Egg, Spinach & Parm Flatbread

Who's ready for brunch? Me when I made these this past weekend! And hopefully you after reading how super easy and yummy these are. I guarantee they are eggactly what you're looking for...eggstra tasty...eggstraordinarily delicious? Okay that's all I've got.

Puns aside, I kind of get stuck in a rut sometimes with breakfast. I end up eating the same thing pretty much all week long, especially since I've started doing meal prep more. It gets a little boring, so on the weekends, when everything is a bit more leisurely and relaxed, I like to switch it up a bit and try something new (unless my husband is cooking, then I like to sit and do nothing).

This past weekend I decided to try a spin off of the ole egg sandwich classic. I used flatbread instead of English muffins, added spinach (because for some reason we have a Costco sized bag of spinach for just two people??), and topped it off with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Yum! The buttery, toasted flatbread combined with the egg and Parmesan was perfect; plus, it actually ended up being easy enough for a weekday rotation! I'll definitely be making this again soon - perhaps with sauteed mushrooms or grape tomatoes next time! Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comments below :)

Winter Fruit and Nut Oatmeal

I don't know about where you are right now, but it's definitely oatmeal whether in my neck of the woods - cold and stormy, with seemingly no end in sight. And while the rain pours down and the wind whips through the trees, all I want to do is curl up on the couch with a blanket and a hot cup of tea, and watch movies all day. Of course, my almost-four-month-old has other ideas. No leisurely watching movies and lounging around for this tired mommy. But I am still in need of a little cozy, so that's where the oatmeal fits in.

I've always been a huge fan of oatmeal, especially during the cold winter months, and there are so many things you can do with it. I love to add fruit like apples, bananas, and berries; different kinds of nuts; and sometimes I'll toss in flax or chia seeds. It always makes me feel really healthy and fueled for the day. I call this particular concoction my "forage porridge" because it stemmed from literally throwing into the pot what I could find left over in the fruit drawer. I had never put pears in oatmeal before, but it was so good, and now I don't like to make it without them. Depending on how long you cook it, the pear kind of becomes one with the oatmeal and adds a great consistency, along with adding a lot of volume to really fill you up.

Heirloom Tomato and Mushroom Frittata

What can I say about frittatas? Actually, I could probably say quite a bit, but any anecdotal quips I might have regarding my love for them would invariably boil down to three main characteristics: they're delicious, easy, and versatile. Here are some more words of affirmtion in case you don't believe me:

Delicious - that one doesn't take a whole lot of explaining. If you've ever had a frittata, most likely you're on board with this statement. 

Easy - I guess this could be debatable depending on what you would consider easy. I usually consider things to be easy if there aren't too many ingredients, steps, or time involved. This particular recipe meets at least two of those three requirements, so I think we're good there as well. 

Versatile - that's a no-brainer. You can pretty much throw any suitable ingredients you have in your fridge into this thing and it will turn out great; it's kind of like soup that way. Also anything that can be prepared for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is a winner in my book. The only other food I can think of that has a similar versatility is cold pizza - I once ate leftover pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the next day. I'm not necessarily proud of this achievement, but it was delicious nonetheless.

Now that we're on the same page, let's take a closer look.

Quick Post: Berry Mango Fruit Salad with Lime

Hello and Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! I hope you are feeling loved and appreciated today. I didn't get to see my mom today (we celebrated yesterday), but I made a fruit salad in her honor. Thanks again for everything that you do, Mom!

This is a super simple fruit salad that goes great with just about anything. I chose to pair it with a strawberry pound cake I had left over from yesterday, and it went perfect together. The cake soaked up all the yummy juices, and the whipped cream paired amazingly with the tartness of the mangoes and zing of lime. It's also just really good on it's own - all you do is toss the fruit together, squeeze the lime over, and sprinkle with a little sugar - done!

Enjoy your day, moms!

Ingredients

1/2 mango cut into chunks
handful of ripe blackberries
4-5 strawberries cut into rounds and spears
1/4-1/2 lime (depending on juiciness)
1/2 tsp sugar

Serving size: 1-2

Pin It
Thanks for reading my blog! Please leave your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, or meals you would like to see me cook, in the comments below. Follow, share, and enjoy!

---

Blueberry Banana Smoothie with Spinach, Avocado, and Walnuts

Happy Halloween, everyone! I cannot believe how the last several days have gotten away from me; I had planned to make something particularly Halloweeny for this post, but simply did not have the time. I did have the time, however, to make this really yummy and healthy smoothie. There’s no pumpkin or chocolate in it (it’s not even orange!), but it is pretty delicious and very good for you! The blueberries and spinach are full of antioxidants and vitamins, the walnuts provide a bit of protein and omega 3s, the banana adds fiber and potassium, the milk provides calcium and Vitamin D, and the avocado adds a yummy creaminess along with other health benefits (read more about the “alligator pear” HERE).

It may not be Halloween themed, but perhaps it will help combat all those Halloween treats we’ve all been consuming!

Strawberry Hootenanny

A few days ago, whilst perusing Pinterest, I came across an interesting breakfast recipe called “hootenanny,” aka oven pancakes. First of all, the recipe looked easy as pie – 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 6 eggs, 1/4 tsp salt: blend and bake (how simple is that?). Secondly, it looked delectable with the way it bubbled up and browned around the edges; I could almost taste it! And lastly, but certainly not leastly, it’s called hootenanny…hootenanny!! How could I not give it a try? 

Of course, I couldn’t leave well enough alone, so I added yummy strawberries on top before baking, which made a very delicious addition (plus, look how pretty!). I might make a couple more changes next time, but overall I liked how the recipe turned out. Very yummy!

Figgy Oatmeal with Cinnamon and Nutmeg

Oatmeal has been a breakfast staple in my house as far back as I can remember. My mom used to make it for my sister and me before bundling us up and sending us out to wait for the school bus on cold winter mornings. When I didn't want to go to school, it often worked to my advantage; I would feign fever, knowing that the hot oatmeal I had just consumed would skew the thermometer reading in my favor…I thought it was genius, but it didn’t take my mom long to figure that one out!

Back then I liked my oatmeal with butter, mainly because I liked to watch it melt into all the nooks and crannies, and lots of sugar. Today I opt for healthier additions such as fresh and dried fruit, chopped nuts, a drizzle of honey or tsp of brown sugar, and a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg. Recently I bought a package of dried figs for some muffins I attempted to make (I don’t want to talk about it), so I decided to use some of the leftovers. It turned out sweet, chewy, and really yummy!

"Everything" Cheese Spread

Last night my husband and I were at our local grocery store. I’ve been eyeing these delectable looking everything bagels in the bakery department for a while now, and decided to go ahead and pick them up for breakfast this morning. I could smell the onion and garlic seeping through the package, and could practically feel the poppy seeds in my mouth, the way they pop and crunch with every bite. I was so ready to toss them in my basket when I turned them around to look at the nutritional information (I like to torture myself): 330 calories, and only 3 grams of fiber. Next to them were the whole wheat variety (staring me down with their bran crumbles on top) with only 280 calories, and 9 grams of fiber. I liked what I was reading on the whole wheat variety more, but I was practically drooling over the everything version. Now since I don’t often buy bagels, I was okay with splurging on something not entirely healthy, but then I had a thought: what if I buy the whole wheat bagels (which I also really like) and make an everything-type spread to go on top! Problem solved. 

Cinnamon Rosemary Pancakes with Pear Compote

A few days ago I posted a recipe for a Pear Havarti Panini, which was flavored with rosemary and cinnamon. I loved the pear, rosemary, and cinnamon flavor combination so much that I decided to use them again, this time for pancakes. I was really happy with the results.

Getting Started

Since I don’t often make pancakes, or bake in general, I decided to go off of a recipe I found from allrecipes.com. Of course I made some modifications to fit my liking, which I’ve listed below. However, if you have a pancake recipe that you like, feel free to use it; simply add the cinnamon and rosemary and top with the glazed pears. If you don’t have a favorite recipe and don’t want to make it from scratch, prepackaged pancake mix works just as well.