Paleo Mushroom, Onion & Spinach Frittata (with optional sweet potatoes)

I'm a big fan of breakfast foods. Yesterday afternoon, my husband and I stopped by Whole Foods to buy a few things for dinner. While shopping browsing, he suggested we get some fancy sausage for Sunday breakfast. That prompted us to buy bacon. Then my brain thought frittata, so I grabbed some veggies for that. One thing led to another and we walked out of there with quite the haul.

As soon as I awoke, I got started on breakfast. It was a pretty easy dish to put together though.

Paleo Spinach, Onion and Mushroom Frittata

Serves: 4

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2-3 T. fat of choice
• ½ onion, diced (I used yellow)
• 8 oz. sliced baby bella mushrooms (could use button/white mushrooms)
• 3 large handfuls of baby spinach
• 1 cup of roasted sweet potatoes, diced (optional)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 8 eggs, whisked
• Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. Heat fat in a cast iron skillet (or other oven-safe pan) over medium to medium-high heat.
3. Add onions and sauté for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in mushrooms and allow to cook down for 5-7 minutes, stirring every minute or so.
5. Season with sea salt and pepper, to taste.
6. Toss in the spinach until it is wilted.
7. Add sweet potatoes, if using. I happened to have some leftover from a previous meal.  
8. Add garlic and stir to distribute. Spread the veggies out evenly in the skillet.
9. Pour the whisked eggs evenly over the veggies and let the frittata cook for about 7 minutes, or until bottom is set. Push away the edges a couple times and tilt the pan so the uncooked egg will cook properly.
10. Put frittata (in pan) on the middle rack of the oven. The broiler will cook the top of the egg. Broil for approximately 5-7 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.
11. Remove from oven and cut into 4 pieces. Remember, the pan is extremely hot, so use your oven mitts!  
12. Serve with sausage, bacon and fruit. 

Blueberry-maple sausage and applewood-smoked bacon from Whole Foods

This is a great basic recipe for a frittata. You could easily swap out some of the veggies for other veggies. I considered buying asparagus instead of the spinach. You could also add a little meat directly to the frittata.

Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did! I will definitely be making more frittatas in the future. It was so easy to make and different from the usual omelette or fried eggs. 

Question of the day: What meats and/or veggies would you put into your ideal frittata? I would love a sausage, mushroom and onion frittata drizzled with pizza sauce. Pizza frittata! That may be next on the docket.

Please like and share this recipe with your friends and family. Feel free to use the Pin It button located below this post. If you don't see the Pin It button, please click on the title of this blog post and that will pull up the individual post. You should then see the Pin It button at the bottom of the post. If you like this dish, please comment so others will know. Thank you! 

Alternatives to Potato Hash Browns, Part 1: Celery Root

I decided to do a three-part series on alternatives to potato hash browns. I've been experimenting the past couple months with different root veggies in order to recreate my childhood memories of Sunday breakfasts. Every single Sunday morning (until I left for college), my dad prepared big breakfasts of hash browns, bacon and/or sausage, eggs and toast (or English muffin). Occasionally, he would switch it up and make pancakes or French toast, but would still often make some hash browns, bacon and/or sausage and eggs to go alongside. It was always a special meal in our house. It was something I definitely looked forward to all week. We would typically eat around 9 or 9:30am. We also enjoyed homemade freezer jam (strawberry and black raspberry were common in our house) atop our toast. My mom often made large batches so we would have delicious jam all year long. After breakfast, we all sat around the table reading the newspaper. My brothers and I would read through the sports, comics and coupons. My parents had a little thing going that they would pay us the amount they saved in coupons. It was a great incentive for us to find coupons on items we bought. Sometimes I would walk away from the grocery store with $4-5. That was a lot of money back then! Lots of fond memories of those breakfasts though.

White potatoes are generally a big no-no on the Paleo lifestyle. They're extremely starchy and higher in both carbs and calories compared to other root vegetables. Potatoes have around 118 calories per cup (shredded) while celery root only has 42 calories. Potatoes have three times the carbs (27 grams). Celery root is a very nutritious food containing potassium, manganese, magnesium, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, phosphorous and fiber. You now know celery root is a healthier option for our bodies. What you may not know is that celery root is the "ugly stepchild" of vegetables. If you can get past how it looks, you'll (hopefully) discover an amazing ingredient that can be used in so many ways. Of course, I made my celery root into hash browns, but they could also be pureed/mashed or used in soups.

I found celery root at Sprout's (in Colorado), but you could also find them at Whole Foods or King Soopers/Kroger. It's most likely something you have walked by, not thinking anything of it or giving it a second look. I know I have. Hundreds of times. It's right there by the mushrooms, hot peppers and Brussels sprouts. Or maybe you're one of the few that has looked it and wondered what on earth do you do with that thing? Well, I'm here to share with you one way to prepare that ugly-looking root veggie.

Gather your equipment.

I used my food processor to shred. You could also use a box grater, but it will take a bit longer. I thought I would pour my shreds into a separate bowl, but I ended up pouring them straight into the frying pan. So, here's my recipe that's not really a recipe.

Celery Root Hash Browns
Paleo Rating: 8.5
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:
2 celery roots
2 T. coconut oil
Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Prepare your celery root. Cut off the tops and bottoms. Then cut around the edges to get the skins off. You'll end up with what's in the picture to the below. I cut mine in half, so you'll just have a couple round bulbs.

• Heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. 
• While the pan is heating up, shred the celery root in your food processor or with a box grater by hand. 
• Add the celery root to the hot pan. Use a spatula to flatten the celery root and straighten the edges (should be in a round shape). 
• Season your celery root with sea salt and freshly-ground pepper. They won't need as much salt as potato hash browns, so take it easy at first. You can always add, but you can't take it away. 
• Allow it to cook on one side for 7-8 minutes, or until golden brown. Do your best to flip them in one piece. Otherwise, flip them in a couple of pieces. Let them cook for 3-5 minutes on the other side. Cut and serve with eggs and sugar-free breakfast sausage or bacon. 
• Enjoy! 

      

As you can see, mine didn't flip in one piece, but they did brown up quite nicely. I did notice celery root has a slightly sweet flavor. It's not a strong flavor, but compared to potatoes, they are just a tad sweet. Otherwise, they're a great Paleo substitute for hash browns. I highly recommend giving celery root a chance.

Breakfast is served.

Next up: Rutabaga hash browns.