Most of my posts so far have been related to traditional Korean dishes. I’m switching gears a little but not straying too far from sharing about healthy traditional foods.
I have two teens in the house and it’s a challenge to get them to eat a healthy breakfast. They want variety, tasty and quick items to eat. I want them to eat healthy and nutritious foods. At times, this is a challenge and can create tension in the morning. Who wants that at 6:30am!
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Not surprisingly there are numerous studies showing students function better academically when they eat a healthy and nutritious breakfast. Plus you feel better, you are happier person and nicer to be around.
I’ve created a couple easy morning muffins that my teens will eat ~ Crustless Muffin Quiche and Homemade Apple-Cranberry Sauce Gluten Free Muffins These two breakfast items are easy to prepare ahead of time or in the morning. Most of my recipes are gluten free but I’ve listed options to make them non-gluten free. As always, use the highest quality and organic ingredients that are available. I hope these recipes make breakfast time enjoyable and help you start your day energetically.
Crustless Muffin Quiche~Pre-heat oven to 375 F, generously oil muffin pan with olive oil or line with paper liners.
Ingredients:
Organic Eggs: 6 medium
Home made low fat plain yogurt (or any good organic yogurt such as Snowville Creamery, Fage, Brown Cow just to name a few of my favorite brands): ½ cup
Milk (or any other non-dairy milk): 1.5 cup
Chopped veggies of your choice: ½ cup
Here is what I’ve used ~onion, fresh basil, red bell peppers, broccoli
Chopped chicken breakfast sausage: ½ cup
This optional and you can use any other type of meat, even lunch meat.
Shredded Manchego Cheese ½ cup (or use your favorite kind of cheese)
Salt: 1 tsp
Pepper: ½ to 1 tsp
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs for about a minute, and then add yogurt and milk. Whisk these wet ingredients for another 30 seconds.
Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix well.
Fill each muffin cup with egg mixture and make sure each cup has veggie and meat chunks.
Bake for 18 minutes or until the tops are puffing and just beginning to brown. Let cool for 5 minutes and transfer Crustless Muffin Quiche onto serving plate.
This can be stored in fridge for 3 days and frozen for a couple of weeks.
Home made Apple-Cranberry Sauce Gluten Free Muffins
Pre-heat oven to 350 F, generously grease muffin pan with olive oil or use paper liner.
Dry Ingredients~.
Wild Roots Ancient Grains Pancake and Waffle Mix: 2 ½ cups
(Or any other GF mix or regular whole wheat pancake mix)
Organic Golden Flax Meal: 1/2 cup
Baking Soda:1 tsp
Cinnamon: 2 tsp
Sea Salt: 1 tsp
Wet Ingredients~
Eggs, organic: 2
Snowville plain low fat yogurt: 1/2 cup
(Do not use non-fat. Use any other good yogurt such as Fage, Brown Cow, Stoneyfield)
Organic Milk, low fat (or any other organic non-dairy milk~soy, almond, hemp): 1 cup
Organic Real Maple Syrup (or honey, agave nectar): 1/2 cup
Real Vanilla extract: 2 tsp
Orange Zest: 1 tsp
Homemade Apple-Cranberry Sauce (or apple sauce): 1 cup
Mix together the dry ingredients in a large size bowl and set aside.
In a medium size bowl, whisk together your eggs for about a minute. Then add yogurt, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl and mix together thoroughly for 30 seconds. Mix in the homemade Apple- Cranberry Sauce.
Fill each muffin cup to the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and springs back to touch.
Home made Apple-Cranberry Sauce
5 large organic apples peeled, cored, and cubed.
1 pint of fresh cranberry, washed.
1 cup organic real maple syrup
1 tsp pure lemon extract
1 cinnamon stick
4 crushed cloves
1 tsp orange zest
Place all ingredients in a crock-pot and cook on low for 6 hours. Take out cinnamon stick and mash apples and cranberries with potato masher. Put back cinnamon stick and cook in crock-pot for another 2 to 4 hours with the lid partially off to allow for liquid evaporation and thickening of sauce. Cook until you have desired thickness. You may want to add additional maple syrup to adjust it to your desired sweetness.
Let cool to room temperature and place in clean quart jar. Keep refrigerated.
Now my favorite comedian Jim Gaffigan points out that muffins are just “cakes” . And I have to agree with him that some muffins are just an excuse for us to eat cake and fool ourselves so we don’t feel guilty. While you listen to his funny bit, look at the nutrition comparison which shows that my muffins provide more than just carbs.
