Indulge: 3 Summer Recipes from Kathryn Budig

Summer is here, which means it’s time to indulge! Too often, we associate the concept of indulgence with consuming tasty but unhealthy foods that can leave us feeling poorly later on. Today, we have some great news: you don’t have to compromise your health, your taste buds, OR your peace of mind to wine and dine yourself this summer. Seriously!

Read on to discover three scrumptious summertime recipes from Global Ambassador Kathryn Budig that strike the perfect balance between great taste and great nutrition. You’ll be eating like a queen in no time—and feeling like one, too.

Quinoa Egg Power Bites

Start your summer days off right with a meal that boosts your energy! These yummy breakfast bites are easy to prepare, packed with protein, and totally delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup tricolor quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons ghee or olive oil
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cucumber, shredded
• 1/2 cup pecorino cheese, shaved, or nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup basil, julienned
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 12 whole pecans or walnuts (optional)
• hot sauce to taste (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Soak the quinoa for 5 minutes and drain. In a saucepan over high heat, combine quinoa with broth and 1 tablespoon of ghee and bring to a boil. Stir well, reduce heat to low, and cook, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes (or until the quinoa is fluffy.
2. Combine eggs, cucumber, cheese, basil, cumin, cayenne, salt, and remaining ghee in a large bowl. Stir in quinoa.
3. Pour the mixture into a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin and top with nuts if desired. Bake the power bites for 20 minutes. Let them cool on a rack so you don't burn your excited mouth. Douse them in hot sauce if you like an extra kick!

Unicorn Cauliflower Salad

Why stop now?! For lunch, treat your tummy to this mythical mashup of vegetables. It tastes incredible, and the rainbow colors are sure to brighten your afternoon.

Ingredients:

• 3 heads cauliflower (Kathryn uses purple, orange, and green), grated
• 1 small jalapeño, diced
• 1 small fresno pepper, diced
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• sea salt to taste

Dressing:

• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, zest and juice
• 1 /2 orange, zest and meat chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup wild arugula
• 2 tablespoons hemp seeds

For toasted breadcrumbs:

• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (can be bought gluten free)
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Directions:

1. Using the largest side of a grater, grate the outer part of the cauliflower heads (don’t grate to the stem…the color lives on the outer part. Save the remaining cauliflower to steam, or chop up and freeze). This is often referred to as cauliflower ‘rice.' Place all of the grated cauliflower into a bowl.
2. Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté red onion, jalapeño, and your fresno pepper for 5-7 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Toss in the cauliflower with salt to taste, and mix well until all of your veg is lightly covered in oil. Make sure the contents is spread evenly in the pan, then cover for five minutes. Give it another good stir (we want it to soften and get a slight golden hue), spread evenly again, and cover for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. In a small frying pan, warm up the additional teaspoon of coconut oil over medium-high heat. Toast breadcrumbs with it’s spices for roughly three minutes, stirring often with a hawk eye. These babies burn easily, and we don’t want them brown — just golden.
4. Combine all dressing ingredients and whisk well. Toss everything into a bowl and mix 'er up! Voila! A salad worthy of a unicorn.

Zucchini Lentil Bolognese Lasagna

Round out your evening with a crowd favorite: pasta! Don't be afraid to help yourself to seconds (or thirds). This kind is good for you.

Ingredients:

• 2 large zucchinis, ends lopped and cut into thin ribbons
• 2 large carrots
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 fresno or red chili pepper, minced*
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil plus a bit for drizzling
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 can of organic brown lentils (or 1 1/2 cups cooked)
• 1/4 cup light coconut milk (the white part)
• 6 oz Kite Hill Ricotta (or regular ricotta)**
• Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
• Table salt for the zucchini sweating
• 1 Tablespoon ghee or organic butter (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Layer your zucchini ribbons onto sheets of paper towels. Sprinkle salt on each ribbon and let sit for roughly 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce. The zucchini will start to ‘sweat.’ Blot off the excess moisture, flip them, re-sprinkle salt, and repeat the process. This may seem unnecessary, but it will prevent your lasagna from being soggy. Trust me. Zucchini needs its sauna time.
2. Place your onions into the food processor and blitz it into tiny pieces. Place the onions into a separate bowl, and then repeat the blitzing with your carrots and celery. Warm your olive oil over medium heat in a large, deep sauté pan. Toss in your onions and sprinkle generously with sea salt and a smattering of black pepper. Sauté for five minutes then add carrots, celery, and chili pepper. Sauté for another five to seven minutes. Add your red wine to the mix and stir well. Let the mixture simmer for roughly three minutes. Mix in tomato paste, coconut milk, and lentils. Taste for additional seasoning (I tend to be generous with the sea salt). Let this pile of goodness cook down for another five to 10 minutes, and then remove from the heat. If it seems to watery, let it simmer a bit longer or kick up the heat. If using ghee or butter, melt and stir into the mix.
3. Place enough sauce into the base of a square casserole dish (mine is 7 1/2”) to lightly coat the entire base. Cover with one layer of zucchini noodles, placed side-by-side. Crumble a 1/3 of your cheese on top of the noodles and another thin layer of sauce to cover the zucchini. Repeat this two more times (you’ll most likely have three layers of zucchini) and top the final layer of zucchini with sauce and a good drizzle of olive oil and sea salt (skip the ricotta for the top). Bake covered for 20 minutes and remove the lid for the 10 more or until the zucchinis have golden speckles and a good bubble is rolling.

Remember this isn’t traditional lasagna, so be dainty when you cut into your pieces and transfer to individual plates. I recommend using a large spatula to transfer your pieces.

*If you don’t like spicy, you can skip. If you can’t find a good chili pepper, you can always use dried red chili pepper flakes, or a spicy olive oil like Lucini’s Fiery Chili Extra Virgin Olive Oil (in which case do 1/4 cup regular oil and 1/4 cup spicy).

**If you can’t find Kite Hill Ricotta, and you prefer a dairy-free cheese, blend 1 cup soaked cashews, 1/4 cup veggie broth, 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, and good pinch of sea salt. Adjust your liquids to find a ricotta-like consistency.

SHOP THE KATHRYN BUDIG COLLECTION

If you liked this blog, check out our other blogs like: "Bold & Beautiful: Kathryn Budig's Collection Inspiration," "10 Bold Looks from Kathryn Budig," and "The Power of Fashion: Kathryn Budig's Latest Collection."