savory style breakfast

The other morning, while reading blogs, I came to Jessica’s post on caprese baked eggs.  You’ve come to know I’m egg obsessed and just thinking about this delicious recipe had me more than excited to try it out.

I gathered the necessary ingredients, plus a few extras.

Farm fresh, local, organic eggs.

Nothing beats them. 

Instead of ramekins, I used mini soup crocks.  Either will work just fine.  There is definitely room for two eggs in the mini soup crocks, but I only used one.

Ingredients included:

• spinach
• grape tomatoes
• sharp white cheddar [organic valley – my fav]
• button mushrooms
• basil
• egg
• s+p

I tried this recipe yesterday for lunch and again this morning for breakfast, because I wanted to test something out.

And well, it was just that good!

2 things I noticed. 

1. In comparison to Jessica’s version, I used 3 “wet” ingredients. –> spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes – All three of those release a lot of liquid while cooking.  In the first version, I added the 1/2t cream [okay, I was out of cream, so I added almond milk], but the end result created too much liquid.  I’m sure if you’re only adding 1 “wet” ingredient, like in Jessica’s version, adding the 1/2t cream would be a great addition.  However, if you add 3 “wet” ingredients, you can leave the cream out. 
2. This morning, I left the cream/milk out and added 1t flour to the bottom of the dish.  I wanted to see if this would help soak up a little of the liquid and it definitely did!

So, if you decide to make this version, I recommend leaving out the 1/2t cream and adding 1t flour as an option.  If you’re dipping crusty bread into the finished dish, the flour isn’t necessary.  With the whole “no gluten” thing, I have no crusty bread around for dipping.  Sad!

Can you believe my basil plant is still thriving??  I’m shocked that it isn’t dead.  The rosemary + thyme are doing excellent as well! 

After baking + broiling [great method!], the end result is what you see below.

A slightly runny egg, with perfectly cooked veggies, and gooey melted cheese.

Veggie Baked Eggs [adapted from Jessica’s Caprese Baked Egg Cups] serves 1

• 2 eggs
• 1/2c freshly grated cheddar cheese [loosely packed]
• 4-6 grape tomatoes, sliced
• 2 large mushrooms
• 3 fresh basil leaves, sliced
• small handful of spinach ~1/2c
• s+p
• butter to grease
• 1t flour [opt]

1. Preheat your oven to 350*
2. Grease 2 mini soup crocks, or ramekin dishes. 
3. If using, sprinkle 1t flour [white, whole wheat, oat, buckwheat, quinoa…] in the bottom of the dish.  If you plan on dipping bread into the dish, you can skip this step.
4. Place 1/2 the spinach, 1/4 of the tomatoes, 1/4 of the mushrooms and 1/4 of the cheese in each dish.
5. Crack an egg overtop and add the remaining tomatoes + mushrooms. 
6. Top with remaining cheese + basil.
7. Bake for 8min, then turn your broiler on for another 3-6min, depending on how “done” you want your egg.  Watch closely while broiling.
8. Top with salt + pepper

*Feel free to cook 2 eggs in 1 cup as well.  They might need to bake and/or broil for 1-2min longer. 

Besides pleasing my taste buds, this recipe also pleased my patience.  You can throw it together in under 5 minutes, while your oven is pre-heating.  Then it’s done cooking in 10-14min, which allows you a little morning time to check your email, throw on makeup, or sip your coffee. 

In need of crusty bread.

Seriously.

Topped with salt + pepper, this is a savory breakfast dream. 

When you start to dig in, don’t get too over zealous. 

Or this may happen.

Tomato fail.

Happy Friday!!

Ashley

Detox Day 3 – out + about

I headed to Boulder, bright + early this morning, to hang out with Laura and have a fun work day together.  It gets a little boring working from home everyday.  Today, my morning routine went like this.

• alarm –> snooze 10min
• out of bed
• dry brush, shower, dressed
• lemon water chug
• finish getting ready
• make oats + eat oats
• make smoothie for me + smoothie for chris
• check email
• out the door

= 1 hour, not bad right?

I made a small-ish bowl of Bob’s Red Mill high fiber cereal this morning.  I used about 1/4c, with almond milk and 1/2 banana.  On top I added coconut butter and unsalted/unsweetened peanut butter. 

2 confessions.

1 – I JUST found out, thanks to reader Evan, that this hot cereal has wheat in it!!  Detox fail.  Whooops.  I bought this a few weeks ago in the bulk bins, and totally forgot that wheat germ + wheat bran were in the ingredient list.  It’s also made up of oat bran, flax, and a few other things.  I was so glad he brought this to my attention, because my goal was to rid my body of all wheat.  I didn’t even think to check this!  No big deal though.  Now I know. :)

2 – I’ve been buying jarred peanut butter.  Yes, the nut butter queen, has not been making her peanut butter at home.  There is however, good reason.  Lately, Whole Foods and another local health store [Natural Grocers] have had Maranatha organic peanut butter on sale.  On top of the sale, I’ve also had $1 off coupons.  This has brought the total cost of a 16oz jar of organic peanut butter to a whopping $1.50.  I’ve gotten 3 jars at this price in the past 2 months.  The latest jar I bought was unsweetened and unsalted.  It also doesn’t have the added palm fruit oil, which is used as a stabilizer.  There was oil on top, but I mixed it up and it was the perfect drippy consistency.  I don’t mind unsalted peanut butter and really love this brand!  I was getting a little bored with the plain almond butter, so this is a nice change of pace.

Eating organic peanuts is extremely important to me and here is why. 

Peanuts rank among the top 10 foods contaminated with persistent organic pollutants, says the Pesticide Action Network. These chemicals linger in the environment for years and can also build up in the body's fatty tissues.
Read more at Wholeliving.com: Organic Food and You

I’ve read and heard this from numerous other sources as well. 

Back to breakfast…

I really wanted something warm this morning, but was also set on making a smoothie.  I tried to make 1/2 versions of both, to equal a full breakfast.  I’m not sure on the fat/protein content, but I estimated the total calories around 550.

Purple slurple time!!

This creation included:

• 1/4 avocado
• 3/4c frozen blueberries
• ~8 frozen strawberries
• 2T amazing grass vanilla chai protein powder
• 1T chia seeds
• ~1c almond milk
• 1/2 frozen banana

I scraped some coconut butter on top and then poured it into a water bottle after taking the photo above.  I loved the crunchy pieces of coconut butter shell throughout the smoothie, as I consumed this in the car.

Laura and I got to work at at Barnes + Nobles.  I also did a little blog reading.  Can you tell whose blog I’m reading?

We met Natalie [my sis in law] and my friend Lauren for lunch at Whole Foods.  It was a detoxers dream!!  The Whole Foods in Boulder just expanded and it is bigger than you can imagine.  The prepared foods/hot-cold bar area is the size of an entire store.  I had no trouble at all finding many things to eat. 

I love how Whole Foods labels things so well.  I was looking for the “vegan” tags first and then checking for soy + wheat.  I started by making a salad, filled with:

• spinach
• mixed greens
• garbanzo beans
• red quinoa
• sprouts
• sunflower seeds
• cucumbers
• artichoke
• topped with: olive oil/apple cider vinegar/lemon juice/balsamic vin

I also found:

• grilled veggies
• black eyed pea + sweet tater salad
• Mexican rice
• cumin potatoes

Everything was SO good.  I think my favorite was the rice.  I checked the ingredient lists for salt as well.  I don’t know how much salt was used, but tried to keep the hot bar items to a minimum.  They actually didn’t all include salt, either!

Laura + Natalie [mommy to be!!] + Lauren

There I am! 

Since I was away from home until 9pm, I didn’t get a chance to drink my detox tea.  Darn. ;)  However, I did have three cups of tea today, that I would like to think did some good.  Below was a delicious peppermint herbal tea.  It was so amazingly flavorful.  I hate weak teas, so this was great!

I picked Chris up for work, on my way home, and the sky looked amazing.  I wish you could see the mountains behind that hotel.  They looked incredible today.  It was super clear + sunny, but snow covered day.  A lovely view almost everywhere!

When we finally got home, after some errands, it was 9pm.  Today I snacked on:

• rice cake sandwich with peanut butter + raisins [I love Lundberg rice cakes..even the salt free are so tasty!]
• larabar [had one lying around but going to make my own soon!]
• apricots
• apple

I was already planning on leftovers and really excited about it.

To spruce things up a bit, I sautéed mushrooms in a pan and added leftover black eyed peas, millet, brown rice pasta, and brown rice to the mix.  Then, I turned off the heat and stirred in about 3c of raw spinach.  It wilted every so slightly.  Not a big fan of mushy spinach!

Then I topped with a lot of saucey goodness!

I gobbled this up and just ate a delicious apple.

What a lovely day!

Day THREE in review:

• I felt great this morning.  No unusual exhaustion to report.
• I felt more energized throughout the day, than usual.
• Definitely less bloated today.
• I missed my lovely coffee again, but had no problems avoiding it, even when I brewed some for Chris.
• Getting out for lunch was really fun and totally doable, especially if you have a Whole Foods nearby. 
• The lemon water wasn’t quite as bad and is definitely moving things along, in more ways than 1.  I really want to try Teri’s fresh lemon + ginger tea!  Ginger is awesome for digestion as well and I bet this would be a great way to start the morning.
• My skin is feeling much softer, which I attribute to dry brushing.
• I was a little jealous of Laura’s bagel this morning. ;)
• Today I was consistently thirsty.
• I didn’t work out today because there was no time!
• Again, I ate + drank whenever hungry/thirsty.
• I didn’t have any bad cravings, but a chocolate chip cookie sounds pretty good, hehe.

Nothing too crazy to report at all!  Feeling great so far!  Thanks again for all of your comments and interest.  I’m trying to respond to your questions as thoroughly as possible!

While I wasn’t tired throughout the day, I am now officially exhausted.  Night!!

<3 Ashley

---

pre-toxing

detox day 1 – part 1, part 2

detox day 2 – part 1, part 2

adventures of ashley + abby

I forgot!  On Saturday, I had an amazing day of pampering.  I got a massage from a woman my whole family has used for a few years now.  She is amaaaazing.  The best massage, by FAR, I have ever had.  If you’re in Cleveland and looking for a good masseuse let me know!  Then, my mom + I got pedicures together.  I went with a fun purple color for something different.  Such a fun day :)

Abby from Abby Normally came to visit today!!!  It was so so sweet of her to drive in from Pittsburgh to see me!  This was the first time we met in person but I felt like I was getting together with an old friend.  She was super sweet, just like she seems and we didn’t stop to take a breath from talking the entire time :)

I took her to a fabulous veg-friendly place, in a fun little area called Coventry.  It’s filled with little art stores, clothing shops, restaurants, bars, etc.  We went to Tommy’s and mulled over the menu for a long time.  It’s huuuuge and a million non-meat options.  They have a lot of vegan + GF options too!

We both got the same thing!  A whole wheat wrap stuffed with black bean chili, brown rice, lettuce, pickles and a few other things!  It was deelicious! 

Did I mention that Abby has Vibrams too??  She has posted about them quite a bit recently and just has a great blog in general. 

Adventure Tiiiiime

Vibrams in the bookstore.

Hangin’ out on a bench!

Then we drove to the North Chagrin Metorparks [close to my house] and went to Squire’s Castle.  I remember coming here a lot when I was a little kid.  The park is HUGE and has a lot of walking/running paths in the woods.  When I was younger I remember getting completely lost with my brother.  We were at a big picnic with tons of family and friends.  We decided it would be fun to go exploring.  I was probably about 8-9yrs old and we were lost for hours [which felt like days].  I was SCReaming “helllllllpppppppppppppppppp!!!” LOL  We finally made it back hours later, and I was still hysterically crying.  hehehe

I printed out a park map so we wouldn’t get lost!!  I was seriously nervous, haha.

In the castle looking UP!

Feet in the window!

We started our hike….then Abby got a stick caught between her toes.  Silly “shoes.”  We had a blast talking about our feet + food.  Great combo right?

Abby studied the signage.

And I documented just in case. 

We made it back after about 3 miles with no problem.   They really should have a few more trail markers than they do.  The paths are very windy.  I brought snacks just in case :)

Then we said our sad goodbyes!  But it was so much fun and I’m so so glad it worked out!

Foot friends fo’ life!  Or as Abby says…”sole-mates” hehe

Abby left me with some yummy cookies too!!  She made me her avocado Ogre cookies!  She subbed the avocado for butter just like in my chocolate avocado cake.  They had a super soft cakey texture and were filled with yummy surprises [chocolate, raisins, almonds + more]. 

Then I made a quick + easy dinner to eat with my parents.  If you’re ever in a pinch for an easy dinner that is seriously delicious, try this out.  Perfect for summer!

Veggie Grill Samiches

• hearty bread [ciabatta, italian loaf, etc.] sliced thick
• provolone, or other
• zucchini
• mushrooms
• eggplant
• onion
• salt/pepper/garlic powder/olive oil

1. Slice veggies thinly + dress with olive oil + seasonings.
2. Grill over medium heat, in a grill pan or foil, for about 15min.
3. Grill bread and melt cheese on top.
4. Top with veggies. 

This hit.the.spot. 

I cut up fruit, threw it in foil, and grilled that up as well.  I also had a small salad on the side.

Extra shrooms…mmm

Such a fun day!!  I’m going on an adventure tomorrow too, but this time I’m leaving Ohio to go somewhere.  I wonder where I’ll end up!!??  You’ll see Tuesday :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Ashley

Dessert Recipes

Peanut butter, chocolate chip, cream cheese ball – from How Sweet It Is

Dessert Pizza – from How Sweet It Is

Sugar cookie recipe that we used for the dessert pizza – from All Recipes

• I made this recipe exactly as written.  After combining ingredients I pressed it in a greased/floured large jelly roll pan and baked for ~12min, until slightly browned around the edges.  I pressed it very thinly around the pan and it still puffed up a good 1/4-1/2.”

Vanilla Bean Cake – my version

• I left out the almond extract entirely.
• I also subbed vanilla bean paste 1:1 for the vanilla extract.  It worked perfectly and had a much better vanilla flavor and pretty bean flecks!

S’mores Frosting – my “go to” rich + creamy butter cream frosting edited:

• 1c unsalted butter, softened
• 1c pure cane sugar
• 4T all purp flour
• 1c milk [I used whole milk]
• 1t vanilla extract
• 1 bag chopped marshmallows [I used a natural, vegetarian kind from WF]
• 3/4c chocolate chips
• 2 sleeves of graham crackers [usually 3 in 1 box]

1. Over medium heat, in a small saucepan, cook the milk + flour stirring frequently with a whisk.  Watch carefully so this does not burn!
2. Cook until a very thick paste-like consistency is reached.  It takes about 10-20min depending on your stove!
3. Let cool to room temp [fridge/freezer helps!]
4. In a large bowl, beat the sugar + butter until the sugar has almost completely dissolved and the mixture is fluffy, 3-5min.
5. When the milk mixture has cooled, combine together and beat again until fluffy. 
6. Beat in the vanilla.
7. Mix in chopped marshmallows + chocolate chips.
8. Refrigerate [covered] at least 30min to help stiffen the frosting.
9. Before frosting the cake let the frosting sit out for 15-30min to soften so it can spread easily.
10. Break grahams and line edge of cake with grahams. 
11. Crush some of the crackers and sprinkle crumbs on top of the cake.