Walk Widely. Eat Wisely. Live Gratefully.
After putting in nearly an hour on the rower, we’ve earned our reward. We’re unsure what to call it – not quite an egg burrito, more like an omelette wrap – with slices of hothouse tomato that remind us what’s in store. Although it’s spring today in name only, seeds are being sprouted for the garden and we look forward to more fresh vegetables on the table.
Breakfast can get a day of healthy eating off to a great start, and this one is going to be grand.
Adjusting to the time change? Start the day with a spicy breakfast that will wake up both you…and your taste buds. With a busy week ahead, we need to make sure we are fueled-up and energized to make the most of every opportunity.
On the plate, a healthy and budget-conscious combo – leftover olive, onion and mushroom whole wheat pizza is topped by a poached egg. We sprinkled two salt-free spice blends on top; one lemony and the other with a hint of chipotle. Sliced blood orange add a few extra vitamins and enhance flavour with a citrus note. After a week of “road food”, we’re especially grateful for a taste of home.
With a salad, this would also be a great dinner time combination for those of you who have given up eating meat for Lent.
We’re joining the rest of Canada for a little breakfast time hockey, before we head off to church. The eggs in our golden spicy scramble are combined with a red onion, a habanero pepper, a handful of mushrooms, some diced pancetta, and sage. On the side, molasses-baked kidney beans and some grilled polenta.
If this doesn’t get us going for the day, nothing will!
Eat what you have.
In our continuing quest to finish up things in the freezer or cupboard before automatically heading to the grocery store, we try to keep this in mind. This also means judicious use of leftovers. A couple of nights ago we made a delicious pizza – caramelized onions, olives and mushrooms on a wheat crust, topped with just a little shaving of cheese. With lunch appointments yesterday, the extra slices were still in the fridge, and made a perfect base for a soft-poached egg. Truly, it was a gold medal breakfast.
3000 steps and 7 km on the rower before 7am, while watching the medals for our Canadians at Sochi. These cheese-and-egg breakfast sandwiches will get us on our way. Whole wheat burger buns, bought on sale and frozen for later use, get a freshening in the toaster. Slather on a little Dijon and a couple of tomato slices. For each serving, cook two sliced mushrooms and pour a beaten egg on top. Add a light grating of sharp cheddar. It’ll wake up your mouth (and the rest of you) and keep you going til lunchtime.
As February begins, we start to consider more springlike foods – the occasional bursts of sunshine and milder temperatures seem to mitigate the wintry desire for comfort and cocooning. The Niçoise salad seems to perfectly capture everything we look forward to – and this adaptation combines winter’s preserves, like capers and olives, with the local hydroponic lettuce and tomatoes that are appearing more frequently at the market.
Sure, we know that most Canadians may associate February 2nd with Groundhog Day…but it is also La Chandeleur, or Candlemas, commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. As with most celebrations, this fourth Joyful Mystery of the rosary has its own special food traditions. In France it is “Crêpe Day”, something we also try to carry on here in our house.
Lots of sweet or savory accompaniments are possible, lemon and chocolate among them, but for today we chose peaches, cinnamon, and yogurt sweetened with maple syrup.
However you like them, enjoy some crêpes today. And lest you think we have completely pushed Groundhog Day from our minds, “ground hog” will feature prominently in the meatballs we’re planning for dinner.
January has been a month of creativity for us – in food, and how we live. We decided at the beginning of the month to follow the old advice: use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. I must admit we haven’t felt as though we are doing without, but instead, finding things in our cupboards, closets, drawers and refrigerators and turning them to a more interesting purpose. The delicious horseradish mustard that we use frequently in summer made a tangy start to this egg-wich, which also amps up its veg quotient with minced broccoli ends and a few straggler mushrooms that were left in the bag.
We are working our way through the summer’s harvest, our forgotten condiments, and frozen remains of big batch cooking from the fall. And it’s been a delicious journey…one we will continue for as long as possible.
I’m off to a business breakfast this morning – a good one, where there are usually great people to network with, and much to learn. But these things can also wreak havoc on healthy habits of both the dietary and professional variety. While buffets are improving in their number of healthy choices, they still tend to feature heavily (no pun intended) in carbs and fat. Besides, with so many bright people to meet, why spend time chewing a chocolate chip muffin?
So here’s how we are fueling up for a more productive day: veggie and goat cheese omelette, with a slice of whole wheat toast. On the toast: apple butter from our daughter’s kitchen. What better start could we have?
Apparently we are in for a wet weekend. So we wanted a quick breakfast that would let us get out on the trail before the rain arrives. Eggs Benedict may not seem like the obvious choice, but this quick Prosciutto Benny with Blender Hollandaise is just the ticket!
For two:
3 large eggs
2 slices prosciutto
1 multigrain English muffin, split
1/4c / 60ml butter
1t /5ml lemon juice
1/2t / 2ml dry mustard
Dash Tabasco
White vinegar
Lemon pepper
1 large tomato, sliced
Split the muffin and toast or warm for a few seconds in the microwave.
Bring a medium pot of water to boil.
Meanwhile separate one egg and put the yolk in the blender with the Tabasco, lemon juice, and dry mustard.
Put the prosciutto in a nonstick pan on low, just to warm it a little.
Heat the butter in the microwave just until boiling. Turn blender on and pour the butter in slowly – it will cook the egg yolk.
To assemble, stack muffin, prosciutto, poached egg. Drizzle with hollandaise and sprinkle with lemon pepper.
Serve with tomato, and go!
