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Easy Breakfast For One

Breakfast is a tough meal, we all know it’s the most important of the day but all the convenience foods are so junkie. And honestly, at 7 in the morning who wants to prepare an elaborate breakfast? In high school, I used to eat toast with butter for breakfast…no wonder I was starving after first period! I’ve been trying to incorporate more protein into my breakfast to give me lots of energy in the morning and help me stay full until lunch – which is almost impossible. The protein in here comes from the yogurt, almonds and almond butter. This really is an Easy Breakfast For One (or two, or three – the recipe can easily be adapted for families!)

If I don’t eat this yogurt for breakfast, I love to bring it as a mid-morning snack for work (as long as you have a refrigerator available). Toss all of the ingredients into a Tupperware and you’re good to go. Whether you eat this for breakfast or a snack, it will definitely give you a boost of energy.

Easy Breakfast For One (serves 1)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1/2 cup plain or Greek yogurt
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped fruit (I like to use any berries, kiwis or banana)
2 tbsp chopped almonds (walnuts are great too!)
1 tbsp chopped unsweetened dried cranberries
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tsp of honey(or as much or little to taste)

Directions

Combine all ingredients and enjoy!

If bringing to work or saving for later – be sure to refrigerate.

This is my go-to breakfast 6 out of 7 days of the week – let me know if you give it a try!

- Lou

Scrambled Eggs with Kale and Prosciutto

This dish was a complete fluke. Scrambled eggs with kale and prosciutto you say? Weird combination, right? Wrong. This started out as one of those, throw whatever you have into the pan kind of breakfasts, something that was not destined for the blog. And then it worked, and tasted magical. And I knew I had to share it, plus, sharing it required making it a few more times to get it just right, and that I could do. Food blogging can be pretty time consuming, but it’s amazing when you can recipe test a dish in the morning before work and have a delicious breakfast.

You may have seen me post this on Instagram earlier this week – I like to top mine with lots of hot sauce. Yum.

Scrambled Eggs with Kale and Prosciutto (Serves 4)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
4 slices of prosciutto, diced
4 cups chopped kale
8 eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
hot sauce for serving (Optional, but highly recommended!)

Directions

In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.

Add prosciutto and cook for 4-5 minutes or until starting to crisp, stirring occasionally.

Add chopped kale to pan. Turn down heat to low. Stir kale and prosciutto together. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Turn heat back up to medium. Crack eggs into pan, stir with kale and prosciutto.

When eggs begin cooking (layer of cooked egg on bottom of pan) add in cheddar cheese. Scramble until fully cooked and cheese has melted.

Serve with lots of hot sauce.

Scrambled Eggs with Kale and Prosciutto is a simple breakfast made with 5 ingredients and the recipe can easily be reduced or doubled,

- Lou

Baked Lentils on Toast

May is Love Your Lentils Month and because of that I was planning on posting this recipe for Baked Lentils on Toast a few weeks ago, but then May just happened. In a good way. It’s like you blink and suddenly there are leaves on the trees and flowers blooming everywhere. It’s not quite summer yet, but finally that cold spring breeze is gone and you can almost feel summer. I love May.

My mom is from England, and while I don’t think I’ve ever seen her eat baked beans on toast, or enjoy tea and crumpets on a daily basis, we do love the Royal Family. The last time I was in England, a couple of years ago, I remember out hotel would serve baked beans on toast with every breakfast. I thought it was such an odd combination, but I obviously became obsessed. When I saw Lentils Canada was hosting a recipe contest for Love Your Lentils Month I knew I would participate, the question was what to make. I don’t cook with lentils too often, and when I do it’s always Lentil Soup but one day I had a brain wave. What about a take on baked beans on toast, using lentils instead? And voila, an hour or so later I had my first version of Baked Lentils on Toast. Which was much too onion-y. I finally got it right though, and this recipe is a great alternative to a classic.

Baked Lentils on Toast (serves 4-6)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

6 rashers/slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 cups dried green lentils
4 cups water
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

In an oven safe large pot, cook bacon and yellow onion over medium heat for 4 minutes. Add garlic, cook for another minute.

Remove bacon, onion and garlic from pot and set aside.

Add lentils and water to pot. Bring to a boil, partly cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in bacon, onion, garlic, crushed tomatoes, maple syrup, molasses, Dijon and salt. Cover with lid.

Cook for 20-25 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Once finished, stir in lemon juice and serve.

This recipe for Baked Lentils on Toast will be sure to impress even your most British of house guests.

- Lou

Jalapeno Cheddar Breadsticks

Frozen puff pastry is a life saver. I don’t like to use frozen, pre-made ingredients often, but when it comes to puff pastry, I’ll make an exception. I try to always keep a box in the freezer, because I can almost guarantee that there will be a time when you forget you need an appetizer for a dinner or barbecue you’re hosting. Trust me, it will save your life, not to mention reputation. Ha! Just kidding, nobody really cares if you have an appetizer, but it’s fun to play Martha Stewart every now and then. Plus, because these Jalapeno Cheddar Breadsticks are so easy, you might love them even more than your guests.

I’ve made many of these bread sticks before and they are one of the easiest (and most loved) appetizers you can make. It’s amazing the way puff pastry can transform ingredients. If you’re looking for some other options to make, give my Olive and Mozzarella Breadsticks a try. You know what would be even more fun? If you made the Jalapeno Cheddar Breadsticks and Olive Mozzarella Breadsticks at the same time and had options for your guests. This is why they pay me the big(!) bucks my friends.

Jalapeno Cheddar Breadsticks
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg + 1 tbsp water, whisked
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 jalapenos, seeded and finely diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.

On a lightly floured surface roll out both pieces of puff pastry and brush with egg wash.

In a medium bowl, mix together cheese, jalapenos, garlic, pepper and salt.

Leaving a 1/2 inch border, sprinkle one sheet of puff pastry with cheese mixture.

Place the second sheet of puff pastry on top of the first sheet. Pressing around the edges to seal.

Using a knife or a pizza cutter cut the sheets into 24 thin strips. Picking up by each end, twist the breadsticks and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Be sure to press down the ends of the dough onto the cookie sheet so that the breadsticks keep their shape.

Repeat with remaining dough and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Give these Jalapeno Cheddar Breadsticks a try at your next dinner party.

- Lou

Basic Balsamic Vinaigrette

With warm weather comes cravings for healthy, fresh salads. The thing is, salads can get a little boring if you’re eating the same old dressing and vegetable combination every day. I know this first hand because that’s exactly what I did with this dressing. I’m surprised I haven’t posted this recipe for Basic Balsamic Vinaigrette because I would bring this salad dressing for lunch every single day of my senior year of high school.

Ever since I graduated from high school, (almost two years ago…wow) I haven’t been making this salad dressing nearly as often. The truth is, I don’t think I’ve been eating as many salads as I used to. I think that’s one of the side effects of university – healthy eating habits go right out the window. Recently, I’ve been making more of a conscious effort to eat healthy foods and snacks and I can tell you that I feel so much better. Is anyone else planning a health kick this month? Mine’s been going pretty well so far, I mean, I didn’t buy any chocolate covered pretzels last time I was at the grocery store.

Basic Balsamic Vinaigrette (makes 3/4 cup)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
1/8 tsp salt and pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Directions

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, salt and pepper.

Next, while continuously whisking, pour in olive oil in a light, steady stream. Continue to whisk until olive oil is incorporated into vinegar and dressing has thickened, about 30 seconds. The dressing should be thick enough to coat a spoon (as seen in photo above). The oil and vinegar should not be separate.

Are you on a healthy kick too? What kinds of recipes are you looking for? Let me know. Give this Basic Balsamic Vinaigrette a try for your next lunch.

- Lou