Jan's Power Breakfast

Jan here, wondering how it can be July already!

I love any time of year in the Black Hills,
and summer is fabulous!

June was a crazy-busy month with the release of "Naomi's Hope" and the deadline for "An Amish Nanny's Sweetheart," coming from Love Inspired Historical in March 2018.

And yes, I did meet my deadline!

Over the last couple weeks I've shared some breakfast ideas with you.

The first one was for my super low carb/healthy fats eggs and avocados breakfast.

Click here for this recipe.

And then last week, we went the other direction - healthy carb/low fat - with my summertime oatmeal.

Click here for this recipe.

But for the week I had last week - hours and hours at my computer, working to meet my deadline and still write the story that was on my heart - I needed a power breakfast. Or two. I might have had this multiple times last week...

Jan's Power Breakfast

This breakfast is a combination of protein, healthy fats, and a good dose of super-healthy carbs from greens.

There is nothing like a good batch of greens to get those little gray cells working in the morning!

These are the ingredients I used - 

A couple eggs

A couple Tablespoons of chopped onions

A couple mushrooms - optional, but...oh! so good!

1/2 cup frozen greens, or 2 cups fresh greens

Take a closer look at the greens I use:

I have trouble with fresh greens going bad before I can eat them all, so I keep frozen blends like this on hand. This one is a blend of spinach, kale, and chard. Steam them until they're thawed, then saute them in butter or coconut oil with the mushrooms and onions. Sprinkle on a little salt (just a smidge) and pepper - maybe throw in some garlic - and let them cook until the greens are taking on a wilted feel and the onions are not quite transparent.

Then push the greens to the side of the skillet to keep warm and add your eggs. I like mine fried for this power breakfast.

Once the eggs are cooked the way you like them, put the greens and eggs on a plate. Add your mug of tea (notice that I'm ready for my second cup!), and add your favorite devotional and Bible reading. 

Now that's a power combination that's hard to beat!

What is your favorite power breakfast? Let us know in the comments!

Speaking of great combinations, all three books in "The Journey to Pleasant Prairie" are on sale in their e-book versions right now! Go to my website to order - be sure to look for the e-book version from your favorite retailer!

Go to www.jandrexler.com/books for ordering information.

Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.

Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com

Purslane - the weed that may be the best food on earth

How's that for a title to draw you in?

A weed - that constant source of annoyance to gardeners and homeowners alike - is, if claims are to be believed, possibly the most nutritious food on the planet.

But let me backtrack -

Last weekend I was at the farmer's market. I knew I was going to have to unexpectedly head out of town for a few days (which is why you're not getting beets and kale this week either), so there wasn't much I needed. I was just wandering as my daughter shopped.

I was scanning the greens on the table when I overheard a conversation behind me. A woman was asking her friends if they'd ever eaten purslane. She said she had learned about it from some cooking show and that it was one of the healthiest foods in the world. It looked to me like a mini Jade plant.

I took a closer look. The label said it was the richest plant source of omegas. So I bought some.

Now, I think reading Shakespeare may be the only other time I've heard of purslane. Or it may have been in a Shakespeare garden I visited.

Since I'd be at my mother's house and not really able to cook, I thought I'd explore a little more for today's post. 

The first thing I did when I got home was Google Purslane.

The results gave me words like "Exceptionally nutritious," "Edible supergreen," 

                                              WEED

Yes, purslane is a common weed.

But somewhere in my researching I came across a discussion about how most research done on weeds is how to eradicate them, but the best way to do that is to simply eat them!

Why would you want to eat a weed? 

Well, according to Nutrition and You, 

"Soft, succulent purslane leaves have more omega-3 fatty acids than in some of the fish oils."

According to Mother Earth News:

Purslane may be a common plant, but it is uncommonly good for you. It tops the list of plants high in vitamin E and an essential omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Purslane provides six times more vitamin E than spinach and seven times more beta carotene than carrots. It’s also rich in vitamin C, magnesium, riboflavin, potassium and phosphorus. 

An interesting quote from the site Heal With Food:

Studies investigating the remarkable longevity and low rate of cardiovascular diseases among people living on the Greek island of Crete suggest that the high dietary intake of ALA from foods like purslane, walnuts, figs, and stamnagathi might be a key contributor to Cretans' exceptionally good health.

(If you're wondering, stamnagathi is a wild green that grows on Crete.)



I love this video because he's playing ball with the dog while he talks about purslane.

I found this video that I thought was fascinating  – especially for us as writers wanting to understand different lives people choose

The Woman who eats weeds https://vimeo.com/54412653

She also has a website:  Julia's Edible Weeds 

I loved this video - part of a series called Eat the Weeds:

I don't really recommend picking purslane in the wild because there is a look-alike that's actually poisonous. This video does a really good job of showing the difference between the two.

So, how do you feel about eating weeds?  Are you ready to give purlane a try? Or do you already eat it?

Let's talk about weeds. :)

Butternut, Greens and… Bacon!

Missy Tippens, here. I know we've been talking a lot about pumpkin this month. (See, I've even got pumpkin all over my house in our hand soap!) But today I thought I'd share something else fallish: butternut squash.

I had a nice squash and decided I wanted to combine it with pasta. So, after digging, I found bacon (good with just about anything!). And I had greens. I decided that would be great all together!

I'm doing this the easy way. I don't cube raw butternut. Too difficult! I roast it, then cube it.

Cut it in half. Scoop out seeds. Put several pats of butter in the scooped out part. I also buttered the neck of the squash.

I wanted to use half for dinner. And to save the other half for lunch tomorrow. So for the savory side to go with pasta, I added salt and pepper. For the leftovers, I sprinkled on brown sugar.

Roast at 400 degrees until done. It took about 45 minutes for this large squash.

While it's roasting--

Wait, what's that on the counter?? How did that get there (she asks while chewing sweet baked goodness)?

Okay, back to the healthy squash. :) While it's roasting, get the pasta noodles boiling.

Also, cook the bacon.

** Tip: Chop raw bacon with kitchen scissors. It's much easier to cook. This was the first time I've tried bacon that's nitrate/nitrite free. It looked more like ham but cooked up DELISH, just like regular bacon. And I think it tasted even better!

When it was browned, I was going to drain it, but realized this type bacon made less grease. Since I needed some oil anyway to cook my greens, I left the bacon in the pan and tossed in some chopped garlic. Then added the greens.

I used the Power Greens (a mix of baby spinach, kale and swiss chard).

I sautéed until greens wilted.

When the squash is fork tender, remove from oven and let cool a bit. Then sliced criss-cross patterns through one half.

Once it's all sliced, you can scoop the cubes out. Add to the greens and bacon.

Serve on top of pasta. I also topped with fresh parmesan. This was so good! And nice and colorful.

Enjoy for a nice fall meal!

Power Pesto Obstacle Course

I love my farmer's market. I visit friends who retired and inherited family land. They turned it into an organic farm. Other vendors sell flowers my black thumb can't grow, grass-fed beef, eggs and shrimp from the coast. Half the time I don't know what I'm getting til I get there. My ingredients determine the recipes for the week ahead. Every week is an adventure but I didn't expect the adventure to turn into an obstacle course.

This week's Farmer's Market haul.

At the top of my list of how to use this week's haul was pesto. I love it. Not only is it full of flavor but it is so versatile. A dab makes a plain sandwich into a gourmet lunch, squash noodles more than a paleo substitute for egg noodles, and ramps up any sort of salad dressing.

My ingredients

Obstacle #1: I bought some basil this week but realized I didn't have enough for all the on-line pesto recipes I was reading. What to do? What to do? Hmmmm, I had leftover power greens from last week. And sure enough, I found plenty of recipes featuring power greens like kale, chard and spinach. So I threw a couple of those in for good measure AFTER I made sure to remove the bitter stems.

Obstacle #2: Pesto traditionally is made with pine nuts and healthier versions are made with walnuts. And this girl who is allergic to everything is also allergic to the omega packed walnuts. ManO is not a nut person. Again, what to do? Parmesan cheese is an ingredient already so I added some more to make it a bit thicker.  I added more flavorful olive oil. If you aren' t allergic to certain nuts like I am but don't want the nut texture, you can use a tablespoon of nut flavored oils. They are all over the marketplace now.

Obstacle #3: ManO is not a garlic fan and pesto without garlic is my nightmare. So I just added one clove. Sniff. I really want to protect ManO's immune system with a bunch but he doesn't believe me for some reason. And he was around to make sure I didn't sneak in more than he could stand.   

Obstacle #4: I forgot to buy some meat for dinner. In reality, it was more "forgot." I'm really trying to reduce our meat, especially red meat, consumption. But I remembered turkey spaghetti sauce in the fridge.

Obstacle #5:  I also "forgot" to buy spaghetti.  Poor ManO, now he doesn't even get gluten-free rice pasta. I go for veggies as the base of the sauce. YAY! I grabbed my Farmer's Market golden zucchini and made "noodles."  Just slice any kind of squash with a veggie peeler, lay on paper towels to drain, and saute for a few minutes. I added a dollop ( a very technical cooking term, ya know) and stirred. Perfection.

      
Well, I made it through the obstacle course and this is what we had for dinner:

Power Pesto (Nutless version)

2 cups basil with stems removed
1 cup power greens (or spinach) with stems removed
1 clove (or more) minced garlic
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon (or to taste) sea salt
1/2+ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon flavored oil (optional)   

1) Place garlic in food processor and mince or mince beforehand.
2) Add salt.
3) Add greens and mince fine.
4) Add Parmesan. Do not mince yet.
5) Put on processor lid and pour oil (including flavored oil if used) slowly through opening while processing.
6) Check consistency and add more cheese or oil if necessary.
7) Put in container, cover and refrigerate.

Bonus tip: You can apparently freeze pesto by covering small containers of it with olive oil. I am such a fresh fan but may try this idea. If you are overwhelmed by basil this summer, I can totally see putting some pesto up to remind you of summer in the cold, dark winter.

Are you a pesto fan? Have you tried to make alternate types of pesto? What is your best necessity-is- the-mother-of-invention substitution when it comes to recipes? Have you every tried to make a meal and find yourself running an obstacle course?

 

Confessions of a Half-hearted Juicer

Confession #1: I let lettuce shrivel in the fridge.
Confession #2: I forget there is one lone apple in the back of the fridge.
Confession #3: I'm so frugal we didn't get an ice maker for the fridge.
Confession #4: I've been known in the past for going on fad diets and then tiring of them real quick.

Do you get the picture? I have a love/hate affair with fresh produce and my fridge. It's like out of sight, out of mind. As much as I love our farmer's market, I dread going and seeing only large bunches of veggies. If I had all the money I've wasted on fresh produce over the year I could buy an apartment in Paris. Well, maybe just go to Paris for five days and stay in a student hostel (shiver, been there and done that) but you get the picture.

All my family and friends juice and are healthier for it. My friend Mary C has a VitaMix , the Cadillac of juice extractors.  It pulverizes veggies like no one's business. Thanks to her daughter, who favors the single serving making Nutribullet, she's also become a whiz mixing with additives like hemp protein and flax oil.

Then there's my daughter-in-law Shannon who has a Ninja, a large high-powered blender. She is the queen of smoothies. She loves them as a runner. The grandkidlets just plain love them. Do they know they're healthy?

What did I have? A fear of juicing. Not because of the thought of all that healthy stuff coursing through my brain but my household budget hasn't allowed me to consider an appliance that is almost a hundred dollars. Add in the fact I neglect to use my veggies and I like to chew them besides.

Well, I decided to apply my repurpose credo to juicing. What did I already have? A mini processor and an immersion blender.

Hmmmm. Now to figure out the waste issue. I bought a small pint of local blueberries. A resealable package of spinach.  A pack of organic shredded carrots. And one small green juice drink rather than all the bunches of kale, heads of broccoli, cucumbers, and other green things that would otherwise die a meaningless death under my watch.

First I pulverized my spinach, blueberries and carrots in the processor by processing, adding a bit of the green juice, and processing some more.

Then I poured the semi-solid concoction into my immersion blender cup and really let it go to town. That's all it took.

And it was pretty tasty.

Yes, I had more dishes to wash. But for a first try it was pretty successful. If you have a regular blender and use frozen fruit and a banana (sniff, I'm allergic!), it will be even thicker. I like a bit of crunch in my drink but if you don't, you can buy carrot juice in small bottles as well.

The leftovers? Most will be used tonight as ingredients in dinner. No waste.

Only time will tell if I decide I like the ease of a Nutribullet or the Ninja. If it is worth it, I can save up for one. But, for now, my make-do plan is working. I like veggies I can sip down and drink up! 

Frugal Cheater's Healthy Drink

1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup shredded carrots (or carrot juice)
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup "green" juice
1 banana (optional for additional sugar and smoothness)

Process or blend veggies until as smooth as possible. Add juice and optional banana. Process again and drink. 

Epilogue: I am still juicing after a week. AND I discovered Earthbound Farm Organics has a packaged baby kale, shard, and spinach blend that is perfect. No waste.  Feeling so much better. So I may just have to save my pennies up for an upgraded machine after all.

Earthbound Farm makes it easy to get your power greens. Click here for more info

Caution: Remember that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. There is some research saying that too many servings of kale and other greens can affect your thyroid function. Too much fruit and not enough protein affects diabetics. Not eating a balanced diet is just not a good thing. Use good judgement when juicing and talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns due to your own health situation.   
 
So, are you a juicer? Do you prefer to drink your veggies and fruits rather than chew? What is your favorite smoothie, homemade or bought?