Make ahead breakfast to start your day right

I'm a s guilty as anyone of eating "whatever" for breakfast. I know, I know: breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but - really - it's pretty hard to think about what you want to eat for breakfast when you're just trying to remember where you put your keys...and they're in your hand. Morning is usually not the time for mindfulness.

A frittata is an easy, quick meal. But why make it while you're rushing around in the morning when you could make it the night before and just heat it up the next day.

Frankly, I think it tastes better after it's been allowed to sit overnight, melding the flavors together.

I'm making a very slow move away from eggs, but the addiction is still there, so egg substitute is used for most of the eggs in this recipe. I've replaced the whole milk with coconut milk and it seems to make no difference.

This is another recipe where you can play with the greens. No spinach, try kale or collards...just as good. My grandmother used to make this on Saturdays and just throw in whatever green leafy veggies were leftover from the week...take it from me, iceberg lettuce does not work, but any dark green leafy veggies do.

Spinach-Ricotta Frittata

8 egg whites (about 1 cup of egg substitute)
1 large egg
1/3 cup of coconut milk
1 tablespoon of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 cups of spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon of grated ground nutmeg
2/3 cup low-fat ricotta cheese or cottage cheese

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg whites, the egg and the milk until frothy; set aside.
• Heat the oil in a 10-inch oven proof (cast-iron if you have it) pan on medium heat. Add the garlic and the onion and sauté them for 3 to 4 minutes, until they're softened. Add the spinach or other greens to the pan and cook them until wilted.  Keep stirring the whole time to make sure they cook up evenly.
• Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Pour the egg mixture into the pan and drop ricotta in small globs over the top.
• Cook for 3 minutes, until the eggs begin to set on the bottom and then transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 8 minutes or until eggs are firm. 

Vegetarian (ovo)