineapple chunks

2 Tbsp coconut flakes

1 Tbsp chia seeds

1 Tbsp protein powder of choice

1/3 c your favorite milk

2 tsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

Few grinds salt

Optional topper: seed mix (my fav is a pumpkin & sunflower mix)

Combine all ingredients but the pineapple in an airtight container. Shake vigorously to combine, and let sit overnight.

To serve, top with the pineapple, a few flakes more coconut if desired and your favorite seed mix for crunch.

Serves 1 but is easily scalable

Overnight Protein Cheesecake Breakfast

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This is a good one. One of my girlfriends shared the recipe, and she was right – this is a breakfast to look forward to.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Overnight Protein Cheesecake Breakfast

1.5 medium bananas (about 120g)

60g quick oats

1 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp ground cinnamon

Big pinch salt

145g package vegan cream cheese (if your cream cheese will soften, soften it – I did not and I had lumps)

120g Skyr or Greek style vegan yogurt

Juice of 1/2 lemon – about 1 – 3 Tbsp, depending on your dairy and how tart you want your cheesecake

4 servings your favorite plain protein powder

125g package blueberries

1 tsp vanilla

Mash your banana with the oats, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt.

Mush into the bottom of 4 containers (or 1 big one and cut into 1/4 to serve).

Mix the cream cheese, yogurt, lemon juice, protein powder and vanilla together until smooth (or as smooth as you can get it – see above). Fold in the blueberries.

Distribute evenly to the containers and spread in a thick layer.

Let refrigerate overnight.

Serves 4

Mediterranean Spiced Hash

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This deeply-spiced potato hash is great for a quick weeknight dinner – or as the centerpiece of a nice brunch. Serve with eggs, chicken, sausages, or leftover shawarma meat for a nice protein boost.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Mediterranean Spiced Hash

3 small yellow potatoes, chopped fine

2 big hand fulls okra (or asparagus, or green beans – whichever you can find), sliced into rounds

Big hand full cherry tomatoes, halved

1 small cucumber, chopped fine

Big hand parsley, chopped fine

1 red onion, diced (about 1/3 c)

Neutral oil

Stock or water + chicken flavoring (I used Magic Sarap)

4 Tbsp zaatar

2 tsp sumac or lemon powder

2 tsp cumin

1 Tbsp smoked or sweet paprika

1 Tbsp garlic powder

Salt & pepper

Squeeze lemon juice

In a large pan over medium/medium-high, heat a couple turns oil. Add the potatoes and onion once chopped and sauté until beginning to soften, cutting the heat down if things start to get too brown.

Add the okra (or other veg) and stir a minute or so.

Add 1/4 c of the stock or seasoned water. Stir.

Add all the spices + generous lashes of salt and pepper.

Stir frequently, adding more water if your mix dries out and starts to burn, until the potatoes are cooked through and your okra de-slimes. Your potatoes will look super spiced and a sort of gravy will form. This is what you want.

To finish, toss with the cucumber, parsley and tomato. Taste and hit with a little lemon juice, salt or pepper if needed.

Serves 3 – 4, depending upon what you pair it with

Halal? Legal? Everything But The Bagel Seasoning Avo Brekkie

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Everything But The Bagel Seasoning is on it’s way out of the zeitgeist, but I’m behind the times. EBB seasoning has been causing a stir as of late where I live, with warnings going out left and right to not try and smuggle illegal items into the country while coming back from your Summer vacations.

Whaa?

Where I live, poppy seeds are illegal. I thought this had something to do with them not being halal, but according to Islamweb.net, they are fine to consume as food. The Global Arabic Encyclopedia says that the seeds have no narcotic properties, and are fine for both human and livestock consumption. [Source]

No idea why they’re illegal where I live, but they most certainly are.

In a 2019 bulletin, they were still on the banned import list.

“All Types of Papaver or Opium poppy seeds with or without mixing with other substances and all foodstuff include Papaver or Opium poppy seeds as ingredient.” The reason given was “Precautionary measure due to possibility of non-food prohibited use.” [Source]

Which is a total bummer, since I’ve been dying to get my hands on an EBB seasoned avocado toast (I know, stick me in Uggs and gimme a PSL at Target).

I was not about to risk going to jail for a seasoning, so I indulged during my trip to the US and then made plans to make my own when I got home.

I’m glad I did. Yum. I remember liking EBB seasoning on bagels, but it’s a nice way to dress up an otherwise pretty plain breakfast (unless you top it with Tajin, that is – my other go-to).

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Legal Everything But The Bagel Seasoning Avo Brekkie

seasoning:

2 Tbsp. granulated onion (chunky dried onion)

2 Tbsp. granulated garlic (chunky dried garlic)

1 Tbsp. black sesame or nigella seeds

1 Tbsp. white sesame seeds

1 Tbsp. chia seeds

2 tsp. flaky salt

the rest:

2 tsp. oil

1/2 shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3-1/2 c. frozen spinach

Dusting nutmeg

Dusting smoked paprika

Salt & pepper

1 small avocado

2 slices toast

Heat the oil in a pan over medium. Sauté the shallot and garlic until soft. Add the spinach, and let go a minute or two to start thawing.

Add a couple dashes of water to steam the rest of the spinach thaw.

When thaw, add the spices and stir. Let cook a minute more to combine. Hit with salt & pepper.

To serve, mash the avocado lightly and spread in a thick layer on the toast. Add the spinach and sprinkle the whole thing liberally with the EBB Seasoning. Add a little more flake salt to the top. Enjoy.

Breakfast serves 1; the seasoning makes extra

Chai Spiced Baked Oatmeal

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This is a great grab-n-go to have in your back pocket any time you’ve got too many bananas and need a quick breakfast.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Chai Spiced Baked Oatmeal

2 cups rolled oats

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp. ground ginger

1 Tbsp. ground cardamom

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 over ripe bananas

1.5 cups your favorite milk (I’ve used both hazelnut and oat milk and they were both great)

1/4 cup tahini

2 Tbsp. date molasses or maple syrup

2 Tbsp. chia seeds

3 Tbsp. pepitas

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Optional topper: a drizzle of nut butter, fresh or frozen berries, more banana

Preheat your oven to 200c/375F.

In a small baking dish, combine the dry ingredients. Mix to incorporate.

In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and add the wet ingredients. Stir to combine.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and mix to combine fully. If you still have little chunks of banana, mash them with the back of a spoon while combining. You want to make sure all the oats are wet.

Bake about 25 – 35 minutes, or until the bake is set and nicely browned.

Slice into 6 big squares and serve with your optional toppers.

Fresh Shakshouka

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This version of shakshouka makes a great topper for crusty bread, uses a good blend of fresh + pantry ingredients – and makes a bonus second meal if you swirl some of your leftover sauce in with noodles.

It’s also DH approved, and he’s not a fan of skin-on tomatoes. He could live without the spinach, but we had greens and needed chlorophyll.

This would also be great with chickpeas for added protein and either scrambled or poached eggs/substitute cooked in the sauce. I wanted to keep my eggs separate to maximize leftovers. Scrambled soft tofu would be fantastic.

gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, halal

Fresh Shakshouka

1 small jar fire roasted peppers in oil

2 hands cherry tomatoes

1 large onion

4 Tbsp. zaatar

1 Tbsp. smoked paprika

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 c. tinned tomatoes (I used crushed but use what you have)

2 tsp. sambal olek (this is my favorite)

1/2 c. parsley

Baby spinach

Eggs

Crusty bread

3 – 4 cloves garlic – 2-3 minced and 1 or 2 whole with the end sliced off

Thinly slice the onion and sauté on medium in 1 Tbsp. of the oil that comes from the jar of peppers until soft and lightly brown in spots.

Add the sambal and 2 – 3 cloves minced garlic. Sauté a minute or two more to meld together.

While that is working, remove the peppers from the oil and roughly chop.

Add the tomatoes and peppers and sauté until the tomatoes burst.

While the tomatoes are doing their thing, roughly chop the parsley, slice the bread into thick slices and drizzle with some of the pepper oil.

Broil the bread until your desired toast level has been reached. Remove from the oven and rub with the cut end of the reserved garlic clove. Set aside.

When the tomatoes have burst (with or without a little help), add the Zaatar, smoked paprika, salt & pepper. Stir to combine and let sauté a minute or so to meld.

Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes, and half a cup of water. Bring up to a boil, reduce the heat, add the spinach + half the parsley on top, and simmer 7 – 8 minutes. As soon as that spinach wilts and can be thoroughly mixed in is the time to add eggs if you are cooking them like a traditional Shakshouka.

If you are not, fry your eggs separately in a little of the pepper oil to your desired doneness.

Serves 2 for a light dinner + makes enough sauce to be used for another night’s pasta

Peanut Scallion Relish

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This simple Indian relish makes a great snack, breakfast, or topper for a wide variety of dishes.

Try it tucked into a chapati or roll – with or without an egg, atop a bed of rice (I’m particularly fond of sushi rice), bulked out with sautéed green beans, spread over a protein like chimichurri sauce, mixed into a stir fry (preferably with something sweet like red pepper), or mixed into a salad (this would be great with cucumber and mint).

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, low carb, halal

Peanut Scallion Relish

1 bunch scallions

2 cloves garlic

1 – 2 green chilis of any variety

2.5 ounces roasted salted peanuts

1 Tbsp. ghee or other oil

Salt to taste

Slice your scallions into thin rounds.

Heat the oil in a pan over medium and add the onions. Sauté until beginning to brown.

While the scallions are working, mince the pepper(s), de-seeding if you want less spice.

Grate the garlic.

Crush the peanuts.

When the scallions are ready, add the chilis, garlic and peanuts and stir well to combine. Let sauté 1-2 mins to combine fully.

Taste for salt and serve.

Makes enough for 4 or so servings, maybe more if you use less as a topper for something

Vegan Tofu Enchiladas

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This is another recipe that started off as a suggestion from an article on nutritionist’s favorite grab-n-go items at Trader Joe’s.

As the last recipe, 100% sure this doesn’t taste like TJ’s, but it’s good. Surprisingly good. I completely forgot that tofu makes a super easy and tasty scramble – but it does. And doesn’t stink like wet dog.

A note on this one: I loved it; DH did not. He gave it the good old college try, but made the ick face. Possibly at the black olives. I personally, if I were making this just for myself, would have doubled the olive amount. But I love black olives.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Vegan Tofu Enchiladas

1 block firm tofu, crumbled

1 small white onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

1 bell pepper – any color – diced

2 tsp. neutral oil

1/4 c. black olives, diced

1 c. frozen corn kernels

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 Tbsp. smoky chipotle seasoning

Salt & pepper

6 small corn tortillas

1 jar of your favorite enchilada sauce

Preheat your oven to 400F/200C.

Sauté the garlic, onion and pepper in the neutral oil over medium heat until softened.

Add the crumbled tofu, black olives, frozen corn and spices. Sauté until the mixture looks cooked and is well combined.

Carefully wrap filling in corn tortillas, flipping seam side down so they hopefully don’t burst apart – my dish held 6 comfortably, and I had a little leftover innards, which I sprinkled down the side. I *also* had at least 2 that completely came apart, but that’s neither here nor there.

Coat your hopefully not-disaster in a nice concealing layer of enchilada sauce. I dumped the jar out and then kinda smoothed the sauce out as much as possible.

Bake 20 minutes or until your desired brownness is achieved.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch

Nasi Goreng: Version 1

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I just got back from a fantastic vacation spent exploring a new place – and a new food culture – and wanted to come home and continue that goodness.

Random tidbit of information: tempeh is actually from Indonesia, it’s not just an OG hippie food.

That has little to do with this recipe (though most of the dishes of Nasi Goreng I had in Bali came with sides, including some ridiculously delicious tempeh).

Nasi Goreng is one of the dishes typically associated with Indonesia (some say it’s the national dish), although it’s popular in other Southeast Asian countries as well as the Netherlands. This dish is basically just fried rice – with no singular recipe, instead typically consisting of leftovers from the previous day.

This version of the dish doesn’t taste exactly like what I had on vacation, but it’s delicious nonetheless. I feel the sauces I had in Indonesia were richer, and in subsequent versions I’ll be working toward that – but this is a great starting place.

Can be made gluten free (just sweeten some coconut aminos), paleo (swap out the rice for Cauli rice and the ketjap), pescatarian (omit the chicken), or lacto-ovo vegetarian (omit the shrimp, shrimp paste & chicken)

Nasi Goreng: Version 1

3 cups leftover cooked rice (I used short grain sushi rice)

1 shallot

4 cloves garlic

1/4 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup frozen carrots

1 bok choy

2 eggs + 1 per person

250g chicken breast

200g tiny shrimp, chopped

4 Tbsp. prepared ketchup

4 Tbsp. ketjap manis

2 Tbsp. sambal olek

2 tsp. shrimp paste

Neutral oil

Salt & pepper

Chop the chicken into small bite-sized pieces, liberally season with salt and pepper, and sautée in 1 – 2 Tbsp. neutral oil until cooked through. Remove.

While the chicken is working, mince the shallot and garlic. Chop the bok choy and separate the stems from the leaves. Defrost the frozen veggies. Assemble the rest of the ingredients. Mix the ketchup, ketjap and sambal to form a sauce. Crack 2 eggs and lightly scramble.

Fry the shallot & garlic in 1 Tbsp. neutral oil over medium-high heat in the chicken pan, making sure to scrape up any browned bits and incorporating them.

When the shallots go translucent, add the shrimp paste. Stir to combine.

Add the bok choy stems and stir-fry until beginning to soften. Add the peas, carrots and bok choy leaves. Stir fry a minute or so until combined.

Add the rice, chicken & shrimp. Stir fry a minute or so to combine.

Add the sauce, stir to combine, and push the rice to the sides of the pan to make a well in the center. Add the scrambled eggs, let sit a minute to firm up on the bottom, and stir through the rice mixture until cooked.

Serve topped with an egg that’s been fried on medium-high heat until the edges are really crispy and the yolk is just set.

Serves 4 – 6 depending upon whether you are serving with sides (popular sides include: tempeh, fried tofu, hard boiled and then deep fried eggs, green bean and cabbage salads, and shrimp chips – plus I’m sure more – this is just what I was served as sides; I’m sure every household has its own version)