Breakfast

10
Apr
2014

Banana & Coffee Protein Smoothie: Licuado de Proteina con Banana y Café

categories: Breakfast, Brunch, Coffee, Drink, Healthy, Smoothie

Have I told you that I’m getting married…in 10 days??

Have I also told you that I’m not your typical bride??

Like, the kind of bride that doesn’t have decorations yet kinda bride.

So needless to say, I haven’t really been a morning person lately…

Usually I am just fine with green tea or a smoothie in the morning but these last few days

that stuff is just not cutting it.

I had to upgrade my morning stimulant to get me going on this whole wedding thing

& since crack is whack & I like keeping my teeth, I decided to upgrade to coffee.

The problem: I don’t like the taste of coffee…like, at all.

So I decided to disguise my coffee in a delicious & healthy fruit-filled concoction that draws on my Latin & American roots…

And so was born the Banana & Coffee Protein Smoothie

a.k.a. Licuado de Proteina con Café y Banana!

(keep reading to find out what a “licuado” is!)

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27
Mar
2014

Tart Cherry-Berry Kale Smoothie

categories: Breakfast, Brunch, Drink, Healthy, Smoothie

You know when you buy something really expensive & you’re riddled with guilt so you try to use it as much as possible to justify the expense?

Yeah, that’s pretty much what my recent “smoothie-revolution” was born out of.It’s also probably why you may just see me wearing my new orange heel$$ to the supermarket.

I had spent all of this money on a VitaMix & I figured I shouldn’t just make dough & chop nuts in it. Do you even know how many loaves of bread I’d have to make for this little beauty to pay for itself?

So I decided to get on this smoothie bandwagon & what do you know?
It’s totally paying off!

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02
Mar
2014

Sunday Brunch: Vegetarian Hash with Basil Vinaigrette Dressing

categories: Breakfast, Brunch, Potatoes, Vegetarian

Ok, so I’ve been really good these last 6 months.

Most days I try to eat healthy & try to keep my alcohol intake at a minimum…

Then Sunday hits & I don’t know what comes over me

but apparently all bets are friggin’ OFF when it comes to brunch.

(I said I try, not promise!)

However, these last couple of Sundays have been a little different…

You see, in about 1 month I will have to partake in the shame-inducing act of squeezing myself into a unforgivingly tight wedding gown & parading all of this goodness in front of close friends & family as I repeat “don’t trip, don’t fall, don’t throw up” over & over again in my head.

So this Sunday, all bets were slightly back ON.

Now, I don’t believe in giving up everything to fit in said wedding dress.
That would just be crazy.

So I took my favorite recipe for skillet potatoes or “hash” as some fancy-schmancies like to call it, & I kicked the veggie & flavor up a notch while limiting the fat & calories by removing the meat from the hash. Instead, I used chunky, hearty vegetables to replace the typical “corned beef” & made a kick ass flavorful vinaigrette to make this dish more satisfying & savory.

Now before you get all cray- cray on me & say, “Hey, olive oil is FATTY”, listen here:

Yeah, I know olive oil is fat. However, it is GOOD FAT.

& yeah, there is such a thing.

You need a little fat to keep your skin & hair soft, deliver, store & absorb fat-soluble vitamins in your body & it provides a highly-concentrated form of energy.

(Do I really have to say more after the whole “keeps your skin & hair soft”?)

So make the vinaigrette, toss your hash in it & don’t worry so much!
It’s the weekend!

Trust your belly as well as your face & hair will thank you!

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23
Jan
2014

Baked Banana Nut Oatmeal

categories: Breakfast, Brunch, Healthy

So every morning I wake up I have this battle in my head about what’s for breakfast?

If it were up to me, I’d only have green tea.

Straight.

No Frills.

Yeah. I know.

I can be pretty hardcore in the mornings.

But according to everything I read & my super concerned fiancé,

I’m supposed to eat something before noon.

Pfft. Fine.

Cut to me standing in front of my pantry for about an hour looking at all of the things that have been forgotten & potentially may go bad in another day or two,

& pondering if eating chips at 7 am qualifies as breakfast & whether I will ever be into the 5 gallon protein shake powder I bought last year…

Then after about 20 minutes of that, I usually promise myself I will finally stop wasting food when there are starving children in ________ & try to figure out what to do with todays’ saddest-almost-dangerous-food in my kitchen.

The winner today: Ripe Bananas

So of course I just had to make:

This is a really easy one-bowl recipe that uses a lot of what you may already have in your kitchen. It’s pretty healthy for you if you use Splenda brown sugar vs regular brown sugar & 1% milk instead of whole milk.

It tastes a little like a cross between banana bread & an oatmeal bar. It’s warm & extra delicious with a little extra milk (or cream if your motto is calorie shmalorie) & even more bananas & walnuts sprinkled on top.

I’ve even heard of some making it the night before & eating it cold…

I don’t know why but do whatever tickles your pickle.

It’s your world.

I just live in it.

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01
Nov
2013

Café de Olla (Mexican Spiced Coffee)

categories: Breakfast, Brunch, Cinnamon, Cloves, Coffee, Drink, Mexican

Happy Dia de los Muertos!

Happy Day of the Dead! Ok, I’m not just being morbid, there really is something called Day of the Dead.

On November 1st & 2nd of every year in Mexico, other Latin countries as well as the U.S., families & friends gather together to pay their respects to passed loved ones. They dedicate brightly decorated alters full of marigold flowers, sugar skulls, candles, & photos of those that have passed. The idea is that during these two days, the dead come back to the living world & therefore we celebrate them & welcome them home. I think it’s a great way to remember those that we have lost in a celebratory fashion instead of being all sad & weepy about it. Families will often celebrate into the wee hours of the night, praying, telling stories about their loved ones & eating delicious treats & coffee to help keep them awake well into the wee hours of the night.

A type of coffee that is typically consumed on this day is called:

Café de Olla.

Café de olla literally means “Pot Coffee” getting its name from the clay pot (or olla de barro) that it’s traditionally made in.

It wasn’t until two years ago that I heard about & tasted this concoction of spices & coffee for myself. I fell in love with it despite not liking coffee at all. It tasted like someone poured a warm blanket, cinnamon & love into a cup. So of course I set out to learn more about this delicious drink & how I could recreate the love at home. This post is all about what I learned & how you can share the goodness that this simple little drink holds with your own loved ones, both past & present.

Enjoy!

A Little Background:

Café de olla is a traditional Mexican style of coffee made in clay pots & flavored with raw cane sugar (called piloncillo in Mexico or panela in other Latin American countries) & spices such as cinnamon & cloves. The coffee beans typically used for this recipe are Viennese-type dark roasted beans. When brewed, the coffee is medium-bodied & has a bit of a kick to it. This kind of coffee gives the café de olla a rich base for the spices to accent upon.

Café de olla can be made in saucepans, french presses & other pots but it is most definitely at it’s best when made in a clay pot called an “olla de barro“. These clay pots (like the one pictured above) are tan in color & tend to have a distinct smell to them that I can only describe as “earthy”. The very thing that gives the pot that earthy smell is also what imparts a unique flavor into the coffee, giving it a “homemade” taste. These pots can also be used to cook a variety of foods that require slow cooking over low heat like stews (guisados) & beans.

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Category: Breakfast