savory | Lauren Hefez

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Tomato, basil, and mozzarella Frittata.

I want to first wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year! I wish you all amazing things. Here is the perfect New Years Eve workout for you!

Now to the great frittata I made yesterday. I went to whole foods a couple days ago and picked up a fresh mozzarella ball and tomatoes. I knew I had a lot of basil in my fridge and did not want it to go bad, and what goes better with basil than mozzarella and tomatoes!? Yesterday morning I was so excited to make a beautiful tomato, basil, and mozzarella cheese Frittata.

PRE HEAT your oven to 350

First, I heated a pan with EVOO and garlic. Then I added diced tomatoes. I let it cook and continuously mixed for about 4 minutes. I mixed 5 eggs (for camera man and I) and added a tiny bit of water (makes the eggs fluffy!) and about 1/2 a cup of chopped FRESH basil, salt and pepper!

After the tomatoes were cooked enough I added in the egg and basil mixture. The pan is now set to low/medium heat. I let the egg mixture settle for about 1 minute in the pan.

After about a minute or two sitting on low heat I removed the pan from the stove top and moved it in to the oven. MAKE SURE that your pan can go in the oven before you do this!! I do not want your pan to melt!

I let the egg mixture sit in the oven for about 15-18 minutes. The length of time you let your eggs sit in the oven all depends on how well you like your eggs cooked. Take some peaks at it by looking through the oven, try not to open it, and you will know it is cooked when the sides start to puff up. Some people like the top a little runny, this is up to you.

Now comes the FRESH mozzarella After about 13-15 minutes of your eggs in the oven you want to add some slices of fresh mozzarella to the top. Open the oven and place the mozzarella slices randomly around the frittata, close the oven and let the cheese melt for a couple more minutes.

I opened my package of what I thought was fresh mozzarella….

I accidentally bought whipped cream cheese!!!! Oh man!

Instead I topped my frittata off with some sliced avocado. It was delicious. The avocado gave the frtittata the creamyness it needed! Perfecto!

Have you ever made a Frittata in the oven? What did you put in it?

Tags: basil, eggs, food, garlic, mozzarella, recipe, tomatoes

Comments 7 Comments
Categories food, savory, vegatable

Healthy Holiday Recipes for your next Holiday Party!

23 Dec

I searched the web to find what I felt were the top 3 easy to make and healthy holiday recipes for you to bring to your next holiday party!

Stuffed mushrooms

Goat Cheese and Apple Canape

Quinoa Pizza Bites

I have never tested nor tried these recipes but I am planning on making the Quinoa Pizza Bites tonight, with a few changes. Have a healthy and happy holiday! Let me know which ones you make and how it goes!

Tags: appetizers, apple, food, healthy, holiday, mushroom, pizza, quinoa

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Categories food, savory

Black Bean Hummus, make your own at home!

25 Oct

Its easy! We know that hummus is made from ground chickpeas… so how hard can this be, right? I did not have tahini so this is a tahini free hummus. The only thing is that you need a food processor. Mine is about 40 years old, probably. It was my grandmas and she gave it to me, but it works like a charm! Cuisinart, baby!

* Tahini is roasted sesame seed paste. It is actually really good.

Ingredients:

1 can black beans

1 can garbanzo beans

2 garlic cloves (you can do one if you do not love garlic)

1 jalapeño pepper (mine was spicy- so do a half or none if you do not like “heat”)

half lemon

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoon EVOO

cumin, salt, pepper to taste (I didn’t measure I just kinda added it in)

Directions:

Add all ingredients to food processor, blend until smooth. I made sure to mince the garlic and Jalapaneo pepper before I put in blender. If the final product looks too thick add more water and blend again. Enjoy with carrot sticks, or pita chips.

Let me know if you try, and how it comes out!

Tags: homemade, hummus, natural, organic, snack

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Categories food, savory, vegatable

My kind of Pizza

17 Oct

SImple. Easy. Delicious. And Sweat with Lauren Hefez approved. This recipe was inspired by Linda Wagner.

Craving Pizza? Try this!

ingredients:

Ezekiel bread ( My favorite is the sesame kind)
marinara sauce
tomatoes ( I used grape tomatoes, but you can use any kind. I like them small because it is easier to bite.)
chevre style goat cheese (I used one infused with tomato and basil. Found at WholeFoods.)

Directions:

toast Ezekiel bread
take out of toaster oven and put marina sauce, goat cheese, sliced tomatoes, and fresh basil
switch the oven to broil put the “pizza” back in the oven for 2 minutes ….and you are DONE! Do you have any “Pizza” recipes??

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Categories cooking, savory

Black rice… very nice!

29 Feb

This past weekend, I tried black rice for the first time. I had never heard of, seen, or tasted black rice before. It tasted similar to brown rice, kind of nutty in taste and sticky in texture, but was a little chewier. When it’s cooked, black rice turns into a DEEP purple. Now, we know that brown rice has more nutritional value than white rice, but how does black rice compare? My curiosity got to me and I have done a little research on black rice and its nutritional value:

Benefits of black rice:

has anti inflammatory properties
has similar nutrient levels to brown rice
has high amounts of antioxidants
has high fiber and iron
is packed with anthocyanins (Anthocyanins are phytochemicals that are found in foods with a deep purple color like blue berries. These phytochemicals are said to fight chronic disease such as cancer and heart disease.)
has the same superfood properties as blueberries, but it is much cheaper
has more fiber and less sugar than blueberries
has the highest amount of protein when compared to white and brown rice and double the fiber of brown rice
A 100g serving of black rice has 8.5g of protein, 3.5mg of iron and 4.9g of fiber
A 100g serving of brown rice has 3g of protein, 2mg of iron and 2g of fiber

NOTE: Different resources listed different amounts for protein iron and fiber for 100g of the black and brown rice. I took the average.

Have you ever tried black rice? What do you think? I am personally going to try to cook black rice more often!

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Categories cooking, food, savory, Uncategorized

cauliflower and spinach soup… SOUPer easy!

10 Nov

Thanks to my client for sharing this easy to make recipe with me. She got it from her mom who got it from Boston.com! It’s filling, yummy, and makes you look like you can cook!

I tweaked it a little and left out the butter. Still tasted wonderful.

Ingredients:

1 medium size cauliflower head (pulled into pieces)
1 bag of spinach
EVOO (to coat the pan and cook the spinach)
3 cups of vegetable broth (you can add more or less depending on your preference)
seasonings: salt, pepper, anything else…

Directions:

place a soup pan on medium heat and add EVOO let it heat a little then add bag of spinach. Cook until wilted. Add salt and pepper.
toss in pieces of cauliflower, mix a little
add in vegetable broth and bring to a boil
lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes, mixing occasionally

Try to stick a fork though the cauliflower. If it pierces easily then you are ready for your next step!

Let the soup cool off a little then puree. Food processor or blender, both work! Mix until smooth. I left some chunks of cauliflower. I thought it added a nice surprise. Sorry, no final product picture. But it pretty much turns green and smooth enjoy.

One more thing, if you think the soup is too thick when you are done, you can add water to it. Just a little goes a long way.

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Categories cooking, food, savory

The best GUILT FREE spaghetti

6 Oct

So I am not much of a pasta person. I lived in the North End, Boston (aka little Italy) for 2 years; I ate at a local Italian restaurant ONCE! People always tell me I should try Spaghetti Squash. I finally came across this “spaghetti squash” at Trader Joes, and was excited to experiment and cook with this new found vegetable. I decided to make Spaghetti squash topped with an abundance of julienne cut vegetables, mozzarella, garlic and EVOO.

To start I cut the squash in half the long way and placed it in water and boiled it for about 20-30 minutes. I used thongs to take the squash out of the water and let it cool off a little before stringing.

While the squash was boiling I julienne cut one red pepper, one yellow zucchini and one green zucchini, all with the help from a special peeler. Next time I will add some carrots!

I warmed up a pan with EVOO and fresh crushed garlic. After the garlic simmered for a bit I added the julienne veggies and gave it a little toss. By this time the Squash was ready for the fun part… stringing!

You have to string the squash the long way. It can be hot so be careful! Don’t forget about the veggies… keep mixing!

In order to spice up the veggies I added grape tomatoes cut in half, diced fresh mozzarella cheese, and a medley of ground up spices. It was such a filling dish, and I can not even begin to describe how buttery and delicious the squash tasted. I kept saying, “is there butter in this”? The best part it was ALL veggies!

Other methods to cook the squash:

Bake about an hour in the oven at 375 F.
Microwave 10 to 12 minutes, then let stand for 5 minutes or so afterward to finish steaming.
Boil for about half an hour.
Slow Cooker/Crock Pot: Put it in with a cup of water and let it go on low all day (8 to 10 hours).

How do you make your spaghetti squash?

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Categories cooking, food, recipe, savory, vegetable

Family BBQ

28 Aug

My family loves to entertain. I think both my mom and my dad make a great team when cooking. They always seem to create healthy, delicious, and interesting dishes. Here was our last BBQ menu:

Home grown tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and basil.

( I did not get a final product photo)

This is always a crowd pleaser, and easy to make!

Quinoa Salad

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Categories cooking, food, savory

Liberty Hotel mat class and lunch!

20 Aug

Every Saturday Equinox sponsors a FREE class at the Liberty Hotel, 10-11am. This class is open to anyone, and not only hotel guests! Bottled water, a few mats, and towels are provided. Today I taught a strength and stretch class… with a little Sweat with Lauren Hefez twist.

Thanks Keri for taking pictures!

hip work

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Comments 2 Comments
Categories classes, events, fitness, food, savory, sweat

Black Bean Burgers

22 Jul

I am always looking for good alternatives to meat burgers. Today my friend told me she found a great black bean burger recipe. These burgers are so good that I wouldn’t care if I had to eat them every week. They are packed with protein and fiber and are under 350 calories! Best part: the meal is under $20 and the recipe serves 6 people!

Black Bean Burgers (courtesy of Cooking Light 2011)

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c chopped cilantro
3/4 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese (we used reduced fat Mexican Blend)
1/4 c panko breadcrumbs
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
sea salt
1/2 medium jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 large egg whites

Preheat over to 350.

Place black beans in a medium bowl- mash with a fork.

Not my hand in this photo, but the ring did come from Hefez and Sons Jewelers!

Stir in cilantro and the rest of the ingredients. (do not be afraid if the consistency is runny, that is the way it is before you bake it)

Shape into 6 even patties. Arrange patties on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, carefully turning once. (we cooked them for a litter longer than 20 minutes)

These burgers would be delicious topped with tomatoes and lettuce! If you want to be a little adventurous this Mango Salsa topping was surprisingly good, and not too sweet.

(optional) Mango Salsa
(we used a white peach instead of a mango)