Veggie and Turkey Egg Casserole

This is a recipe that I like to make to make to have for lunches during my work week.  It makes 10 - 12 servings, so I cut it into servings and freeze it, and then thaw a serving for lunch when I need a quick lunch. 

Instant Pot Sous Vide Egg Bites

I am currently obsessed with Starbuck's Sous Vide Egg Bites, so when I saw Food & Wine's copycat recipe using the Instant Pot, I had to give it a try!  It's a really flexible recipe, so you can switch out ingredients to your liking.  I made one batch with just spinach and ham and called it "Green Eggs and Ham" for my children, and then made another with roasted red peppers and hot sauce for myself.  I did alter Food & Wine's cooking time, because I used bigger size jars.  You may have to play around with yours to see what time works best for yours.  If it comes out a bit undone, just throw it under the broiler in your oven for a few minutes until it's cooked completely through!

Breakfast Sausage Casserole

We love to make this breakfast casserole for holiday brunches.  You can easily make it the night before and then bake it in the morning.  It's easy to make and super indulgent. 

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins are currently my breakfast obsession.  I make a batch every other Sunday, freeze half (they freeze and reheat great!), and then keep the other half in the fridge to eat all week.  I usually do blueberries, but sometimes I use cherries or peaches instead.  I bet it would be great with pecans too!  Not only are these muffins delicious, but they keep you full all the way until lunchtime despite only being 229 calories a serving.  I love that it only takes 30 seconds to warm them up in the microwave in the morning, and then they are ready to eat.  My mornings are so chaotic now that I'm a mom of two kids.  One day  I'll have the chance to actually sit and eat breakfast again, but until then, I'm glad I have these oatmeal cups!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Today is the official last day of summer.  Most people are excited about the start of fall, but I have to admit, I'm more of a summer gal.  I love swimming, and the long summer days, and the fresh meals you can make with all the wonderful summer produce.  Summer food pretty much trumps fall food in every way...except breakfast.  As soon as I start waking up to the chill in the morning air, I know it's time to start making my favorite weekday breakfast:  Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal.

Broccoli & Egg Casserole

Now that we have two children, our mornings are quite chaotic.  My husband usually gets the toddler ready, and I'm in charge of the baby, which doesn't leave much time for ourselves.  To make things easier, I make a big batch of breakfast for the whole week on Sunday night.  During the Winter, we ate Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal, but now that it is officially Spring, I wanted to find a more season-appropriate meal to start our day.  I've also started to work on losing the baby weight, so I wanted a meal that was nutritious and full of protein.  I came up with a Broccoli & Egg Bake, and it is so delicious!  I use just broccoli in my egg casserole, but you could easily add in ham, or swap out broccoli for asparagus or whatever vegetable you prefer.  It is easily adaptable to your tastes!  After I finish baking it, I wait for it to cool, cut it into 10 servings, and stick it in the fridge.  On weekday mornings, I take out individual servings and microwave it.  It reheats beautifully!  I love that I have such a healthy and easy breakfast at my disposal on hectic mornings.

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

I am obsessed with this Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal right now!  It's so warm and comforting on these cool Fall mornings, and it fills me up all the way until lunch.  This is saying a lot, considering I'm currently nursing a 6 week old baby, and generally constantly starving.  Speaking of which, they say oats are great for your breastmilk supply, so this is the perfect meal for my fellow breastfeeding mamas.  To make it easier on my exhausted self, I make a full batch on Sunday evenings, and then just doling out individual portions in the morning all week to microwave.  It tastes just as good reheated as it does when freshly made!  However, if you want less, simply half the ingredients.

Pumpkin Bread

When I was pregnant with my first child, I over prepared for everything:  birthing classes, breastfeeding books, baby supplies, etc.  However, there was one area where I completely dropped the ball:  I didn't make any food ahead of time.  I didn't realize how hard tasks like cooking dinner and running to the grocery store would be with a baby.  Instead we spent the first few months of my daughter's life ordering take-out and eating overly processed boxed foods.  This time, I planned ahead.  I made a month's worth of freezer dinners, snacks, desserts, and breakfasts.  One of my favorite items I made was Pumpkin Bread.  It was so easy and quick to make, and tasted so moist and delicious.  I was originally going to keep it pure with no add-ins, but my daughter convinced me to make it with chocolate chips.  I definitely think she made the right choice!  Feel free to mix in your own personal favorite add-ins.  This recipe makes two loaves, and freezes beautifully...if you can wait that long to eat it. 

Chocolate & Coconut Oatmeal Cups

My almost-3 year old daughter reached a new milestone this month:  she started preschool!  She is a highly social person who is eager to learn, so of course she adores it.  As for me, I adore having three mornings a week free to clean, write up blog entries, or just simply zone out in front of the computer for a few hours.  What I don't adore?  Trying to get both of us ready in the morning.  With me being 8 months pregnant, and my daughter being in the "I-wanna-do-everything-myself" phase, we are always in a rush to get to school on time.  Fortunately, I found the perfect breakfast for those hurried mornings:  Baked Oatmeal Cups.  It's a breakfast that can be made ahead of time, and is great to eat on-the-go (like in the car on the way to to school).  It's filled with all sorts of nutritional goodness, like rolled oats and flaxseed, but tastes enough like dessert so your kid will scarf it down.    

Peanut Butter Pancakes

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I've recently been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes.  It can be a struggle to find foods that are both low carb and meet my pregnancy cravings.  One of the hardest cravings for me to ignore are pancakes; they just taste so good right now!  Fortunately, the awesome blog Detoxinista had the perfect solution:  grain free Almond Butter Pancakes.  I made them immediately, and while they didn't taste exactly like traditional pancakes, they were delicious in their own right.  The next time I made them, I switched out the almond butter for peanut butter, and upped the cinnamon, and found them to be even tastier to me.  They are a breeze to make, and low carb enough where I can even have a drizzle of real maple syrup on top.  Yum!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

So today I have some news to share. You may have noticed that my blog entries have decreased a bit since January.  The reason? Well, I've been exhausted and sick.  Just the thought of most food makes my stomach uneasy.  Yup, that's right:  I'm pregnant!  Baby #2 is expected in early October.  I had a very tough first trimester, but now that I'm finally in the second trimester, I can start to feel my appetite and motivation trickle back.  Woo!

Blueberry Spelt Bread

Looking for a healthy breakfast or snack that tastes more like a treat?  Let me suggest baking a loaf of Blueberry Spelt Bread.  This recipe is from the fabulous blog My Whole Food Life, which always has great healthy recipes that don't taste healthy.  Blueberry Spelt Bread is a breeze to make, and tastes delicious to boot.  

Green Chile Egg Casserole

I recently attended a party at my friend Randi's house, where she served a Southwestern Egg Casserole as the main dish.  It was crazy delicious, so of course I had to ask for the recipe.  It was such a hit at her party, that I decided to make it for my daughter's birthday party the following month.   It really is the perfect casserole to make for a crowd; it's the kind of dish where everyone asks for the recipe.  I'm pretty sure it's the inclusion of cottage cheese that makes this casserole stand out amongst all the other egg casseroles; its texture is just incredibly pleasant. It's cheesy, silky, and zesty. Yum!

Banana Bread Muffins

A few days ago, I found myself staring at some incredibly overripe bananas, debating on whether to throw them out or try to make banana bread with them.  I knew our family wouldn't be able to eat a whole loaf of banana bread before it went stale, so I came up with the idea to make Banana Bread Muffins and freeze them instead.  I looked at several Banana Bread recipes to get an idea of what sort of ingredients are used, and then using that as a guideline, created my own recipe, using as many healthy alternatives as I thought I could get away with, without sacrificing the flavor. Since I don't eat bananas, I had to rely on my husband and toddler to critique the outcome.  My toddler, who might be the pickiest eater ever, gobbled them down in under two minutes.  My husband pronounced it "delicious!" and was shocked when I told him they were healthy.  Success!  I froze the remaining muffins, so now I have an easy breakfast for them.  I just pop one out of the freezer, microwave, and voila, a relatively healthy breakfast in under 30 seconds.  

Skinny Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies

If you've been following my blog, then you've probably noticed by that I have a major thing for brownies. And I do, I truly do. I could eat brownies all day, every day, and never get sick of them. So when I stumbled upon another healthy brownie recipe, a Skinny Peanut Butter Swirl Brownie from Sally's Baking Addiction, I was excited to give it a try.  This particular recipe uses yogurt and oats instead of butter, oil, and flour.  The result?  A fudgy, delicious, and healthy brownie!  I changed the recipe around to suit my own needs and tastes, and to lower the calories a little more (the original had 200 calories, mine has about 100).  Because there is no oil, butter, flour, etc. in these brownies, and since they are made with yogurt and oats, it's actually healthy enough to serve for breakfast if you are in the mood for it! It's also a great snack for toddlers and kids, though I recommend using full fat peanut butter and yogurt if you are making it for your children.  Another great thing about these brownies, like most of my recipes on my blog, these only take a few minutes to whip up.

Skinny Green Monster

I've been wanting to try the ubiquitous Green Monster smoothie for some time now.  Not only are they suppose to be delicious, they are packed with vitamins and minerals, and reportedly give you a great boost of energy.  However, two hurdles had prevented me from trying the Green Monster: one, they are always made with bananas (which I despise), and two, they are usually a little high in calories for just a snack.  I was once again motivated by  my non-vegetable eating toddler to try my hand at a hidden vegetable recipe.  I threw together some fruit and spinach I had sitting around, blended it up, and was shocked at how good it was. The best part? Me, my husband, and my toddler were all fighting over who got to drink it all.  I never thought I'd see the day where my 16 month old would snatch a drink made with spinach out of my hand.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

I've seen a ton of recipes recently where an avocado is used to make a dessert item, especially pudding. What ended up motivating me to give it a try was my picky toddler. I have the hardest time getting her to eat any sort of vegetable and fruit at all.  It's gotten to a point where she'll only eat healthy food if I can disguise it as an unhealthy food (not unlike many adults).  A chocolate avocado pudding seemed like a perfect way to sneak in some good nutrition into her diet.  It worked like a charm: my toddler thought she was getting a special dessert, and I found a healthy recipe that takes five minutes to make.  You might be wondering how an adult might like Chocolate Avocado Pudding?  Honestly, I can faintly taste the avocado in this dish, which some might find off-putting.  However, I love avocados, so it didn't bother me at all.  My husband really enjoyed the pudding too. I think it would make a fantastic breakfast, snack, and/or dessert.  If you want to mask the avocado taste more, check out the notes at the bottom of the page for some tips on how to do that.

Peanut Butter & Banana Pancake Muffins

I recently found a recipe on Pinterest called "Toddler Muffins" made with pancake mix and bananas. I made them and my kid loved them, but I just didn't feel good about giving them to her on a regular basis. The recipe called for 1 cup of pancake mix (the "just add water" kind), 1 diced banana, 2/3 cup water...and 2/3 cup of maple syrup.  That's a lot of sugar.  It's no wonder my 14 month gobbled it up. The little voice inside my head was repeating "increasing her risk of diabetes" over and over every time I gave it to her, but she's become such a picky eater, and it was literally (and I mean literally) one of the few things I've been able to get her to eat lately.  So I decided to create my own Toddler Muffins recipe; one that was made with a little  bit healthier ingredients.  Fortunately, my first attempt was met with resounding success.  She gobbled them down just as quick and happily as she did the high sugar ones.  

How To Cold Brew Coffee

I have loved coffee since I was an angsty teenager, hanging out for hours on end at the local Huddle House. However, when I was pregnant, even though I limited myself to a cup a day, that cup irritated my sensitive stomach.  I tried to go without my daily dose of caffeine, but not only did I miss the routine of my morning cup o' joe, I also suffered horrible caffeine withdrawal headaches. 

My husband is what I call a "Coffee Expert"; partly because he was a barrista at Jittery Joes when he was in college, but mainly because he is a coffee addict. You will rarely see him without a cup of coffee in his hand if it's before 2pm.  He is kind of like the boss in the movie Office Space.  Anyways, he recommended we try making cold brewed coffee, as opposed to hot brewed coffee.  

Mini Frittatas

As I mentioned in my Overnight Oatmeal post, I like to make my breakfast in large batches on Sunday evening, so that I'll have an easy-to-eat-and-go breakfast for the entire work week.  I often crave a savory breakfast, so I was super stoked when I stumbled upon this Mini Frittata recipe on Pinterest.  I changed the recipe to make it healthier and to increase the serving size, and was incredibly pleased by the results.  They taste great, are easy to eat on the go, and keep fine for the entire work week.