One of the things I miss most about not having my mom nearby is that she knows how to make killer French toast. In Europe, you’ll find more savory French toast types than sweet ones, so when I moved to the US, I really didn’t like the French toast served here at first. But over time, I got accustomed to the flavors and got curious enough to try to develop my own killer recipe. This still isn’t quite my mom’s French toast (and probably never will be), but we still love eating it for brunch on a rainy Sunday morning!

Ingredients (for 2 – 3 people):

1/2 loaf of Challah or Broiche bread – other types of bread works as well, but these are best
3 -4 large organic eggs, beaten
1 cup of milk or half & half
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
a pinch of salt
grated fresh nutmeg to taste – be careful with this, as nutmeg has a very strong flavor
2 tablespoons of butter, more as needed
cooking spray
4 cups of organic strawberries (sliced) and blueberries
maple syrup to taste

Directions

1. Slice up the berries and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and mix the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl.

2. Heat one tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Generously dip each slice in the egg mixture and add to the skillet. Repeat until the skillet is full. Turn each slice after a few minutes, or until each side turns to a light golden brown.

3. Add all slices to a foil covered baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake the toast at 350 for about 10 minutes.

4. Top each slice with berries and a drizzle of maple syrup when ready to serve. Brunch is done!

This smoothie is great for breakfast early in the morning because it’s refreshing, healthy, energizing, and not too sweet! Perfect for summer!

Ingredients (for 1 smoothie):

1/2 cup of fresh pineapple chunks
1/2 cup of fresh sliced mango
1/4 cup of water
about 1/2 an inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled

Directions:

Simply throw all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add a few ice cubes to cool this down even more and add more water if you like your smoothie a bit thinner.

I love a good, hearty lasagna, but really only have time to make lasagna on weekends, since it takes a while to bake in the oven. And even then, who wants to spend all weekend in the kitchen? That’s exactly why I turned to cheese ravioli to speed up the lasagna making process. Here’s how it works:

The ravioli is basically a substitute for lasagna noodles and ricotta / whatever other type of cheese you like to use. I still use Parmesan and Mozzarella, because I like my lasagna cheese and veggie loaded. It does not matter what type of cheese ravioli you buy, as long as it’s the “jumbo” kind. The larger raviolis will make it easier to cut the lasagna into equal portions without making a total mess out of the dish. All the other ingredients are completely up to you! My favorite way to make this dish is with soy crumbs, lots of fresh garlic, spinach and a simple, homemade tomato sauce.

Directions:

1. Boil the ravioli and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, cook your meat with some chopped onions and olive oil. I often make my lasagna completely vegetarian by substituting Morningstar Farms veggie crumbles instead of meat. You could also go completely veggie by stir-frying some zucchini, spinach, and your other favorite veggies.
3. Mix your meat and veggies with tomato or marinara sauce and then layer a large, oven-proof casserole with the ravioli, then the tomato mixture, and then a thin layer of Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese. Keep repeating until all your ingredients are used up.
4. Bake the casserole at 350 for about 35 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and bubbly. Enjoy!

Stove-popped Popcorn

This week’s health nut food is one of my absolute favorites because popcorn is a great source of whole grain, yet it always feel like you’re indulging and eating something “naughty”, doesn’t it? Well, depending on your source of popcorn and how you pop it, you actually might be taking in some terrible chemicals. It’s pretty widely known that microwave popcorn could contain carcinogens. A quick Google search and you’ll find many articles and research supporting this. So, this month, we decided to go au naturel. Here’s what we found:

What I love: Stove popped popcorn actually tastes much better and it’s way cheaper than those microwave popcorn bags! I also love that you can “customize” your popcorn, by picking what kind of oil you want to use and what flavors you dust your popcorn with. Having complete control about the amount of salt isn’t all that bad either.

What I don’t like: Let’s face it, microwaves are convenient and quick. No need to wash pots or clean up, since all the mess is contained in the bag. In today’s busy world, this is a definitely plus, but only if you’re not considering your health…

The verdict: I will likely never eat microwave popcorn again and probably won’t ever feed it to my children either. It’s a bit more work, but it’s just way healthier to pop your own and have complete control over the ingredients (minus the kernels). Definitely try popping your own at some point and I bet you won’t ever go back either.

This is one of my favorite dishes because it’s super quick & easy, fresh, pretty healthy (ok, fine, it’s got its share of butter!) and uses those amazing Meyer lemons I talked about in my previous post again. It also uses my absolute favorite butter: Kerrygold – a rich, creamy and all natural Irish butter that’s sold in many grocery stores. The Kerrygold website has some awesome recipes on it as well, so be sure to check that out, too: http://www.kerrygoldusa.com/recipes/.

Ingredients (for two people)

One bunch of broccolini
Grated zest of a lemon, plus a squeeze of lemon juice
4 tablespoons of Kerrygold Irish butter
Shaved Parmesan cheese (to garnish)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Wash the broccolini and remove parts of the stem. Cut into smaller pieces if desired.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium skillet and add the lemon zest and broccolini. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and saute for about 10 minutes.

3. Season with salt and pepper, the remaining butter, and the shaved Parmesan. Serve warm and enjoy with warm, crusty bread with more butter!

Meyer lemon season generally runs from December to April and is one of my favorite seasons since I absolutely adore the fruit. Meyer lemons are a bit rounder, smaller, and sweeter than regular lemons and you can find them in many grocery stores. I decided to make a lemon olive chicken dish with my newly purchased lemons. Here is how I whipped this up:

Ingredients (for two people)

3 chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise in half
grated Meyer lemon zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 lemon peel
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, sliced
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
5 table spoons of olive oil
1 table spoon of butter
flour for dredging
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Grate half the lemon and peel the other half. Set aside. Drain and slice the olives and finely chop the garlic.

2. Heat the olive oil o medium heat in a large skillet, slice and pat the chicken breasts dry.

3. Combine flour, salt, and pepper and dredge each halved chicken breast in the flour mixture. Lightly fry in the olive oil for a few minutes on each side, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the skillet.

4. Add the butter to the same skillet and once melted, add the garlic, lemon zest, peel, and olives. Sauté for a few minutes on medium heat and then add the chicken broth. Simmer for about 10 minutes until some of the liquid is absorbed and then add the chicken back in. Cook for a few minutes and server warm.

If you’ve got some cremini or white button mushrooms leftover, try adding them in as well by sautéing them with the lemon and olives. They make an excellent addition to this super fresh and easy dish!

In my book, eating healthy does not mean having to slave away in the kitchen for hours. As much as I like to cook, I dislike having to do dishes and standing in the kitchen after a long day at work as much as the next person. Somehow, I still find ways to cook up healthy and delicious meals all the time. Here are my favorite tips for getting these meals on the table faster and easier:

1. Shop Early
I like to plan my meals ahead for about 5 days at a time so that I only have to shop once or maybe twice during the week. This saves me a tremendous amount of time. If you’re unsure what your significant other or kids might have going on during one of the days, simply keep that dinner open, keeping a simple backup (sandwiches and a tossed salad, for example) in mind. Worried about your bread going stale if you shop in advance? Here are some tips on that: http://www.snopes.com/food/prepare/breadtag.asp

2. Cut Ahead
If you have a dish on your weekly menu that you know will require a lot of cutting, save that dish for a Monday or Friday. I prefer Mondays because I’ll simply do my cutting on Sunday evening or afternoon, store the veggies or meats in the fridge, and toss them in a pot or pan the next day. Fridays work as well, though you might be a bit tired or burned out from the week.

3. Freeze Your Herbs
I like to eliminate or reduce the need for fats and oils in my dishes by flavoring them with fresh herbs. But, what to do with those huge piles of thyme and rosemary sprigs? I tend to freeze my leftover herbs. Some say they lose some flavor that way, but I hardly ever notice this and save a ton of money by not throwing out leftover herbs. We used to grow fresh basil by the window sill, which is even more economical. The basil plant died after a while, but we still have a curry leaf plant growing in our kitchen. Hugely popular in Indian cooking!

4. Microwave Your Garlic
This may sound weird, but if you’ve got a recipe with a lot of garlic in it, you can greatly reduce the time you spend peeling the garlic by microwaving the individual garlic cloves on a small plate for about 8-10 seconds. If you microwave them for longer than that, they will start to cook, but if you stick to the 8-10 seconds, the skins will peel off very easily. Voila!

5. Repeat
Need to use up a whole eggplant, but know you won’t be able to use it all up in one dish? Create two! Since buying in bulk is often more economical, I’ll often by more of a veggie or meat and will either freeze or use up the product (if it’s not freezer friendly) by creating two completely different dishes. This way, we don’t get tired of eating the same thing. For example, I’ve made Asian style spicy garlic eggplant and eggplant fajitas (recipe coming soon!) in the same week before. Works out great. And yes, you can still be ambitious and plan to make lamb bourguignon one day. Just plan it for a weekend, holiday, or some time when you really do want to spend time in the kitchen.

Lärabars

Lärabars are delicious fruit and nut bars that make for an excellent snack or breakfast. If you’ve never had them before, here’s why they’re worth a try:

What I love: These bars don’t have more than nine ingredients, which usually include a type of fruit such as dates or apples, nuts, and spices. They truly are all natural and have no added sugars, high fructose corn syrup, or anything artificial. They are pretty filling and with amazing flavors such as cashew cookie and peanut butter chocolate chip, they are extremely tasty as well. They’re also great for people with food allergies and definitely provide sustainable energy throughout the day.

What I don’t like: Lärabars can get pretty pricey since they’re well over a dollar at most stores. I found the lowest prices for them at Trader Joe’s and Target. Some of the bars can be pretty high in fats as well, although the type of fat is generally the good kind since many of the bars contain nuts.

The verdict: Considering how many junk products are on the market today, I absolutely love the Lärabar and think it’s well worth the price. It’s an excellent healthy snack for those times when you don’t have access to fresh fruit or veggies. It’s also great for a quick breakfast on those days when you just need to run out and don’t have time to put something nutritious together. I would love to hear what your favorite flavors are (mine include peanut butter chocolate chip and chocolate chip brownie), so let me know when you try these out!

You might be more familiar with eating fennel in soups, but it’s actually quite amazing when braised or roasted as well. I experimented with fennel this past weekend and decided to go the nice and simple route by simply tossing the fennel with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The house smelled amazing and we devoured this fabulous side dish in less than 15 minutes!

Ingredients (for 2 – 3 people)

2 medium sized fennel bulbs
4 tablespoons of high quality balsamic vinegar
5 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and cut the fennel into small (less than an inch thick) slices / rings and add to a large bowl.

2. Toss the slices with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper and bake on a large baking sheet for about 40 to 45 minutes on 400 degrees.

3. Serve warm and toss with grated Parmesan cheese, your favorite sauce, or enjoy the fennel just plain out of the oven, as a satisfying side dish.

As my fellow busy girls know, short-cuts are your best friend when you’re short on time. A few weeks ago, I really wanted to make samosas, but had no time to make the dough from scratch and had a ton of farm-fresh kale on hand that I really needed to use up. My solution: puff-pastry sheets and potato-kale filling! Although less authentic than the original version of the Indian samosa, it worked out fantastic. Here’s what I did:

Ingredients (for 16 samosas)

2 puff pastry sheets (found in the freezer section of your grocery store)
2 medium organic Russet potatoes
half a bunch of organic kale
1 teaspoon of garam masala
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of whole cumin seeds
2 teaspoons of coriander powder
2 teaspoons of red chili powder
2 teaspoons of ginger-garlic paste
2 tablespoons of olive oil (more as needed)
salt to taste

Directions

1. Take the puff pastry sheets out of the freezer to allow them to defrost. Boil potatoes (you can leave the skin on) and lightly mash them so they form small bite-size chunks. Wash and cut the kale into bite-size pieces as well.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan and saute the kale for about 10 minutes, or until soft.

3. Take the kale out and set aside. In the same oil, add the cumin seeds and fry for about 3 – 4 minutes. Add the ginger-garlic paste and the rest of the seasonings. Stir and add in the kale and boiled potatoes. Add salt last and saute for about 10 more minutes to allow all flavors to blend.

4. Turn off the heat and move the skillet to allow the filling to cool. Cut the puff pastry sheets into 8 triangles, as shown in the picture below. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

5. Make cone out of each triangle and spoon enough filling in so that the samosa will close without breaking. You can add a tiny bit of water to the edges of the triangles so that edges will stick more easily.

6. Place each samosa on a parchment lined backing sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm with your favorite chutney!