WildFlours GF Group… Meaningful Morning Ideas #1: GF Breakfast Strata

Gluten Free Breakfast Strata

With the passing of summer, we are ready to get back into the routine of meeting monthly again.  Last Sunday was our September meeting.  Even though the busy-ness of life kept members away, I still wanted to share the ideas for making your breakfasts the best fuel possible for your day.  I am not talking about the pancakes, waffles, bagel routine.  The recipes I will share are far from the starch and sugary foods we associate with breakfast most of the time.  While those are great occasionally, it should not be the norm.  Gluten Free Meaningful Morning Ideas will come in three parts.  The first is the awesome GF Breakfast Strata pictured above.  Yes, you all missed out!  Not to worry, here is the recipe…

Gluten Free Breakfast Strata

Mini GF Breakfast Strata... just bake them in a muffin tin instead!

Ingredients:

• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cups milk or half & half
• 1/2 tsp mustard
• 1/8 tsp paprika (sweet or smoked)
 or chili powder
• A pinch of cayenne
 or black pepper
• A dash of nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 Cups gluten free bread, cubed and dried in a 200 degree oven until crisp like croutons
• 4 ounces ham, cubed (about 1 cup) or 5 slices cooked bacon, drained and coarsely chopped (Optional)
• 1/2 cup cooked and very well drained mushrooms, or other vegetables (double the amount of vegetables and omit the meat for vegetarian)  (Optional)
• 1 Tbls chopped red bell peppers (Optional)
• 6 green onions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) grated cheddar, or other cheese

Method:

1. Oil non-stick muffin cups with bacon grease, butter or coconut oil.  (Or you can use one large glass baking dish.)
2. In a mixing bowl with a spout, whisk together the eggs, milk or half & half, mustard, paprika, cayenne, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
3. Evenly distribute among the muffin cups, in order, half each of the bread cubes, meat (if used), vegetables, green onions, cheese, optional bell peppers (if used), and the milk/egg mixture. Repeat.  (Note:  if using mushrooms, sauté them first before assembling the strata)
4. Cover the muffin cups with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours.
5. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle position. Bake for 15 to 35 minutes, depending on the size of the muffin cups used (or 50-60 minutes for a large baking dish), until the tops are lightly browned and the eggs set. Allow the mini strata to cool in the muffin cups for five minutes, then remove from the pan and serve.

To make a dairy-free, egg-free (vegan) version, substitute the following ingredients for the milk and eggs and then continue with the recipe:

• 3 Cups  milk (soy, rice, almond, hemp, coconut)
• 6 ounces silken tofu
 or Tofutti cream cheese
• 3 Tbls flax meal
• 2 Tbls oat flour or 1 Tbls coconut flour
• Note:  Don’t forget to use your favorite dairy free cheese as well in place of the cheddar

1.  Assemble the bread and vegetables the night before, portion into pan as directed above, cover and refrigerate.  DO NOT add the wet ingredients at this point.
2. In the morning, blend the milk, tofu, flax meal, oat flour or coconut flour, salt and the spices in a blender until smooth.  Then pour over the bread cubes/vegetable mixture.
3. Bake as directed above.  If you would like a bread free alternative, try grated potatoes instead of the bread cubes.

Over the next few days this week, I will share the other ideas I have for fueling your day on a gluten free diet.  There are plenty of nut free, egg free and dairy free options or substitutions as well that I promise to share if you have other food challenges.  Hopefully, you can find some new ideas for the best meal of the day… please don’t skip it!  If you are one who frequently skips breakfast, there is a great article by Jen Allbritton on the Weston A. Price website that you might want to read.  Jen details how adequately fueling up in the morning provides us with many benefits, specifically the ability to think better, have more energy and control our weight.  She also provides many more ideas for meaningful morning options that will sustain you and your family until lunchtime!  Check back for my second Gluten Free Meaningful Morning Breakfast idea this week!