On this beautiful Sunday afternoon, I am prepping for my upcoming week. If you haven’t gotten into the kitchen yet to prep for your upcoming week, there is still time. Even if you make just one thing. I’ve shared before that I don’t love to cook. I am not a nutritionist because of my love for being in the kitchen. But what gets me in the kitchen is my love for how proper nutrition helps take care of me.
More really good news? The momentum of eating better can only start with a single step – you can’t take ten steps at one time, so no use feeling overwhelmed by thinking one step isn’t enough. It’s more than enough, it’s all that can be.
So if you are ready this on Sun night, what is just one step you can take to be better prepared for tomorrow?
- Can you quick grab whatever scrap piece of paper is close to you and just list what you want to have for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and one snack tomorrow?
- If you know what you are having, can you take just one additional step of thinking through how balanced those meals are? Compare what you are having to our CARE Balanced Plate. Can you increase a serving of produce? Do you have enough protein? The right amount of healthy fat?
- And if you have all this covered, can you go tinker around in the kitchen for 20 minutes to feel more organized going into the week? Maybe go through the fridge and organize crispers? Organize the spice shelf? I am also so happily surprised by how good even just 20 minutes in the kitchen helps me create a little more space when it comes time to getting food on my plate.
Back I go to my make-ahead cooking because that is the ONE step that I can take right now! So know that there is at least one other person, over here in Southwest Minneapolis, taking just one step towards health with you.
Related Post:
How I Get in the Kitchen When I Don’t Want to be in the Kitchen: https://www.benedictinewellness.com/get-in-the-kitchen/
CARE Recipes: Cornbread Topped Veggie Egg Bake
Leafy and tender veggies can be challenging to have for breakfast. The key is being prepared and having them prepped before your rushed morning routine. Even the most dedicated would struggle to clean, prep, and cook veggies within an hour of waking up. A solution? Breakfast Bakes. These versatile, nutrient-rich, and easy to balance bakes take less than 30 minutes to get in the oven, can be tailored to suit your individual taste preferences, and result in multiple made-ahead filling breakfasts (or brunch ideas or dinners or lunches –you pick!).
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
For filling
- 12 ounces low fat turkey breakfast sausage
- 6 medium zucchini, shredded (6″)
- 4 green onions, sliced
- pinch ground black pepper
- 1 cup roasted corn, (frozen works great)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese (any reduced-fat cheese can be used)
- 2 tablespoon kuzu root, dissolved in 2 tbsp water, (arrowroot or cornstarch can be substituted)
For cornbread topping
- 3/4 cup flour
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1/4 cup honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish (I like to use coconut spray oil or a little butter).
Prepare Filling:
- In a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, crumble sausage to begin to brown.
- Add shredded zucchini, green onion and pepper. Cook over medium heat until zucchini is tender and has released its water content, about 15 minutes (DO NOT DRAIN LIQUID).
- Stir in corn kernels (they can still be frozen) and cheese. Mix well.
- Stir in kuzu that has been dissolved in 2 tbsp water. Stir well and turn off heat.
- Pour mixture into baking dish and set aside.
**NOTE: Do Not Drain this liquid that you’ll see in the pan (this is the water content that the zucchini released); it will look like a lot but the kuzu (or other starch) will thicken it. The water-soluble nutrients in leafy and tender veggies (like B-vitamins) are in this liquid so you want to retain it; this liquid also contributes to your daily hydration. Adding a little starch works well to bind the liquid in dishes avoiding having to drain them.
Prepare Cornbread:
- In a medium mixing bowl, add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
- In a small mixing bowl, add egg, buttermilk, melted butter, and honey. Mix well.
- Add egg mixture into dry ingredients. Gently stir to mix well.
Prepare Bake:
- Evenly pour cornbread mixture over the top of sausage and veggie filling.
- Bake, uncovered until topping is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Check often after 15 minutes to avoid burning (individual ovens will vary).
- Allow to cool before cutting (allows filling to set).
Notes
- Dishes with cheese, sausage, and unexpected ingredients like baking soda will get higher in sodium. You can substitute extra lean ground turkey (instead of sausage) to further reduce the sodium. Additionally, with sodium, we want to pay attention to the sodium:potassium ratio in our daily intake. With the addition of leafy and tenders in this recipe, you also increase the amount of potassium. Sodium and potassium work together to moderate blood pressure.
- As mentioned in the intro, I like this for breakfast as a way to get my leafy and tenders but you can certainly use it for other meal occasions. As my neighbor, Diane, said after tasting it, “Oh, this would be great as a side to pork chops.” If you are planning on serving with another protein, just leave the sausage out. As you progress through the CARE, you’ll continue to learn how to customize recipes and make substitutions based on how you use a dish on your own plate.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: oven
Nutrition
- Calories: 369
- Sugar: 14g
- Sodium: 836mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 43g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 19g
- Cholesterol: 69mg
