Thursday, April 7, 2016

Lactose Free Spinach Artichoke Dip / Spread



This spinach and artichoke dip or spread is light and flavorful. As a dip, enjoy with crackers like the whole wheat Yehuda Matzos in the photo or with cut up veggies.

In a food processor, process:
~Artichokes from a 9.9 oz jar until finely chopped. I used artichokes in water, drained
~2 cups packed fresh spinach until finely chopped
~About 2 tablespoons caramelized onions and 1 clove of garlic. I had leftover caramelized onions but a small shallot would be a good substitute 

Mix above ingredients with: 
~1/4 cup mayonnaise of your choice
~1 6 oz. container plain coconut yogurt. That's what I had on hand. Plain almond yogurt would probably be good. Use less or more mayo/yogurt depending on consistency you want 
~About 1/4 cup of chopped almonds. I happened to have these leftover from a meal and were a nice addition
~1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (taste with 1/2 teas then add more if needed)
~A generous pinch, about a 1/2 teaspoon, of nutritional yeast to give it a salty cheese flavor (more or less to taste - be careful not to use too much!)

Let the mixture sit about 15 to 30 minutes to blend the flavors before serving. 

Organic as much as possible. 





Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Easy Tasty Breakfast Sandwich | Healthful



I love breakfast sandwiches but they're usually greasy and fatty. Here's a great breakfast sandwich, or lunch, idea that's very tasty and healthful. No need for cheese because the avocado gives it a cheesy flavor and creaminess.



Cook one pound of low fat ground beef (I used local meat) in a skillet with a little vegetable broth or water for moisture, mix in about one teaspoon of Italian seasoning, a touch of salt and pepper.  Add more seasonings to taste. The Italian seasoning will make the ground beef taste like sausage without all the fat. Drain well in a colander.

While ground beef is draining, peel and chop one avocado, chop one plum tomato, stir in about 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and pepper. Note: they'll be more egg/ground beef mixture than the avocado topping so if you need more topping, make it with two avocados and two tomatoes, etc.

Return the drained ground beef to the skillet and stir in six local eggs. Cook until the eggs are done. There was plenty leftover for the two of us to freeze or use another day, so depending on how many people you're feeding you may have leftovers for another meal also. 

Put it all together on a whole wheat wrap with some baby spinach and enjoy! 



Make it ahead and make mornings easy! The lemon juice will help keep the avocado topping from browning if stored in a tightly sealed container for a couple of days. Just assemble the sandwich and heat in a microwave for about 30 seconds.

Instead of making the avocado topping, this would be a good way to use up leftover guacamole. 

Also, it's a good way to use up any leftover scrambled eggs. Just add cooked ground beef separately and assemble the sandwich with the other ingredients and you're good to go.

Local and organic.