2-Minute Brunch Ideas

If there's anything worse than rolling out of bed on a weekend morning feeling hungry, dehydrated and lazy, I have yet to experience it. The walk to any available food outlet seems like the most outrageously difficult task in the history of the world when you are in this state, and putting on pants to make this walk is enough to make anyone throw a full blown tantrum. If you're anything like me, the idea of going to the obscene hassle of making eggs when you're still contemplating the angle at which you will swan dive back into your bed is unfathomable. However, there ARE a few brunch ideas that take 2 minutes MAX and will tide you over until you can become an awake enough human to drag yourself to a late lunch, and maybe even put on pants. These recipes are also totally college student idiot-proof and require very few ingredients and 0 cooking. Unless you consider using a toaster cooking. In which case...you're on your own.

1.  Cherry Tomato SuperBagel

If you have never tried this combo you are SERIOUSLY missing out. Toast your bagel, spread it with cream cheese, and arrange some lengthwise-sliced cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dill. The tomatoes add a juicy crunch that brings a boring bagel with cream cheese to the next level, and the dill adds a nice little kick. Def the perfect thing to tide you over until you feel like opening your eyes again next week in a few hours.

2. Blueberry Granola Bowl

I know what you're thinking: far too healthy for hungover food and NO presence of melted cheese. I get it. But greek yogurt with some crunchy granola is a prime combination, and the blueberries are packed with antioxidants to get you feeling ship shape in no time.

3. Bare Minimum

This option is only for when you are TRULY struggling. Hard boiled eggs solve all evils, and juicy tomatoes do the trick as well. Get some protein and potassium, and get back to bed.

Quinoa Salad

Every year, I find that the holidays become somewhat of a Food and Drink Olympics. I start each day with good intentions-a bowl of cereal there, a workout here- and then by lunchtime I'm eyeing leftovers, candy dishes, and cheese plates from the couch, where I am buried six feet deep with my dog watching a Modern Family marathon. This year, I'm going to try reaaallly hard to be a bit more balanced during the day. I'm going to do my best to keep breakfast and lunch as healthy and small as possible, allowing more wiggle room later in the day for plenty of wine, cheese, and big dinners with family and friends. However, there are only so many salads and soups one can eat before you feel like you're going crazy. Enter...grains. More filling than lettuce but healthier than bread, grain salads can be the perfect way to curb holiday cravings. Plus, you can throw any kind of protein in with them and get a full meal going. Quinoa is my favorite because it's easy to make, not too filling, and goes with everything. Also, you can eat it hot or cold, which is ideal for my sloth-esque laziness when it comes to preparations when I'm home for break. I throw in as many chopped veggies as I possibly can, then come up with a great dressing to drizzle on top. You can keep a big tupperware of this and put a scoop over greens, by itself, or what I did with my friends for an impromptu dinner party: throw in some marinated shrimp and chopped mango, and scoop into butter lettuce for little tacos!

Ingredients: 

-2 cups quinoa, rinsed under a strainer for 2 min.

- 4 cups chicken/vegetable broth.

-1 red pepper, chopped.

-5 green onions, chopped.

-4 basil leaves, chopped.

-3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil.

-2 tbsp. red wine vinegar.

-juice of 1 lemon.

-1 tsp. paprika.

Instructions:

-Once the quinoa is rinsed, place it in an oiled saucepan for 2 min on medium to evaporate water.

-Add the chicken/vegetable broth. Wait until it boils, then place a cover over the saucepan for 15 min, stirring occasionally.

-In a bowl, combine all chopped vegetables.

-In another bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, paprika and lemon juice. Whisk gently.

-Strain quinoa, pour into large serving bowl, and add veggies and dressing. Let sit for 5 minutes.

-Enjoy!

The Lilly Pulitzer Salad [Spinach, Strawberries, Mozzarella, and Balsamic]

I have some issues/anxieties with salads. I am definitely one of those college girls who will talk your ear off about how I "would totally eat anything, I mean, ANYTHING!!! on a salad!!!!!" whilst ordering a hamburger, but I have stress about this hypocrisy because it really is true. If you slapped that patty on a salad with cherry tomatoes, a little flavorful cheese, some cornichons, and a great mustard vinaigrette? You bet I'd eat it AND be just as happy and way less full than eating the full burger. But sometimes all the switcheroos and custom orders at a restaurant feel a little pushy and I have a weird fear of waiters defacing my food if I'm rude to them. (you never know!!!) so anyways, while sticking to the anything-on-a-salad girl mantra is difficult at a restaurant, I'm actually pretty good at adhering to it at home. I make it a priority on any grocery list to buy a gigantic family sized bag of spinach. I'm lucky to have been one of those weirdos children who enjoyed spinach to the point of asking for it with a dash of olive oil, sea salt and minced garlic, so having it raw in a salad is right up my alley. Also, raw spinach is a really pretty color of green and looks great in pictures. In order to diminish my salad anxiety, I try to choose two or three ingredients and one dressing that pair well together, and then get it goin'. You never want to be that girl who puts fruit, crunchy asian noodles (which for the record, I loathe) olives, cheese, and anchovies in the same salad with heinous blue cheese dressing. SO bad. Do less. Instead, simplicity without being boring is key. Here's one of my favorite creations, which I have aptly named the Lilly Pulitzer salad because it is pink and green and I want a new one every day.

For this masterpiece (there I said it)...

• 2 cups spinach, ripped up and washed to minimize toughness and make bites smaller.
• 8 ripe/somewhat soft strawberries (the softness soaks up the dressing and tastes amazing with the cheese)
• Buffalo mozzarella in water. Gently, with your hands, make small chunks of the cheese and put it on at the last second.
• 2 parts olive oil one part balsamic vinaigrette. Can't go wrong with this, and balsamic and strawberries are definitely winning cutest couple this year.

This salad tastes amazing, satisfies every salt/sweet/sour/ craving you're having, and pairs well with a glass of sauvignon blanc. Then again, I think everything pairs well with a glass of sauvignon blanc. Make this tonight and then tell me your favorite salad!