Have you noticed that I’ve been posting a lot of vegetarian recipes lately? My DH and I decided that we need to cut down on our meat consumption and it’s been so great!! Our daughter, Brianne, who did a guest post for me, is a dietician and she has been trying to convince me for years to not eat so much meat and guess what?? I listened–FINALLY! It’s like I’m the teenager and have grown into adulthood haha. More about this subject in a later post, but today I want to share a quick lunch idea or dinner, whichever you prefer. Honestly, it takes 5 minutes to prepare if you have boiled eggs on hand, but if you don’t, it takes 15 minutes and it’s full of a lot of goodness and very filling.
Peg’s Open Face Egg/Avocado Sandwich
Ingredients:
2 boiled eggs, peeled and cut up into cubes
1/2 avocado, ripe, peeled and cut up into cubes
A bunch of cherry tomatoes, cut in half or quarters
One leaf of lettuce (optional, if you want to put this directly on the bread underneath all the goods, or you can make a lettuce wrap too)
Salt and pepper
1 slice toasted Dave’s Killer Bread (I like the Good Seed kind)
Mix together boiled eggs, avocado and cherry tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Then place on toasted bread or in a lettuce wrap. Easy and yummy!
Today my guest is Kay Berry! Kay is just a sweetheart who would do anything for anyone. She is an amazing mom and grandma and is so patient and kind in any given situation, which is something that I admire about her. We are running friends and I am also friends with her on Goodreads and she writes the best book reviews ha, but of course she does, she’s a high school English teacher :)!!! Kay and I are always bouncing healthy lifestyle ideas off each other and today she is sharing with us one of those ideas, which I am going to for sure do for snacks or a light lunch. Thanks so much for sharing with us today Kay! Love you!
Hi, my name is Kay Berry and I live around the corner from Peg. We get to run together sometimes, but that means that I am not really running WITH her, but behind her. She is fast! I have always enjoyed being outdoors and active. I started running later in my late 30s. I have run 28 marathons, but I am currently just doing half marathons with other cross training. My wonderful husband, Rick, and I have 5 kids and 4 grandchildren with one on the way. We still have two at home, and we are constantly on the go. I teach high school English, and have to fit exercise in around 5:00 a.m. Therefore, I like to prepare food ahead. I love my crockpot, and these protein grab boxes are a favorite at our house. The recipe below is for four, but I usually make around 12 boxes. I found the boxes at Costco, and you can buy the little containers for the hummus/peanut butter at any grocery store.
Recipe from cleanfoodrush.com
4 large eggs, boiled to your preferred doneness
2 large organic carrots, cut into 1/2-inch sticks
4 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch sticks
2 medium red bell peppers, cut into 1/2 inch sticks
4 ounces high quality cheddar cheese, cubed
2 cups crisp organic grapes
1 large apple, cut into wedges, soaked in pure pineapple juice for 30 seconds to prevent browning
You can make your own peanut butter hummus, but if you are out of time, just fill cups with your favorite brand of peanut butter (that is my son’s (Taylor) favorite.
I have to be honest, when I first thought of trying this recipe, I was hesitant because I don’t really think of using tofu in a Mexican dish BUT it was DELICIOUS!! Seriously, you won’t even miss the meat. One thing I would do different next time–I would add some diced sweet potatoes because I love them in meatless Mexican recipes. 🙂 I decided to wrap them up in a tortilla with a bit of cheddar cheese like a burrito and it was so tasty but if you have a gluten allergy, you could serve it on top of some brown rice. So here it is……
TEX-MEX TOFU SCRAMBLE BURRITOS
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound firm tofu, drained and crumbled
1 large sweet potato, small cubes and cooked (roasted would be delish. I didn’t add this in my recipe but it would be so good)
1/2 cup cooked black beans
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 avocado, cut into wedges
1/4 cup salsa, (optional)
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro, (optional)
Fresh lime slices, (optional)
Place olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper, sauté until translucent and fragrant. Stir in garlic and cook for an additional minute.
Add tofu, black beans, sweet potato, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Cook until heated through.
Divide tofu scramble amongst plates and top with green onions, avocado, salsa, a slice of lime and cilantro. Serve on top of rice or wrap up in a cheese filled tortilla.
Last night I went to a hot yoga class after work and when I got home I needed a quick fix for dinner. My DH was out of town and I needed food NOW, as in “I’m so hungry I could die now :).” I recently read an article in a cooking magazine about cooking eggs with a perfectly done yolk, so I decided to give their method a try and it was THE BEST! I loved that the yolk was done, but not too done and dry (ewww), and pair this with veggies that are a little crispy on the bottom in the hash, and you’ve got a winner :).
Seriously, look at that yolk! My fav, but for those of you that like your yolk done, done, I’ll show you how to do that as well.
Sunny-Side Up Eggs with Veggie Hash
Ingredients
A tiny amount of butter–a must to have crispy veggies
Zucchini, Mushrooms, Summer Squash, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes or whatever veggies you have in your fridge. Coarsely chopped or you could even grate them for a quicker cooking time
2 Eggs, yes the whole egg – healthy fats 🙂
Salt and Pepper
Tomatoes, I love heirloom baby tomatoes but any will do
Avocado
Optional: Avocado, sour cream or you could even wrap this all up in a tortilla or serve it on top. YUM.
First, put all the veggies you want for the veggie hash, salt and pepper in a frying pan. I just happen to have zucchini, but this is the fun part, use a variety and make it colorful. Put a small amount of butter in the pan (I like getting a hard stick of butter and heating up the pan until it’s warm and spreading a coat around the pan). On medium-high heat, sauté the veggies until tender crisp. Around 3-5 min if coarsely chopped, less time if you grated the veggies. Spread veggies evenly in the pan to prep for the eggs.
Add eggs on top of veggies and salt and pepper.
Cover with a tight fitting lid. If heat is too high at this point, turn it down to medium. Leave it for about 4-5 min for a softer yolk or longer for a harder. Test the yolk by touching it with a very clean finger 🙂 to make sure it’s done to your liking. Now remove from pan and top with your favorite toppings like avocado, fresh tomatoes, sour cream, wrap in a tortilla, add salsa. Seriously, the possibilities are endless with this one 🙂 Eat and enjoy!
This is one I’m going to be making over and over again :).
Where should I start with this dear friend? There are just so many things about her that I love!! Corinne is an amazing mother and grandma, a true friend through and through, she is a great listener and she gives great advice, she’s one of the most generous, unselfish friends I know. AND I just love hanging out with her. Corinne is my Harmons Cooking School pal and that is always a treat (no pun intended ha :). She is such an amazing cook and could open up a restaurant of her own because she is THAT good :). Today Corinne is sharing with us one of my favorites–Warm Salmon Salad Nicoise. This one is AMAZING!! I know because my DH and I were invited to eat with them :).
Look at this beautiful family and yes, Corinne is the mom!!! Some of my favs right here :). Soooo here’s Corinne…….
Peggy and I have been to some very fun cooking classes at the Harmons in Santa Clara. Lead by the team of Chef Jackie and Chef Shane, we have a great time learning, cooking and laughing. I highly recommend anyone interested to check these classes out.
One of the recent classes we attended was called summer salads and it has become a house favorite! I am not great at following the exact recipe, I usually shop for the vegetables that look fresh and add them to this version of the salad. So be creative with what your family likes!
WARM SALMON SALAD NICOISE
First off I make my dressing, which I love this dressing the most!
1 clove garlic minced
1 shallot minced
Chives minced
Add 1 part (1/4 cup) of pear champagne vinegar
Add 3 parts (3/4 cup) of grape seed oil
Tsp spicy brown mustard (don’t use frenchs, anything else is fine)
Salt and sugar depending on taste
Add salt and sugar at the very end. You will need a little of both. Add slowly and taste each time you add until you are satisfied. One other trick that really makes this dressing yummy is adding a few drop of truffle oil. But just a very few because it is potent! Blend everything in a food process or Vitamix. Refrigerate as you prepare the salads.
Boil 3-4 Yukon gold potatoes. When tender, set aside to cool slightly. While my potatoes are cooking I prepare my greens. I love to mix flavors of red and green leaf for pretty color. Boil 1 egg per salad. Prepare green beans and asparagus or whatever vegetables you like! I steam these vegetables to al dente. Wash and slice tomatoes into wedges. 3-4 wedges per salad is great. Peel and cut up potatoes and eggs.
Prepare salmon by adding a little salt and pepper. Heat a pan on the stove or grill until hot! Add olive oil and lay salmon presentation side down first (so the skin is up). Cook 3 minutes or until the salmon no longer sticks to the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and turn for an addition 2 minutes or until it is done to your liking.
Assemble salads! I like to put greens in the middle. Lay the vegetables around the edges with the salmon.
Pour the dressing over the salad. Call your favorite friends over and enjoy!
If you know my dear friend, Anji, YOU LOVE HER!! She is one of the most kind and thoughtful friends that you will ever meet. She is an amazing runner and athlete. Not only has she run many marathons, but she has completed a couple of 140.2 Ironman’s and several Half IM’s. Anji has spunk that is just SO FUN and always has a smile on her face. She is an RN and works at our local regional hospital and is very knowledgeable about many things, including diet. Today she is sharing part of an eating lifestyle that has worked for her. This post is different from other Friend Friday posts, but I think you will find it very informative and interesting. Thanks so much for sharing with us today Anji! Love you, girlfriend!
My name is Anji Stephens. I am a wife, a mom to two little boys, and a dog! Most people who know me know that I love running, biking and almost anything active!
This last year, a friend at work introduced me to a new eating pattern known as Intermittent Fasting. Intermittent Fasting works for me but I don’t know if it’s for everybody. Peg is a wonderful friend and running partner and because she has invited me to, I am happy to share what I have learned on her amazing blog!
The first time I heard of Intermittent Fasting, the only word I heard was “FASTING” and the only thing that went through my brain was “NO WAY….I LIKE TO EAT”! However, as I learned more about this style of eating, I learned that not only would I still get to eat my three meals a day including snacks, but I didn’t need to cut calories….YEAH!
So, exactly, what is Intermittent Fasting??? Basically, it is an eating pattern, NOT a diet. Without being too scientific, it is bunching your meals into a shorter time period during the day. The theory behind Intermittent Fasting is that your body cannot burn fat when it is in a “fed state”. It takes approximately 12ish hours after your last meal to exit the fed state and enter the “fat burning state”.
My day of eating would go something like this….I would eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in a 8 hour time period and then fast for the next 16 hours. Therefore, after the first 12 hours of fasting (mostly done while sleeping), my body would enter the fat burning state. The next 4 hours prior to eating again, I was burning fat.
Why did this work for me? Being a marathon runner, it can sometimes be hard not to gain weight during marathon training. I am not sure why this is, but I always blame it on the fact I am hungrier when I exercise more. So, in the past, I would try to cut back on calories while training in hopes not to gain weight. This would always prove disastrous. I felt like my health, energy or running would suffer. With this style of eating, I was able to drop a few pounds as well as inches while eating enough calories to sustain me for marathon training.
There are many things I loved about Intermittent Fasting. I loved that I didn’t have to count calories and I could still eat delicious food! I could still eat carbs..YUM! (which is necessary for running). I dropped inches and still had energy to train and run a PR (personal record) marathon! I also found myself drinking more water (which I did a lot during the fasting period)!
In the research that I have done, I have found that there are a number of health and hormonal benefits with Intermittent Fasting. I did not discuss these on the blog, however with a quick search on the internet, you will find an array of health benefits to further entice you to enjoy the benefits of an empty plate and a tall glass of water, Yummm….I’m stuffed!
Emily’s guest post on Friday had me craving some mango salsa on some salmon and one of my favorite cooking blogs is called cookingclassy.com, so I adapted my recipe from this blog. It was definitely a keeper!
4 (6 oz) skinless salmon fillets
3 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for grill
2 tsp lime zest (I used lemon because I didn’t have any lime)
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice (again, I used lemon)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups Water
1 1/4 cups canned coconut milk
1 1/2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed well and drained well
1/2 tsp salt
1 large mango, peeled and diced
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper, (1/2 large)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chopped red onion, rinsed under water and drained
1 large avocado, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (lemon juice)
1 Tbsp. coconut milk
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
For the salmon:
In an 11×7-inch baking dish whisk together olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste (a fair amount of each). Place salmon in baking dish, cover and allow to marinate in refrigerator 15 – 30 minutes, then flip salmon to opposite side and allow to marinate 15 – 30 minutes longer. Preheat a grill over medium-high heat during last 10 minutes of marinating.
Brush grill grates with oil or I used my the indoor grill on my panini grill. Place salmon on grill for about 3 minutes per side (I cooked mine about 5 min on my panini grill) or until just cooked through (turn carefully as the salmon will be fragile). Fish will continue cooking still when pulled off the grill, so I like to slightly undercook.
For the coconut rice:
I kept it simple and used my rice cooker, but here is the recipe for the saucepan cooking method:
While salmon is marinating prepare coconut rice. In a medium saucepan bring water, coconut milk, rice and salt to a full boil. Cover and simmer until liquid has been absorbed (there may be just a little bit of excess liquid in center which you can drain off), about 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then let rest 5 minutes.
For the avocado-mango salsa:
While the salmon is grilling prepare salsa. In a medium bowl toss together mango, bell pepper, cilantro, red onion, avocado, lime juice, olive oil and coconut water. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve salmon warm with coconut rice top with avocado mango salsa.
Just a word about my FRIEND FRIDAY GUEST this week……….YOU DEFINITELY DON’T WANT TO MISS IT :). It’s going to be awesome!
It's a peg's life 