Quick & Easy Breakfasts + an Oatmeal Recipe

Hi and Happy Friday!

You may have noticed that there's been a lot of talk about healthy and packable lunches recently due to the start of the new school year. I've loved checking out the ideas and I'll be trying out some new lunches for Derek and I just to mix things up a bit. I cannot eat the same thing day after day!!

For me, BREAKFAST is where it's at. Hands down it's my favourite meal of the day. I get up each day looking forward to a delicious and satisfying breakfast and on the weekends, there is nothing better than heading out with family and friends to a leisurely brunch. I just love, love, love it!

You've probably heard before that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After a rest period of several hours during the night, our bodies need fuel, so that our muscles and brains are able to function at their best. Eating within the first hour of waking is a great way to give your body the energy it requires to start your day off on the right foot.

Breakfast doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't have to be made up of some sugar-laden processed cereal, pastry or bar either. I've compiled a list of my favourite breakfasts that are quick, easy and healthy. I eat breakfast every single day and I am that girl who is always running 5 minutes late for work. If I can make time, then so can you!

Greek Yogourt with Fruit and Granola

Overnight Baked French Toast

Toasted Multigrain Bagel with Light Cream Cheese

Bananarama Protein Pancakes

Classic Green Smoothie

Toasted Egg and Cheese Sandwich

Egg White Scramble with Veggies

Breakfast Burritos

Toasted Tomato Sandwich

Breakfast Cookie

Peach Vanilla Chai Smoothie Bowl

Toast with Peanut Butter and Banana Slices

Overnight Oats in a Jar (OOIAJ)

Healthy Monkey Bread (this is a new one that I am SURE is awesome!)

Cottage Cheese with Chopped Fruit (I like peaches) & cinnamon

Breakfast Tostadas

Leftover Pizza ;)

Kashi Go Lean with Lowfat Milk or Almond Milk

Banana Coconut Slow Cooked Oats

*Some of these ideas are mine and some originally came from other bloggers who I respect and follow regularly. I have added the links wherever applicable.*

As you know, I've been loving oatmeal lately and cooking up a batch of steel cut oats in the slow cooker is such a great idea during the week. It takes about 5 minutes to throw your ingredients together before you go to bed and when you wake up, you have an a healthy and delicious breakfast ready and waiting.

Here is my latest oatmeal concoction ~

Zucchini Bread Slow Cooked Steel Cut Oats
Serves 2

This recipe was inspired by Janetha's Slow Cooked Apple Cinnamon Oats and Angela's Zucchini Bread Oatmeal. It is a perfect breakfast for a cold Fall morning. It's hearty and delicious and will keep you satisfied for hours.

1/2 c steel cut oats
1 c unsweetened original almond milk (you could use regular milk)
1 c water
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp Earth Balance (or butter)
1 c grated zucchini

*Note: I used a small hot dip crockpot for this recipe. If you don't have one, see Janetha's instructions here for using a larger crockpot*

Place all of the ingredients into your crockpot and stir to combine.

Turn your crockpot on low and cook for 8 - 9 hours.

Spoon into your bowls and top with chopped walnuts, cinnamon and an additional dab of Earth Balance (as per Angela's instructions). Serve and enjoy.

This is a 'stick to your ribs' kinda breakfast that will keep you satisfied for hours.

Sticky, sweet zucchini bread awesomeness in every bite!

What's your favourite breakfast for days when you are on the go?

Have a GREAT Friday!!

Andrea
xoxo

Zucchini Cheddar Egg Muffins

Morning, friends! Welcome to the last Tuesday of August. Crazy right?!

Lately you've seen many ramblings and brags about my garden and finally we are seeing the produce that I've been very (im)patiently waiting for. Lettuce, green beans, cherry tomatoes and boatloads of zucchini are what's in season at my house right now. I've been able to share the lettuce, beans and tomatoes with family & co-workers, but the zucchini count is starting to get a wee bit out of control.

So far, I've made ~

- my favourite zucchini bread

- Courtney's light & tasty zucchini casserole and zucchini latkes

- my dad's goulash

I still have 2 1/2 zucchinis at home and several little baby ones growing away in the garden. Is anyone in need of zucchini?? I would be very happy to share! :-)

On Sunday, I did a little meal prepping for the week and one of the things that I cooked up was a batch of egg muffins. These are great because you can make them on the weekend and store them in the refrigerator for a week. I often pack them in my lunch or pop a couple in the microwave for breakfast on the go. I got the idea after I made Courtney's zucchini casserole. I mean really, can you go wrong when you mix zucchini and cheddar together?!  I think not.  

Zucchini Cheddar Egg Muffins
Recipe adapted from He & She Eat Clean

Makes 12 egg muffins

1 1/2 c shredded zucchini
1/2 c mushrooms, diced
1/2 c onions, diced
3/4 c shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs
14 egg whites
1 tsp Italian seasoning
sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 375. Grease your muffin tin well.

Place zucchini, mushrooms & onion in a large bowl and mix well. Fold in 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese. Scoop the veggie mixture into the muffin tins. Fill each cup about 2/3 to 3/4 full.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs & egg whites. Stir in your spices.

Pour the egg mixture over the vegetable mixture filling each muffin cup. Leave a little room because the egg will puff up & expand as it bakes.

Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over the egg mixture in each muffin cup.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for approximately 10 minutes.

Slide a knife around the edges of each egg muffin and carefully remove each one and place it on a cooling rack.

Once the egg muffins are completely cooled, store in an airtight container in the fridge.

I know this muffin tin is old and ugly but that's because it's been well loved <3

One thing I would caution is that non-stick spray is not the most effective when trying to get these little muffins out of the tin. Even though I used a knife to cut around the edges and a fork to oh so gently lift the muffins up and out, several of them came out with a messy looking bottom. Lucky for me, the ugliness did not affect the taste - these are tasty little bites if I do say so myself! Next time I'm going to grease my pan with shortening and I hope that will make the whole muffin removal procedure a little easier and more successful.

Here are some other zucchini recipes on my radar to try over the next couple of weeks ~  

- Jessica's Whole Wheat Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins 

- Summer Squash & Ricotta Galette

- Jenna's Portobello & Zucchini Lasagna

- Angela's Zucchini Bread Oatmeal 

Do you have any great zucchini recipes that I should try? Please leave your link below.

Enjoy your day,

Andrea

xoxo

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for....Zucchini?!?!?!!

Happy Sunday!

Are you having a fabulous weekend? This has been a fairly uneventful weekend for me, which has been really nice. We've been super busy lately and the end of the summer is jam packed with a wedding, arrivals of LOTS of babies, milestone birthdays, year end team parties and family visits.  Sometimes it's nice to spend a day bumming around home and chillaxing a bit.

Derek's away for most of the day and I woke up with an urge to get my booty into the kitchen. Well, first I hit the gym and then I stopped by my favourite veggie stand (I'm pretty sure the gal working the stand was really happy to help this sweaty, red-faced

babe :-) ....and then I got my booty into the kitchen.

One of my best deals at the veggie stand was 3 zucchinis for $1. You can't get a much better deal than that! You've probably noticed that I tend to use zucchini alot around here, but I have yet to share my most favourite way to eat it......I'm talkin' about some seriously amazing zucchini bread!

Zucchini Bread
Adapted from allrecipes
Makes 1 loaf

This is the best zucchini bread recipe I have ever made. I've made a few minor changes to make it more healthy and it is the most moist, mouthwatering bread of all time!!!! Tastes best when served warm smothered in Earth Balance. This bread freezes really well.

1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 chia eggs (or regular eggs)
1/2 c coconut oil
2/3 c white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 heaping c grated zucchini
1/2 c chopped walnuts, optional (I didn't have any this time, but usually I do include them)

Grease an 8" x 4" loaf pan. Preheat oven to 325.

Sift flours, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a medium sized bowl.

Mix chia egg, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Note: I found the batter to be a little drier when I made my healthy substitutions, so I added a little under a 1/4c of water. Feel free to add a splash of water, if necessary.

Looks different when using chia --- but it's so healthy!!!

Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes on the middle rack. You'll know it's done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool on the rack.

I dare you to try and eat just one slice!!! The first bite is pure heaven. I might have had two three slices as soon as it came out of the loaf pan. Don't judge :-)  

What is your favourite way to eat zucchini?
Do you like to make your own breads and muffins? Fave recipe - please share or link it up!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

Andrea

Greek Style Bruschetta Sammies

Can you believe that we are still in the middle of this loooooonnnnggg heat wave? Right now as I type this our temperature is 35C, feels like 46C. For you Americans that's 97F, feels like 107F. The radio DJs this morning said that we are hotter than Havana, Cuba, Jamaica or Kandahar. What the heck?! That is way too hot for this Canadian gal! I don't mind the heat, but I really wish the humidity would take a hike!

Tonight I came straight home from work to let the dogs out. They're nice and cool in their crates while we're away, but I want to make sure that they're getting lots and lots of water to avoid any issues with dehydration. This weather can be deadly for pets, so please make sure that they have lots of cold fresh water and somewhere they can go that is out of the sun!

I had plans to hit the gym ~ because I am just dying to sweat a little more ~ so I whipped up my favourite pre-workout snack: a brown rice cake smeared with my new love, sunflower seed butter. I could  have eaten this stuff with a spoon. Hands down this is my fave nut butter of all time.

After the gym I had a repeat dinner from my WIAW post. It was something I made on the fly when I was feeling extrememly lazy and it turned out to be delicious, so I  knew I had to share. I prepped the veggies before I left for the gym and then I put it all together and had a delicious dinner within about 15 minutes after getting home.

Greek Style Bruschetta Sammies

Makes 2 open-faced toasts (which for me feeds 1 ;-)

2 pieces of bread (I used Weight Watcher bread to keep my portions small)
1 tsp Earth Balance or butter

1 - 1 1/4 c chopped veggies (I used grape tomatoes, sweet onion, zucchini & black olives - marinated artichokes would be an amazing addition too!)
1 clove of garlic minced
1/3 c shredded cheese (I used a mix of feta & mozza)
1 small fresh basil leaf, minced

Turn your oven to broil.

Heat a small frying pan on medium heat. Add the Earth Balance.

Once melted, add your veggies and garlic. Stirfry until the onions and the zucchini begin to soften.

While the veggies are cooking, toast your bread either in the toaster or by putting it under the broiler for just a few short minutes.

Place toast in a shallow oven safe dish. Top with the veggie mixture followed by the cheese. Sprinkle the basil on top.

I like to load my toasts up!!

Fresh basil straight from my herb garden --- so fresh and delicious!

Place the toasts under the broiler for 4 - 5 minutes. I like the cheese to be melty and for me it's done when the tops start to turn a gorgeous golden brown :-)

Remove from the oven and let sit for 2 or 3 minutes. Watch those tomatoes they are tongue burnin' hot when they first come out of the oven.

Serve & enjoy!

I like to have this as a lonely girl dinner when Derek's left me to my own devices. This could easily be turned into a fun appetizer by topping slices of a baguette instead of the toasts.

What's your favourite lonely girl/boy meal?

Have a great night. Stay cool...and if you live somewhere cool, please send a little my way!!

Andrea

Easy Veggie Tostadas

I have a confession to make ~ I am having a real hard time with time management at night. Many nights a week I am still either cooking or doing dishes at 8 p.m. or sometimes even 9 p.m. and I've gotta say I am starting to feel worn out. There is nothing I hate more than being stuck in the kitchen while some of my all-time favourite shows are playing in the background. Oh NCIS: Los Angeles (and Chris O'Donnell), how I have missed you. I promise to recommit to our Tuesday night date time starting NOW.

In order to make more time for myself in the evenings, I've decided that in addition to making healthy dinners each night, I need to focus on making things that are quick to whip up with fairly easy clean up.

Tonight I was successful! I set out to make mushroom tacos and I ended up with veggie tostadas. Long story about how this happened, but let's just say the only way I can succeed with corn tortillas is when they are laying flat. I love it when you end up with a meal that is so delicious and unexpected! This fits my criteria of quick, easy, delicious and little clean up required. I also love this meal because it can be vegetarian for me, but shredded chicken would make this a perfect meal for Derek as well. We love Mexican food and these tostadas are awesome!!

Veggie Tostadas
Makes 4 tostadas - serves 2 people

This is an easy, delicious dinner that can quickly be whipped on a weeknight when you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can substitute any veggies that you have on hand and you could also substitute the refried beans for any other beans you like. Just mash them up a bit before putting them onto the tostada. A salad is a great addition to round out this meal.

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, cut into half moons
1 package of sliced crimini mushrooms (227g)
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch sea salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 - 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 corn tortillas
1/2 c vegetarian refried beans
4 corn tortillas
3/4 cup grated cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and garlic. Add a pinch of sea salt and cook for 3 minutes.

Add the mushrooms, zucchini, red pepper, chili powder, cumin and red pepper flakes. Cook for an additional 6 - 8 minutes or until the mushrooms are starting to brown.

Cumin & chili powder...two of our favourite spices!

Doesn't this look fantastic!? 

While the veggie mixture is cooking, place your corn tortillas in the oven on the middle rack. Leave them for only a few minutes. You want them to be crispy and starting to  brown.

Remove the tortillas from the oven. Now we are ready to assemble our tostadas!

First, smear approximately 2 tbsp of refried beans on each tortilla.

Top with veggies.

Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Place the tostadas on a cookie sheet and return them to the oven. Bake until the cheese is melted -approximately 5 - 7 minutes.

Remove from oven. Serve and enjoy.

I served my tostadas with a chickpea feta salad. This meal was delicious!!!

I was so sad Derek wasn't home to enjoy this meal ~ he's the one that introduced me to "real" Mexican food ~ he went to school in Texas and considers himself a connoisseur :-). The only thing that might have made this better would have been some fresh guacamole (doesn't it make all Mexican food better?) It will definitely be something that we will add on our next tostada adventure.

What is your all-time favourite Mexican dish?

Did you happen to see Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution? I had it on in the background as I was preparing this post. I am absolutely fascinated and appalled at what is being served to children in their schools and the length at which people will go to hide it. The part about the cow and it's yucky bits was utterly disgusting. Any thoughts??

Have a great evening,

Andrea