Breakfast of Champions

I love eggs. They are one of my favorite foods in the world....scrambled, fried, poached, etc. I just love 'em!

But as we all know, eggs have a lot of cholesterol and aren't always the healthiest thing to eat. So many people switch to egg whites, but if I'm going to eat egg whites instead of my beloved cholesterol-laden eggs, they better be spruced up a LOT.

That's how I came up with this delicious little gem of a breakfast sandwich one morning when I was thinking "How can I make these egg whites edible?" And it worked! This is definitely my favorite new breakfast option!

I think I'll call it...a Healthy Egg White & Hummus Sandwich. Very original, no?

I use the kind of egg whites that come already separated and in a handy little carton.

I cook up the equivalent of about 3 egg whites I think...? I don't measure, I just pour until it seems like enough so it varies from day to day. Anyway I cook them up in a skillet with a little salt & pepper.

Then I spread a toasted bagel (I used one of those 140 calorie bagel things in this case) or a piece of whole wheat toast with about 1 Tbsp hummus. As I mentioned in my last post, I am really crushing on the White Bean & Basil hummus from Trader Joe's but any version would work (though I think a flavored hummus would add more of a kick).

Then I throw some baby spinach on the sandwich and call it a day! Sometimes I saute the spinach a little first to get it to wilt down and sometimes I don't.

The calorie content comes out to between 200 and 300 calories depending on how many egg whites and what kind of bread I use. But it keeps me full for HOURS!

This is such a delicious AND nutritious breakfast! I highly recommend that you give it a try!

What is your favorite healthy yet delicious breakfast?

Plan to Not Plan

I really didn't think I liked not planning out our meals. But today as I started dreaming up what I would make for dinner tonight I realized that it can actually be kind of fun to have no plans! Fly by the seat of your pants, be resourceful, let your mind wander kinda cooking. Make whatever you feel like making that day! No restrictions! {well, except ingredients}

Hmmmm...what do I have?

Sweet Potatoes
Onion
Black Beans
Cilantro
Eggs

WAIT. Sweet potatoes + black beans! I've heard a lot about how wonderful that combination is and I've been chomping at the bit to try it.

For some reason those ingredients were screaming "Mexican Hash!" at me so...

I typed "Sweet Potato & Black Bean Hash" into Google and VOILA! Several recipes popped up and I ultimately found one where I had almost everything I needed.


Sweet Potato, Corn & Black Bean Hash

From EatingWell

Quick and easy hashes are fabulous one-pot meals for those nights when getting dinner on the table fast is a priority. Make it a meal: Serve with warm cornbread or tortillas.

2 servings, about 2 cups each | Active Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients

* 2 teaspoons canola oil
* 2 medium onions, chopped
* 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
* 2 large cloves garlic, minced
* 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
* 4 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup water
* 3/4 cup frozen corn kernels
* 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
* Freshly ground pepper, to taste
* 1 lime, cut into wedges

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until browned in spots, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sweet potato and cook, stirring, until it starts to brown in spots, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, jalapeño, cumin and salt; sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until liquid is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in corn and black beans and cook until heated through. Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Serve with lime wedges.

Nutrition

Per serving : 419 Calories; 6 g Fat; 0 g Sat; 3 g Mono; 0 mg Cholesterol; 80 g Carbohydrates; 16 g Protein; 17 g Fiber; 771 mg Sodium; 621 mg Potassium


I didn't have any jalepenos {side note: how do you add the squigly line to the n in jalepeno...I should ask my mom....since she's a Spanish teacher and all...} but I did have a yellow bell pepper that was on it's last leg so I subbed that in. I also added a few drops of Sriacha hot sauce to add back some of the heat too.

I served my hash with spoonfuls of salsa and light sour cream on the side. I must say, I think the hash would have been a little too...hmm...blah?....without the salsa and sour cream. I mean it was good, don't get me wrong! But the tanginess of the salsa and the creaminess of the sour cream really kicked it up a notch!


I also served my hash with a runny fried egg on top. This was an unnecessary addition {as opposed to the salsa & sour cream} but it surrrrrrre was delish!

Because, duh, everything is better with a runny fried egg on top.

Also, I don't know if my sweet potato was extra large or what, but this made WAY more than the "2 servings" the recipe says! I have enough left over to cover my lunches for at least a few days. {Yessssss....I love lunch leftovers.}

And since I've now realized that it's actually not all that bad to not plan a meal here and there, I think I may start planning to NOT plan anything for one night a week.

Did that make any sense at all?

I didn't think so.

Are you a planner or a non-planner when it comes to cooking? Do you ever plan to not plan?

Wingin' It

Menu planning didn't happen this week. We got back from the ranch at about 5:30pm on Monday sooooo yeah. Didn't happen.

Last night's dinner was a spur of the moment decision and I went to the grocery store after work to pick up the ingredients but didn't bother with planning or buying other things to eat for the rest of the week. I figured we'd just wing it for a few days, since we'll be eating dinner at a friend's house on Friday night and we'll be out of town on Saturday night. That only leaves Wednesday & Thursday to worry about.

What is the perfect "winging it" dinner?

EGGS.

I pretty much winged {wang? haha} dinners the entire year of Hub's deployment and, let me tell you, it involved a LOT of eggs. They're just so easy and filling!

I already had eggs for dinner tonight on the mind this morning and then I saw Brittany's post about her Greek Style Wrap and knew that was the direction I would be taking with it. I just happened {miraculously} to have most of the ingredients on hand.



I wrapped up scrambled eggs {1 egg & 1/4 cup Egg Beaters mixed together}, reduced-fat feta cheese and a handful of spring mix lettuce inside of a Flat Out Light wrap. After taking the picture I also added some hot sauce, because eggs are ALWAYS better with hot sauce.

On the side I had some sliced tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with s&p.

It was pretty good, although I was still hungry after eating it. I quickly shoved a few pita chips with hummus and a peach in my mouth to compensate for the lingering hunger. Then I was full. :)

In case you were wondering, Hubs did not eat the same thing as me tonight. He had leftover seafood & tomato sauce from last night topped with fried eggs. Haha kind of weirdish but he let me try a bite and I must say it wasn't all that bad!

What's your go-to "winging it" dinner?

Leggo my Egg Skillet

What's for Dinner? 5/11/2010

-Southwestern Egg & Black Bean Skillet

Cara's Cravings is an amazing blog that features all kinds of innovative and healthy recipes that she creates all on her own. She is such an inspiration for food bloggers everywhere! Visit her blog like right this minute and prepare to be inspired!

When she recently posted about this Southwestern Egg & Black Bean Skillet I knew I was going to make it. Black beans, mexican flavors, eggs, avocado, cheese....uhhhh YES PLEASE!


It completely met and exceeded my expectations! Hubs loved it too. His exact comment was "Wow you're on a roll this week but this might be my favorite dinner so far!" That's saying A LOT from a man who normally turns his nose up at any dinner that doesn't include meat.

I did end up adding 2 extra eggs (Cara's recipe only calls for 2 eggs) because I knew 1 wouldn't be enough for the hubs. Together we polished off the ENTIRE SKILLET. That's how good it was!

Southwestern Egg & Black Bean Skillet
Source: Cara's Cravings

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced {I used 2 cloves}
1/3 cup frozen corn {I used 1/2 cup}
1 cup drained, rinsed black beans {I used 3/4 of a can...think it was a bit more than 1 cup}
salt & pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
pinch of coriander
10oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
2 large eggs {I used 4 eggs}
2oz queso fresco, crumbled
chopped cilantro and sliced avocado, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400F.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic, corn, and beans and cook for about 2 more minutes, until garlic is fragrant. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and coriander.

Add the diced tomatoes with green chilies and increase heat to high. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and allow to simmer for 10 minutes to blend flavors.

Carefully break the eggs over the black bean mixture. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, until eggs are soft-set. Sprinkle with queso fresco and garnish with cilantro and diced avocado. Serve hot.

Nutritional Info (not including avocado)
Servings Per Recipe: 2
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 338.3
Total Fat: 14.0 g
Cholesterol: 227.5 mg
Sodium: 1,525.8 mg
Total Carbs: 35.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 9.0 g
Protein: 20.7 g