Breakfast Time!

I have always loved smoothies, so in high school I got a job at Jamba Juice. After working there for a little over a year and making hundreds of smoothies every shift, I suddenly didn't enjoy making smoothies as much as I had before. However, I did learn how to make a smoothie taste good and be healthy at the same time!
This recipe makes about a 24 oz smoothie.

Ingredients:

10 oz milk
2 cups spinach
1 1/2 cups bananas (frozen)
1 cup mangos (frozen)
1 cup peaches (frozen)
1 scoop of protein
1 cup ice (crushed or the little ice balls, like at Cafe Rio, are best)  

Just blend them all together for a yummy, healthy smoothie! If you are having a hard time blending it stop the blender and stir it. If you're still having a hard time you should add more juice, but too much will mess up the consistency. Also, if you use whey protein it usually makes the smoothie kind of puffy... so that will make it look bigger. Don't pack the spinach in, you'll have way too much. Bananas are a bit strong, so if you don't like them you can use a different fruit or just use more mangos or peaches.

Nutritional Facts:
Depending on how you make it, its between 450-650 calories (bananas have a lot of calories).
Fat: 4.81 grams
Carbs: 118.06 grams
Protein: 35.21 grams

This smoothie has a lot of vitamin A, which helps with vision, the immune system, and reproduction. It also helps organs work properly. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, which helps with colds or sore throats. It's also good for your skin and bones.

While this meal does cover most food groups, it obviously has way more fruit than anything else. It doesn't have any grains, so I usually have a piece of toast too, and I use coconut oil instead of butter. If you have this smoothie for breakfast I would recommend a lunch that has more grains and proteins.

-M. Miller

The Baked Potato

The Baked Potato

I like my mother before me survive each and every day with a baked potato. It is very cheap and filling. It also doesn't take a long time to make! It has dairy (cheese), Protein (ham), Starches ( the potato), and fats (the butter). And depending on how much you add to it the calories may vary.

In this particular recipe you will need a Potato. Potatoes normally cost about 3 dollars per ten pounds. I would wash the potato and then poke a few holes in it so that the heat moves through the potato more evenly. I throw it in the microwave for about 3-5 minute with a cup of water to keep the moisture present. Then when I take it out I mash it up and throw on about a hand full of cheese and two slices of bacon a spoonful of sour cream and little butter with salt and pepper.

IF you want some more nutrients and healthy stuff you can add steamed broccoli, cauliflower, or carrots. Or all three if you feel inclined. Sometimes I enjoy salsa on it:)

Potato: 110 Calories, Fat 0.2, Sodium 10mg, Potassium 620mg, Carbs 26g, Fiber 2g, Sugars 1g, Protein 3g, Vitamin C 45%, Calcium 2%, Iron 6%

Cheese: 28 Calories, Fat 2.2, Saturated Fat 1.5, Cholesterol 7.5mg, Sodium 45mg, Protein 1.8g, Vitamin A 1.5%, Calcium 5%

Butter: 70 Calories, Fat 7g, Saturated Fat 2.5, Polyunsaturated Fat 3, Monounsaturated Fat 2, Sodium 105mg, Vitamin A 10%

Ham: 120 Calories, Fats 4 g, Saturated Fats 1g, Cholesterol 50mg, Sodium 1,320mg, Carbs 2g, Sugars 2g, Protein 16g, Iron 4%

I love this and hope that you do too!

Hipol, C

Crustless Quiche

Hi Everyone! This is Karla Nichols and I am excited to share with you guys this delicious recipe! What I really loved about this one is the preparation time (10 minutes tops!)the only thing that takes time is cooking the bacon(you could even use pre-cooked bacon so it takes no time at all) I also love the fact It's so tasteful and defiantly a "student budget meal".

Taste:Excellent! This has a similar taste to an omelette, but much easier to prepare.

Ease of preparation:Excellent. Cook the bacon(or use pre-cooked to save time )cut into pieces, chop the vegetables, crack the eggs and throw it all in a bowl. Put all the contents into a baking dish bake 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. You can easily prepare this in 10 minutes or less.

Ingredients:

2 slices of bacon (pre cooked Beehive is the cheapest I saw ) 1/2 brown onion, 1/2 red pepper, a few bunches of spinach, 3 slices of shaved ham (I used the cubed ham ) 1 cup of small florets of broccoli, 7 eggs and 1/3 cup trim milk, sea salt (or regular),pepper and any seasoning you want. Mix all together in a bow, pour into a baking dish and bake ( recipe said at 180 degrees for 30-45 min ) but I did 350 for 20 min. and it tasted great.

Specific nutritional value: This meal contains vegetables as well as protein, low in fat and calories plus has a great amount of protein.

Nutritional Facts:

*6 servings*

Calories: 143.7

Total Fat: 8.0 g

Saturated Fat: 2.2 g

Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.4 g

Monounsaturated Fat: 3.9 g

Cholesterol: 197.9 mg

Sodium: 290.5 mg

Potassium: 198.3 mg

Total Carbohydrate: 4.4 g

Dietary Fiber: 0.7 g

Sugars: 2.2 g

Protein: 10.6 g

*1 serving*

Calories: 23.95

Total Fat: 1.3 g

Saturated Fat: 0.27 g

Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.23 g

Monounsaturated Fat: 0.65 g

Cholesterol: 32.98 mg

Sodium: 48.41 mg

Potassium: 33.05 mg

Total Carbohydrate: 0.73 g

Dietary Fiber: 0.11 g

Sugars: 0.36 g

Protein: 1.7 g

Fats and Sugars

This meal contains low amounts of fat with a total content of 6 servings has 8 grams of fat, it's recommended an average adult consume 70 grams daily. Having good fat in food helps you absorb vitamin A,D,E and K. Fat also fills your fat cells and insulates your body to keep warm. The fats your body gets from your food give your body essential fatty acids. Although to much saturated fat is a harmful type of fat that increases the chances of developing heart disease.

In my recipe I did add cheese to the Quiche, which if your eating this as a main course meal, adding cheese is a great way to add protein, calcium and phosphorus. BUT it is a major source of saturated fat, so use it sparingly. Just two ounces of reduced-fat cheese will give you 40%-50% of the recommended daily value for calcium.

While this entire recipe has a total amount of 197.9 mg of fat (nearly the daily recommended amount of 300 mg )It only has 32.98 mg of fat per serving. To much cholesterol in a diet can cause the deposition of cholesterol in the arterial walls, blocking the flow of blood potentially leading to heart disease.

Vitamins and Minerals

This recipe has a good source of selenium, biotin, vitamin B 12,vitamin D ( just in the eggs ) Eggs contain small amounts of every vitamin and mineral required by the human body. Another great source of vitamins in this is the spinach, it's loaded with vitamin K, magnesium, folate and iron. It's loaded with flavonoids which act as antioxidants, protecting the body from free radicals. Researchers have discovered that different flavonoid compounds act as anti-cancer substances, the various nutrients in spinach offer much in the way of disease protection.

This meal is a good healthy meal for breakfast added with a piece of whole wheat toast and a banana would cover the four main food groups. It would also make a great dinner meal added with brown rice with a yogurt.

(the finished product below) it's full of color, color means healthy! )

Nichols, K.

Nutrition Ananysis, Acai Bowl!

I like this recipe because it is so tasty and healthy! It is a great energy booster for the morning time and easy to make while you have a busy schedule. I usually soak the chia seeds first thing in the morning, so it is a quick breakfast to make when the time comes.

*Vegetarian/Vegan

*Gluten Free

*Breakfast

Taste- This is a super tasty breakfast for someone who is on a healthy CLEAN diet. (Obviously we aren’t talking as tasty as Kneaders french toast, but to much of that would kill us.)

Ease of Preparation- SUPER easy. I make this a few times a week!

Nutritional Value-  This recipe is a great source of fruit, protein, and the acai powder will help aid with weight loss, skin health, heart health, is a great energy booster, and so forth. It’s also vegan AND gluten free!

Specific Nutritional Value- **This depends on how you make you bowl, but here is what mine usually will consist of.

Calories 350

Calories from Fat 80

Total Fat 10g

Saturated Fat 2g

Carbohydrates 66g

Dietary Fiber 6g

Sugars 43g

Protein 5g

Why are these nutrients important?

Fruits: Fruits are full of essential fiber and nutrients! Although one negative side of a lot of fruit is that they are slightly high in sugar, when they are consumed in moderation they can provide the body with great minerals and vitamins. When eaten correctly, they can help prevent from certain types of cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol and help speed up your metabolism.

Nuts: (If you use them as a topping for your bowl). They are a great source of protein and good fat. They also provide a good source of fats, protein, and fiber. Also, from what I have found they are great for quick energy!

Protein Powder: A little unusual to use in a normal Acai bowl, but it is a great way if you are an athlete to help with muscle recovery and repair, lean muscle growth and overall health. If you are looking to lose fat… The more muscle you grow, the more fat you burn!

Acai Powder (Berries): There are many benefits of Acai berries (powder). These berries are full of antioxidants and have been used for aiding with healing, immune stimulating, energy, heart health, aids with weight loss and many other benefits. I have also found that this is a great energy booster for the morning! Although a negative side of this berry is that the research is very limited, and claims about these benefits haven’t yet been fully proven.

**You could add some gluten free oats on the side in order to include all essential food groups.

Serves 1 Person

• 1 Cup Frozen Blueberries (I like to switch this out for raspberries sometimes.)
• 1 Frozen Banana (You can also replace this with 1 cup of strawberries)
• 1 Handful of Spinach (I substitute this with Baby Kale)
• 1 Tbsp Acai Powder
• 1 Tbsp Chia Seeds (or Flaxseed)
• About three Tbsp of Vanilla Protein Powder (I like the whey or vegan friendly)
• ½ Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (I like Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk)

Directions: Soak the Chia seeds for about 20 minutes in some of the almond milk. Once done, combine the soaked chia seeds with the blueberries, banana, spinach, acai powder, protein powder and the rest of the almond milk into a blender. Blend the ingredients until smooth and creamy, if you would like, you can add more almond milk to make it a little bit thinner. Spoon into a bowl and add fresh berries, banana, nuts or seeds.

Torres A.