Vegetables for Breakfast

This is going to be a little long.  If you want the recipe, just skip over the blabbing.

I've been following the folks over at Precision Nutrition for a while.  They have some pretty good free courses and I just *love* their blog.  They have a pretty scientific, common sense approach to nutrition.  I highly recommend their free 5-day courses.  The first day of the first course I took started off with 5 questions to ask yourself when you prepare a meal.

1. Are you eating too much food?
2. Are you eating enough protein?
3. Are you eating too many sugars or starches?
4. Are you eating enough vegetables?
5. Are you eating enough healthy fats? 

The course talks about serving sizes and food types to help you answer these questions.  Check it out.  Anyway, I kept thinking about increasing protein and vegetables while decreasing the sugars/starches (but not eliminating them).  I haven't had too much trouble using these questions to improve my lunches, dinners, and snacks, but breakfasts were/are sticky.  

Some of the things I've done to improve the quality of my breakfasts include buying eggs from happy chickens (the kind that see sunlight) as they have more Omega-3 fats, mixing spinach in with my eggs, and having only a small piece of toast.  Oh, and sometimes I eat an extra sausage patty for a bonus protein because I've been KILLING it at the gym lately.  

Recently I found a salad recipe (source: forgotten) that I have been enjoying for/with breakfast.  Check it out.

Grapefruit Salad

• Mixed Greens
• Grapefruit sections (how to prepare)
• Avocado slices
• Red or green onion pieces
• Balsamic Vinaigrette (homemade)

Enjoy!  

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Original is here.

My Version:

1 (2 1/2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2-inch cubes

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1 cup chopped onion

3 cups no-salt-added chicken stock

1T hot curry powder

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk

 

Toppings:

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

1/4 cup flaked unsweetened coconut, toasted

2 small Thai red chiles, thinly sliced (optional)

 

Roast squash at 450* with 1T oil and 1/4t salt. Saute onion in remaining oil.  Add squash, stock, remaining salt, and curry powder.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Stir in lime juice and coconut milk.  Puree with immersion blender. Serve with toppings.

 

I have a similar recipe that doesn't call for roasting the squash.  You just throw it in with the stock and simmer for about 20 minutes.  I'm sure it would be equally tasty.

Anytime Sausage (Sugar Free!)

Who needs Breakfast Sausage?  I vote for Anytime Sausage. 

Original is here.

My version:
1.3 lb ground turkey (not extra lean... you need the fat so it doesn't stick to the pan!)
2t sage
1t salt
1t black pepper
1/8t crushed red pepper
1pinch ground cloves
For sweeter sausage: 1 baby apple, peeled, finely chopped (optional)

The original recipe called for marjoram, but I don't have any.  I'm sure it would add a nice little touch.  I did recently acquire some Italian Seasoning, which is heavy on marjoram and I sprinkled it on top during cooking.  That turned out really nicely.

If you don't want to measure out a bunch of seasoning each time, then make a big batch.  I found that 1t of the mix for every 1/3lb of meat works great. 

Salsa

So... everyone is talking about good bacteria in their yogurt.  You can get similarly awesome bacteria from sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables.  Here I have a recipe for fermented salsa.  It is super tasty and keeps in the fridge for quite a while.  Plus, you can get that good bacteria piled on top of a good tortilla chip!

The recipe is here:  http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2010/10/the-benefits-of-lacto-fermentation-lacto-fermented-salsa-recipe.html.

No need to copy it here, I guess.

P.S. Your grandmother probably grew up eating fermented vegetables.  Ask her about them.

Stir Fry

When I am making stir fry, this is my go-to sauce.  I make a bunch at a time and then keep it in a jar in the fridge.

1/3c sesame oil
2/3c soy sauce

Add spices to taste:
Brown sugar (approx 2 T)
Crushed Red Pepper (approx 1t)
Ginger (approx 1/2t)
Garlic (approx 1t)
Sesame seeds (optional)