Blog #5: Rise and Dine
Maia B V -
Hi fans,
Welcome back, can you believe it’s week 5?! This blog is coming to you from California! That’s right, I’m currently in the west coast and am gaining MANY new ideas for easy, healthy and nutrient dense recipes in the land of healthy (ish) eating. Here is a little bit of what I’ve been learning and creating, and how my week went overall!
Thursday: I finished up my last shift for the week at Miriam’s Kitchen and was even in charge of the stove!! (Like I’m basically head chef). This day I was making garlic roasted potatoes and braised cabbage – both were delicious of course.
Saturday: Besides traveling I’ve been developing new recipes that I will be testing when I get back and some that I’ve already finished! I’ve also been doing lots of research on different ingredients and superfoods. For example:
1. I went to a protein forward fresh smoothie and juice bar and was able to talk to the owner about how simple ingredients make his foods unexpectedly protein heavy. One ingredient he couldn’t stop talking about is spirulina. Here’s what I could find.
– Spirulina is considered a superfood and is especially good for a few key reasons, including its low glycemic index (GI). A Low Glycemic Index is good because it won’t spike blood sugar levels, making it great for people watching blood sugar, managing diabetes, and in food kitchens many people have different health issues that high sugar spikes can worsen.
– Spirulina is extremely high in protein: Around 60–70% protein by weight — ideal for plant-based diets. This is great since many of my recipes are plant based and are always looking for ways to incorporate much needed extra protein.
– Spirulina is also very rich in nutrients. It derives from dried biomass of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and is therefore loaded with iron, B vitamins (B12), chlorophyll, and antioxidants like phycocyanin (which also includes anti-inflammatory and detoxification functions for the liver and gut).
Sunday: After learning about this I knew I wanted to make a dessert/breakfast that could be made in large batches, protein forward and very delicious. Miriam’s Kitchen just started serving daily dessert so I knew this was a recipe that would be in demand as well.
Monday: I decided to develop a recipe that I’ve actually been working on for a while now, and something that I made a while back but wanted to tweak it to make it even more nutrient dense. They’re no-bake vegan twix bars, for breakfast or dessert!
To get enough protein, the base is derived from nut butter and almond flour. The middle is a date and coconut caramel, that spirulina is added to along with a pea protein, which makes it more protein forward. Lastly, it’s topped with dark chocolate, flaky sea salt, a hemp seed mix, and roasted coconut flakes.
Now while it seems like there are a lot of natural additives, nothing actually affects the flavor of the bar because everything is added in large amounts, and the end results ends up tasting like a sweet coconut twix bar with the chewy texture everyone knows and loves.
Here is a quick protein breakdown:
– Nut butters + almond flour: 6–8g
– Protein powder +/or Spirulina (pea/almond): 5–8g
– Hemp seeds / add-ins: 2–3g
→ Total: ~13–16g per bar
While this won’t be a primary meal for Miriam’s Kitchens guests; having this alongside their main breakfast meal or even as a dessert adds SO much extra nutrients and calories without the extra spike in sugar content and unhealthy additives that sweet desserts/breakfasts often include.
Tuesday: Staying on my breakfast streak, I wanted to create 2 more recipes ( I will finalize and record coming back to the east coast next week so you guys have visuals.)
2nd Recipe: I’m not sure how many people are familiar with this but California is actually known for their breakfast burritos. While the east coast is known for our breakfast sandwiches almost every other breakfast spot in cali especially LA has top tier breakfast burritos, some even Michelin recognized. Inspired by this, I decided to make a version that was equally filling and delicious, lots of what is inspired from my friend’s favorite burrito recipe. I also knew that burritos are things that can be made quickly, stored easily and therefore a very time efficient dish that would work perfectly for a fast paced environment like Miriam’s Kitchen.
Here’s the breakdown:
Eggs – High in protein and fat; yolks add richness and calories. Adding cheese also increasing the protein and fat content as well! Also eggs are a complete protein!
Beans – Combo of protein, carbs, and fiber; super filling.
Avocado – Full of healthy fats = high calorie, creamy texture.
Potatoes/Hash Browns – Carb-heavy; fry them in oil for a calorie boost.
Tortilla (esp. flour) – High in carbs and often fat; large ones can be 200–300+ calories! Perfect for people eating only 1-2 main meals a day.
Oil/Butter (for cooking) – Pure fat = high calorie boost with just a small amount.
In total we’re looking at anywhere from 30-40g of protein for a medium size burrito and even more the larger the tortillas are.
3rd Recipe: Since this blog is getting increasingly long I’ll keep this explanation SUPER short. Basically, vegan chicken and waffles. Super high in carbs, extremely filling, and perfect paired with a side salad and a fruit salad offered daily for breakfast in Miriam’s Kitchen. Additionally, protein powder can be added into the waffle dough and “chicken” batter. And the chicken substitute are oyster mushrooms: high in fiber/good in protein as well, and the perfect “chicken” texture as I have already tested this recipe.
Well that’s a wrap! Thanks for reading and I’m looking forward to posting for you guys next week and I will also update you on the next chapter of my book then 🙂
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