Comunidad Health Foods

When you need to wake up a full 1 ½ - 2 hours earlier than you’d ideally like – especially if you need to do so for an extended period of time – breakfast better be something special. You just need something to look forward to when your alarm starts harassing you. This morning, I was so not into waking up that I didn’t even register that my alarm was going off until it was well into its “desperation mode.” I don’t know about your alarms, but mine starts with a nice calm audio of waves crashing against the sand. Then the seagulls start. And then, if you’re really stubborn and don’t turn it off, the fog horn  from the fishing ship starts. Well today, not only did I awake to fog horn extravaganza, but the frequency of the horn was speeding up, as if my phone was saying, “ALRIGHT JESS, NO MORE MR. NICE PHONE!” Probably revenge for all the times I bad-mouth my phone in its presence.

Anyway, all of this to say, some mornings, a plain cup of yogurt or a bowl of cereal just won’t cut it. Some mornings, you wake up, and you can tell – this day is going to be a doozy. You have to prepare yourself. And I can think of no better way to make having to wake up early bearable than knowing that you have ice cream to look forward to for breakfast.

Ok, sorbet really. Sorry, I’m a dietetic intern – only on rare occasions do I support cracking open a pint of Ben & Jerry’s as the sun is still rising. Still, this might as well be ice cream to your taste buds – it’s cold enough to give you brain freeze, yet creamier than a popsicle or Italian ice. And did I mention it’s healthy? Yup. Totally breakfast worthy. So you may be treating yourself to something that feels indulgent, something that will make you totally excited to hear that fog horn blaring from your phone, because it means it’s time for breakfast….without feeling like you’re sacrificing those awesome healthy habits you pride yourself in during less cranky times.

I call this Summer Sunrise Sorbet and I highly suggest that you make it for breakfast (and pretend you’re eating ice cream for breakfast), but it’s really wonderful any time of day. Plus it’s easy and doesn’t require any fancy ice cream maker. Did I mention that it’s awesome? Because it is.

One Year Ago: Feta-Stuffed Burgers with a Greek Side Salad

Two Years Ago: Strawberry-Mango Power Smoothie

Yield: 1 serving

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

(printable recipe)

1 heaping cup frozen cantaloupe chunks¹

1 heaping tablespoon plain, non-fat greek yogurt

2 strawberries, chopped

2-3 teaspoons slivered almonds

Add the cantaloupe to a food processor or blender and process until the mixture resembles shaved ice or a granita (it will be blended but not smooth). Add the yogurt and 1 ½ strawberries and blend further until smooth, pausing to scrape down the sides as necessary. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and top with the remaining ½ strawberry and a sprinkling of slivered almonds.

Source: Floptimism Original

Today is National Caviar Day, the epitome of haute-cuisine and food snobbery, so naturally I planned to write about one of the least sophisticated recipes you could possibly imagine. French Toast is what happens when old food and stinginess come together in one kitchen. Sure, you can get fancied up versions at some of the most upscale brunch venues, but deep down, you know what French Toast is. It’s stale bread made edible with some cheaper still ingredients – eggs and milk. Who would have thought that stubbornness to not waste old food could lead to such a delicious meal? 

It all started last Friday night when we pulled half a loaf of homemade challah (yes, I am holding out on the recipe – I’m still trying to tweak it to get it just right) out of the freezer from 2 weeks before, since all of this internship prep work has left little time for experiments in the kitchen. After one bite, I wrinkled my nose and shook my head – the freezer had not been kind to these slices of once-delicious, eggy bread. There was only one solution: quickly swap out the old challah for a fresher (though not homemade) loaf of bread, and transform the stale bread into French Toast for a leisurely, frugal Saturday morning breakfast the next day.

I found a quick recipe on Eliza Domestica for overnight French toast casserole, which seemed the perfect way to ensure that the challah became fully saturated with the liquid in the recipe, and changed it slightly in the hopes of making a more exotic dish. Within about five minutes I had the casserole in the fridge, ready for the next day. I dirtied 1 liquid measuring cup and about 2 measuring spoons, plus the dish that I baked the casserole in the next morning. If I ever were to have a big group of people over to stay, or for a mid-morning brunch, this is the recipe I would turn to. No questions asked.

It was supposed to be tropical: coconut-almond milk, rum extract, you know. Fancy French Toast. My mom swears she tastes the coconut, but L and I are convinced that she’s just one of those super tasters. You can’t get anything past her. To us, it just tasted like French toast. Delicious French toast, but definitely not Fancy French Toast.  L says he prefers his mom’s, but I think the fact that it came in casserole form and didn’t look like regular French toast weirded him out a little bit; I got a little upset but didn’t let it stop me from enjoying several slices. It’s not overly sweet on its own – but a drizzle of syrup or a pile of fresh fruit (try pineapple chunks and shredded coconut to bring out the tropical flavors I was going for!) is all it needs to make it complete. And once you bite into it, I don’t think you’ll care that deep down, this French toast is more frugal than fancy. 

 

Today, I have a quickie for you. You see, I’ve been up since 7 and apart from a 15 minute jog, a hop in the shower and an oh-so-necessary baking venture consisting of chocolate and raspberries (can you blame me?), I have been up to my elbows in research about cinnamon and Type 2 Diabetes. All of this effort and time, just to come to the conclusion that more research is needed. So needless to say, my brain is deepfried, and it’d probably be wise not to launch into some long, complicated recipe. My summer course ends on Tuesday, so pretty soon I will be back to my old, totally sane self. Do not make any jokes.

This little gem is something I like to call Banana Mash Frosting. And yes, about 90% of the time I refer to this dish I start singing the Monster Mash song in my head. I just can't help myself. It (the recipe, not the song) is similar to a technique I saw over at Chocolate Covered Katie, which is one of the most fabulously creative blogs ever. Basically, this “recipe” came out of the realization that if you freeze a banana and then thaw it (something I do all the time for banana bread), it completely changes textures and turns much more liquidy than any regular banana ever could. When mixed with the right ingredients, it becomes this creamy, naturally sweet and unabashedly healthy spread. Think pancakes, waffles, yogurt, oatmeal, toast, fruit salad, granola – this baby can top or be topped with just about anything your heart desires. That little blob of a picture at the top of this post would be the mash atop a pumpkin pancake; I'm sure you can do a more artistic job than I did on this particular morning. You can also make riffs on the original with different nut butters, cocoa powder, and even other thawed fruit. So what are you waiting for?

 

 

The weather gets warmer. The sun shines brighter. And I start to think to myself, “It’s almost time for rhubarb.” I start to keep a lookout in the grocery, my eyes sharp with anticipation. I eagerly frequent farmer’s markets. And then one day, sitting in what must surely be a spotlight from heaven, there it is – those long, pink-red stalks. I think I hear a chorus of angels in the background as I select a sampling to bring home with me. I’ve got it! It feels like I’ve won the lottery. Finally, after months and months of rhubarb withdrawal, I have it, in my hands, the possibilities for using it endless.

I honestly don’t even think I love rhubarb. Sure, I like it, but it’s not my favorite. Yet, I can’t help but get giddy when it comes around, simply because it doesn’t happen all the time. As much as I love bananas and apples, they aren’t special. I know people who hoard rhubarb. No one hoards bananas.

I wish more fresh produce were like rhubarb. I wish we could only buy strawberries when they were in season, bright red in the center and juicy instead of stark white and mealy in texture. There are certain things I’m grateful to have – I don’t know what my day would be like without a banana in it, and I love exotic fruits like kiwi and pineapple. We’re very lucky. But I do try to only buy frozen berries unless they’re in season, frozen corn until the husks at the markets are truly at their best. But it’s challenging when we aren’t forced into that sort of seasonal shopping, as we are with rhubarb. It’s a challenge I’d like to take head on in the near future, because I love the exhilaration I get when I spot that first rhubarb stalk of the year. Yes, I said it – exhilaration. If only we could all be so lucky to get so thrilled over our produce bin, right?

This rhubarb spread is a fantastic recipe to make with the rhubarb that’s still peeking out from the corner of the local farmer’s markets. The only thing I changed was to substitute ½ teaspoon vanilla extract for the rosewater, as I didn’t have any and read online that it was an acceptable swap. It’s easy, makes a ton, and is versatile so you don’t have to feel tied down to any one rhubarb dish. Mix it into yogurt – lemon, plain, or strawberry would all be wonderful – spread it on a warm scone or muffin for an afternoon treat, turn it into a milkshake or ice cream sundae.  I stirred it into yogurt (Chocolate Chunk Chobani Champions – say that 3 times fast! – was one of my favorites), spread it on fresh baked challah bread, and dolloped it over a lemon chia pudding. The recipe I have below is for a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Parfait, my personal favorite way that I incorporated the spread. I was sad to see it go yesterday, and think that next year I, too, may need to learn how to properly hoard store rhubarb in my freezer to get even more uses out of it.

 

Tomorrow is National Egg Day. I repeat: tomorrow is National Egg Day.  Finally, I have an excuse to gush on and on to you about the wonder of eggs and egg dishes. Ok, really, I won’t gush on and on – but I do have an egg-centric recipe to tell you about, and I thought leading into tomorrow’s “holiday” was a perfect time.

How many of you buy fresh broccoli? How many of you chop off those annoying stalks and toss them in the trash?

Yeah, I thought so. It’s tempting, right? I mean, what the heck are you supposed to do with those fibrous, tough sticks that hold up the “good part” of the veggie, anyway?

The answer to that question is simple: plenty! I was buying a fair share of broccoli and kept throwing the stalks in the freezer, convinced that there had to be another use for them. I hate throwing food away. I finally did some research when my bag of stalks was ready to burst, and found that if you just peel off the extra tough outer edge, broccoli stalks are actually pretty neat ingredients, and not just for boring soups. That would’ve been a good tip for before I froze them, but I’ve since learned my lesson.

And thus, this broccoli stalk omelet was born. It tastes like garlicky broccoli and eggs, not some concoction of weird, foreign ingredients you’ve never had before. You may not have ever eaten the stalk before, but if you’re a broccoli lover, then this dish shouldn’t take much convincing. The key is to just patiently give the chopped stalks a sufficient amount of time in the pan to become tender. When you mix those with slightly browned bread crumbs and a very healthy dose of garlic, you get an appreciable depth of flavor that isn’t always expected from the humble little omelet.

So the next time you find yourself with some leftover broccoli stalks, give this a try!

Savory Baked Eggs with Vegetables (LC) 

Alright class, did you do your homework? You know what I mean – did you make your chipotle sweet potato dip like I told you to on Monday?

…No?

Well then how are you supposed to make your chipotle sweet potato oats for tomorrow morning?!

As promised, I have for you a recipe that clearly, I am very excited about. I’ve been a fan of overnight oats for about a year now. When I first started making them, I was toying with the idea of adopting a partially raw diet, which is why I gave them a shot in the first place. What I discovered, though, was that by soaking the oats and eating them chilled, you get a natural sweetness that is lacking from conventionally prepared hot oatmeal. Plus, it’s a ridiculously easy grab-and-go breakfast option that can usually be prepped in full the night before. Even though I haven’t started “eating raw,” I’ve still kept this dish as a staple in my diet. In fact, I’m such a fan of overnight oats that the sad emotions I might otherwise feel when I reach the bottom of a peanut butter jar are completely overpowered by the excitement I now associate with empty peanut butter containers –they make delicious vessels for overnight oats. I’ve heard that if you heat the oats and then pour them into the container, it releases the peanut butter from the sides of the container, but I do just fine with my spoon and will-power, scraping down those container walls like I’m getting paid to do it.

 

Because there is peanut butter in the dip, I thought empty-peanut-butter-container-overnight-oats would be fabulous. It turns out, I was very right this time. My first attempt was a little bit bland – it was enjoyable in that clean, barely-spiced kind of way, but it was certainly not worthy of the name “ChipotleSweet Potato Overnight Oats. For my next attempt, I amped up the chipotle, used my updated (and, I think, perfected) dip recipe, and crossed my fingers for the best. The next morning, I woke up, bounced out of bed, and happily tried out my recipe – perfection! It was hot in a smoky, back-of-your-throat kind of way, cool and refreshing. The consistency was spot on, thick and substantial but not gloppy or unappealing. It was exactly what I was going for. I’m smiling now just thinking about it. Seriously, this recipe is a game changer, a winner, a keeper, a slam dunk straight out of the park home run touch down goal hole in one gold medalist in the breakfast food Olympics.

If you think I’m kidding, you haven’t tried the recipe out yet for yourself. My friends, I assure you, this is no laughing matter.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. For such a cliché moment, it doesn’t feel all that dramatic. I even feel pretty silly just typing that phrase. Yesterday’s graduation was a whirlwind of chaos, dehydration, disappointment, sunburn, and (despite it all) delicious food. Maybe how it all played out should have only been expected, given that they were asking a group of 3,000 22-year-olds to sit in the middle of a football field in 80 degree weather in black gowns and heavy hoods as they read each of those 3,000 names and honors aloud – in addition to many drawn-out speeches. Admittedly, it was a poorly executed ceremony. It took 2 solid hours just to award the degrees. Still, I can’t muster up pride in association with my fellow graduates, and I don’t think the poorly run ceremony is any excuse for their behavior – out of 3,000, a scant 100 of us remained by the very end (yes, they just got up and walked out as soon as they were handed their diploma holders), and I can’t even begin to estimate how few were still fully clothed in their graduate regalia as they recessed out of the stadium. Yes, it was hot and long and miserable, but this is your graduation for pete’s sake! For all of the “Pomp and Circumstance” surrounding what was supposed to be The Big Day…I felt oddly like I was back in kindergarten. I guess things don’t really change, huh?

Regardless, today still feels somewhat special. I’m not a college student anymore. I have a diploma (well, I have a diploma cover – the diploma will be mailed in a few months). To commemorate this special new path unfolding in my proverbial and cheesy journey, I thought it appropriate to tell you about this absolutely delicious Sunrise Daiquiri Smoothie (you know, like the Sunrise Smoothie, the sun is also rising in a new chapter of my life! I know, I know, I’m beyond corny. I can’t help it). It’s non-alcoholic, but I tried to mimic the flavors of a fruity cocktail in it to add an edge to the otherwise sweet flavors.

And let me tell you, this is one seriously tasty smoothie! It’s citrusy, the perfect temperature and consistency, and all around a great choice for the morning to perk you up and get you ready for the day. There are only 2 things that would make this smoothie even more-out-of-this-world: first, a VitaMix to totally pulverize the coconut flakes, which in my blender remained a little chunkier than I would have liked; second, a layered effect making first an orange and then a strawberry smoothie in the finished glass to produce a gorgeously marbled effect that would really remind you of a true sunrise. Another example of how the Martha Stewart gene is somewhat lacking in my DNA. I do have a goal this summer to work on my presentation/plating/photography skills, though, so maybe you’ll start seeing cutesy things like swirled smoothies in the near future. For now, the smoothie is just plain old pink, and it’s in just a plain old glass, photographed against a plain old wooden desk backdrop, but I like it. A lot. And I hope you do, too.

I also want to wish everyone who is celebrating a very happy Mother’s Day! I hope you have some wonderful food-filled plans set for the rest of the day. I won’t be cooking (probably a good call – after the hectic events of the past week between moving out and graduation, I’m pooped!), but I will be going out to eat with L’s family and then hopefully stopping by my grandparent’s house tonight to see them and other family members who couldn’t make it to graduation yesterday. It should be a good day!