This recent headline certainly caught our attention: More Than Half of Americans Skip Breakfast at Least Once a Week, Study Says
How can this be? Doesn’t everybody know that breakfast really is the most important meal of the day? Hasn’t everybody heard the old saying “Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince and Dine like a Pauper”?
There are countless reasons to take a few minutes in the morning to enjoy a healthy breakfast, but overall health and wellness tops the list. This recent Consumer Reports article states “Breakfast eaters tend to have better diets overall, consuming more fruit, vegetables, milk, and whole grains than non-breakfast eaters.”
Therefore, in celebration of National Breakfast Month, let us please remind our readers to eat a healthy breakfast. Not only will you feel better, you’ll be more productive and your body will thank you. Here are some ideas we found to make your first meal of the best.
Omelets & Eggs
For an out of this world scramble, add diced Sun-Ripened Dried Tomatoes or Roasted Bell Pepper Strips and grated Parmesan cheese to your morning eggs.
Try giving your morning omelet a Mediterranean flavor by adding a few of these ingredients:
- Chopped Spicy Italian Olive Antipasto
- Sliced Kalamata Olives
- Jeff’s Naturals Sun-Ripened Dried Tomatoes
- Jeff’s Naturals™ Roasted Bell Pepper Strips
- Fresh herbs and a dollop of tangy goat cheese or crumbled feta
Quiches & Fritatas
Add about 4 oz of diced Jeff’s Naturals Sun-Ripened Dried Tomatoes to liven up your favorite quiche recipe.
Add Jeff’s Naturals™ Roasted Bell Pepper Strips in your quiche, fritatta, or scrambled eggs
Bloody Marys
Use Jeff’s Naturals™ Jalapeño Stuffed Olives & Peperoncini or Spicy Italian Olive Antipasto to spice up your favorite Bloody Mary (on the weekends of course)!
Bagels
Bagels with lox and cream cheese are event better topped with sliced onions Capers & Roasted Bell Pepper Strips.
INGREDIENTS
Crêpe Batter:
1 c. flour
2 eggs
6 Tbsp. melted butter (plus more for coating pan)
1 ½ c. whole milk
Filling:
½ c. ricotta cheese
¾ c. whipped cream cheese1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
8 oz. smoked salmon
4 oz. Jeff’s Naturals Imported Non-Pareil Capers
½ sm. Red onion, thinly sliced
Directions:
Add all crepe ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. In a large non-stick sauté pan on medium-high heat, add just enough butter to coat the pan. Slowly pour in crepe batter while holding pan off the heat and swirling the crepe batter in a circular motion to get a thin layer of batter on the bottom of the sauté pan. Cook for about 1 ½ minutes or until loosened from the bottom of the pan and lightly browned. Flip the crepe and cook another minute until lightly browned. Remove from pan and place on plate and continue process until batter is gone.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, cream cheese, lemon juice and zest, and dill. Season with cracked pepper.
To assemble the crepes, spread a small amount of the cheese and dill mixture over one half of the crepe. Add a thin layer of smoked salmon on top of half of the cheese, generously sprinkle with capers, add thinly sliced onion and fold crepe into quarters and serve.
INGREDIENTS
4 slices pancetta
2 eggs, cooked over easy
2 tablespoons Pesto
½ cup Jeff’s Naturals Roasted Red Peppers, drained and patted dry
2/3 cup arugula
PREPARATION
Preheat panini press.
Place pancetta slices in panini press and cook about 3 minutes or until crispy. Remove from press and set aside.
To assemble the paninis, add a tablespoon of pesto on the top inside slice of each sandwich. Add the eggs to the bottom slice of bread. Top the egg with arugula, pancetta, and a layer of roasted red pepper. Top the sandwich with the pesto bread slice and place into the panini press for about 5 minutes or until slightly crispy and golden.
INGREDIENTS
6 eggs
1/4 c. milk
2 c. frozen Potatoes O’Brien hash browns
Oil to coat pan for frying
6 oz. raw breakfast sausage
½ c. Jeff’s Naturals Roasted Red Peppers, chopped
½ c. shredded cheese
1 avocado
Jeff’s Naturals Diced Tamed™ Jalapeño Peppers to top
4-6 tortillas
Optional: Sour cream, salsa and sliced green onion to top
PREPARATION
Crack eggs into a mixing bowl add milk, a pinch of salt and fresh cracked black pepper and whisk.
In a large sauté pan on medium high heat, add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add hash browns and fry for about 5 minutes until slightly golden in color. Add breakfast sausage into the pan, break up with a wooden spoon and cook another 7 minutes or until sausage is done. Add egg mixture and chopped roasted red peppers and stir occasionally, lower heat to medium while cooking the eggs for about 6 minutes or until eggs are done. Turn heat off, sprinkle cheese on top to melt.
Assemble the burritos with the egg and hash brown mixture, top with your desired toppings and add the jalapeño peppers for some heat and crunch.
Zucchini and Olive Breakfast Cake, French-Style on the kitchn
Frittata with Avocado, Roasted Peppers, Olives and Feta
photo credit: feministjulie via photopin cc
