Veggie Breakfast Skillet

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1 Potato, cubed
1 Yam (Sakarya), cubed
10-12 Button Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 Red Bellpepper, roughly chopped
1/2 Yellow Bellpepper, roughly chopped
1 small Zuchinni, chopped
1/2 Green Bellpepper, chopped
Salt, to taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
Oregano, to taste
Ketchup

Preparation:
1. Peel and Boil the potato and yam until you can pierce a fork all the way through easily. Be sure that they do not get too soft!
2. Once the potatoes and yams are boiled, pan-fry them so they are crisp!
2. Separately, warm some cooking oil in an iron skillet. Once warm - add the bellpeppers, zuchinni and mushrooms.
3. When they are cooked and soft, add the boiled potato and yam.
4. Season with salt, pepper and oregano, to taste.
5. Enjoy with Ketchup!

Yogurt with Nuts, Raisins, Agave, Bananas

Serves: 1

Ingredients
1/2 cup Homemade Yogurt (If unavailable, use any plain yogurt without preservatives)
Agave Syrup, to taste
1 medium-sized Banana, sliced
1/4 cup Chopped Walnuts
1/3 cup Raisins
Optional* Pinch of Kesar/Elaichi (Pinch of Saffron/Cardamom)


Preparation
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and enjoy! Be sure to only add a pinch of Saffron/Cardamom if using.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup milk, plus more if necessary

1/4 teaspoon salt

Agave Syrup

4 tablespoons blueberries

Preparation: 

1. Sift together flour and baking powder, set aside. 
2. Mix the milk, salt and artificial sweetener in a bowl. 
3. Stir in flour until just moistened
4. Add blueberries and stir to incorporate.

Preheat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, and spray with cooking spray. Pour approximately 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan for each pancake. Cook until bubbly, about 1 1/2 minutes on low-medium heat. Turn, and continue cooking until golden brown!


Variation: Instead of blueberries, try adding any combination of cinnamon/pumpkin spice/nutmeg/walnuts/chocolate chips/apples to the batter and the whole family will be smiling with the IHOP style variety offered in mommy's kitchen!

Berry Yummy Breakfast Smoothie

My husband and I wanted to start eating healthy for breakfast. First, we stopped buying cereal, muffins, waffles, pancake mix, etc. Then we spent a couple days wondering how to replace that, and here's one of the best things we came up with! Whoever wakes up first often gets the pleasure of making 2 tall cups of this berry smoothie. We own a Vitamix (best blender ever!) and I promise, this will have you out the door quickly in the morning, and your tummy feeling very full + satisfied!

Serves 2
Ingredients:
10-12 large strawberries, washed. If you use the Vitamix, you can keep the stems on.
2 handfuls of blueberries, washed.
Agave Syrup or Honey, to taste
1/4 cup Plain Yogurt
8-10 Ice Cubes
1 cup Acai Berry Juice
Frozen, Sweetened coconut (optional)



Preparation:
1. Blend together all ingredients and enjoy!
2. I will often pour the smoothie straight into a mug that has a lid on it, and place a straw inside so that it is easy to drink while in the car on the way to work!

Neesh's Eggless Breakfast Burrito

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

1 Package of Firm Tofu

Medium Size Whole Wheat tortilla: Try to buy the whole wheat tortilla with minimal ingredients. (You can typically find these at stores such as Jimbos, Mother's Market and Whole Foods) . 

Salsa

4 cheese blend

Sour Cream

1/2 teaspoon Turmeric (Haldhar)
Chopped Garlic 

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Lemon Juice, to taste

1/2 bunch Cilantro, chopped

1 Serrano pepper, finely chopped or Jalapeno Pepper, finely chopped

Cooking Oil

Preparation:

1. Drain water from tofu package. Place tofu block between 2 towels and squeeze together to remove as much water as possible. This will allow the tofu to obtain the optimal consistency and texture. 
2. Cut the tofu into small squares
3. Warm the oil in pan and add turmeric.  P
4. Saute chopped Jalapeno & Garlic
5. Place cut tofu into hot oil and saute as well.
6. Add salt/pepper and saute until slightly browned.  Now mix in juice of lemon & some chopped cilantro. Turn off the gas. 
7. Warm a tortilla in a separate pan (on low heat!) and add cheese.  Once the cheese has melted, place the sautéed tofu on the tortilla.  Top with salsa and sour cream and more cilantro.. 
8. Wrap the tortilla into a burrito. Cook on both sides in the pan until slightly crispy. 
9. Enjoy with some more salsa, sour cream, chalula sauce or whatever you fancy! 

Culinary Medicine Tip:  In this recipe Turmeric is used.  Of course turmeric makes the tofu looks like eggs, but more than that turmeric has many health benefits.  When turmeric is added to the oil it tempers the oil and helps retain the nutrients in the food that oil may normally destroy.  It also decreases the amount of free radicals that are produced by the oil.  Turmeric can also be used to help fight viral infections, wound infections, help with acid reflux and many other medical issues.  Please see our blog post on Turmeric and its benefits. Turmeric is a staple in Indian cooking.

Hungry Toddler

Warm some cooking oil in an iron skillet, add a pinch of turmeric

1

Squeeze in some juice of lemon. Now turn of the gas!

She approves!