Christmas Frittata

October 27, 2016 | 6 Comments

Okay, it’s not quite Christmas… but let’s all agree, it might as well be. The second the first leaf hits the ground there’s a MAD rush to stock the shelves with everything Holiday. I’ve spotted toy santas at Target and turkeys at Trader Joe’s… and it’s not even Halloween! Sigh. Wait. Whoooo am I kidding? I LOVE IT ALL. AND that’s why I came up with this Christmas Frittata recipe.

Why the recipe’s holiday homage? Well, the first time I made it was on Christmas. AND… secondly, the recipe sort-of/kind-of has red/green theme going on with the ingredients. Catch my drift?

Besides all that – the frittata is just super delicious and nutritious. A perfect way to bang out a brunch while impressing your guests. PLUS starting your day off with eggs and veggies is one of the kindest things you can do for your body. In terms of processing protein efficiently, eggs are one of the best things for you. Adding them into your diet (every morning if you can!) is highly recommended.

What You’ll Need:

½ bag of spinach
½ sweet onion, finely chopped
One cup of chopped salami (it goes without saying, get the good stuff!)
Eight eggs

What You’ll Do:

Set the oven to broil (high)
Over medium-high heat, sauté the onions until translucent in a cast-iron/oven-safe skillet
Add salami and spinach until well-cooked together
In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs
Turn pan down to low-medium heat and add eggs; cook until eggs are almost set (about eight minutes)
Remove pan from heat and place in oven under a high broil (this will help the top of the frittata crisp-up and brown

Paleo Banana Bread

July 21, 2016 | 3 Comments

I was inspired by The Roasted Root to make something sweet for a leisurely morning in and came across her recipe for Paleo Banana Bread. I’ve always been a huge fan of banana bread, and actually like gluten-free/paleo versions BETTER than the original. The flavor of the almond flour adds an extra umph to this dense little bread machine.

My attempt came out pretty moist, which she did warn about, but I enjoyed every bite of it.

In making the recipe I only had two (personal) edits: one was adding a small scoop of my favorite vanilla protein powder to the mix. By doing so I was now able to view the bread as protein bar! SCORE. It also helped make the texture more “cake-y”. Also, because I didn’t add in nuts or chocolate chips, I slathered on a big spoonful of almond butter and topped with a sprinkle of celtic sea salt (as I’m salt obsessed, unfortunately/fortunately).

Head over to The Roasted Root for the original recipe here. Otherwise, scroll down to see it below!

Paleo Banana Bread

What You’ll Need (recipe courtesy of The Roasted Root):

3 RIPE bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 scoop of vanilla protein (preferably vegan)
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 cups of your fav almond flour, I like Bob’s Red Mill
1 tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp kosher salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Sprinkle of celtic sea salt and almond butter

What You’ll Do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Using coconut oil, lightly oil a load ban
In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas; stir in eggs, vanilla extract, and pure maple syrup
In a separate bow, stir almond meal, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and protein powder
Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir to combine
Pour batter into loaf and spread out evening
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes
Allow bread to cool for 30 minutes (this will help it from crumbling!) before cutting it into thick slices
To each piece, slab on some almond butter and sprinkle with celtic sea salt

Grapefruit on the Grill

July 8, 2016 | 1 Comment

Grapefruit on the grill: a perfect hybrid of one of my favorite winter foods cooked in my favorite summer manner. My family has always been big on grapefruits. They offer the perfect amount of tartness and POP to any breakfast routine. My Grandma would “fix” my Grandpa a grapefruit every morning and place it readily at his breakfast table much to his delight.

This year – I’ve decided to jazz it up a bit. By adding a dash of honey and sea salt, you’ve got a lot of flavors melding together in your mouth. Plus, something about seeing grilled charcoal marks on a fresh grapefruit is very satisfying.

Grapefruit on the Grill

What You’ll Need:

1 ripe grapefruit
Drizzle of your natural honey
Coarse sea salt

What You’ll Do:

Fire up your grill to high
Split grapefruit in half and cut around sections/membranes with a small knife; this will allow you to easily scoop out the sections later
Place each side of grapefruit face down on HOT grill; let sit for a few minutes or until you receive nice charcoal marks; remove
Drizzle each half of grapefruit with dash of honey; finish with a sprinkle of salt

Hard Boiled Eggs – Cracking the Code

June 6, 2016 | 1 Comment

I love to have hard boiled eggs ready at my finger-tips.When eaten in the right amounts, eggs are loaded with good quality proteins, fats, vitamins, mineral, and much, much more. They’re basically like dating the perfect man in egg form.

Hard boiled eggs are a great option for a breakfast or lunch on the go, plus they make great additions to salads and sandwiches. The only tricky part? Sometimes cooking a hard-boiled egg is, well, TRICKY!

So, after many undercooked, overcooked, and hard-to-peel attempts, I’ve provided some easy rules to follow.

Hard Boiled Eggs

Cooking Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

What You’ll Need:

1 (or more!) egg(s)
agua

What You’ll Do:

Fill a saucepan with water (just enough where a submerged egg would be fully covered) and bring it to a boil. Once it reaches the boil, carefully add egg and keep a steady-boil, about medium-high heat. Cook for 9 minutes. Exactly 9 minutes. Once the timer has buzzed, quickly transfer the egg to another bowl filled with cool water and ice (think cryotherapy for you egg). This will prevent the egg from cooking further. Once cool – it’s ready to eat!

Avocado Toast with A Paleo Protein Twist

May 9, 2016 | 5 Comments

Avocado Toast has been trending for some time, but that doesn’t mean it has lost its taste! I love waking up and/or brunching up to avocado toast. There’s so many way to jazz it up – add bacon, a guilt-free bread, pomegranate seeds, or almond butter (G.P. preferred way).

Since we’ve got the good fats and carbos covered, I’ve topped this version with a fried egg.

Avocado Toast with Fried Egg

What You’ll Need:

Piece of your favorite bread (I used an AMAZING paleo-friendly bread I found from Julian Bakery)
Half an organic avocado
Organic coconut oil
One free-range egg
Crushed red pepper flakes
s&p

What You’ll Do:

Toast bread
Melt spoonful of coconut oil in saucepan over medium heat
Crack egg into and fry lightly until the egg whites are solid, but the yolk is still runny
Slice avocado and place on toast
Using a spatula, carefully remove the egg from the pan and place on top of avocado
Drizzle with remaining melted coconut oil
Sprinkle with s&p and red pepper flakes

When You’ll Eat:

For breakfast! This meal has great fats, proteins and carbs to help you get energized for the day and to prep for a tough workout. It’s also a really cute brunch idea if you’re having some friends over. Don’t have any friends? Then turn on the TODAY show and eat by yourself.

Go-To Green Juice Recipe

May 9, 2016 | 2 Comments

It’s no surprise that I jumped on the “green juice” bandwagon pretty darn fast. Hell, I’m basically the conductor! But purchasing this delightful green-aid on a daily basis quickly thins the wallet, so more often than not I make my own at home. My favorite, go-to green juice is tart, refreshing and really gets the organs going.

Go-To Green Juice

What You’ll Need:

Handful of organic kale, de-ribbed/torn
Handful of organic spinach
1 inch/knob of organic, ginger, peeled**
1 organic pink lady, cored
1/2 lemon, pithed/deseed
3 to 4 cups of water
Ice (optional)

What You’ll Do:

Put it all in a blender; BLEND

When You’ll Eat:

Really any time of day you can squeeze it in. It generally follows my hot lemon water in the morning. It’s also great as an afternoon snack.

Helpful Tidbits:

I have both a Vitamix and a Nutribullet. If I want a true juice texture, I generally let the froth separate from the liquid while sitting in the container for a few minutes, and then skim off the forth with a wooden spoon. It’s my “poor man’s” juicer trick. You can also fennel the juice through a strainer.
If you want to make it more of a smoothie textured, add more ice and a banana. Of not, this will also play up the sweetness – the riper the banana, the sweeter it will be.