As we get ready for the holidays, it’s a great time to add some extra greens for your celebrations to spring back into health! Here are some great brunch recipes for Passover and Easter.
Spinach Pie
Prep Time: 25 minutes • Bake Time: 40 minutes
Makes 6 Side Dish Portions or 4 Meal Portions
This crustless “spinach pie” is closer to a soufflé or quiche than a pie. With eggs, ricotta, and Parmesan cheese, it makes a great dish for a holiday brunch, but it is also dense with enough nutrient-rich spinach to serve as a dinner side dish in place of creamed spinach.
Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons diced fresh red pepper
1 (16-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3 large eggs
4 large egg whites
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Heat the olive oil, onions, diced red pepper and garlic in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté for 5 minutes, just until the onions are lightly caramelized.
3. In a fine mesh strainer, squeeze as much water from the thawed spinach as possible.
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, egg whites, and ricotta cheese until fully combined. Stir the Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, drained spinach, and cooked onion mixture into the egg mixture and mix well.
5. Pour the spinach and egg mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until the center is springy to the touch. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
Broccoli & Egg White Frittata
Prep Time: 20 minutes • Cook Time: 15 minutes
2 Portions •
Frittatas are an Italian egg dish that are a lot like an open-faced omelet. This particular frittata is made from fluffy egg whites with fresh broccoli, onion, and bell pepper for a fresh and colorful breakfast that is filled with flavor. A pinch of baking powder in the eggs is a secret chef’s trick that makes the frittata puff up as you melt the Parmesan cheese topping in the oven.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli florets
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
8 large egg whites
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Place the oven rack in the second-highest position and set the broiler to low heat.
2. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli and onion and sauté for 2 minutes, or until onions begin to sweat.
3. Add a tablespoon of water to the skillet, cover, and let cook for an additional 2 minutes, just until broccoli is almost tender.
4. Add the bell pepper and garlic and sauté, uncovered, for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium.
5. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg whites, baking powder, salt, and pepper and pour over the vegetables in the skillet. Cook, without stirring, until the bottom of the eggs are firm and the edges of the frittata are pulling away from the pan, 4–5 minutes.
6. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the frittata and transfer to the oven. Broil for just 2 minutes, or until the frittata has puffed up and the cheese is beginning to turn golden brown. Slice into four equal slices to serve.
Nutritionist, cookbook author, publisher and health and wellness entrepreneur Mona Dolgov lives her lifelong mission of creating healthier food products, recipes and inventing simple culinary tricks to easily create practical and healthier lifestyles. She is President of You Live Right, LLC, where she has authored and published over 20 cookbooks for top-selling kitchen appliances, health and wellness products and grocery retailers, focused on simplicity and using nutritious ingredients. She also is a private nutritional coach, offers educational and fun dinner classes at Mona’s Kitchen, and is a speaker on nutritional well-being. Plus, she is very excited about launching Cook U. Follow Mona on Facebook or Instagram @monadolgov
She recently co-authored The Perfect Portion Cookbook, a 5-star rated cookbook (with Hollywood star Anson Willams) that makes American classics healthier and guides consumers to healthier portion control. This book (and Mona) was featured on the Today Show, The Doctors, and The Huffington Post. Learn more at www.theperfectportion.com
She is completing her second cookbook, Satisfy, that will be launched in 2020, focused on simple nutritionally balanced meals all 500 calories or less with real ingredients and real portions. All of the recipes are gluten-free.
