Dinner 4/8/19

Avocado egg salad with fresh vegetables

Dinner 3/27/19

Cold (leftover) NY steak topped with semi-soft Dubliner Cheddar and dijon mustard and mayo.
Assorted raw vegetables with a spicy mayo dip.

Frittata

My son Jason's creation ...

• Eggs (of course)
• Polish Sausage
• Sliced Mushrooms
• Whole Cherry Tomatoes
• Cheddar Cheese
• Smoked Provolone

Seriously yummy! and low carb to boot (estimating less than 8 carbs per serving)!

Enjoy!

My kind of "breakfast"

• Eggs (3)
• Red & green bell peppers
• Pork sausage
• Pepper Jack cheese
• Low carb tortillas (2)
• Frank's Red Hot

Heat sausage and peppers in butter, add eggs and scramble.
Pile it on to flame warmed tortillas, top with cheese and hot sauce ... simple and delicious. Packed with protein and this concoction was less than 20 carbs.

To make this as simple as possible to prepare I will cook up a 1/2 pound of bulk pork sausage in advance and refrigerate. Having precut peppers (I use them for my salads too) makes this a great "spur of the moment" healthy meal.

Enjoy!

I call it ... delicious!

Others may call it "boring" or "lacking" or even LCHF, but a well prepared pork roast with some roasted Brussels sprouts carrots and parsnips is just ... well ... Yummy!

Boring low carb eating ... again

Green egg salad (2 hard boiled eggs, 1 small avocado, mayo, salt and pepper)
Cold roast pork with Dijon mustard
Garlic cheese curds
Jalapeno Cheddar
Olives

Didn't calculate the exact macros on this but pretty sure I just about got my daily protein requirement while taking in almost no carbs.

Love eating like this. Yummy, nutritious, very satisfying and don't feel "stuffed" after eating.

Enjoy!

Good stuff

watch this (and his other videos)

Vegetable soup

My basic soup base loaded with bok choy, bean sprouts, snow peas, bamboo shoots, carrots, celery, and tofu. Topped with green onion, cilantro and Spam (can't help it, I'm from Hawaii).
So good I may just do it again tonight!

Soup II (electric boogaloo)

It seems I have had a "thing" for Asian style soups lately. Last night it was egg drop soup with green peas and tofu. I make these soups fresh, usually single servings. I don't follow (or make) recipes; In fact, I seldom even measure anything. I have actually received some culinary training*, so it's not as though I am unable to follow, or even write recipes, I just prefer "improvisational" cooking (more on that in the future).
So, for those that are curious about my soup "recipe" ...

Most all start with pretty much the same base (measurements are estimates)

• Chicken stock 2 cups
• 1 Tbsp chicken "Better Than Boullion"
• Finely diced fresh ginger 2 tsp
• Finely diced scallions 2-3 (depending on size) white in the soup, dice the tops for a garnish just before serving
• Finely diced garlic 1 clove
• Chili paste (NOT Siracha! photo of what I use below) depending on how daring you are and how hot the chili paste you get is a couple tsp is probably a safe starting point,
• Shoyu (aka soy sauce) 2 Tbsp
• Sesame oil 5-6 drops 
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• Black pepper and Chinese 5-spice to taste

Combine all ingredients in a pan, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 20 - 30 minutes. If I am doing a soup with fresh vegetables I'd add them as soon as the base was boiling. For this soup, I then added frozen green peas (1/2 cup) and some diced firm tofu returned the base to a full boil then lightly beat 2 eggs in a measuring cup and poured them slowly into the boiling soup. Immediately shut off the fire and cover the pan. I let it stand for maybe two minutes as I get my bowl ready with a bit more shoyu and sesame oil. Pour the soup into the bowl, top with the diced green onion top (cilantro is good too). Do not overcook the eggs or they will be "rubbery" ... and no one likes "rubbery" eggs.
You can keep this very low carb and with the tofu, it has a good amount of protein. I find it very filling ... in fact as I post this it is the 23rd hour of my fast since eating the egg drop soup. Tonight some sort of vegetable soup ... stay tuned.

Enjoy!

I'll try and remember to post other soups I make with the list of ingredients that go with the basic broth. 

 

*I worked for a number of years in the food and beverage industry and at one point was the "chef" of a small restaurant ... head cook would be more accurate ... and eventually restaurant manager

... doing this reminded me of why, and how much, I hate recipes

Soup

chicken stock

garlic chili paste

scallions

ginger

cilantro

sesame oil

shoyu (soy sauce to you haoles)

rice vinegar

black pepper

five-spice

napa cabbage

white mushrooms
shirataki noodles

mung bean sprouts

tofu

topped w/ spam and green onion

virtually zero carbs, high protein, and all kinds of Yummy!

Eating healthy,and low carb, should not (must not) be boring

I broke my 18-hour fast this afternoon with:

A chicken, brat-style, sausage with some Saverne raw sauerkraut (the craft beer flavor)

4% fat cottage cheese

A medium avocado

and some heirloom cherry tomatoes

I didn't figure the macros on this but know there are just a few carbs and a goodly amount of fats and proteins

Simple. Satisfying.

(and Yummy!)

Enjoy!

Frittata ...

... "an egg-based Italian dish similar to an omelette or crustless quiche enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, vegetables or pasta." 

Spinach, sweet potato, mushroom, onion, and cheese Frittata (with bacon, of course) 
Healthy, lots of protein, low carb, and of course ... Yummy!

How was your breakfast?

 Enjoy!

chile verde

pork, bell peppers (green and yellow), anaheim chilis, onion, Ortega chilis, tomatillos, salt and pepper.

8 hours in the slow cooker and this will be some good eating.

the final product

I was not disappointed

Superfood, indeed!

This was dinner last night. Started with my standard raw veggie bowl with a chunky bleu cheese dip. As a special treat, I cooked up some calf liver and onions with bacon. The term "superfood" is thrown a lot these days ... but in the case of liver I think it certainly applies. 

Obviously high in protein and low in carbs, but its amazing health benefits come from its abundance of micronutrients. consider the following chart ...

I grew up eating liver and I'm committed to increasing the frequency that I eat it these days (includes chicken liver too).

More info and the source of the above chart here.

RAW BEEF LIVER

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Weekend

Sometimes you just gotta change things up.

"Breakfast" today (at 5 pm):

• Romaine heart
• Celery
• Radish
• Baby Crimini mushroom
• Broccoli
• Cucumber
• Cherry tomato
• Sugar snap peas
• Red onion
• Creamy poppy seed dressing
• Croutons

'twas off the charts ...

"Dinner" tonight? I'm thinking a baked sweet potato and a zucchini / mushroom / onion saute with a glass or two of a nice Syrah.

Sounds like a plan and a half.

Enjoy!

That's Lunch!

Trip to Trader Joe's yesterday for some veggies (and $10 Rebel Yell)

Those sugar snap peas are awesome!!!

Dip is a cracked black pepper, raspberry mayo.

Always been a big fan of eating my vegetables raw, but lately  ... not so much ... but I'm back baby!

In case you are not aware of the benefits of eating Snap Peas  I'm sharing the nutritional profile below.

Enjoy!

Sugar Snap Peas:

Great way to break your fast

Eggs (2 fried Spanish style)
Bacon (2 slices thick cut)
Avocado (1/2 medium)
Grape tomatoes (8 fried in EVOO)
Strawberries (4 "largish")

Nutrient breakdown for entire meal:
Calories - 688 kcal
Carbs - 13.5 grams (total)
Fiber - 6.3 grams
Protein - 23 grams
Lipids - 60 grams

If you're interested in such things ...
Pre-meal blood glucose 100 mg/dL
2 hours post 100 mg/dL

What's a Spanish fried egg, you ask ... It's an egg fried very quickly in very, very hot olive oil. Some use olive oil AND butter but just olive oil does fine. What you get in a Spanish fried egg is a crispy, delicate white that crunches then practically melts in your mouth. The yolk is just set, but still runny enough to soak into your toast (if you are so inclined). In other words, no rubbery white, no overcooked yolk ... just Yummy perfection!

(and if you're worried about the oxidation of the olive oil at high heat ...the egg is in and out of the pan in less than two minutes ... no need to get the oil so hot that it’s smoking. A Spanish style fried egg is not likely to turn extra virgin olive oil into a health threat.)

Enjoy!

When you just can't decide ...

... Mixed plate!

It was time to eat and I just could not decide what to have so I put this together. It was wonderful, very filling.

1 medium avocado, 2 hard-boiled eggs, cucumber slices, some broccoli florets, a couple teaspoons of mayo and a generous sprinkle of Tapatio hot sauce.

nutrition

calories - 460 kcal

carbs - 17 grams

fiber - 11 grams

fats - 38 grams

protein - 17 grams

and significant amounts of B vitamins 

and vitamins A, C, and K 

Yummy!

Spaghetti

Italian sausage, ground beef, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, tomato, on zucchini "noodles" topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
I didn't do a breakdown on the nutrients but it is low carb and high protein.
Yummy!

Tacos

Perhaps not what you think of when you hear "tacos" but ...

Low "net" carb, high in fiber, protein, and healthy fat ... these were yummy! and very satisfying.

La Tortilla Factory whole wheat, low carb tortillas (3)
Avocado (1/2 large)
Roma tomato (1)
Red cabbage (1/2 cup shredded)
Coarse sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Frank's Red Hot

Nutrient totals for 3:
Carbohydrates: 41 grams
Fiber: 28 grams
Protein: 18

At 41 total grams  (13 'net') this may not be what many consider "low carb" ... but the proof is in the postprandial test. At 1 hour after eating my blood glucose measured 95 mg/dL. Which is pretty close to my "walking around" number.

(after I made these I had thought that adding a strip of bacon to each would have been awesome and would have added another 12 grams of protein to the meal... and virtually zero carbs).

enjoy!