Meal Plan: 2/12/18
The lengthening days and splashes of sunshine have my neighbor’s chickens in full swing! Today’s meal plan will highlight some of my favorite egg dishes. These are hearty enough for dinner or a heavy brunch. Eggs are nutritional powerhouses: iron, B12, complete protein, antioxidants, healthy fats, especially if you have pasture raised or Omega-3 enriched eggs!
One of my favorite ways to add an egg to a meal is simply to serve it over a bed of mixed greens. They can be over easy, over medium, or poached, and the delicious yolk gets a little runny and mixes with the greens. Lately I’ve been doing it over a kale, lentil, and roasted butternut squash salad and it is amazing!
Next up is this recipe for a spinach pie quesadilla. It’s basically a mashup of eggs, feta, and some type of hearty greens. As the spring progresses I love to make this with fresh nettle shoots, another nutritional powerhouse! If you try the nettles, make sure to saute them thoroughly to remove the sting. Another note on this recipe: don’t bother separating the eggs, unless you hate egg yolks. It’s delicious with the yolks, it’s time consuming on busy weeknights, and the yolks have the most potent nutritional content of the egg.
In case you haven’t noticed, I love pairing eggs with vegetables. This recipe follows suit, It also has an adorable name: eggs in a nest! Zucchini eggs in a nest, to be precise. If you don’t have a spiralizer you can use grated zucchini. Some grocery stores also carry pre-made zucchini ‘noodles’. The parmesan is definitely optional… I’ve had it with and without and it’s good both ways. My favorite add on is tossing a little fresh chopped dill in with the zucchini noodles.
These last 2 recipes have almost nothing to do with eggs… I say almost because I use eggs as a binder in meatballs. These Swedish meatballs are easy to prepare and are wonderful with the gravy ladled over some rice or spiralized veggie noodles.
I’m also excited to make a baked mac-n-cheese. I haven’t made one before, but my sister-in-law did when we were visiting and it was a wonderfully indulgent comfort food for a special treat. I can’t wait to experiment with adding fresh herbs and vegetables for a flavor and a nutritional boost. I’m thinking chives, parsley, broccoli, and garlic for this one, but who knows? Cooking is a creative process and sometimes it’s best not to plan too much or follow a recipe to closely for the most enjoyable meal from preparation to finish.
I hope you enjoyed these recipes! As usual, you may need to adjust the recipes for the number of people in your household. Please note, this blog post is not a personal nutrition prescription, just a general discussion of one way of eating healthy. Enjoy!
Happy eating,
Dr. Tremblay
Dr. Tremblay is an expert in natural health with degrees in naturopathic medicine and ethnomedicine. Drawing on her diverse background and personal experience with healing from chronic illness, she guides clients on their health journeys, and occasionally writes blogs with unique insights into natural medicine and the healing process. Read more >>
