Posts Tagged ‘Breakfast’

Protein Smoothie Recipes

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Smoothies are a staple of my weekly breakfast rotation. But I’ve found you need just the right balance of protein, fat and green vegetables to make one last all morning. Too much fruit or juice gives me a sugar crash and if there is not enough fat I get hungry 2 hours later. Over the years I’ve found a few fool proof combinations, trust me there have been some undrinkable concoctions born from “experimenting.” Turns out grapefruit and almond butter do not go well together. Learn from my mistakes. These do not suck.

Green Smoothie

(If you’re worried about the spinach flavor, fear not. You can’t really taste it when blended with chocolate and nut butters.)

Chocolate-Raspberry-Almond

1 cup Coconut Water

1 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder (I like Sunwarrior)

3/4 cup Frozen Organic Raspberries

1 tablespoon Almond Butter (I prefer the raw kind)

2 cups raw Organic Baby Spinach

Blend until very smooth.

 

Kale-Coconut-Almond

1 cup Coconut Water

1/2 cup Coconut Flesh (scoop a fresh coconut or buy frozen) OR you can substitute coconut milk

1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (again, Sunwarrior)

1 small Banana

1 cup raw Kale (well washed)

1 tablespoon Almond Butter (I prefer the raw)

Blend until very smooth.

 

Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Banana

1 cup Coconut Water

1 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder (I like Sunwarrior)

1 small Banana

1 tablespoon natural Peanut Butter

2 cups raw Organic Baby Spinach

Blend until very smooth.

 

 

What are your favorite smoothie flavor combos? I’m always open to fresh ideas.

 

xx, Lydia

 

PS- a few other favorite smoothie recipes are suggested below

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bread

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Happy New Year friends! If you follow me on Instagram (@lydiahowerton) you’re probably curious about the recipe for this bread. Developed from a Paleo Bread recipe that I adapted many times until this creation was born, this bread is Gluten free, low carb, has no refined sugar, no dairy and it’s Paleo and Yeast-free diet friendly (if you use only almond butter and no banana). This is the IDEAL breakfast bread, all the fat and protein from the nuts and eggs keeps you full and satisfied much longer than regular toast.

Peanut Butter Bread Batter with Fresh Berries

I stud the nut butter batter with jewels: ruby raspberries and sapphire blueberries. Be sure to gently press them into the batter until they’re covered, so they don’t get crushed or all float to the top.

PB&J bread

Who knew that eggs and nut butter can bake up into a fluffy, spongy bread?

 

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bread

Whole berries baked inside. This bread is really best toasted and if your diet/lifestyle choice allows you than spread some Sqirl Blackberry+Meyer Lemon Jam on top.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bread Recipe
makes one large loaf pan or 3 mini loafs

Ingredients
Grapeseed or Coconut Oil for greasing the pan
1/2 cup organic creamy almond butter
1 cup organic creamy peanut butter
1 ripe banana, well mashed (optional)
5 organic free range eggs
3 tablespoons agave syrup or honey (optional)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 Teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice
1/2 cup organic blueberries, washed
1/2 cup organic raspberries, washed

Instructions
Lightly grease a loaf pan with oil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients except for berries until well combined and pour into baking pan or pans. Evenly distribute the berries over the top of the loaf and gently press them into the batter until covered. Bake at 350 for 30 mins and check it with a knife or toothpick to make sure the center is cooked (knife should come out pretty clean). Some ovens will require the bread to bake longer. Just don’t overcook or it will be dry. Allow to cool 10 mins in the pan and then run a knife around the loaf to release it from the pan. Allow to cool and then enjoy (best when toasted!) Wrap the loaf well in plastic  and it will keep for 5 days on the counter or in the fridge.

xo,

Lydia

Pumpkin Protein Smoothie

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A few of you darling readers were excited about the mention of a Pumpkin Protein Smoothie on Monday so I thought I would share my version of the recipe. It’s SO delicious and rid me of any sugary pumpkin pie/latte/cookie cravings. Pro Tip: Make a “smoothie kit” the night before, for a grab and go breakfast.

Pumpkin Protein Smoothie

 Pumpkin Protein Smoothie

adapted from a recipe by OhSheGlows.com

Serves 1

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut water

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I heart Sun Warrior Brand)

1 tbsp chia seeds (these blend better when soaked overnight, see tip below)

1/2 cup pureed pumpkin

1 tbsp blackstrap molasses

1 small banana

1 1/2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice blend

A few cubes of ice

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth!

 

Pumpkin Smoothie Kit

Make your smoothie kit the night before like we do for our private chef clients. Measure all the ingredients except the ice and banana into a container and keep covered in the fridge overnight. The chia seeds will soften and all you have to do in the morning is dump the kit into the blender, add a banana and ice and then press the button.

 

xo,

Lydia

Pumpkin Punch List

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Happy October Friends! This is my favorite month of the year because I LOVE pumpkins (nerd alert.) Since October is the MOST acceptable month to be a pumpkin fanatic I need to get started on my pumpkin related projects…

via Paula Deen

Mix up a jar of Pumpkin Seed Snack Mix with almonds, coconut and chocolate candies!

 

pumpkin chocolate cookies

via La Femme Epicure

Bake a batch of puffy, cakey pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from La Femme Epicure.

Design a spooky-elegant pumpkin table and plan this year’s Pumpkin Carving Party menu (last year’s was pretty epic.)

Pumpkin Protein Smoothie

Starting my day right with healthy Pumpkin Protein Smoothie! Great recipe here though I swap the oats for Vanilla Protein Powder instead.

Also looking forward to pumpkin pie, pumpkin patches, pumpkin pancakes and toasted pumpkin seeds. What about you?

 

xo,

Lydia

 

 

 

Meatless Monday: Cherry Clafoutis

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When is a pancake not a pancake?  When it’s a bona fide dessert.  Like this cherry clafoutis.  See, I was feeling bad about sharing another oven-baked pancake.  I’m a little obsessed with them.  But this pancake is really a custard and fresh cherries are so juicy right now that I can’t resist.

Cherries bubbling away in butter & sugar

The French serve it at dinner parties with the pits intact!  Talk about a buzzkill.  Supposedly the pits enhance the cherry flavor.  This is one situation in which I’d willingly sacrifice flavor to keep my teeth.

I used fresh, pitted cherries and followed this recipe.  First I made the batter then sauteed the cherry halves briefly in butter and sugar in a cast-iron skillet.

Next, I poured the batter over the softened cherries and placed the skillet in a preheated 425 oven.

20 minutes later we had a puffer ready to be powdered. I’ve read that clafoutis can be made ahead and served room temperature, but doing it that way detracts from the whole effort.  You want to see it puffed, smell the warm cherries and watch the powdered sugar and cherry juice thicken to a sweet syrup.

Would you serve pancakes for dessert?

xxSarah

Meatless Monday: Toast with Almond Butter and Fresh Fruit

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Sarah and I have many things in common but our love of toasted bread spread with nut butter and topped with thin slices of fresh fruit is one worth sharing with y’all. Sarah has a cute story that she would pack such a sandwich as her lunch in Grad school and her fellow students would marvel at the concept of the fresh fruit version of PB&J. When we first met we admitted to eating close to a jar of peanut butter a week in this fashion but in an effort to be healthier I have switched to almond butter (most of the time.)

Toast with Almond Butter and Fruit

 This is my go to healthy breakfast or afternoon snack, in fact  I’m getting almond butter on my computer as I write this post before I rush off to work.

Toast with Almond Butter and Fruit

When fresh fruit can not be procured in the wee hours of the morning, SQIRL Jam is an excellent substitution (Kumquat Marmalade pictured above.) Below is all my favorite brands if you want to try this “recipe”. I use Gluten Free bread because that is the bread we keep in our house and I just don’t miss the gluten in this instance.

Toast with Almond Butter and Fresh Fruit

2 slices whole wheat bread (I like Udi’s Gluten Free Whole Grain Bread)

2 tablespoons Almond Butter (I like raw, creamy, unsalted almond butters)

Fresh fruit thinly sliced (strawberries, banana, nectarine, peach, plum, apple, pear or just a pile of berries)

 

Hope you love it too!

Lydia

 

 

Breakfast 2012

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Brunch table

Happy New Year!

When I threw back the covers yesterday morning, I had two things on my mind: breakfast and my New Year’s resolution.

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We’ve talked a lot about breakfast, you and me.  We’ve shared apple pancakes and Lydia’s gorgeous panettone french toast, puffed pancakes, puffers, morning muffins and plenty of eggs: soft-boiled eggs, eggs in purgatory and fried eggs.  It’s safe to say we enjoy our -uffs and our eggs.  (Oeufs!)

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We’ve even shared oat bran.  And that little ‘ol nutella panino you all liked so much.

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Why all the breakfast talk? It’s my way of getting the ball rolling. I’m anticipating many a client breakfast this coming year and would love your thoughts on the matter.

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So do share.  What’s your absolute favorite breakfast/brunch indulgence?

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And that New Year’s resolution?  To focus more on the task at hand.  Breakfast seems a good place to start.

We’ve missed you,

sl

Oat Bran Cereal

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Oat bran for breakfast

It’s pouring in Los Angeles.  I love soaking wet days and I love them here more than anywhere else.  Not just because they are rare but because in Los Angeles the rain washes the sky.  Literally.  That says something terrible about the state of smog, I know,  but I can’t help but marvel when the sky here is bluer than ever after a day or two of rain and wind.

On a cold, rainy morning I’m not as embarrassed to admit I eat a hot breakfast.  Oat bran, in particular.  If you love oatmeal, give this dish a try.  It boasts a better nutritional profile than regular oatmeal (more fiber, protein and twice as much iron per serving), and takes even less time to make.  Plus, the tiny oat granules make it seem more like an old-fashioned porridge.  Just the thing for eating by the window on a rainy day.

Like all brans, oat bran is the husk of the grain, the part that is normally discarded during the milling process to create a smoother product. It’s the throw-away layer that houses most of the grain’s nutrients.  Healthy brown rice, for example, is white rice with the bran intact.

Here’s how I make it:

Combine 1/4 cup oat bran with 1/2 cup water or milk (always a 1:2 proportion)

Add dried fruit

Microwave for 45 seconds +, depending on your microwave.

You’ll know it’s ready to eat when the bran and fruit are both plump with absorbed liquid.  Add nuts if desired and a squirt of agave nectar or whatever else you like on your oatmeal.

Did I mention oat bran is gluten-free?  Just check the label to make sure it isn’t processed by the same machine that process wheat and you’re golden.

Happy rain day!

xoxosl

Pain de Mie

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Pullman Bread

Breakfast yesterday was with a friend at Joan’s on Third, a gourmet marketplace and cafe where beautiful cheeses share white marble counter space with homemade chips, pretzels and pastas and rows of pastries and tall cupcakes are displayed on black iron stands.  All the clean, cool shapes in black and white let the food take center stage.  Joan’s does a bang-up beautiful job.  Such a beautiful job, in fact, that they don’t allow you to snap pictures inside.

Which I learned the hard way.

So, my intended post on the beautiful interior of one of our fave breakfast spots is now a question.  Do any of you make bread?  Because my go-to soft-boiled egg was better than average when scooped onto inch-thick slices of toasted pain de mie spread with salted butter.  Which isn’t surprising because pain de mie is essentially homemade Wonderbread with all the soft sweetness that implies.

Beard on Bread has a good recipe and so does King Arthur.  Tell me, have you tried either?  I’m going to give it a go when the weather cools.

xoxosl

Breakfast BLT

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Breakfast BLT

Otherwise known as my way of celebrating summer’s last juicy tomatoes.

Directions:

Make this “aioli“- (it’s really you-know-what).  The tarragon, chives and garlic take the sandwich from breakfast/brunch to what I’d serve someone special for dinner.

Thickly slice brioche or challah and some beautiful heirloom tomatoes.

While your bread toasts, cook an egg or two over easy- you want your yolk to pop and spread all over the tomato and bacon-  and fry your bacon up crisp.

Breakfast BLT Recipe

Remember to season your egg with a little salt and pepper.  Do the same with your tomato.  The aioli is strong so I only seasoned my egg the first time around, which left the sandwich just shy of transcendent.  The first rule of cooking- season all your components- is there for a reason.  Think in layers.

Then spread the aioli on both pieces of bread and stack crisp lettuce (I used Boston), tomato, egg and bacon.

Breakfast BLT Recipe

My taste tester called it the perfect combo of flavors : ).

xoxosl

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