Super Food Breakfast of Champions

{FYI this is an in-depth post about yogurt.  Yup, I'm weird, deal with it.}

For always I've had a bowl of cereal for breakfast.  I love milk and cereal, so why not?  But as much as I love a bowl of crunchy cold goodness, it never filled me up for very long.

So not too long ago I made the switch to a breakfast still rich in dairy but packed with a lot more protein.  Oh yes, I'm talking Greek yogurt people.  And to make it even more awesome, I've jazzed it up to basically be a super food all-star meal to get your day off to the best start that has all the awesome elements - creamy, crunchy, and fruity, boom.

Ingredients:
> 1/2 cup 2% or Full-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt (I like Fage).
> 1 teaspoon Raw Honey
> 1 to 2 Tablespoons Slivered Almonds
> 1/2 cup Blueberries

Oh yes people these are four awesome foods for you all in one! What's not to love?

Some things to note about the yogurt:
-- 2% or full-fat, none of this non-fat nonsense.  You need some fat in your diet -- especially in your diary.  Sometimes (a lot of times) it's hard to find the full-fat greek so 2% will do.
-- Also, plain.  Trust me, it might take a week or two to get used to but the honey adds just enough sweetness.  And after you make the switch, that sugar packed yogurt will taste gross (because it is).

Process -- I mix in each ingredient one at a time to make sure they get fully incorporated (honey, then almonds, then blueberries), but that's just my method to the madness.

On the weekends when I'm feeling crazy I add a couple of drops of vanilla and almond extract and 1 Tablespoon of chocolate chips. I know, crazy! Crazy delicious.

And, for a sweet treat at night, I'll do chocolate chips and blackberry syrup (no honey needed). Jam would work too. (Basically non-frozen yogurt...)

So yes, all this is to say - I've switched from cereal to jazzed up yogurt in the AM and it's awesome. I'm now nicely filled until lunch from a breakfast of champions full of super (delicious) foods. 

xoxo

food lately: lately probably doesn't apply anymore

Really food that has been made in 2014.  But we don't need to dwell on that. Here you go, ideas for all seasons: 

Kale pesto pasta

 Fresh tomato & garlic pasta (from Franny's)

Eggplant pizza with Franny's crust

Tuna cake open faced sandwich

 Fried PB&J with Milk, because snow storm 

Baked eggs & greens with yogurt sauce from Plenty 

Seriously, this is my current favorite cookbook, a must get! 

Especially if you are looking for delicious vegetable recipes (that are also vegetarian) 

Sweet potato cakes also from Plenty. So delicious. 

 Vegetable enchiladas 

Greens & Beans with butter beans, roasted beets & turnips (and garlic bread)

Lettuce wrap BLTEs 

So yes, pretty much everything under the sun.  But all good.

xoxo

better together, but a tad ridiculous

I'm talking about Mac & Cheese and Sloppy Joe's (or Jeff's in our case).  Oh yes, why not turn Sloppy Jeff's into a casserole by topping it with Mac & Cheese?  Obviously it had to be done.  
This past fall was a cold one, so I was inspired to make some more ridiculous comfort foods. This one is pretty straight forward to make as well as being delicious, assuming you are comfortable making the two parts separately.  

Mac & Cheese Sloppy Jeff (Joe) Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:

1 recipe of Sloppy Jeff's (or Joe's) 

1 recipe Mac & Cheese mine has:

         1 1/4 cup macaroni noodles

         2 Tablespoons butter

         2 Tablespoons flour

         1 1/2 cups milk

         1/2 - 1 cup shredded cheese 

Extra shredded cheese for topping the casserole 

Process:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Bring a pot of salted water to boil (for the pasta) and cook as directed; drain when done

While that is happening, make up some Sloppy Jeff's (vegetarian) or Joe's (I used my vegetarian recipe) and place in a 7 x 11 pyrex pan, like so:

Then head back to the Mac & Cheese: 

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat

Then whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute

Turn down the heat to medium and slowly pour in the milk

Continue to whisk frequently until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken 

Turn the heat down to low and slowly add in the cheese, as much as you like, which is obviously a lot

Once it is all melted and up to your desired cheese-level, mix in the drained cooked pasta:

Then spread that mac & cheese over your sloppy jeff's and top with some more cheese for a good crust

Bake the casserole for 25-35 minutes until golden on top

And then, enjoy!

xoxo

food lately: you know, from the last six months (part 2)

don't worry, there's more:

arugula salad with tomatoes and cheesy croutons 

pasta salad with cantaloupe, arugula, and prosciutto (awesome!)

pasta with eggplant, grilled onions, and tomatoes in cream sauce

one of my favorite pizzas i've ever made with eggplant, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and pesto

and... the strangest pizza i've ever made with leeks, broccoli, and veggie patties, but not terrible

thyme & parmesan biscuits, fried eggs, and left over dressing 

cheese dip nachos (oh yes!)

a delicious feast of roasted sweet potatoes, greens, caramelized onions, chorizo sausage, goat cheese, and crepes (also one of my favs)

plus some sweet treats: 

brownies

and blue bell! 

xoxo

food lately: you know, from the last six months (part 1)

I obviously ate and cooked while I was working away. here are some things:

root vegetable soup with smoked coconut 

 

(vegetarian) french onion soup

 

lentil & eggplant soup with basil 

thai fried rice and sweet & sour tofu with broccoli 

southwestern sauté with soyrizo, peppers, and goat cheese, over polenta

eggplant parmesan and spaghetti 

sautéed  squash, greens, and onions with fried eggs

couscous with cucumber & tomatoes  and chickpeas with chard

pizza with zucchini & caramelized onions 

dill scrambled eggs with cheddar and paprika 

keep cooking team!

xoxo

food lately: not really but still good, part 2

because it has been a long time, there is more to share:

dinner of poblano hash with soyrizo & corn, fried eggs, and cornbread waffles

coconut-crusted tofu, fried bananas, jerk refried black-beans, and salad

avocado with salt & pepper (because what else does it need?) and succotash with the big lima beans - my favorite 

 more jerk-refried black beans, but now with sauteed pineapple, sweet potatoes, and goat cheese toast

and last but not least, my favorite treat of late - plain full-fat yogurt with my blackberry syrup and mini chocolate chips.  Better than ice cream folks 

xoxo

food lately: i do love carbs

All from the last monthish:

Caribbean pizza: Jamaican jerk refried black beans, pineapple, roasted sweet potatoes, smoked coconut, and I think some gruyere for good measure

Buffalo Tofu Pizza with carrots, scallions, mozzarella, and ranch

Trader Joe's Japanese Fried Rice jazzed up with tofu, pineapple and egg

Vegetarian goulash made with gardin 'beef' tips, braised cabbage, and potatoes gratin

Pasta with peas and a cream tomato sauce, and crunchy fried onions on top

yup. that's what i've got.

keep eating kids.

xoxo

food lately: cooking it all

I'm on spring break right now. And, let me tell you something, it's awesome.  I think it's safe to say it's the best spring break ever.  

There are two reasons that make it so:

1. I'm not in classes anymore so this is the first time I get a break from school and work with no school work that I actually need to be doing during break, so it's an actual break. 

2. I didn't go anywhere.  It's a staycation.  Filled with crafting, cooking, and relaxing.  I slept in until 10 am on Monday!

Of course I still made lists of all the things I wanted to accomplish over this break.  Things that would probably take a year to do if I had all the time to dedicate to them.  But some of the things are getting done.  I'll share those soon.

But until then, here's some food as of late, of all meals of the day:

Breakfast, quesadilla with scrambled eggs, veggie bacon, cheese, butter, tortillas, and done

Lunch, pesto pasta and "chicken" milanese. It's one of those gardin fake chicken breasts, pretty good

Also lunch, buffalo mac-and-cheese.  Basically I just added buffalo sauce to my mac and cheese, and some green onions.  A little on the salty side

Dinner, German-fest, soy beer brats, sauerkraut, mustard potatoes, and pretzels

Dinner, scallion pancakes, and faux pho.  It wasn't really pho at all, the noodle-to-broth ratio was off, but still delicious, with grilled tofu on top

Dinner, Americana, spinach, baked beans, BBQ tofu, and mashed potato cakes.  For the cakes I made mashed potatoes, added some chopped up veggie bacon and then shaped them into patties and pan-fried them in some more butter.  And yes, they were delicious.  What's not to love about a crispy crust around creamy mashed potatoes? 

Hope you're enjoying this week as much as I am!

xoxo