Healthy Breakfast

Posted on April 23, 2014 by sara

I posted this picture the other day and got asked about recipes. I recently started eating whole foods and needed to change up my breakfast from high fiber cereal to something with more protein. Now I make up these babies on the weekend and eat them all week.

The egg cups are really easy and would be great for guests. After greasing a muffin tin (I use coconut oil), crack an egg in each cup. Then add whatever ingredients you’d like– I like arugula for it’s peppery flavor, tomatoes, and sometimes a little bacon– then bake for 8-12 minutes at 400 F, depending on how firm you like your eggs. My husband likes to whisk his eggs first then add the extras for more a quiche effect (minus the crust), but it’s up to you. Plan on 2 cups per person. {adapted from this recipe}

These oatmeal chia seed muffins are really good, but quite a bit healthier tasting, so you might need to feel out your crowd. But if you use rolled oats, a well ripened banana and fresh blueberries, they might not know the difference. I use dried blueberries to help the muffins last through the week, but you could try all kinds of combinations. {adapted from this recipe}

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup Steel Cut Oats

4tbsp Chia Seed

1tsp Baking Powder

1tsp Baking Soda

0.5tsp Salt, Table

1tsp Cinnamon, Ground

2tbsp Coconut oil

1large Egg, Whole

1 mashed Banana (ripe)

1cup Almond Milk

1tsp Vanilla Extract

0.25 cup, dried Blueberries

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare muffin pan by greasing or lining with paper liners.

2.Mix together chia seeds and buttermilk; set aside. In a small bowl, mash the bananas; stir in egg, oil, and vanilla. Stir in buttermilk mixture until combined. In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir in the buttermilk/banana mixture. Blend thoroughly, but do not overmix. Gently stir in blueberries just until distributed throughout the batter.

3. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

I usually have 2 egg cups and 1 oatmeal muffin for breakfast and it keeps me going, post work out and starting my day. If you try them, let me know how you like them!

Fresh and Easy

Posted on March 11, 2014 by sara

I’ve been working to lose weight and get my body healthy in the last year, and now I’m starting to focus on food. I’m trying to eat whole foods, cleaner and less processed. Even though it seems a bit “Brooklyn” to me sometimes (you know, like eating kale), its recently become more important, particularly living next door to China. And honestly, I feel better when I eat well.

I still have a mean sweet tooth, so I’m always looking for recipes that let me enjoy my cravings without falling off the wagon. Here’s a few I’ve tried lately… and may even serve to guests!

Fresh almond milk. Creamy and rich, it is so much better freshly ground. It goes bad in a few days, so it would be good to have on hand with a full house.

Breakfast quinoa bars. These have a lot of ingredients, but are tasty. I’d make ’em again.

Oatmeal banana muffins. Ok, I haven’t tried these yet, but they look good! Next on the list.

Chocolate Chia Pudding. I mentioned this before— while not that sweet, nor like pudding, it’s fun with fruit.
Any good healthy recipes you can share? Any that have particularly loved by guests– even non-healthy ones?

Black, White and Spring

Posted on March 6, 2014 by sara

The temperature is finally starting to warm up a bit, so I wanted to take advantage for a little outdoor thank you nibble for my husband. He’s been so wonderful and strong lately, taking care of me and the house in the past month. I wanted to take the time to celebrate him and say thank you.

We’ve had a hectic schedule, but with late dinner plans on Friday, I knew we’d have time for a drink beforehand. I set up a little party for the two us, with snacks and some champagne to just focus on him.

I’m obsessed with graphic black and white with a bold pop of color. As l look desperately towards spring, green was my color of choice. I used our herbs to add the green lushness, and a fun tea towel as our place mat.

It’s not a party without bunting! I found this great paper, printed it, and cut out triangles. I used a a gold pen sharpie on the edges to add a bit of fun.

Since we had dinner plans, I just put out a few snacks– little sandwiches, nuts, and chocolate chia pudding.

I got this print for my husband years ago, and we don’t have anywhere to hang it in our apartment right now. I framed it with washi tape for this, and my husband was happy to see it. Almost like an old friend he hasn’t seen in awhile.

The chocolate chia pudding? Well, it’s tasty with sweet mixin’s, but not so great on it’s own. But the spoons– a gift from my mother-in-law– are awesome.

It was a fun night. My husband really appreciated the effort and felt loved. Which is really why we throw parties, isn’t it? 😉