Banana Almond Flour Muffins

I haven't baked in a while thanks to my new restrictions (no nuts, no eggs), but I found this recipe that I hadn't posted and figured you all probably need a fun treat. I created this muffin recipe by tweaking my banana cake and throwing the batter in muffin tins. If you are open to nuts and eggs, these muffins are awesome - only a tiny of raw honey, and they are perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast. You can add raisins, berries, nuts, or even almond butter if you want to get crazy with these. While you chow down on these, I will be brainstorming some egg-free, nut-free creations. Enjoy!

Banana Almond Flour Muffins: Serves 6, Prep time: 10 min, Bake time: 20 min

Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups almond flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon 
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. cup coconut oil, softened
- 2 Tbsp. cup organic raw honey
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 large banana, mashed
- Optional add-ins: raisins, berries, chopped nuts, cocoa nibs, etc.

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Combine almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and set aside
3. In a separate bowl, mix coconut oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla
4. Mix wet ingredients until fully combined and then add the mashed bananas
5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients in one bowl
6. Pour batter into a greased muffin tin
7. Bake for 20 minutes - tops will be lightly browned and a toothpick should come out clean
8. Let cool and then serve topped with fresh jam, honey, coconut butter, or plain!

  

Breakfast Mash Bowl

I was forced to give my breakfasts a serious makeover. As some of you know, I have battled a variety of stomach issues my whole life. I finally decided to get to the bottom of everything in 2012 when I started the paleo diet last July. While certain aspects of my digestion got much better, I knew things still weren't right so I went to a new integrative physician to get checked out. I got a ton of testing done, and it turns out that I have leaky gut syndrome. Note that this isn't as gross as it sounds - read about it here. The good news is that the paleo diet is helpful in healing leaky gut, but the bad news is that I also found out I have a load of paleo-friendly food intolerances I never knew about. The top tier sensitivities are asparagus, avocado (almost cried over this), cantaloupe, cashews, cauliflower, cucumbers, egg whites, egg yolks, eggplant, lemon, pineapple, sesame, squash, walnuts, and watermelon. The second tier (which I also will need to avoid) includes almonds, cabbage, chicken, and sunflower. I am meeting with an RD, but sadly I will need to cut out all of these foods for at least 4-8 weeks while I take probiotics and digestive enzymes to try to heal my gut. These foods may be fine over time, but for now they have to go. As you can imagine, it was an overwhelming conversation because I already limit my foods so dramatically with paleo. To now cut out eggs, chicken, nuts, and so many fruits and vegetables will be an added challenge. The food sensitivity testing is complicated because there can be false positives, but I will still need to eliminate these foods temporarily to be safe.

The first major change had to be breakfast. No baked goodies with almond flour, and no omelets/casseroles/quiches. The good news is that this recipe creation turned out absolutely amazing. The flavors were perfect for breakfast, and I loved the color combination. 

I have a few posts on deck that will be posted in the next week with some newly forbidden ingredients (almond flour, chicken, etc.), but after those are shared I will be sharing my new adventures in the kitchen according to these new guidelines. I am determined to prove that I can still make beautiful and delicious food even with the new restrictions. Best of luck to me and all of my other nut, egg, and chicken-free paleo friends out there!

Breakfast Mash Bowl: Serves 4-6, Prep time: 15 min, Cook time: 20 min

Ingredients:
- 4 small sweet potatoes 
- 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 Tbsp. garlic
- 1 lb. mini portobello mushrooms, chopped
- 1 large bunch kale, stems removed & chopped
- sea salt & pepper (optional)

Instructions:
1. Bake or steam your sweet potatoes. To bake, poke holes in the potatoes, wrap in foil, and bake at 375 degrees for one hour. To steam, cut into chunks and steam for 10 minutes.
2. Cook ground beef over medium heat until cooked through 
3. Drain excess fat from the beef, and then set the beef aside
4. Use the same pan to cook the onions and garlic until soft (about 10 minutes)
5. Add the portobello mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes
6. Add back the meat and the kale and cook for 2-3 minutes until kale cooks down
7. Mash the sweet potatoes (one in each bowl), and then drop a scoop of the veggie/meat mixture in the middle
8. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired
9. Enjoy your new and improved breakfast!

  

Spinachy Egg Nests

The day has finally come! Tonight is the first PaleOMG cooking class in Boston. I signed up for both nights because 1. I'm obsessed, and 2. I couldn't choose between sweet and savory (shocker). I can't wait to meet Juli, see what recipes we are going to make, and make some more paleo friends in Boston. I will try to snag some great pictures, and I'll be sure to post about both classes over the weekend. 

On another note, last weekend I had a crazy stomach reaction after going out to eat - it reminded me of the pre-paleo days. Pretty sure I had some gluten and dairy by mistake, and I was feeling sick, bloated, and sluggish. I decided to try a one-day juice cleanse to load up on organic veggies and clear out the toxins in my system. I tried the BluePrint cleanse because they are sold at Whole Foods now. It was $58 for the day which is pretty great compared to other brands on the market. I went with the Foundation Cleanse which is the "intermediate" level. I am so used to green juice now, and I actually loved it. They are so filling, and since it took me almost an hour to finish each bottle, I never once had food cravings in the entire day (definitely not my typical situation). The cashew milk at the end of the day was such a good treat and tasted like a rich milkshake. I felt so amazing and energized all day, and I woke up the next morning feeling completely rejuvenated. I had to get back to real food, so I made these spinach egg nests and a popcorn shoot salad. A guy at the farmers market convinced me to buy these shoots because he promised the flavor was as sweet and complex and he was. He was right - these shoots have such an insanely sweet flavor, and the taste changes as you chew them. I threw on some avocado and blueberries to make a "salad" - it was a bizarre combo but nice to switch it up. Definitely try these micro-shoots next time you're at the market - it is like a mix between alfalfa sprouts and kettle corn popcorn, and you'd need to taste it to believe it!

Spinachy Egg Nests Serves 1, Prep time: 5 min, Cook time: 10 min

Ingredients:
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 2 cups spinach
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- sea salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Heat olive oil over medium heat
2. Cook spinach with salt, pepper, and garlic powder until soft
3. Make two holes/nests for the eggs, and crack the eggs in the holes
4. Cover the pot, turn the heat to low (2-3), and cook for about 5 minutes (+/- depending on your egg preference)

Sweet Celeriac Root Hash

Happy Sunday people. Today was an interesting and informational day for many reasons:

1. (I thought) I bought a rutabaga for today's recipe, and it turned out to be celeriac root (see recipe below) - such an interesting vegetable that I've never had before!
2. I stepped in a huge pile of dog sh*t on the street at the very end of my 5+ mile walk with Chris, and we discovered that it isn't that easy to clean a poop sneaker when you live in a city.
3. I practiced my qigong in the shower tonight which was awesome - I must warn you that it can be very dangerous when your feet are slippery while harvesting your qi ;)
4. The nutrients in a 1oz. shot of wheatgrass are equivalent to those in 2.5 cups of green vegetables... I still haven't tried it yet, but I think this will be my next experiment. 

I have been loving all of the winter root vegetables, so I tried to get creative this morning. I created this sweet and savory breakfast hash and threw a dollop of it on top of a spinach and mushroom frittata. The final picture didn't come out too beautifully, but it tasted fantastic. The recipe below will serve two people, and you can make a really delicious mash with the leftover half of the celeriac root. It is an awesome potato substitute with way more flavor and great nutrients.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 celeriac root, peeled & shredded
- 1 small sweet potato, peeled & shredded
- 1 small apple, peeled & diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- Olive oil

- sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat

2. Add diced onions and cook for about 5 minutes until soft

3. Add shredded celeriac, sweet potato, and apple (use a cheese grater or food processor for these)

4. Season with a little sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder
5. Cook for 15-20 minutes until it fully cooks through and gets a little crisp like hash browns. I stirred it quite a bit at first but then let it sit for a few minutes at a time so the bottom would brown.
6. Serve on top of your favorite frittata or topped with poached eggs.

   

  

Perfect Veggie Quiche

I'M BACK! I hope you haven't missed me too much over these past two weeks. I had quite the traveling adventure visiting so many of my favorite people for the holidays. After bouncing from house to house in CT, I headed up to Vermont for almost a week. I had to work for some of it, but I have no complaints. Apparently Waitsfield got close to five feet of snow over the week we were there, and I had the most beautiful views from the house while I worked. The fire was going nonstop every day, and I got in some great skiing over the weekend. I also visited an amazing natural food store called Sweet Pea that had an unbelievable selection of paleo-friendly foods. I was a bit under the weather for most of the trip, so I loaded up on echinacea teas, fresh-pressed organic green juices, and a few treats like trailmix and "nut buddies". 

  

When I finally got back to Boston I was dying to get back in the kitchen and whip up some delicious home-cooked meals. I have plenty of material to share now, and I am starting up with a delicious vegetable quiche. You can feel free to switch up the veggies, add meat (or cheese if you do that), and get creative. This recipe is very simple and came out so well. I have had a few quiche recipes that are a bit too moist/watery, and this one cooked perfectly in exactly 30 minutes. Enjoy the leftovers for breakfast the next day!

Ingredients:

Crust

- 1.5 cups almond flour

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 1/2 tsp. baking powder

- 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

- 1/2 tsp. dried onion (or onion powder)

- 2 tsp. parsley

Filling

- 1 large sweet onion, chopped

- 1 shallot, chopped

- 1 Tbsp. garlic, chopped

- 1 Tbsp. olive oil

- 10 white mushrooms, chopped

- 1 bag spinach

- 4 eggs

- Sea salt & pepper 

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix all crust ingredients in a small mixing bowl until dough forms

3. Press the dough into the pie dish working it into the dish so it fills out the full pan

4. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly brown and set aside to cool

5. Heat olive oil for filling over medium heat

6. Add onion, shallot, and garlic to oil and cook for about 10 minutes until lightly browned

7. Add mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes

8. Add spinach and cook for another 5+ minutes until some of the liquid cooks off

9. Whisk eggs in a bowl and then add veggie mixture and S&P

10. Pour filling into the crust and bake for 30 minutes

11. Let sit at least 10-15 minutes before slicing

  

Carrot Sweet Potato Latkes

Happy (belated) Hanukkah! My family is a bit non-traditional when it comes to holiday celebrations. We have quite the melting pot in the family, and our favorite celebrations include Paster (Passover + Easter) and Chrismanukkah (Xmas + Hanukkah). I celebrated Chrismanukkah with mom and Ron a bit early this year in Florida, and I tried to make a paleo latke (potato pancake) for my paleo meetup this past weekend. 

I have to admit that these do not taste anything like potato pancakes - they are mostly made of carrots, so the flavor is clearly different. I was pleasantly surprised by these, and they were a great addition to the potluck. I ate the leftovers for breakfast with eggs & spinach.  This is definitely a new and interesting tasty treat! I will probably try these again with a higher proportion of sweet potato and some sauteed onion. An update will follow after the next attempt!

Ingredients:
- 8-10 large carrots, peeled & shredded
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled & shredded
- 6 eggs
- 5-6 Tbsp. coconut flour

- Salt, pepper, and cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees

2. Mix all ingredients in a very large mixing bowl - make sure everything is well combined

3. Drop rounded tablespoons of batter onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet

4. Bake for 10 minutes, flip over, and bake for another 10 minutes

5. Latkes/pancakes should be golden brown on both sides

  

Berta & Bertha aka Eggs in a Basket

A quick post today as I am heading to the airport soon to travel back up north. Today's recipe is in honor of Steph's 28th birthday! These stuffed peppers are named Berta and Bertha in her honor. If you haven't been able to tell, I have been eating a lot of eggs and peppers! I actually have another creation from this morning that I will share soon with another pepper/egg concoction. Hopefully you all are into these ingredients as well! Served alongside of brussel sprouts, spinach, broccoli, or another green vegetable, they are perfect for the holiday season. 

It is a sad day as I have to leave the retired life in Florida. On a good note, my trip was amazing, and I'm sure I'll be back in no time. I learned a valuable cooking lesson while I was here: cooking is way faster and extra enjoyable when you have a solid cooking partner and a second oven!

Ingredients:
- 2 bell peppers
- 4 farm fresh eggs
- Sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Cut the bell peppers in half vertically, and carefully scoop out the insides
3. Arrange the peppers in a baking pan, and crack one egg into each half
4. Season with sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder
5. Bake for 20-30 minutes based on egg preference

  

Frittatas 3 Ways

On the road again! It is that time of year with a lot of travel, so tons of eating out and not a lot of home cooked meals over the past few days. Paleo on the road has luckily become second nature, and I always plan some backup snacks/meals just in case. As I was packing up my stuff at work today to head back up to Boston, Steve came into my office and asked why I had a can of cat food in my suitcase. While he should clearly know better not to be looking in a female colleague's suitcase, he totally caught me - it wasn't cat food, but I did have an "emergency" can of wild salmon just in case I was unable to get a paleo meal throughout my travels. The moral of the story is that you can never be too prepared, but you also need to be willing to take a little heat from your not so paleo friends! 

I have experimented with a ton of frittata / egg casserole recipes, and tonight I am sharing three that I made in my first month or two of experimenting with paleo. They each make enough for five solid servings, so it is the perfect thing to make Sunday night and have five quick and easy breakfasts for the work week. The possibilities are endless, but here is a trio of recipes to get the wheels turning. Enjoy!

Mushroom & Onion Frittata 

Ingredients:

- 1 carton egg whites or 10-12 eggs, beaten

- 16 oz. mushrooms, chopped

- 1 large sweet onion, sliced & chopped

- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil

- Salt, pepper, & garlic powder

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Saute onion and spices in melted coconut oil over medium heat until soft (7-10 minutes)
3. Add mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes
4. Pour into greased 9x12 casserole pan, top with eggs of choice, and cook for 30 minutes or until set.

Kale, Pepper, & Asparagus Frittata w/ Avocado

Ingredients:

- 1 carton egg whites or 10-12 eggs, beaten

- 1-2 cups kale, stems removed

- 1 red pepper, chopped

- 1 bunch asparagus

- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil

- Salt, pepper, & garlic powder
- 1 avocado 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Saute kale, pepper, asparagus, and spices in melted coconut oil over medium heat until soft (7-10 minutes)

3. Add mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes

4. Pour veggies into greased 9x12 casserole pan, top with eggs, and cook for 30 minutes or until set

5. Top with sliced avocado

Sweet Potato, Spinach, & Onion Frittata w/ Grass-Fed Ground Beef

Ingredients:

- 1 carton egg whites or 10-12 eggs, beaten

- 1lb. grass-fed ground beef

- 2 small-medium sweet potatoes, chopped

- 2 cups+ spinach

- 1 large sweet onion, sliced & chopped

- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil

- Salt, pepper, & garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Cook ground beef over medium heat

3. In a separate pan, saute onion, sweet potato, and spices in melted coconut oil over medium heat until soft (10-15 minutes)

4. Add spinach and cook another 2-3 minutes until soft

5. Pour drained meat into a greased 9x12 casserole pan, cover with the veggie mixture, top with eggs, and cook for 30 minutes or until set

Note: For those who don't want ground beef for breakfast, this version makes a perfect lunch or dinner!

Breakfast for Dinner

Everybody loves breakfast, and after a busy week when your leftovers run out, it can be the the perfect paleo dinner. While I have experimented with many breakfast recipes like paleo pancakes and muffins, tonight's post highlights three quick and easy egg dishes that can be made with a moment's notice. A short and sweet post, but hopefully helpful when you run out of food and ideas! This is just another reason to buy an extra dozen of farm fresh eggs from your local farmers market each week. Enjoy!

Scrambled SOWA Eggs with Bacon & Herbed Tomatoes

Ingredients:

- 2 eggs

- No-sugar-added bacon (I used fresh bacon from Westminster Meats)

- 1 tomato

- Mixed herbs (basil, oregano, etc.)

- Salt & pepper

Instructions:
1. Cook bacon in pan or on a griddle
2. Scramble eggs with salt & pepper
3. Slice fresh tomato and top with herbs of choice

Fried Eggs w/ Sauteed Asparagus & Mashed Sweet Potato

Ingredients:

- 2 eggs

- 1 small sweet potato, baked & mashed

- 1/2 cup asparagus, chopped

- Olive oil

- Cinnamon, salt, pepper, & garlic powder

Instructions:
1. Sautee asparagus in olive oil with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
2. Head up sweet potato (can microwave, bake, or boil it if it isn't pre-prepared), and top with cinnamon
3. When asparagus is done, remove from pan and fry two eggs in the leftover oil & 
spices

Simple Omelet Topped w/ Broccoli & Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients:

- 3 eggs or 1/2 cup egg whites

- 1 small head of broccoli, chopped

- 1/2 portobello mushroom cap, chopped

- 1 Tbsp. olive oil

- Salt, pepper, & garlic powder

Instructions:
1. Heat olive oil in omelet pan
2. Cook veggies in the oil with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
3. When veggies are cooked to your liking, remove them from the pan
4. Pour eggs (or whites) into the pan, and cook slowly over medium-low heat. Note: you will be tempted to flip! DON'T DO IT! Mal and I learned this the hard way from years of ruining omelets. Be patient, and when the bottom is fully set, flip the omelet, top with veggies, and serve.

Sweet Potato & Spinach Egg Casserole

 When I first started paleo, I decided the easiest way to get going was to trade in my go-to oatmeal every morning for an easy egg dish. There are plenty of egg-less paleo breakfast options, but since I was comfortable with eggs, I decided to experiment with baked frittatas/casseroles. I had only eaten egg whites for years, so the pictures here are strictly with egg whites. Now that I have learned to love my farm fresh yolks, I would recommend making these with the real deal to get all of the vitamins, nutrients, and protein in the yolks.

I have made so many varieties of this recipe (will post more in the upcoming days), and they are all perfect to make Sunday evening or Monday morning so you have a healthy, protein-filled breakfast all week long.

Ingredients:
- 1 carton egg whites or 10-12 eggs, beaten
- 2 small-medium sweet potatoes, chopped
- 2 cups+ spinach
- 1 large sweet onion, sliced & chopped
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
- Salt, pepper, & garlic powder

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Heat coconut oil over medium heat
3. Add onions and cook down for about 7-10 minutes until soft
4. Add sweet potatoes, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and cook another 10 min
5. When sweet potatoes are soft, add spinach and cook another 1-3 minutes until spinach wilts softly
6. Grease pan with coconut oil, and add veggie mixture
7. Pour egg whites (or beaten eggs) on top of the mixture, and bake for 30 minutes or until set

  

  

Cashew Raisin Paleo Bread!

One of the most common things people say to me about my paleo lifestyle is that they could never give up bread. I have actually been shocked how easy it has been to say no to the bread basket at restaurants and pass on sandwiches I used to order all the time. That being said, I do miss my favorite fruity/nutty breads, and I knew I could create a delicious paleo version to have once in a while. Raw cashews are my favorite because my grandma always had them in her house in Brooklyn when we went to visit. To this day, every single time I eat a raw cashew I can picture being in her house and seeing her smile knowing that we were eating one of her special treats (she loved to feed us). 

This is a simple, dense bread with just a hint of sweetness. You can omit the maple syrup, substitute it for honey, or use another sweetener of choice. I stored the bread in foil overnight after it cooled. It was much easier to slice on day two, so don't get frustrated!

Ingredients

- 1 cup almond flour

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 1 Tbsp. cinnamon

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1 Tbsp. all natural organic maple syrup (can also use raw honey)

- 3 eggs

- 1/2 cup cashews, chopped/crushed

- 1/2 cup raisins

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix all ingredients other than nuts and raisins

3. Fold in nuts and raisins

4. Put batter into a parchmont-paper lined loaf pan (you can also use a silicon loaf pan)

5. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick or fork comes out clean

6. Let sit for at least 10 minutes, then lift the paper out of the pan and remove your loaf

7. This bread is delicious plain but would be great to experiment with for sandwiches, toast with almond butter and/or fig jam, french toast, etc. Enjoy!

  

  

Paleo Pumpkin Carrot Walnut Muffins

I'm not going to lie to you. These are good. Really good. You can ask Chris - we ate them while we had a wonderful heart-to-heart around the kitchen island drinking tea yesterday. It doesn't get much better than that on a Sunday afternoon. I have to give credit to a new paleo meetup friend Anna for posting a picture of gorgeous pumpkin muffins on her facebook page Sunday morning. I tried to get her recipe, but clearly I am very impatient, so I created my own and added shredded carrots into the mix since I looove carrot muffins/bread/cake. I now love carrots even more after the nice man at the SOWA market got so amused from the way Chris and I were picking the "perfect" carrots. In other SOWA news, my favorite woman at the Westminster Meat table remembered me from last week and asked how my 5lb. chicken turned out! I was so excited to tell her that I was able to use the whole frozen chicken to make delicious soup, and it is great to see that I am becoming a regular at my neighborhood market. 

In breaking paleo news, I am hosting my first official paleo meetup in a couple of weeks. It is going to be a halloween potluck, and I have been brainstorming a few costume ideas (think grass-fed cow, hunter/gatherer, etc...). I already have a great group of people signed up, and I can't wait. It will be a wonderful thing to look forward to after I trek back up to Boston after the big Avon walk this upcoming weekend! There will be a ton of special treats at the potluck, and I'm sure my new paleo friends won't be disappointed. Stay tuned!

Ingredients:

- 1.5 cups almond flour

- 1/2 cup pumpkin (I used canned organic pumpkin from Trader Joes)

- 1 cup shredded carrots

- 3 eggs

- 1 tsp. baking soda

- 1 tsp. baking powder

- 2 tsp. cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1 Tbsp. - 1/4 cup raw honey (optional - I used 1 Tbsp.)

- 2 Tbsp. coconut oil

- Splash of vanilla

- 1/2 chopped walnuts + 12 big pieces 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix all ingredients other than walnuts in a mixing bowl

3. Fold in chopped walnuts (reserve the 12 pieces for later)

4. Grease muffin tin (12-muffin size) with coconut oil or use silicon baking cups

5. Spoon batter evenly into muffin tin and top each muffin with a whole walnut

6. Bake for 25 minutes (fork or toothpick should come out clean)

7. Let sit for 5 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack

8. Eat with a friend, a cup of tea, or both ;)

     

  

Fried Eggs Over Sweet Potatooo Apple Hash

Happy Sunday! Today's post is a perfect fall breakfast. I have a big day ahead that will hopefully include a WOD, yoga, the Boston Local Food Festival (http://bostonlocalfoodfestival.com/), the SOWA market (http://www.sowaopenmarket.com/), and cooking a great dinner. My fridge is nearly empty which doesn't happen too often, so I had to use the last of the food I had which included a sweet potato (I swear it only had a little mold on it...), a honey crisp apple, two eggs from Siena Farms, and a clove of garlic. I decided to make sweet potato apple hash with two fried eggs. 

Up until a month ago, I would never even consider trying a runny yolk. My friends and family can attest to the fact that if I think a food is really gross, not only will I not taste it, but I will make some really offensive faces/noises when other people around me are eating it. Side story - about two years ago, I couldn't stop gagging every time Mal (my best friend) ate rice pudding. I thought it was the most vile dessert ever created. She was positive I would like it (favorite food always had been ice cream) and said the only way I was allowed to try it was if I promised not to create some dramatic vomiting scene if I didn't like it. Against my will, I promised, tried the rice pudding, and then had a fairly unhealthy addition to it for almost two years until I became Paleo :) Last month I reminded myself of this story and tried my first runny yolk after have a very long discussion about the wonders of eggs with my walking buddy Chris on a 6 mile walk around Castle Island. Needless to say, I have a new obsession, and I have been trying to master fried and poached eggs.

Sometimes crazy things happen in the kitchen that aren't part of the plan. Like that time I dropped an entire gallon of milk on our kitchen floor when I was 10 and my mom had to clean milk out of the grout for weeks... still so sorry about that Mom! Other times little miracles can happen out of nowhere. This morning as I was flipping my eggs, a corner got stuck, and after some shimmying and a few curse words, I finally flipped them - into a perfect heart! I promise this was not on purpose and will probably never happen again, but I hope you all enjoy the TLC in this breakfast as much as I did!

Enjoy! xoxo

Ingredients:

- 1 small sweet potato, shredded

- 1 apple, chopped (I used a honey crisp from Siena Farm) - reserve a few slices for decoration

- 1 clove garlic, chopped

- Sea salt, pepper, & cinnamon

- Two eggs

- Coconut oil

1. Heat a spoonful of coconut oil in a pan

2. Shred your sweet potato (I used a cheese grater, but you can also use your food processor with the shredding attachment)

3. Add the shredded sweet potato and chopped garlic to the pan with your hot coconut oil (love the sizzle!)

4. Sprinkle some sea salt, pepper, and cinnamon over the potato/garlic mixture

5. Stir every couple of minutes and let the sweet potato dry out and cook for 10-15 min until slightly brown

6. Add in the chopped apple and let cook another 5-10 minutes stirring regularly

7. In a separate pan, add a little coconut oil and crack your two eggs

8. When the whites harden up (3-4 min), flip the eggs. Let cook for 1 more minute and you are ready to eat!