"Healthy" Breakfast Burritos

Soyrizo Breakfast Burrito

Even before I decided to try to be a vegetarian I liked "soyrizo." Actually, when I first heard of it I fake gagged and said "deeeeesgusting!" But then I was tricked into eating it under the premise that it was real chorizo. Not even my dad could tell the difference. I've pretty much never gone back. Josh was already boycotting chorizo because he accidentally read the ingredients. Big mistake! I, on the other hand, have always held that it doesn't matter what's in it, if tastes good I'll eat it. Much like my mom's mantra It doesn't matter if it feels good as long as it looks good! Unfortunately neither of those arguments really hold much water as I am now scrutinizing every label with a magnifying glass and my mom is wearing orthotics! (Don't tell her I told you!)

Anyway, back to my burritos. On our honeymoon to Maui Josh and I ate breakfast at this cool little restaurant called Soup Nuts and Java Jazz. Such a funny name. Turns out it was a coffee shop by day and a jazz club by night. I ordered the chorizo breakfast burrito, which was the size of my head! It had chorizo and eggs, black beans, and a load of cheddar. It was so so good! I thought it such a strange concoction with the black beans, served on a bed of Spanish rice. Oh my. That was seven years ago and I still dream about it!

With a few changes I would venture to say my version of this burrito is quite healthy. Lots of breakfast protein and healthy carbs, not to mention veggies and beans! I went ahead and substituted soyrizo for the real deal. I almost always add baby spinach to my eggs, so I included that in this recipe too. If you chop the spinach small and add it to the scrambled eggs before you cook them you will not even taste it! (This is pretty much the only way I can get Jer to eat spinach!) If you like a stronger spinach flavor, you can saute it before adding the eggs to the pan. Here is my healthy version of this delightful burrito.

"Soyrizo" Breakfast Burrito
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 package Soyrizo -- I like the Trader Joe's brand.
6 Eggs -- You can use more if you'd like more burritos. I'd say up to 10.
A couple large handfuls of Baby Spinach, chopped small, and some extra to add later
1/2 cup Black Beans, drained and rinsed
6 Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas -- You may need more or less depending on how full you like your burritos.
A sprinkling of Cheese -- Right now I have a Mexican blend that I've been using, but you can use whichever kind you prefer, Cheddar is tastiest.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Remove the Soyrizo from the package and add to the pan. Use a masher or wooden spoon to break it up and let it cook for about a minute or so before stirring. Since it's already "cooked" your goal is just to brown it up and add flavor. Stir every couple of minutes or so till browned.

Meanwhile scramble the eggs with salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add chopped spinach to the eggs and whisk it all together. Add the egg/spinach mixture to the soyrizo once it is browned. Let it sit for a moment to begin cooking, then use long strokes with a wooden spoon to mix.

Once the egg is mostly cooked through add the black beans. Continue cooking for another minute or two till the beans are heated through.

Now you can begin assembling your burritos! If you have a gas range you can heat your tortillas right on the stove top, otherwise you'll want to preheat a pan or "comal" (cast iron skillet) to warm them up. I like to heat one tortilla at a time, then make the burrito before I heat the next. You could heat all the tortillas and place them in a (lintless) kitchen towel to stay warm, then assemble the burritos all at once.

Here's the lineup: tortilla, light layer of baby spinach (you can leave this out for kids or picky eaters as I did here), soyrizo and eggs with black beans, sprinkle cheese; wrap! If you've never wrapped a burrito before you'll want to fold the bottom end (and top if you'd like) then roll from one side to the other. Make sure you're tucking all that yummy goodness inside as you go.

That's it! Enjoy!!! (With a sprinkling of hot sauce of course! My fave bottled kind is Tabasco Chipotle.)

P.S. If you're having a cheat day or just want to be a little decadent go ahead and use real chorizo and white flour tortillas. Don't forget to load up on Cheddar too! I could die happy after eating this...

Menu Planning

If you're like me and you like to make schedules and spread sheets then planning menus can be exciting and a fun challenge. But most of the time menu planning can be a bit difficult and, let's face it, boring. Even when you like to make lists and schedules it's not always the most fun. I've had a few people mention how meal planning is hard and wish they could do it better. Well, you're in luck because I have a few tricks up my sleeves that I'd like to share.

The very first thing you could do is Google it. I know it seems obvious but there are lots of great ideas out there and some helpful websites that will either do it for you or help you out along the way. I found this post on realsimple.com that gives several "basic" recipes with variations on the theme. This is an easy way to use the same ingredients throughout the week and have a starting point for your planning. Easy! Epicurious.com has a section called everday cooking which includes a fast weeknight dinners tab. They basically give you a menu for the week's dinners. This is super helpful and, if you like experimenting with menus and new food ideas, it could be a good place to start.

I like to have somewhat of a routine to my meal planning. Each night M-F has a "theme" and every week I choose a meal from that category. I use alliteration because it's easy to remember, i.e. Macaroni Monday. You could have Meatless Monday, Meaty Monday, Mexican Monday, etc. I think you get the point. Planning my weekly menu this way helps to focus my planning ideas. Here's a run down of how I do it:

• Macaroni Monday - This includes basically any pasta/noodle dish I make or would like to make. We don't have macaroni every Monday, but you could! Sometimes I'll make rice noodles and we'll have Asian, or shredded veggie "noodles" in a wrap.
• Taco Tuesday - Mexican food! Yes please!
• Sandwich Wednesday - Sandwiches are so easy and left overs come in handy here quite often. If sandwiches don't seem dinner appropriate to you or your significant other throw a little extra cheese in there and heat it on a grill pan. Ta da: Panini! This category also includes anything on a bun or in a wrap: burgers, sloppy joe's, burritos... You can always include a veggie or salad on the side or make it a veggie sandwich/wrap/burger/burrito.
• Slow Cooker Thursday - Thursdays are hard for me because it's getting close to the weekend and I'm feeling less and less like cooking. It's also the night we have the least amount of time for dinner because we have music rehearsal at church. I have to be creative here and make something that doesn't require too much energy to get on the table and that will clean up quick. That's where my slow cooker comes in handy! Since we've gone mostly vegetarian throughout the week it's a little harder to find meals to cook in the slow cooker, but any kind of soup or chili is always a hit. There are millions of recipes out there, even whole cookbooks devoted to slow cookers!
• Family Friday - We always eat together, but this is one night we like to have a fun, easy meal that I don't have to work too hard at. It usually means pizza! I know it's kid food but I looooooooove pizza! We'll usually get take-and-bake or go to Round Table, then out for ice cream or a walk to the park. Basically this is a really great night to get the kids involved and have them help you make dinner or pick what they want to eat. Give yourself a break here and make something easy!
• Saturdays we eat dinner out or Josh helps me cook something yummy. I don't usually plan it.
• Sundays we eat left overs and prep for the week ahead.

So there you have it. I will say that before I start my meal planning I check my cupboards, fridge, and freezer to see what I've got on hand. This helps me choose meals that incorporate those ingredients. Just this one thing saves money and time. Sometimes it saves me an entire trip to the grocery store because I have enough on hand to make a few days worth of meals. You can also use the "What's for Dinner" tool at Recipes.com to plan your meals based on the ingredients you have on-hand. You list three ingredients you have and it gives you four recipes which include those things. Couldn't be simpler!

Meal planning takes time so plan ahead to plan your meals. Set aside a half hour or an hour on Friday or Saturday and just do it! If you feel stuck or uninspired ask your hub or kids what they like that you make. Sometimes Josh will remind me of a meal I made that I had totally forgotten about.

The last tip is the hardest one for me: stick to your menu! I maybe felt like stuffed peppers when I made the menu but now they don't sound good. Boo. Force yourself to use the ingredients you've got and make the meal anyway. Turn it into something that does sound good or switch it with another night of the week. This way you save more moola and the food doesn't go bad.

Here's what a typical week might look like for us:
Monday - Spaghetti with Turkey meatballs
Tuesday - Veggie Tacos
Wednesday - Black Bean Burgers with Green Bean "Fries"
Thursday - Meatless Turkey Chili (I use Beef-less Ground Beef from Trader Joe's)
Friday - Papa Murphy's followed by mini blizzards at Dairy Queen
Saturday - Grilled Salmon, Baked Potatoes, Broccoli

Hope this was helpful!

P.S. I also plan lunches based on what leftovers we have so we make sure to eat it all!