Sometimes you want a quick and tasty breakfast like a bowl of oatmeal, a frittata muffin, a smoothie or even pancake tacos. Tamron Hall joined chef and bestselling author of "Clean Green Drinks," Candice Kumai, to share some of their favorite recipes for a healthy start to the day.
Tamron's quinoa breakfast
Serves 1
Ingredients:
- ½ cup rice milk
- ¼ cup quinoa
- Berries (blueberries or raspberries work well)
- Cinnamon (optional)
Directions:
Bring the rice milk to a boil and add the quinoa. Turn down the heat, and let the quinoa and milk simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add berries and a dash or two of cinnamon.
Kale and pear green smoothie
Serves 1
Ingredients:
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup green grapes
- 1 orange, peeled and halved
- ½ ripe Bartlett pear, seeded and halved
- 1 small or medium banana, peeled
- 1 cup kale
- 2 cups ice cubes
Directions:
Place all ingredients into a blender and secure the lid. Blend, slowly increasing speed from low to high.
Blend for 45 seconds or until desired consistency is reached.
Mini kale and mushroom frittatas
Serves 24 mini muffins
Ingredients:
- Olive oil cooking spray
- 8 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup kale, finely chopped
- 1 cup Cremini mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves for garnish
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
- Garlic powder (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease muffin tray.
In a medium pan and over medium heat, add olive oil and chopped onion. Sauté the onion until soft and fragrant, approximately 8 minutes. Add your finely chopped mushrooms and cook for another 4 minutes.
Toss the kale and sun-dried tomatoes into the pan and cook for an additional 3 minutes and turn off heat to cool slightly. In medium size bowl, whisk together eggs, salt and pepper. Gently fold in the cooled kale and sun-dried tomatoes.
Using a ladle or measuring cup, neatly pour the egg batter into your sprayed muffin tins. Fill approximately ¾ of the way up. Place the muffin tin into the preheated oven on the middle rack and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until the top is light golden and bounces back to the touch. Remove from muffin tin. Top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Side clean green tip: Bake, cool and freeze these mini muffins in a resealable freezer bag for up to a month, and pop them into the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds to thaw and serve. Serve this recipe with a big, green salad tossed with a light vinaigrette.
Savory breakfast pancake tacos
Inspired by Candice's beautiful Japanese mother and recipes from Japan, you can call these pancake tacos or their original Japanese name: Okonomiyaki. Okonimi means, “as you like" or "as you wish,” so you can make these any way you’d like. this recipe is an American version of the fluffy breakfast pancakes. You can make these ahead of time and eat all of your favorite breakfast flavors before work or on the go.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (gluten-free flour works, too)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons almond milk
-
Nonstick cooking spray
Our suggestions for pancake taco fillings:
- 2-4 scrambled eggs
- Sautéed mushrooms and onions
- Sautéed kale
- Fresh arugula
- 1-2 breakfast or chicken sausages, like Hillshire Farms, diced
- 2-4 bacon strips, cut into 1 or 2-inch pieces
- Your favorite hot sauce
- Leftover red or sweet potato hash
- Leftovers from the weekend
Directions:
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt together in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs, and milk together in a medium bowl and add to the dry ingredients. Stir gently until the ingredients are just combined. The batter will be thick.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Make pancakes, using about ⅓ cup for each, cooking the pancakes until the outer edges firm up and the bottom is golden brown, about 1 ½ minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown, another 1½ minutes.
To serve, transfer the pancakes to a plate and set aside. Fold into a taco with parchment paper and use a toothpick to secure if needed. Fill with your favorite savory breakfast items: sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, avocado slices, leftover vegetables, even leftover sweet potatoes or red potatoes. Top with fresh herbs, hot sauce, syrup or cheese. Eat with the kids before work, at your desk or on your way to work.
Sweeter version:
Pumpkin pie pancake taco
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup plain pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
-
Cooking spray
Our suggestions for pancake taco fillings:
- 1 Fuji or Honey crisp apple, thinly sliced
- 1 banana, sliced
- 1-2 tablespoons almond butter
- 1-2 tablespoons nutella
- ¼ cup raw walnut pieces
Directions:
Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spices together in a large bowl. Whisk pumpkin purée, eggs, and almond milk together in a medium bowl.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients using a rubber spatula to stir gently until just combined. Batter will be thick.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with nonstick cooking spray. Using 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake, cook until outer edges firm up and bottom is golden-brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Flip and cook other side until golden-brown, about another 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer pancakes to a rimmed baking sheet and set aside. Continue cooking remaining batter, moving pancakes to the baking sheet once they’re browned (if you run out of space, you can stack them, or use a separate baking sheet for fluffier pancakes). To serve, top with a smear of almond butter and sliced apples or bananas, fold into a taco with parchment paper and use a toothpick to secure if needed.
Tip: Use a clean turkey baster to easily and cleanly transfer the pancake batter from the bowl to the skillet. Sounds silly, but it totally works.