Poached Egg Breakfast Sandwich

Start your day off right with a fancy looking open faced sandwich!  I was inspired to make this after watching Bobby Flay make something similiar.  This would be perfect for a brunch- super easy to make and filling yet not heavy.

Poaching eggs are so easy and really lends itself well to the roll it sits on.

There are lots of ways to make this sandwich, so if you want to make substitions, feel free.

Ingredients
(1 sandwich)

• 1 egg, poached
• 1/3 cup of cheese, shredded (I used parmesean)
• 2-3 tomato slices
• kaiser roll, split in half (you'll only need one half for each sandwich)
• oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
• handful of arugula
• white vinegar

Directions

1. To Poach Eggs:  Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil.  Once it comes to a boil reduce heat so it is right before a rolling boil (you want the water with basically no bubbles, just really hot).  Add 2-3 tbsp of vinegar to the water.  Break the egg in a small bowl first so its easy to transfer to the water.  Add the egg gently to the water and swirl the water around the egg a bit so the whites form around the yolk.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and lay gently on a paper towel to dry off excess water.
2. To assemble the sandwich:  Brush or drizzle oil on the bread and season with salt and pepper.  Toast under the broiler until brown and crispy.  Then top with cheese- put under the broiler again to melt cheese.  Lay sliced tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Add the arugula and then gently lay the egg on top.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes if you want. 
3. Cut a small slit in the egg and let the yolk run down all over the sandwich.

Enjoy with a bloody mary!

{Healthy} Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Last time we went to the track I made the fruit and nut muffins, which were great, but I wanted to change it up- so I browsed the Internet for healthy PB banana muffins.  But I didn't think any of them were really on the healthy side.  Either too much oil or all AP flour or ::gasp:: loads of added sugar! So after browsing numerous recipes- I just came up with my own.

This makes 12 muffins.  I was glad to see these rose a bit- the last muffin I made didn't rise as much as I thought- these were less dense.  They weren't heavy but still filling, perfect for breakfast before a big track day or even a workout.  The flavor wasn't like "pow in your face" but the subtle flavor of the banana and then the crunchy peanuts was really nice in this light and fluffy muffin. Really easy too- they aren't fussy at all- I just mix the wet, then the dry then all together, then bake!

Ingredients

Dry Stuff:

• 1/4 cup of flax seeds
• 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup of bread flour
• 1/2 cup of oats
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cinnamon

Wet Stuff:

• 2 bananas
• 2 tbsp of honey
• 1/3 cup of super chunky peanut butter (you can use creamy if you want, just make sure you use all natural peanut butter i.e only 2 ingredients of peanuts and salt)
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp of canola oil
• 2/3 cup of fat free plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp of water (add this if the mixture is too dry)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In one bowl add all the wet ingredients. Mix
3. In another bowl add all the dry ingredients. Mix
4. Add the dry into the wet and mix just until incorporated. 
5. Fill cupcake tins.
6. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. When you take out of the oven remove the muffins from the tin and let cool on a cooling rack (otherwise the bottoms get soggy)

Fruit & Nut Breakfast Muffins

You can call these Cranberry Almond, Cherry and Pistachio, Apricot and Walnut, Blueberry and Cashews etc etc.  The point being I threw in a whole lot of nuts, dried fruit and fresh fruit. 

These are made with a combo of flours and oats, plus nuts and fruit that will give you great nutrition, get you going and KEEP you going throughout the morning. 

Breakfast is SO important.  I actually lost weight from starting to eat breakfast (a healthy one of course).  The saying goes "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper".  This is a great quote to think about how to eat throughout the day.  Not saying I do all the time, but it's a good guideline.

These muffins a a bit dense but I wanted them that way- so it feels filling when you bite into it.  I used almonds, dried cranberries, dried cherries, dried and fresh blueberries. Mix it up with what you like!

Ingredients
(Makes 12 muffins)

• 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of instant oats (you know the rolled oats you make oatmeal with)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 3 tbs of canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/4 cup of orange juice
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of non fat plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup of nuts (your choice)
• 1 cup of dried/fresh fruit (your choice)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
2. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with baking cups (or just spray with cooking spray if you don't have cups)
3. In one bowl combine the first 5 ingredients and whisk.
4. In another bowl add the next 6 ingredients (which are in italics-oil, egg, apple sauce, sugar and yogurt) and whisk until combined.
5. Add the first bowl of dry ingredients into the bowl of the wet ingredients in 3 batches.  Add a little, then mix in, next batch, mix in, last batch, mix in.
6. Then gently fold all your nuts and fruits into the batter.
7. Fill the muffin cups until 3/4 the way up- don't be afraid to fill them a bit higher- they will not rise that much like regular cupcakes because they are dense.
8. Cook about 25 minutes.  Use a toothpick to check to see if they are done- if the toothpick comes out clean they are done- if not cook in 3 minute intervals until they are.

They stay good for at least 5 days in a ziplock bag on the counter.