Sunday Spinach Omellette

At my house, we love Sunday Brunch!!!! So when we can make it healthy and gorgeous... even better!

Here's what I did:
Take a couple of eggs, some light mozzarella, some chopped tomatoes, some chopped ham, a bit of milk and whisk it all together, when it's halfway done (2-3 minutes) add some fresh baby spinach.  Then flip it ( or try), I always break it and call it a 'omellettatta'.

Serve with some small toast point to push it around and there you have it! An amazing protein-rich brunch!

Ham and Egg Cups

After the big Christmas holiday, you probably need a simple little recipe that's nutritious and delicious... so here's a little idea I like to call Ham and Egg Cups!

How pretty and impressive right?

All you need is some thinly sliced deli meat- I think ham is the best choice, but you could use turkey, pastrami, etc.... It's brilliant, because all you need is a muffin pan that you lightly spray, then put 2 slices of meat into.

Get your eggs ready and all your add-on's: cheese, broccoli, tomato was what I had on hand. You could choose peppers, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, try some feta and oregano for a little Greek flare!

Here's what you do... crack an egg into the ham cup, add your toppings and bake!

Here's the little recipe card I picked up grocery shopping in my travels. Obviously modified to use real eggs of course. But this is good guide for the time and temperature: 400 degrees for 13-14 minutes.

And there you have it! A variety pack of ham and egg cups. Enjoy!

Eggs Squared!

What...? A square egg, you say?

Let me show you my trick!

I call it Egg Muffins, you can call them crustless quiche, that sounds fancy!  But the fun thing is that I made them in my square muffin pan.

This is what you need:
12 eggs
1/3 cup milk
Toppings of your choice, such as:
Shredded cheese, Ham, Peppers, Onions, Mushroom, etc...

Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes, just check to make sure they are set. Et voila!

It's fun for you brunch, leftovers are great, just warm them up in the up in the microwave and toast up an English muffin and you have a meal....

Check out my brunch friends enjoying them! Robin and Ruah were loving them... So much so that I sent some home in a doggie bag for them.

Oh, and check it out.... we are twins! No not really, but our hair is similar colour and cut... but check out Robin's spikes above the Love sign... how does she do that? Love you guys and enjoy your eggs... just check out the egg benefits: http://www.eggs.ca/egg-nutrition/whats-in-an-egg

What the vitamins and minerals do for you?

Nutrient	Benefit
Iron	Carries oxygen to the cells, helps prevent anemia – the iron in eggs is easily absorbed by the body
Vitamin A	Helps maintain healthy skin and eye tissue; assists in night vision
Vitamin D	Strengthens bones and teeth; may help protect against certain cancers and auto-immune diseases.
Vitamin E	An antioxidant that plays a role in maintaining good health and preventing disease
Vitamin B12	Helps protect against heart disease
Folate	Helps produce and maintain new cells; helps prevent a type of anemia, helps protect against serious birth defects if taken prior to pregnancy and during the first 3 months of pregnancy
Protein	Essential for building and repairing muscles, organs, skin, hair and other body tissues; needed to produce hormones, enzymes and antibodies; the protein in eggs is easily absorbed by the body
Selenium	Works with vitamin E to act as an antioxidant to help prevent the breakdown of body tissues
Lutein and zeaxanthin	Maintains good vision; may help reduce the risk of age-related eye diseases, such as cataracts and macular degeneration
Choline	Plays a strong role in brain development and function

Nature's Fast Food- Spinach Omelette

Okay people, I am a busy mom, wife, friend, zumbaer, taxi driver, shopper, worker bee and chef of course... so on those nights when it's omelette night, I try and add some quick nutrition and hit the road running!

 Here's my attempt... take 2 eggs, add a handful of baby spinach and some light mozzarella, salt and pepper and that's a great way to sneak in your veggies!

Ok, so even though I am French, I still have not perfected the omelette flip... maybe it's because I am French Canadian... but, let me tell you, it's still delicious!

Deviled Eggs...Light

Here's the recipe I promised you.... The Deviled Eggs I brought to my Potluck lunch. I love this recipe. It's a variation from my friend Gaetane's recipe. The secret is.....

The Celery Salt!

Light Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

12 eggs

1/3 cup light Miracle Whip

1/2 tsp celery salt

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Boil and peel your eggs. Cut eggs length wise and scoop out the yolks. Add all the ingredients together and mash them up... adjust seasoning to your liking. Scoop the yolk mixture into the egg whites and sprinkle some paprika on the yolks. You are done!

Chantal Egg Muffin

So I have figured out a plan... and let me tell you.... it's all about planning... to make dinners work.

Monday night- Brent BBQ's meat
Tuesday night- Crockpot something or Stirfry
Wednesday night- funky 'dinner' sandwhich/wrap
Thursday night- omelette or egg fun
Friday night- pita pizza night
Saturday night- mexican or burger night
Sunday night- soupy sundays!

This is my plan, now sometimes it doesn't work, sometimes we add pasta in there, of course there are always veggies and salad on top of that... but that is my plan. And guess what, Brent has become a great little sous chef. He is following recipes, asking what ingredients are and if we don't have them what to substitute for them... I just love it. I am the planner and he shops for the ingredients on the list, and we cook together.... ahhhh, isn't that love... and team work. Well you've got to do this to make it work in a busy house where I work full time, have appointment on Tuesday night, Mella's got activities on Wednesday and Thursday night and we have to go for at least 4 walks a week.... See what I mean? So here you have it, my take on a healthy Egg McMuffin... and it's soooooo fast for those busy activity nights.
 

Chantal Egg Muffin

Ingredients- for 1 sandwhich

1 whole wheat english muffin

1 egg

1 slice of light cheddar

2 slices of turkey bacon

I used the Blue Menu Whole Wheat English Muffins. Toast your English Muffin.

Cook 2 slices of turkey bacon in a pan until crisp.

Spray a litte Pyrex cup with Pam and crack an egg into it and scramble it a little.

Microwave it for a little less than 1 minute, put a paper towel over it, as it will pop.

Now, assemble it. Put the cheese on the warm English muffin and the egg on top of that, so that it melts and put the folded turkey bacon on the other half and then slap it all together.... do you like that word slap? Just serve with a nice green salad and you have a complete dinner with all the food groups.

Nutritional information for one sandwhich:

314 calories

25g carb

12g fat

25g protein

3g fibre

1g sugar

Weekend Brunch- Farm Fresh Eggs

I am lucky. I get to buy my farm fresh, organic, natural, eggs at work.... and no, I don't work at a farm.  Thanks to my colleague Sarah (who's in-laws run a farm) who brings them in for us to buy at work almost every week. I get to take home a dozen fresh eggs a week. They are a great, delicious protein-filled treat because they really do taste sooooooooooooo much better than store bought eggs.  Just ask my family about how much I love Sarah's eggs.

Here we have a nice little typical weekend breakfast/brunch. 2 eggs, over easy, some Stone Mill bakery bread and fresh fruit salad.

Here are some nutritional details about the 'goodness' of eggs detail taken from www.livestrong.com

Two large eggs contain 150 calories, including 12 grams of protein, 2 grams of carbohydrates and 10 grams of fat. Three of those fat grams are saturated fat. Two eggs also contain 426 milligrams of cholesterol.

The protein in eggs is a complete protein; it contains all of the amino acids necessary as building blocks in the body.

Fat-soluble Vitamins:

Two eggs supply approximately 15 percent of the recommended daily intake for vitamin A. Eggs are also one of the few dietary sources of vitamin D, which is needed for calcium absorption.

Water-soluble Vitamins:

Eggs are also an excellent source of some B vitamins, with two eggs providing 16 percent of the recommended daily intake of B12. B12 is necessary for a healthy nervous system.

Minerals:

Eggs also supply numerous minerals including selenium, sodium, iodine, calcium and phosphorus. The phosphorus in eggs comes from lecithin, which is a fatty substance important for proper brain function.



Every time I eat them, I have to say it out loud... Yum, Sarah, I just love your eggs!

Mini Frittatas- Great idea for busy moms!

Can you tell there is a bit of a theme to my posts this week.... many have to do with helping my sister out and making her some quick easy delicious meals and snacks... but the good part is that I also get to try out new recipes and keep half for me. It's a win win situation don't you think?

Mini Frittatas (adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/mini-frittatas-recipe/index.html)

Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray

9 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 slices thinly sliced ham, chopped

1/3 cup light cheddar cheese

Thinly sliced veggies of your choice ( I used broccoli, red and green peppers)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray a regular size muffin tin (12) with nonstick spray. Whisk the eggs, milk, pepper, and salt in a large bowl to blend well.  Pour evenly into your muffin tins. Add ham, cheese, and veggies. Bake until the egg mixture puffs and is just set in the center, about 10 minutes.

Nutritional Information per frittata:  80 calories, 1g carb, 5g fat, 8g protein, 1g sugar

Here they are before going into the oven. Half are ham and cheese, 1/4 are 'all dressed' and 1/4 are all veggies. 

Here is an all dressed frittata.

... and a ham and cheese one. You can just reheat them in the microwave for about 50 seconds and you can eat it like that or put it in between a toasted english muffin. 

Look at Julie and Stephanie... just digesting one of those frittatas.

...and then kissing, ok, no, not really, but I had to post these gorgeous pictures of new mother and child.

Quick Dinner Idea- Omelette and Salad

There are many nights in the week where I need to make a quick dinner for the family. It needs to be nutritious and delicious too. That's when I turn to my old standby...Omelette and Salad. It's so easy because it's flexible... you can throw into it whatever you have in your fridge and whatever your little fussy family likes.  This week I had low fat cheddar cheese and blackforest ham.

The way I do it is - 2 eggs per person, add a bit of milk, whisk it up and then add your ingredients like cheese, meat, veggies. Spray a large pan with Pam and then pour the egg mixture in. I let it cook on the bottom, kind of splitting it into quarters then I flip each quarter and voila! You have 4 little omelettes. They make nice little sandwiches on whole wheat toast with a bit of butter and nice for leftovers for lunch the next day. It warms up well in the microwave.  I then add a nice bright, fresh salad....remember, you eat with your eyes! This is the simplest too... take some spring mix, cut a few berries, add some almonds or seeds, then a little Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette- you don't need a lot.

Here's the nutrional information for this meal:

465 calories
37g carbs
25g fat
27g protein
 7g fibre
10g sugar