May 2017 – Luv Cooks

FAB Memorial Day Breakfast Ideas + Gratitude

Raspberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls — The Food Charlatan’s dreamy raspberry sweet rolls with coconut cream cheese frosting.

Praise praise hallelujah for America!

With all that is taking place in our 2017 world (largely of which I don’t know about because I purposely avoid watching the news), I’ve grown increasingly more grateful for the opportunity and privilege I have to live, and be, an American. Now that my husband and I own a home and seem to be thinking more and more about the generations after us- it’s become much more important to show gratitude to the ones we love.

It especially inspires a gratitude for the military names I don’t know. The ones who served in our military, put their own needs aside, and gave their lives- so people like me could live in freedom.

So this week, in honor of our wonderful country, and our wonderful military members and their families, let’s take this weekend to love people with some of the most tasty, patriotic Memorial Day recipes out there. Drum roll pleeeasee…

Berries and Cream Tye Dye Fruit Smoothie– This is one of the most beautiful layered smoothie recipes I’ve ever seen. Hot Beauty Health is a fab lifestyle blog and this smoothie does not disappoint! Layers of raspberry pureed with banana, yogurt + milk, and cranberry juice +blue berries + black berries pile high in a cold glass. I wish this was in my hand now. Except I couldn’t type. But I think I could manage with one hand if I got to drink this.

Blueberry-Coconut Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal– Helllooooo oatmeal! I am a huge steel cut oats fan, and this recipe is perfect for a long Memorial Day weekend. MarlaMeridith cooks the oatmeal in the oven ahead of time so the texture becomes even more fantastic as it sits in the fridge overnight. Plus, it’s covered with toasted pecans and extra blueberry sauce. You had me at blueberry sauce.

Raspberry Sweet Rolls with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting There truly are no words for The Food Charlatan’s take on a classic sweet roll. She stuffs these beautiful, homemade dough babies with a little bit of sugar and raspberries, then whips up a homemade coconut cream cheese frosting to slather on them once they are hot out of the oven. I can’t imagine a sweeter Memorial Day treat to wake up to.

Ok and of course, a few Luv Cooks favorites:

Gluten Free Mixed Berry Crumble: This gluten-free take on a classic berry crumble would be PERFECT for a Memorial Day breakfast- or picnic! Top it with cold Greek yogurt and you have yourself a breakfast of champions.

Coconut Chai Latte Do your friends love chai tea? Then you have to try to make it homemade. This coconut chai tea latte is a fantastic way to drink chai- and continues to remind me of how much I love coconut milk.

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt I am 100% for eating fro-yo for breakfast, and this incredibly easy recipe has only four ingredients. Count ’em- FOUR!

Plus, not to leave you hanging, the original instructional video!!

So grab your sparklers, tell someone you love ’em, and cook up a sweet breakfast this weekend. From my patriotic heart to yours- Luv Cooks!

Caramelized Onion Kale Scramble

Caramelizing onions.

File this under one of the most delicious things to do to an onion. Granted- diced onions in fresh salsa? Zesty and awesome. Sliced fresh and put on a burger? Perfect ratio of bite. But caramelized? So, so good.

This week’s recipe has rocked my world a bit because 1- I don’t like kale. Shocker, I know. I will never be that person that wears the “Kale, YEAH!” shirt, or eats kale from the salad bar at Whole Foods, or drinks a kale smoothie and LOVES IT. Not. Gonna. Happen.

BUT Food and Wine!! As you guys know, discovering their recipes is rocking my world, and the same thing happened recently with their sautéed kale with garlic and olive oil. This recipe is brilliantly simple- just toast garlic in olive oil, toss in chili flakes, coat kale in the oil, and cook it until it wilts. Finish it off with salt and pepper.

Something magical takes place in this recipe when the kale hits the oil- and I later learned that the reason why is because FAT UNLOCKS THE NUTRIENTS IN KALE. That’s right- some of the vitamins in kale can be hard to digest, so fat helps. This article by Time-written in the hey day of kale’s popularity in 2015- shed lots of bright light for me on why I should actually eat it. Also- one ounce of kale has MORE iron than beef. What?!

So, taking Mallory’s advice from the beginning of this month, I decided to combine the sautéed kale with caramelized onions in my own nutrient-dense powerhouse breakfast scramble.

That’s also super delicious and I want to eat it every day.

So, roll up your sleeves, chop up some greens and get amped as you conquer this beast of a breakfast recipe AND get all your Vitamin K.

KALE, YEAH!

Caramelized Onion Kale Scramble

This spicy scramble is my new favorite! It combines the richness of caramelized onion with the bright bite of kale. Assemble your ingredients ahead of time to make the breakfast cooking process easy, drizzle with hot sauce, and serve with whole grain toast and jam to round out the meal.

What You Will Need:

1 tablespoon salted organic butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch organic kale, rinsed, stemmed and chopped into bite size pieces
1 Vidalia or sweet onion, sliced into rings, about 2 cups
6 eggs, whisked
1/2 tsp salt plus more for seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp red chili flake
3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

What You Will Do

Heat butter on medium heat; add sliced onions and a pinch of salt. Stir occasionally for about 8 minutes, until onions begin to brown/caramelize.
Add olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and red chili; stir for one-two minutes, or until garlic starts to brown.
Add kale in batches, coating each batch in oil, and slowly incorporating more as the kale wilts. You should smell the red pepper at this phase!
Continue to stir onions, garlic and kale; cover and cook 3 minutes more (stir about halfway through to make sure the garlic doesn’t get too brown).
Add egg and stir continually until cooked through. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.
Garnish with hot sauce or crushed red pepper; serve with toast or bagels and jam!!

PB Fit Crazy Granola + Mother’s Day Breakfast

Happy Mother’s Day week!

First of all- umm, how awesome are moms?

I’ve been in the sweetest season this year of friends having babies- and watching those babies grow. From my best friend in Alabama’s little girl turning FOUR (oh my gosh how time flies) to my sweet girlfriends in Birmingham having little ones, to my besties in Nashville dreaming of giving birth to new life and seasons- this day feels special and celebratory.

I’ve also been thinking about how grateful I am for my own momma. I was raised by an incredibly strong, intelligent, beautiful, spiritual, courageous woman. She cares more deeply for people than anyone I’ve ever known- and I can’t count the amount of times as a nurse she put other people’s needs ahead of her own. Her life is stunningly beautiful.

And one of my favorite things we did for my mom as a kid was breakfast in bed. Our game plan: roll out of bed early on Mother’s Day and “cook” her waffles, toast, or bacon and eggs.

However, the reality of this situation was that my dad did most, if not all, of that cooking. BLESS HIM. And, with the most joyful suprise energy my brother, sister and I’s sleepy selves could muster, we would clammer into my parent’s bedroom with a tray full of our foodie creations- fresh flower in a vase for Mom- in hand.

From there the plan was for her to eat breakfast in bed. The reality is most likely that about 5 minutes later she was out of bed helping us put Church clothes on.

This week’s recipe is an homage to moms by helping younger ones make one of the easiest, use-what’s-left-in-your-pantry granola I’ve developed yet. It’s my way to help you prepare ahead of time to bless your momma! Inspired by Detoxinista’s pumpkin seed granola, I wanted to do a different granola than the ones I had tried in the past. I was coming off of a series of shoots and recipe development projects that left with me with lots of healthy ingredients in my pantry. This granola turned out to be a fab way to tie them all in.

Which brings me back to Mother’s Day. Y’all, here’s our chance to love people with tasty food! Make a batch of this granola for your momma- and feel free to make substitutions to match what she likes. Does your grandmother like cherries? Use those as your dried fruit. Does your mom run triathlons and love almonds? Use raw almonds instead of pumpkin seeds. The possibilities are endless.

I have a feeling that thinking about her- and bringing her breakfast- may just make all of her mornings for a long while.

PB Fit Crazy Granola

This granola makes the best of both worlds- planning ahead and utilizing what you have in your pantry. Feel free to get creative with this and substitute different nuts, spices, or dried fruit/chocolate/nuts to stir in! This granola is also sublime layered with whole milk or dairy free yogurt, or doused in cold almond milk!

Yield: Granola for a week!

What You Will Need:

1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons chia seed
4 tablespoons PB Fit
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup rolled gluten-free oats
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon honey
3 packets stevia
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried fruit and dark chocolate chunks

What You Will Do:

Preheat oven to 325. Line a light metal, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Stir everything but dried fruit and chocolate chunks together in a large bowl with a spoon. Spread mixture into an even layer onto parchment paper.
Bake granola for 10 minutes: remove from oven, stir, and bake 10 minutes more. Let cool.
Once cooled, add 1/2 cup dried fruit and chocolate. Enjoy!

Golden Milk Iced Coffee + Breakfast Tips with a Health Coach

BREAKFAST!!!

One of my favorite times of the day. Ever since I shouted “RISE AND SHINE!” to my college roommates as I ran out the door to hit up the cafeteria at 7 AM (yes, I was THAT person) my love for the first meal of the day runs DEEP.

Also, breakfast involves coffee, which I consider to be one of the most necessary food and/or beverage groups out there.

That’s why this week I decided to combine my love of breakfast + coffee + health benefits and show you guys how to make a bang-up golden milk iced coffee that could get you going and bless yo’ brain.

Now, what is golden milk? A super delicious, coconut-based milk laced with turmeric and black pepper said to have anti inflammatory and relaxation properties. It’s wonderfully rich, a bit spicy, a bit sweet, and just right for combining with coffee. Just like with our cheesy turmeric crackers post, combining turmeric with black pepper in golden milk, is a great way to unlock curcumin- which can aid in digestion and stabilizing blood sugar. Plus, this golden milk is simple, only slightly sweet, and made with dairy-free coconut milk. WIN!

I also realize that breakfast is WAYY more than coffee- and should be- because, after all, if you want to get that gold star MVP award at work you need to be on your game!! So I recruited my great friend Mallory Swain, of Mallory Swain Health Coaching, to hang out on my sofa and teach me her nutritious breakfast ways. Her number one tip? Make a smoothie!!

Also, you can find Mal’s first favorite smoothie recipe here. And her current fave recipe is linked on the YouTube video details!

So this weekend, sit back, relax, blend up a smoothie, check out Mallory’s website, and enjoy some Golden Milk iced coffee. You’ve earned it!

Golden Milk Iced Coffee

This recipe works best when your golden milk and coffee are hot! I like to make the golden milk ahead of time, keep it in the fridge, then heat it up for about a minute while I make my coffee. This golden milk recipe is a bit modified from Wellness Momma‘s version. Blend, add ice, enjoy!

What You Will Need

8 to 10 ounces fresh, hot coffee (I like the French press method)
1 13.5 ounce can organic coconut milk
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
Powdered stevia, to taste

What You Will Do

Combine coconut milk, oil, turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne, ginger, and vanilla extract in blender until combined.
Heat mixture over medium heat until combined and coconut oil is melted.
Stir in honey until dissolved.
Remove from heat, pour into a jar, and allow to cool (or use immediately in coffee).
Pour coffee and desired amount of golden milk into blender. Blend on medium speed until combined. Taste; add stevia if needed.
Allow coffee to cool for a few minutes; pour over ice and enjoy!