Pears are at their peak now. Here’s a simple breakfast [or dessert] recipe incorporating them.
1 pear, chopped
1 c. plain Greek yogurt
1 T. ground flax seed
1 – 2 T. liquid honey
Combine in a small bowl. Enjoy. Serves one. Optional ingredients include chopped walnuts or other nuts.
[This makes a huge batch and can easily be halved or quartered--which I will do next time as mixing this quantity was too hard on my hands and arms.]
10 c. white flour
3 c. whole wheat flour
3 c. quick oatmeal
¼ c. sugar
5 T. baking powder
5 T. baking soda
2 T. salt
1 C. each bran, ground flaxseed and dark rye flour
Mix in a large, airtight container.
To use
Combine:
1 c. milk
1 c. mix
1 egg.
2 T. oil
(Makes about 6 – 8 pancakes.)
Breakfast is a tough meal for me in that I can’t “face” a lot of food in the morning. I’d found however that I wasn’t eating enough throughout the day and then over-eating at supper time. I’ve decided to try and eat more in the mornings to see if it helps. Here’s something that takes about 20 minutes.
Saute in a non-stick pan in a little oil:
1/2 pepper, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
4 mushrooms, sliced
Mix in a bowl:
1 egg
2 egg whites
Add to the vegetable mixture, and cook until the eggs are done. The vegetable mixture is pretty flexible. A bit of grated cheese could also be added. Good with turkey bacon and toast or hash browns. Serves two.
3/4 c. white flour
1/2 c. each whole wheat flour and ground flaxseed
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. raisins
1/4 c. nuts, chopped
1/2 c. liquid honey
1 egg
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 c. mashed bananas (about 2)
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well and make a well in the middle. In separate smaller bowl, beat egg until frothy. Add milk, oil and bananas. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients. Mix until all moistened. Try not to overmix. Bake at 400 20 – 25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins. Note: 3/4 c. chocolate chips can be substituted in place of the raisins and nuts.
1 cup low-fat milk
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1/2 lime, peeled
6 – 8 large, whole frozen strawberries
1/4 c. sliced almonds
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. fish oil (optional)
Place everything in the blender and blend until smooth. Makes approximately 4 cups.
*So named because Tuesday March 9th, 2011 was Fat Tuesday. Also, both the avocado and the almonds contain the healthy (monounsaturated) fats.
Antioxidants in the blueberries, calcium, and “good fats” in the avocado and almonds, this is quick to prepare (and portable.) Adapted from a recipe in Best Health magazine.
1 ripe avocado, peeled and pit removed and cut into pieces
2 c. low fat plain yogurt
juice from 1/2 lime (optional)
3 T. honey or sugar
1 1/3 c. frozen blueberries
1/4 c. sliced almonds (or almond butter)
1/3 c. milk
Note – I tried it with peanut butter instead of almond or almond butter and found peanut butter to be too strong and it overpowered the smoothie. It tasted like I was drinking peanut butter.
Blend together until smooth. Makes 4, 8 ounce servings. (Note – one of my “recipe tasters” didn’t think it would be enough by itself for breakfast – see Debbie’s comment below and my reply.)
I love oatmeal and have it almost every day for breakfast. By itself, it’s pretty bland. Here’s a recipe to take it up a notch.
Basic Oatmeal:
3/4 c. water
1/3 c. large flake oats
dash salt
Combine in large bowl and microwave on high 2 minutes. Let stand a couple minutes to set. Stir in some, any or all of the following:
1 T. coconut
1/4 c. raisins or other dried fruit
1 T. peanut butter or other nut butter or a small handful of nuts
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. each wheat germ and ground flaxseed
(Serve with milk)
Serves one.
*It’s pretty flexible.
Bananas carmelizing in the frying pan with margarine, sugar, and spices.
Also called German Pancakes, these are baked in the oven and served with either fresh squeezed lemon, butter and powdered sugar, or fruit toppings and syrup.
I’ve got a touchy tummy today (and apparently a fondness for alliteration) so I’ve made this for lunch. Adapted from a recipe in my Vitamix book.
Grease a 9″ pie plate. Preheat oven to 400F.
Saute the following in a frying pan on medium heat for about 5 minutes until everything melts and the sugar browns:
4 firm-ripe bananas, sliced
2 T. margarine
1.4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon and nutmeg
Place into the prepared pie pan.
Combine in a blender or by hand:
3 eggs
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. milk or dairy-free milk
1 T. reduced fat sour cream or yogurt
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Pour over the banana mixture. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with any of the above mentioned accompaniments. Also awesome with sliced apples instead of the bananas.
It’s the cold and flu season. The Christmas Season can create a perfect storm of virus susceptibility with all that partying, hugging, kissing and hand-shaking going on! fight back with Immunity Boosting Foods and Immunity Muffins.
From Impact magazine, the top 10 foods for flu season:
Immunity-Boosting Muffins Adapted from Impact Magazine
½ c. margarine
½ c. brown sugar
2 T. honey
2 eggs
1 c. plain live-culture yogurt
2 mashed ripe bananas
1 ½ c. flour – white, whole wheat or a combination
½ c. wheat bran
¼ c. ground flaxseed
1 c. oatmeal
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups berries
½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds or walnuts
Combine margarine, sugar, honey and eggs until smooth. Stir in yogurt and bananas. In another large bowl, mix together flour, bran, flax, oatmeal, soda, powder and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and stir just until moistened. Stir in berries and seeds just until mixed. Do not overmix or muffins will become tough. Fill muffin tins about ¾ full. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until knife inserted in muffin comes out clean. Makes about 15 muffins.
*I have a hard time eliminating the healthy recipes even though they may take a bit longer than thirty minutes.
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