Avocado Egg Salad

I first discovered avocado egg salad in the Hamptons of all places. Sounds goofy right? Well it was a combo I never had thought of before I popped into a little local juice bar in Amagansett to grab a juice and a snack, and picked up a container of their avo-egg salad to try. Well, let me tell you, I INHALED that entire container on the train ride back to NYC, it was that good! Makes sense I would like it though... It's a combination of my favorite foods: eggs and avocado. I actually can't believe I never thought of this on my own.

Luckily, the little container had all the ingredients listed (as it was homemade) so it was quite easy to recreate on my own, which I did - immediately of course. Now it's a staple in my kitchen, as it's the perfect snack full of healthy fats and protein that you can grab and go anytime. As most of my recipes are, this is only a few ingredients, most of which a lot of you will have in your kitchen already, except maybe for the paleo mayo. Read on for this delicious recipe - and be sure to let me know how yours turns out!

So unfortunately, this recipe is a guesstimate, because as usual, I threw things into a bowl and added or adjusted until it tasted just right. I need to stop doing that for the blog's sake, so I can actually give you guys exact recipes to try! Below should be pretty darn close though.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 eggs, hard boiled
• 1 full avocado, ripe/decently soft and pit removed
• 1 bunch/2 handfuls of spinach, chopped
• 2 tbsp paleo mayonnaise (you could use regular, but I highly recommend going paleo for this option - much healthier for you)
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• Drizzle of olive oil (as needed)
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. As mentioned above, make sure you hard boil the eggs prior to making this recipe of course. In a mixing bowl, chop or mash the eggs (with a potato masher), until the pieces are very small. 
2. In a separate bowl, mash up the avocado and add the dijon mustard, lemon juice, and mayo olive oil, and mix well. 
3. Add the chopped eggs and spinach to the avocado mixture and mix. Season with salt to taste.
4. Spread on bread, use as a side dish, or just eat it alone like I do!

Kale Pesto Quinoa with Spinach & Eggs

Three of my favorite things combined right here: pesto, quinoa, and eggs. This is one of my absolute favorite weeknight dinner choices, It's super simple and quick to make, and it's absolutely delicious and satisfying. It's full of protein and fiber and tons of other good for you yummy things. I've always been a fan of quinoa bowls because you can literally have them for any meal of the day and top them with anything you wish, but I really do have to say, this is my favorite quinoa bowl recipe so far. 

I almost always throw an egg on the top of my quinoa bowls, but this is totally optional. I like that it adds a bit of extra protein, plus, I just love eggs! You could also add some shrimp or chicken to the top, which would be delicious too! One other thing to note is that you do need a food processor if you are going to make homemade pesto. I make my own for this recipe, but can always buy pre-made pesto to use too. As for making this vegan, just omit the parmesan cheese (nutritional yeast is a great substitute).

i'm telling you guys... everyone you cook this for will love it. Even your boyfriends, husbands, etc. etc. will - I promise. Nick eats everything I cook for him (although this is really the only way I can seem to sneak kale into his diet). So... even the non-kale fans will enjoy this. You can also just tell them it's normal pesto. It'll be our little secret! Read on below for recipe details and directions!

Recipe:

• Pesto:
  • 2 cups kale (stems removed)
  • 1 cup basil
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • juice from 1/2 lemon 
  • 1 tsp himalayan salt
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1/3 cup parmesan (or nutritional yeast if vegan)
• Quinoa bowl:
  • 2 cups uncooked quinoa
  • 6 cups (or 1 bag) baby spinach
  • 1/2 cup homemade pesto (or more depending on how you want it to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon himalayan salt
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for topping (for vegan, omit completely or add some nutritional yeast)
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric (optional)
  • 2 organic eggs (optional)
  • Organic chicken broth (to cook quinoa)

Directions:

1. To make the pesto, all you need to do is throw all the ingredients into a food processor and mix well. Voila!! 
2. Cook the quinoa + chicken broth according to the instructions on the quinoa package. Again, if you're making this vegan, you can just use water.
3. When the quinoa is done cooking, turn the heat to medium, add the turmeric (this is optional - I add it as a little anti-inflammatory health boost), spinach, pesto, parmesan/nutritional yeast, and salt. Stir until the mixture is well mixed and the spinach is wilted.
4. Cook the eggs in a separate pan. You can cook however many you want depending on how many people you're serving. I usually do one egg per bowl.
5. Scoop the quinoa mixture into bowls and top with the fried egg. Serve immediately and top with parmesan cheese!

My top 5 Protein Bars

RX Bar: Hands down the cleanest, simplest bar I've found yet. Their tagline is "No B.S" and it's absolutely true. These bars are full of amazing ingredients and come in bunch of different flavors! They contain egg whites for a hefty 21 grams of protein (awesome!), so if you're vegan, I wouldn't recommend this brand. They are gluten free and dairy free though! Another big plus: they carry them at Trader Joes now!

GoMacro Bars: The Macro Bars are my #1. I love that they have a plant based protein blend (12 grams!), and that my favorite flavor uses fair trade chocolate chips! All ingredients are organic, plus they taste like a chewy cookie, hence why these are my favorite bar of them all. They're vegan, gluten free, dairy free, and non-GMO. Pretty much everything you could ever want in a protein bar.

Shanti Bars: I'm kind of obsessed with how unique and different these bars are. They're packed full of superfoods like spirulina, maca, cacao and acai, plus they're raw, paleo, vegan, non-gmo, and 100% organic... pretty much the works. They have a bunch of different "themed" flavors, like "detox", "fat burner", "vitality", which I personally love since I can pick one for whatever mood I'm in or what I specifically need that day. 

Amrita Energy Bars: These are similar to the Shanti brand in that they are also packed with superfoods like maca, chia seeds, himalayan salt, and more. I'm not as obsessed with the Amrita flavors like I am the Shanti, but these are a wonderful option for anyone with pretty much any allergy. They are free of most allergens, including gluten, peanuts, dairy, eggs, etc. They're super flavorful and there is added protein, but it can be anywhere from 7 to 15 grams depending on what flavor you buy. These are also great for children!

Kind Bars: These have been through the ringer and back with the FDA claiming they couldn't be stamped "healthy" because they had too much bad fat in them. Luckily, Kind proved the FDA wrong on that one, and these remain one of my absolute go-tos in terms of a snack that's full of healthy fats, some protein, and yumminess! They're a little higher in sugar than I'd like, but they for sure cure my afternoon sweet cravings in a healthier way than most other alternatives.

Honorable mentions:

• Primal Kitchen Dark Chocolate Collagen Bars: I tried these, and though I don't love the consistency, they're a great way to get your collagen (post on that coming soon!)
• Sakara Empower Bars: I haven't tried these, but am dying to!
• This Bar Saves Lives
• Larabar: There are a popular pick, but they're not my favorite, although this flavor sounds pretty incredible (and anti-inflammatory!)
• Cliff Bars: I can't help but love the peanut butter chocolate chip one, but these really aren't all that great for you because of the sugar content. I do splurge and have one occasionally though!
• Perfect Bar: there are some dairy ingredients which I don't love, but these also slip in your greens, like kale and alfalfa.
• Greens Plus Bars: Another superfood bar I'm dying to try. Hopefully they don't taste too green though...