Breakfast of (Whole Food) Champions!

MC and I got together yesterday to make an awesome grain-free brunch, where MC made this life altering breakfast pizza and I made the Carrot Muffins from Practical Paleo. All that brunching got me thinking about the quick and delicious (and hearty and protein-packed!) breakfasts that I’ve been eating lately. In the Whole 30 world, one of the common pieces of advice that is given is to stop thinking of breakfast as breakfast, and dinner as dinner, or, in other words, you can eat chicken and leftover soup for breakfast and it is fine as long as your body is getting the nutrients it needs. That being said, I still really love breakfast foods (and bacon. Lord, do I love bacon.), so I thought I’d do a quick round up of breakfast hacks that save my day on the regular.

Roasted Veggies + Avocado + Egg + Hot Sauce = Oh. Em. Gee.

1. Roasted Veggies and Breakfast Sausage: This has been my go-to breakfast this week because it is so easy – a one-pan dish that basically cooks itself. I prep it first thing when I wake up, before I do any other parts of my morning ablutions (10 points to Gryffindor for word choice??), and then it does its magic while I’m in the shower.

• The Recipe: There isn’t really a fancy recipe here. Basically, I just roast sausage links and veggies drizzled in olive oil, garlic salt and cracked black pepper at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until those particular veggies are tender with crispy, caramelized edges. The magic of this recipe comes in its speed and versatility and how DELISH it always is when you are done.
• Notes On Veggies: I usually use frozen veggies (frozen broccoli, butternut squash, beets and brussels sprouts are all favorites), I also usually use part of a sweet potato, so I like to chop sweet potatoes in batches and keep them in a bag in the fridge or freezer to avoid sweet-potato-chopping-fatigue which is a real thing in my life. I also use baby carrots (usually sliced in half, to cut down on the cooking time, since carrots tend to take much longer than many veggies to get tender). On that note, the one thing that you have to be careful about is balancing the cooking times of different vegetables. You can do this by thinly slicing denser veggies like beets and carrots to about a 1/4 to an 1/8th of an inch thickness (a mandolin can help with this!). Sweet potatoes can be bigger – closer to 1/2 inch rounds. Broccoli, brussels sprouts and butternut squash should all be in as large pieces as possible so that they take a bit longer to cook. If you buy them pre-chopped and are worried that they are too small and are going to burn, you can substitute the sausage for bacon and lay the bacon over the more tender veggies to roast. The bacon will crisp up and will protect the veggies from burning as they cook.
• Notes on Sausage: I use Applegate frozen sausage links – they aren’t Whole 30 compliant because they have a little added sugar, but I love the flavor and I haven’t found an alternative in my area grocery stores. Read your labels!
• Add Ons: Top this with some Louisiana Hot Sauce, half an avocado and/or a fried egg if you are feeling fancy! Trust me, you’ll love your life if you do because the egg yolk and hot sauce will run all over everything to make a great sauce, but a bowl of veggies and sausage will be very delicious as is, too!
• Variations I’ve Made Recently:
  • Sausage, Sweet Potatoes, Baby Carrots and Broccoli with hot sauce (pretty standard for me)
  • Baby Carrots and Bacon with hot sauce (this is great for when you are running low on time or groceries because you can just dump some carrots on a pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, layer on some bacon and leave it, and I almost always have bacon and carrots in my fridge, even when I’m out of most other things.)
  • Butternut Squash, Cauliflower and Sausage (this one didn’t take long to cook at all because it had no dense veggies)
  • Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes and Bacon (#nom)
  • Beets, Sweet Potatoes and Sausage with hot sauce and an egg and avocado (Had a few extra minutes this day. So much deliciousness.)

2. Homemade Coconut Lattes: For me, one of the hardest things about doing the Whole 30 was giving up my daily McDonald’s McCafe vanilla latte (as I’ve said before, I know, I’m fancy.). Eventually, I acclimated to drinking black coffee (especially on the go, since there are no coffee shops in the Delta that sell coconut milk, and I’ve heard that Starbucks’ coconut milk isn’t Whole 30 compliant so that is out on the off chance I travel to a city with Starbucks), but for my morning coffee, I splurged and bought a very basic milk frother so that I could make my own coconut lattes at home – it takes 90 seconds and feels so luxurious compared to drinking my coffee straight.

• A note on what coconut milk to use: You’ll get different amounts of foam depending on what kind of milk you use. I use coconut milk from the can – usually Kroger brand full-fat coconut milk. I shake it before I open the can, use a little for my coffee, and keep the rest in a mason jar in my fridge for the rest of the week. I always have several cans of coconut milk in my cupboard, usually a couple of different brands because they all have different fat contents and therefore I use them for different things. For your latte, you want coconut milk that has actual cream in it – the stuff out of the carton usually won’t foam very much – but you don’t want a brand that has so much cream that it is completely solid (save those brands for making coconut whipped cream or frosting!).

3. Egg Cups: Growing up, my mom always made egg cups for special occasions. Her recipe uses bread, so it isn’t really an option on the Whole 30, but I’ve found many variations that are great. These make awesome breakfasts because they are so good right out of the oven, and they also keep well for the week.

• Recipe: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a muffin tin with olive oil or coconut oil. Line each muffin cup with ham slices, bacon, or prosciutto. Layer in veggies of your choosing: I like bell peppers and onions or asparagus and green onion. Crack a whole egg into each muffin cup and sprinkle each one with sea salt and black pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the egg has set. Eat one as soon as you can get it into your mouth without burning yourself. Save some for the week to eat with fruit for breakfast, or as an afternoon snack.
• Variations: There are so many possible variations, depending on what vegetables you want to put in there. You can also skip the bacon all-together and try Avocado Eggs (shout out to my roommie for the suggestion!).

Go forth and breakfast well, my friends!

-MM

Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus

Hi. My name is Marisa and I am addicted to sweet potatoes.

Like… If I could, I’m pretty sure I would eat them at every meal. In fact, there were days during the Whole30 when I DID eat them at every meal and I have definitely made a mid-week run to the grocery store JUST to pick up sweet potatoes. Not milk. Not bread. Sweet potatoes.

It’s excessive.

Given this predilection of mine, you can imagine that when I first heard about sweet potato hummus (through this post over at the Not So Desperate Housewife) I was enthralled in the “come to me, my precious” kind of way.

After some experimenting, I have a recipe for Pure Magic Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus to share with you today! This stuff makes a spectacular finger food for parties or simply a delicious snack, and it is especially awesome because you likely have all the necessary ingredients in your pantry already!

Afternoon delight? Hummus stuffed bell peppers, carrot chips, root vegetable chips, and a big bowl of hummus makes an easy tray for a party or a delicious afternoon snack. #nom

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, baked in oven at 400 degrees until very tender

3 Cloves of Garlic, peeled

2 TBS Red Pepper Flakes (start with less, and then add it in to taste)

1/4 c Lime Juice (lemon juice will work, too, but I prefer the lime with the red pepper)

1/4 c Almond Butter or Tahini (Tahini is more traditional, but I used almond butter today and it was delish!)

1/4 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Ground sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bake your sweet potatoes in the oven at 400 degrees (poke them several times with a fork to vent). They will take anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes, depending on size, so keep an eye on them. Once the sweet potatoes are very soft, set them aside to cool.
2. When sweet potatoes have cooled, cut them into large chunks (to make them a little more manageable for the food processer/blender), add all other ingredients, and run the food processer until smooth. Note: you can use a blender if you don’t have a food processer, you’ll just want to work in batches because blenders tend to get stuck with foods this thick. As you are blending, you’ll want to stop to check the balance of flavors fairly often to find a balance you prefer:
   1. If it is too sweet, add lime and/or red pepper
   2. If it is too salty, try adding a little more tahini or almond butter (depending on how salty your particular brand is). Otherwise, you can add some more sweet potato or some mashed carrots or some canned pumpkin.
3. Serve as a dip with fresh veggies or root vegetable chips, or stuff hummus into mini-bell peppers for an easy finger food. This would also be great as a filling between slices of cucumbers for mini-sandwiches.

Enjoy!

Whole Celebrations

Confession. I’ve gone a little wild since I finished the Whole 30 — mostly in the category of sweets. To my utter amazement by the end of the thirty days, I was not craving the taste of desserts but rather the habit. It’s the joy that comes with a pastry at your favorite coffee shop on a blasé Wednesday or the decadence of dark chocolate with a glass of red wine at the end of a long day. I understand that the joy I feel in these moments is a direct result of my not yet beaten sugar addiction. So, in the three weeks following my whole 30, I slowly introduced certain foods like grains and dairy and frantically perused the internet for lower sugar, more natural versions of my favorite desserts and pastries. When I said going wild, I meant replacing the sugar in my baked goods with maple syrup and raw honey and spending a few too many extra bucks on 90 percent dark chocolate bars every time I go to the grocery. One of the best habits I’m building through this attempt at a less processed lifestyle is awareness and discipline. While before my splurges were coffee shop pastries or homemade sugar packed baked goods, I’m much more aware of the sugar and my definition of splurging is much more whole. I’ll continue to banish (or at least minimize) my sugar monsters but in the meantime, life is happening! There are so many things I want to celebrate, and I think we can find more whole ways to celebrate through food. Below is the recipe that emerged from looking at multiple dark chocolate and grain free cake recipes. I made it for a dear friend’s birthday and felt much personal satisfaction when she said, “I love how natural it tastes and it’s not so sugary like most cakes!”

Success!
– mc

Grain-free dark chocolate cake

• 2 dark chocolate bars (90 percent cacao with >5g sugar)
• 1 stick of unsalted butter or 8 tablespoons of ghee
• 6 eggs
• 2/3 cup pure maple syrup or raw honey
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla
• 2 teaspoons coconut flour (lucky to find this at our Kroger! WOO!)
• 4 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup (SPECIAL DARK!) cocoa powder (I could only find Hershey’s in town)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon baking powder

*Some baking powder contains grain but I wasn’t able to determine if the brand available at my grocery store has any grain.  Perhaps this is a topic for a future blog post 🙂

Whipped chocolate buttercream frosting

• 2 sticks unsalted butter (Can use Earth Balance “whipped butter” for dairy free but I’m finding my body reacts to soy products)
• 2 tablespoons organic whipping cream (Leave out for DF)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup or 4 oz dark chocolate melted (90 percent cacao with >5g sugar)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup or raw honey
• 1 cup powdered sugar (Leave out if you prefer but add more honey or maple syrup to taste)
• 1/4 cup of cocoa powder (May need extra cocoa for fluffy texture if you leave out powdered sugar)

Steps for the cake

Preheat oven to 350 and grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Grease with coconut oil or olive oil. Melt the chocolate and butter on the stove stirring frequently to ensure chocolate doesn’t burn. Use a double  boiler if you can but if not just watch carefully! Let the mixture cool for 10-15 minutes before using. While chocolate cools, mix all dry ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, whip eggs and maple syrup vigorously (or use electric stand mixer) until the mixture is fluffy and light yellow – about 6-7 minutes. Add in chocolate mixture and vanilla. Gently fold in dry ingredients to chocolate mixture.

Divide batter into the prepared pans. Bake cakes for 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Let the cakes cool  for 15 minutes and then remove from pans to cool completely. If you need them to cool over night, leave them in the pans covered with saran wrap to seal moisture. Run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen and remove.

Steps for the whipped buttercream

Melt the chocolate and let it cool for 10 minutes. Whip the butter in a stand mixer or by hand for 5-6 minutes. Add the whipping cream and mix until light and fluffy. Keep mixing and add in melted chocolate and vanilla. Add maple syrup, sugar and cocoa powder and mix until fluffy. Frost your cake when it is cool or cold! Put frosting in between the two layers, then on top and last do the edges. If you run out of frosting, it looks just as lovely to simply frost middle and top. Decorate with anything you’ve got!

grain free dark chocolate cake