Everything egg cups
This morning, M asked for a lollipop and ice cream for breakfast, so we're obviously still recovering from the Halloween sugarpalooza.
As a side note, we decided to do a Whole 15 instead of a Whole 30 this time. We hit the halfway mark and I thought back to our previous Whole 30's: By the end of each one, I was SO SO ready to have bread and beans and dairy and wine again that the eating pendulum swung wildly back in the other direction. At this mid-point, I feel great and in control and ready to incorporate things back into my life while also eating them in moderation rather than going on a candy binge. This feels like a better place to be when entering the holiday season.
Anyway, I made these egg cups twice during our Whole 15 and they are easy and delicious and filling and really satisfying. The salty, garlicky kick is why I sometimes crave everything bagels, but you can get that without eating a bread bomb for breakfast.
I also must confess: I'm not normally a fan of the egg cup. They're so ubiquitous when looking for healthy, make-ahead breakfasts, but they never do it for me. In these cups, the potato is filling, but they're also meant to function like the bread of a sandwich, so you can fill them with whatever constitutes a good breakfast for you. My personal favorite is turkey bacon, tomato, and avocado, but we've also done spinach and sausage, and smoked salmon with fixings like onion, tomato, and capers.
Since the next two months will be treat filled, I'm sure we'll be making these cups many times.
Just one note: I personally like the Everything Spice recipe from TheKitchn. You can also buy premade mixes from Trader Joe's and King Arthur. If you are sensitive to salt, I would recommend making your own mix and decreasing the salt to 1 tsp. You can always add more if it's not enough, but you can't subtract. I also omit all seasoning on the muffins so that the topping shines.
Everything egg cups
6 eggs
1 medium russet potato (about 6-8 oz)
1 Tbsp dried onion flakes
1 Tbsp dried garlic flakes
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tsp coarse salt
olive oil
Preheat oven to 375. Spray or brush olive oil in an extra-large muffin tin and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk 6 eggs until the yolks and whites are well mixed. Grate the potato directly into the egg mixture and whisk again. Distribute evenly into your prepared muffin tins.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until the muffins feel dense and there is absolutely no give when you gently push on the tops.
While the muffins are cooking, put together your everything spice mix. You’ll have extra, so make the mix in a container or jar and then pour about half of it onto a plate.
Let the muffins cool slightly and turn them out onto your work surface. Lightly spray or brush the tops and bottoms with olive oil and dip into the spice mixture on the top and bottom of the muffins. Place back on your work surface and let cool some more. Cut them in half and fill with whatever you like.
Yield: 6 extra-large muffins
Pumpkin energy bites
These little pumpkins are a super quick, delicious snack to have in the fridge for hangry moments.
I refuse to call these "Pumpkin spice" energy balls because I am now and have always been, anti pumpkin spice. EDIT: I get it now. I finally had a pumpkin spice latte last year and I get it. However, these guys are technically speaking, a combo of pumpkin and spices. They're also yummy and easy and perfect for lunchboxes because they're nut, dairy, soy, gluten, and egg free.
Also, they're basically no cook. You must toast the pepitas in either a toaster oven, regular oven, or in a pan on the stove because the flavor is so much better, but this step only takes about 5 minutes. You want some browning and some "popping" sounds, which happens quickly.
I fiddled with the ratios here for some time before settling on my favorite. Too much pumpkin and they're too wet, but not enough and they don't look orange and mostly taste like dates. The final product is a bit sticky, but they hold together completely and, once chilled, firm up quite a bit. You could also roll the balls in unsweetened shredded coconut to make them less sticky for kids who don't like that sensation on their fingers.
Pumpkin energy bites
Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 12 balls
½ cup toasted pepitas
½ cup pumpkin puree
10 pitted dates
¼ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger
Pinch of cloves
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (I like this brand)
Toast the pepitas in the toaster oven or in a pan on the stove just until the seeds start to brown and pop lightly.
Add the seeds and the rest of the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) to a food processor. Pulse until the dates and seeds are broken up and everything is well combined. You'll need to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times. I like to look for the mixture to form a large ball and spin around all together to know that I've mixed enough.
Turn the batter out into a bowl. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
With wet hands and a bowl of water to re-wet as needed, scoop 1 Tbsp of the mixture and roll it into a ball. Repeat with the rest of the batter until 12 balls are formed. To make them look more like pumpkins, chop up your favorite dairy, soy, and nut free chocolate bar (like this one) into chunks and stick them into the tops like stems.
Chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 weeks.
Falafel waffles
Falafel waffles, guys. They're really really good. Also, hearing a 2 year old say "Falafel waffle" is hysterical. M studies at the Leslie Knope Institute of Waffle Appreciation, so I try to waffle things whenever possible. These are particularly successful. I usually feel pretty 'meh' toward baked falafel because they tend to be, in my opinion, mealy, dry, and little hard to swallow. Appetizing, eh? No so with these guys! I adapted a terrific recipe from Epicurious but added more spices, tahini to help bind and moisten the batter, and chunks of haloumi cheese.
Let's talk about haloumi. I love this cheese so so much. BUT, I have to add the caveat that it's rubbery when cold. Like, feels terrible on your teeth and makes a horrible sound when chewed, rubbery. But, once heated, this cheese is divine. Melted, roasted, grilled, etc, it's great. Grilled is my favorite because it becomes more oozy and gooey, but doesn't seem to fully melt. Anyway, this cheese is salty and a little briny, but very mild and in the waffles creates pockets of salty goodness.
The batter here is not your typical waffle batter and when I first made these, I thought for sure that they'd be a flop. Once combined, these ingredients make sort of a grainy, sandy, thick-ish mixture that bakes into a totally normal waffle. A couple more notes: I only use dried chickpeas that I've soaked overnight in these. I think that the canned ones fall apart too easily. I also used garbanzo flour to make these gluten-free, but you can use any type of flour you have on hand. Be sure to spray your waffle maker with some olive oil spray between each batch as these guys can stick.
Falafel Waffles
Roughly adapted from Cookie + Kate
2 cups chick peas
1.5 Tbsp (just grab a handful) fresh cilantro
1.5 Tbsp (ditto above) fresh parsley
½ large onion
1 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
½ tsp coriander
2 Tbsp tahini
6 Tbsp garbanzo flour
8 oz haloumi cheese (1 medium-sized block)
Place all of the ingredients up to the cheese into a food processor and pulse until well combined and looking like medium grains of sand. Chunk up the cheese with your hands and mix into the falafel batter. Form into palm-sized balls (about 1/3 cup each) and cook in a well-greased waffle maker according to the appliance’s directions.
Yield: 12 small waffles
