Jenna, Author at Just J.Faye

lemon asparagus baked eggs

April 13, 2014 by Jenna

Sunday mornings are perfect for nice, leisurely breakfasts. Taking the time to cook, sit, eat, and enjoy breakfast with a hot cup of coffee and a magazine is such a luxury – one that I don’t indulge in as often as I should.

The perfect alternative to this is, of course, brunch with my girlfriends; However, this morning it was just me. Just me and these lemon asparagus baked eggs. And coffee. And a piece of toast. And the latest SELF magazine. Glorioussss.

However, first thing’s first: a workout. After some intervals on the elliptical and lots of ab work (swimsuit season is approaching. Ugh.) it was time for breakfast and relaxing.

These baked eggs are super simple to make. A little bit of chopping and sautéing is basically all it takes. The eggs bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, which is the perfect amount of time to wash dishes and clean up. I don’t know about you, but a clean kitchen always helps me relax.

Not only are these easy to make, they are also healthy – just veggies and eggs. Wins all around! Ok, there is also some goat cheese involved too, but just a sprinkle. Plus, the lemon and asparagus flavors are just so bright and springy it makes me happy.

(Barely a crumb left, clearly I enjoyed it.)

A good workout and delicious, relaxing breakfast were just the start to this dreary, yet fantastic day. I then went to meet a friend at a cozy café. We worked. We drank coffee. We ate tasty bread and olive oil. Then the $15 bottle of wine special started. We spent the rest of the evening drinking wine and chatting about how life is a glorious, mysterious, and exciting thing. A Sunday full of perfection. I hope yours was just as wonderful.

Lemon Asparagus Baked Eggs

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

A simple, healthy breakfast.

Author: Jenna

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 Tbs coconut oil
½ cup yellow onion, diced
2 cups asparagus, chopped
1 cup spinach, chopped
1 Tbs lemon juice
4 eggs
1 oz goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Heat the coconut oil on a skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the diced onion and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes.
Add in the asparagus and cook until tender, 6-8 minutes.
Add in the spinach and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Let the spinach wilt a little bit and then evenly divide the vegetable mixture into four ramekins, about ⅓ – ½ cup each.
Crack an egg into each ramekin, place on a baking sheet, and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until the eggs are done.
Sprinkle the goat cheese on top of each ramekin along with a little bit of salt, pepper, lemon juice, and hot sauce.

Share this:

mayo cake

April 10, 2014 by Jenna

Mayo cake.

I know. Sounds gross, right? Mayo and cake should never be used in the same sentence, unless it’s something like, “Mayo is disgusting, but cake is delicious.”

Can you tell I’m not a big mayonnaise fan?

The first time I purchased mayo was actually the first time I made this cake. But now that I think of it, I’m not really into condiments in general. Unless it’s sriracha. I will put that stuff on ev.er.y.thing.

Except cake.

I don’t put sriracha on cake. But hey, there is mayo in this cake sooooo… you just never know what could happen. Maybe one day. I’ll do some brainstorming and get back to you.

But now back to mayo and mayo cake.

I have my grandma to thank for this cake. It is one of her specialties and reminds me of my childhood and warm afternoons on the farm. My mom would tell us, “Grandma is coming over.” Yay! “And she’s bringing mayo cake!” DOUBLE YAY! At the time I didn’t care about the mayo part. I just heard the word cake and I was all in – I was a chubby child.

This cake is so ridiculously simple. A bowl, some measuring equipment, seven ingredients, a couple of stirs, 25 minutes in the oven, anndddd… bam: MAYO CAKE. The mayonnaise replaces the eggs and fat and leaves us with a fluffy, delicious cake that has a nice light chocolate flavor and no mayo flavor at all (thank heavens).

My suggestion: Make the cake. Go for a run while it cools. Make the frosting. Frost it. Eat a healthy, veggie-filled dinner. Treat yo’ self to a piece of cake.

It pairs perfectly with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but I don’t trust myself with ice cream in the freezer (dangerous), so I’m eating mine with a glass of almond milk and a glass of red wine.

I don’t trust myself alone with a full cake on my counter either, so this is coming with me into work tomorrow.

Mayo Cake

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

A super simple and delicious chocolate cake.

Author: Jenna

Serves: 24

Ingredients

For the cake:

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
4 Tbs cocoa
1 cup mayo
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

For the frosting:

1 ½ cups brown sugar
¼ cup milk (may need to add 1 - 2 T. milk extra)
¼ cup butter
¾ cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, sugar, and cocoa in a large bowl.
Add the mayo, water, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
Pour into a 9x13” pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

Combine the brown sugar, milk, and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil while occasionally stirring.
Add the chocolate chips and stir until melted.
Cool slightly the frost the cake.

Fun fact: I used to strongly dislike my middle name being Faye, but after I learned it was also my grandma’s middle I instantly started loving it.

Share this:

Jalapeño, Kale, Turkey Burgers

April 7, 2014 by Jenna

I don’t know anyone who would say Monday is there favorite day. I sure wouldn’t. BUT the exciting thing about Mondays is that I have an entire refrigerator and counter full of new fresh fruits and veggies to eat and cook with. Exciting, right?!

I do my grocery shopping on Sundays and then spend a good chunk of the day (post-brunch, obviously) prepping and cooking in my kitchen. Sometimes it’s fun and calming, other times it’s like a wild tornado went through my kitchen leaving me with vegetable fragments and a plethora of dirty dishes. It’s usually the latter. Still fun though.

I’m a huge grocery shopping fan. I could wander around for ages, just slowly meandering aisle-to-aisle filling up my basket. Sometimes this happens – usually when I don’t have a list written out – and all of a sudden my basket is 50 pounds and I need to switch to a cart. Actually, it’s been happening a lot lately. I bet the cashiers think I am buying food to feed a small family. Nope, joke is on them. It’s just me. I blame it on the pineapple. Pineapples take up quite a bit of space in a shopping basket.

Speaking of pineapples! Look at this. Heavenly. This is why I was excited for today. I got to eat this gorgeous pineapple for my morning snack.

Anyways. Moral of the story is always go grocery shopping with a list. It’s like going to Target. In order to be in and out in a reasonable amount of time you need to be completely mentally prepared and focused. Tough stuff.

So yes, I ate pineapple today and it made me happy. I also ate a turkey burger that I cooked up yesterday during my kitchen tornado. Not just a plain ole turkey burger though, I mixed the meat with onion, kale, jalapeño, lime juice, and cumin. Then I topped it with avocado, tomatoes, a swirl of sriracha, an extra squeeze of lime and ate it with a lettuce bun made from a few romaine leaves. Again, this is why I was excited.

Let’s be real though, I probably would have been just as happy with a plain ole turkey burger. I guess we will never know…

Jalapeño, Kale, Turkey Burgers

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

15 mins

Author: Jenna Duesterhoeft

Recipe type: lunch, dinner

Serves: 5

Ingredients

Burgers:

1 ¼ lbs lean ground turkey
2-3 cups of kale, finely chopped
¼ cup diced onion
1 jalapeño, diced
1 ¼ tsp cumin
Juice from half a lime
Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

Toppings:

Tomato
Avocado
Romaine
Sriracha
Limes

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients into a large bowl. I used a large spoon and progressed to my hands. A food processor would work well too.
Form the mixture into 5 equal sized patties.
Place in a George Forman grill for about 5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. You could also broil or fry them.
Serving suggestion: Top the burger with avocado, tomatoes, a swirl of sriracha, and an extra squeeze of lime. Create a lettuce bun with a couple of romaine leaves.

Share this:

dominate today – frozen banana breakfast bowl with toasted quinoa, coconut, and walnuts

April 5, 2014 by Jenna

Do you ever wake up and think, “It is Saturday! This day is mine. I will dominate it.”? I do. And I hope you do too.

That was the thought that ran through my head this morning. So I jumped out of bed (well, it was more of a slow motion jump… if that exists. Ok, I basically just stood up out of bed) and started seizing the day.

First, I went to Custom Fitness to train a client. I just received my personal training certification and started officially training last week. It’s fun. I like helping people and it also keeps me motivated to work out.

Second, I went home and had a great workout myself. I love a nice long Saturday morning workout. Don’t you?!

Third, I made (and thoroughly enjoyed) this concoction of frozen banana, quinoa, coconut, walnuts, chia seeds, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Hello, deliciousness. Am I right? Yes, I am.

Fourth, I headed to the Mary Tyler Moore statue on Nicollet Ave to meet my City Running Tour. I am just starting as a tour guide for the 2:00pm Saturday beer run and it was my first training run – one more and I’m on my own (exciting!). It was a group of 8 people who all work together in St. Cloud. We ran a 3.5 mile loop around downtown Minneapolis and ended up at The Local for some beer samples and a pint. I think I’m really going to enjoy being a tour guide. Getting paid to run, talk to people, and drink beer?! I see nothing wrong with that equation.

Finally, I am writing this and starting a blog. This is something that I have thinking about doing foreverrrrr. (Forever in this case equals about 17 months, just so you know.) I just kept thinking and thinking and thinking and finally thought, “I just gotta do it. Start it. Go. Now. Like, today.” Sooooo…. Here I am, doin’ it! Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Now just j.faye officially exists in the blogosphere. This is an exciting moment for me. I hope you enjoy reading about the things that I write about: primarily food, fitness, and various fun things. I really, really do. Like, a lot. Because I think I’ll really enjoy writing here. Like, a lot.

Annnnddddd now you basically know my Saturday life story. Well, the primary things anyways. I made a pitstop to Whole Foods and didn’t tell you about it until just now. But still, all the good stuff is included above. And the better stuff is included below. Remember that breakfast/brunch thing of bananas and quinoa and coconut I mentioned? You should, because it’s only a few paragraphs above this one. Well, the recipe is below. Make it and enjoy it and dominate your day.

From here I’m going to make the transition into seizing my night. My girlfriends are coming over to celebrate the birth of my dear friend Katie (and perhaps this blog?!). We’re going to eat snacks, drink cocktails, and paint the town red.

The ingredients:

Look at that toasted deliciousness.

Ready to dig in! (Don’t mind my awkward reflection in the spoon.)

Frozen Banana Breakfast Bowl with Toasted Quinoa, Coconut, and Walnuts

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

Frozen pureed banana topped with crunchy, toasted quinoa, coconut, and walnuts.

Author: Jenna Duesterhoeft

Recipe type: Breakfast

Serves: 1

Ingredients

¼ cup quinoa
¼ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
1 frozen bananas, cut in pieces
½ Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp chia seeds
Additional toppings: chocolate chips and maple syrup

Instructions

Thoroughly rinse the quinoa, put it in a small saucepan, and add ½ cup water. Bring this to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
Add the cooked quinoa, walnuts, and coconut to a pan on medium-low heat. Stir occasionally and cook until fragrant and toasted, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
Put the banana and cinnamon in a food processor or blender (I used a magic bullet, because I didn’t feel like pulling out my food processor). Blend until smooth.
Put the banana puree into a bowl, sprinkle the chia seeds, and add the quinoa mixture. If you’re feeling crazy – because afterall, it is Saturday – add some chocolate chips and a drizzle of pure maple syrup to sweeten it up.
Give it a nice little stir. Spoon it into your mouth. Sip some coffee. Enjoy your day.

Until next time… stay classy.

PS – I love you to whoever actually read this all the way to the bottom!!

Share this:

jenna.faye.ivey