5 Healthy Brunch Dishes That Still Taste Sinful
For Valentina Rice, who founded
Many Kitchens, an online marketplace for artisanal foods, Sunday mornings used to mean only one thing: eggs Benedict. But lately, she's been favoring lighter fare that still satisfies her cravings—without a gajillion calories.
The Avocado Toast with One Crucial Twist
Topping creamy, crunchy avocado toast with a poached egg not only adds protein, but also rich flavor. The protein (and the feeling that you've eaten something decadent) helps you stay full longer than you would if you'd just had avocado and toast.
Get the recipe: Avocado Toast with Poached Egg
A Fruit-and-Yogurt Meal You May Not Have Tried Before
Now-ubiquitous Greek yogurt is a perfect healthy substitute for cream. And mixing it with honey is right up there in the pantheon of great pairings, alongside peanut butter and jelly. For this dish, slide peaches under the broiler, which helps bring out their natural sweetness, and serve them warm, covered in thick yogurt and floral-tasting honey. A smattering of crushed pistachios on top is the ideal finish.
Get the recipe: Peaches with Greek Yogurt, Honey and Pistachios
A Better Way to Eat a Short Stack
Mixing ricotta cheese into pancake batter yields wonderfully fluffy and light cakes that you'd never believe actually have fewer calories than your average flapjack. Instead of topping the dish with the usual berries and syrup, try this riff: You steep strawberries in balsamic vinegar, which gives the fruit an intensity without making it overly sweet. As with so many ingredients, high-quality ricotta and balsamic will give you the best results, and you'll find plenty of uses for what's left over outside of breakfast, from crostini to roasted vegetables to salads.
Get the recipe: Ricotta Pancakes with Balsamic Strawberries
An Update to Meat and Potatoes
Sweet potatoes,
which are packed with more vitamins and fiber, and fewer calories and carbs, than
white potatoes bring just the right amount of sweetness to this satisfying breakfast hash. Make it with chicken sausage, which has a more subtle flavor than traditional pork sausage and allows the other ingredients to stand out. The fact that it's much lower in fat is a bonus.
Get the recipe: Sweet Potato and Chicken Sausage Hash
A Stepped-Up Smoothie
The Japanese have been using the finely ground green tea powder known as matcha for centuries, in everything from sweets to soba noodles. And the antioxidant-rich ingredient seems to be
more popular every year. Add it to a smoothie along with a perfectly ripe mango and a topping of dark chocolate shavings; it gives the drink a beautiful color and complex, earthy taste.
Get the recipe: Mango Matcha Smoothie
Published 10/05/2015
