Scrambled Eggs

Happy Mother's Day to all kinds of moms!

I'm grateful to have celebrated with my mom yesterday. My heart goes out to everyone who has lost their moms and to moms who have lost their children. 

This is the first Mother's Day in 17 years that I am not able to hold Qandi in the physical form, but I still feel like a cat mom to her. She will always be held and loved in my heart.

I am planning to adopt again in the near future. I believe one of my purposes in life is to be a cat mom and I intend on continuing to fulfill that purpose. I look forward to making new memories and becoming a cat mom again.

Since Mother's Day is often associated with brunch, I thought I'd share with you a dish I briefly mentioned in April - scrambled eggs topped with homemade ketchup. I already shared the ketchup recipe, so today it's all about the scrambled eggs.

INGREDIENTS

*I recommend using organic ingredients whenever possible.

-3 large eggs

-2 tablespoon grassfed ghee

-about half a bag of frozen kale

-about a quarter cup grassfed yogurt

-one half teaspoon onion powder

-one quarter teaspoon garlic powder

-Himalayan salt to taste

-quarter cup nutritional yeast

-handful of green onions (optional)

-homemade ketchup 

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt 1 tablespoon ghee in a stainless steel pan on the stove.

2. Cook the kale in ghee on low heat for about 5-10 minutes.

2. Add a little salt and cook for another minute or two. Set aside.

3. Whisk eggs with whole fat grassfed yogurt, green onions (because I happened to have some), onion powder, garlic powder, and nutrional yeast.

4. Cook eggs on low heat in one tablespoon ghee until it sets, stirring frequently. 

5. Add a little salt and cook a couple more minutes. 

6. Add cooked kale and cook a couple more minutes.

7. Top with homemade ketchup.

Done!

I had leftovers for this the next day. It kept fine in the fridge overnight. 

I do not own any non-stick cookware because of potential health hazards. The stainless steel pan was very easy to clean, so I can attest to the fact that non-stick is not necessary. If the eggs cook too long and sticks to the pan, just soak the stainless steel pan in soapy water for about 5 or 10 minutes (or longer), then wash it. 

Enjoy your meal!

Chocolate Chip Pecan Blondies

This post was originally published on December 22, 2016. As I was recently reading through it while working on an index I want to have on my blog soon, I realized it needed a bit of tweaking to reflect the way I make the blondies now. For example, I no longer use vanilla beans because it wasn't adding anything much to the flavor of the finished product. The pictures also needed a makeover. 

In addition to these changes, I originally advised my readers not to mix the batter too much. That all changed last year when my mom gave me a new mixer. I had been using a handheld one that I thought had been working well for years. The one she gave me does not require me to hold anything. I just pour the ingredients into the mixing bowl and push a button to start blending. It doesn't require the strength that the handheld mixer needed and it therefore mixes the batter better. It turns out mixing the batter more thoroughly enhances the flavor of the end result. 

Being my signature dessert and the one dish my family always wants me to contribute at gatherings, I thought it was time to update and re-share my recipe.

      INGREDIENTS

*I recommend organic whenever possible.

       1 cup unsalted grassfed butter

       1 cup real maple syrup

       2 large pasture-raised eggs

       1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

       1 teaspoon salt

       1 cup dark chocolate chips

       1 cup pecan pieces

           DIRECTIONS

            1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

            2.  Toast (heat in oven) pecans for 10 minutes.  Set aside and let cool.

            3.  In a large bowl, mix the melted butter with the maple syrup.

            4.  Beat eggs in a separate bowl, then add them to the butter and maple syrup. Mix well.

            5.  Add the flour one half cup at a time, mixing well each time.

            6.  Gently fold in the chocolate chips and pecans. 

           7.  Transfer the batter to a 9-inch square pan.  (I use stoneware.)

            8.  Bake for 40 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and a fork inserted into the middle comes out relatively clean.

9.  Let cool for 10 minutes, cut into 16 large or 36 smaller squares, and remove from pan. 

The best time to eat these are when they are hot out of the oven, just after cutting them. However, that is a lot of blondies to eat all at once unless you're sharing them. They keep well in the fridge for several days. You can eat them straight out of the fridge or reheat them for several seconds. If you're going to keep them for longer than a week, I recommend freezing them. They'll keep for months in the freezer and you can reheat them when you're ready to eat them. Since I rarely eat gluten, these are a once in a while treat for me. Whenever I have a lot left for myself, I freeze them.

I'm curious. Do you prefer the end or middle pieces in a recipe like this? I love them all, but my preference is the end pieces.

Homemade Ketchup

One of the side dishes I had on my birthday last week was roasted potatoes. Potatoes are a rare treat for me because although I love them, I do not eat them very often since they can spike my blood sugar. A few days before my birthday, I had a random thought. Roasted potatoes would be great with ketchup!

Now, I'm not talking about store-bought ketchup, which is very unhealthy. I knew it couldn't be difficult to make my own, so I gave it a try. I am pleased with the results, if I do say so myself, so I thought I'd share my recipe with you. I did a little research online and gave it my own spin. Most recipes call for honey and sugar. I decided to use maple syrup (my pride and joy in the food world) and no other added sugar. I'm so glad I made it this way because it is delicious and just sweet enough the way it is.

Ingredients:

6 ounces tomato paste

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup water

3/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

*I recommend choosing organic ingredients whenever possible.

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat, whisking until smooth.

2. When it begins to boil, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Remove from heat, cover, and cool completely.

4. Chill and store in the refrigerator.

I have quite a bit leftover and it's stayed fresh for a week so far. I will most likely finish it tomorrow. Since the potatoes were a rare treat, I've been using the leftover ketchup in various ways, such as a dip for grilled cheese sandwich (which was also a rare birthday treat), on popcorn, and on scrambled eggs. Yum!

Ketchup on popcorn

Ketchup on scrambled eggs (with kale)

Let me know in the comments if this is something you might like to try!

Health Update and Bonus Recipe

I recently received some great news after having my latest 3 month lab work done. Everything is good, but there are two notable highlights I want to share.

One is that my HDL is 51. This is the highest it's ever been that I can remember! For so long, it was in the 40's, gradually getting higher over the past couple of years. But never has it been in the 50's that I can remember until now.

The second is my triglycerides. This has consistently been in the normal range for years, but never has it been as low as 80 until now!

Whenever I receive test results, good or bad, I always reflect on what caused it to be that way. It's the only way to maintain or improve it. Here are three things I've done differently over the past few months:

-I made sleep a priority. This is the foundation for me. Without adequate sleep, everything else is difficult to maintain. I actually have been struggling with getting enough sleep, but it's starting to consistently improve. I used to be good with 6 to 6.5 hours, but nowadays I need at least 7 (8 to really function at my best). It's a work in progress. Some nights are great, others not so much. But I'm actively trying to improve it every single night. And I don't stress out (anymore) when it doesn't happen. Stress only magnifies the problem.

-I increased strength training. I do 2-3 days a week of various forms of strength training. I was already good with cardio, but strength training needed work.

-I increased my Omega-3 intake. Instead of eating only salmon just once or twice a week, I now eat a variety of low mercury, wild caught fish that's rich in Omega-3 three times a week (salmon, sardines, anchovies, and mackerel), in addition to chia seeds twice a week.

That's why I am sharing this picture.🙂 It was my lunch a few days ago - Risoni (like risotto, but made only chickpeas), organic steamed broccoli, organic peas, and anchovies. I mixed it with organic dried parsley and pasture-based butter.😋

Scrambled Eggs

I usually have a boiled egg with my popcorn and smoothie for breakfast, but I decided to scramble things up
today with scrambled eggs instead of a boiled egg.

First I scrambled the egg with grassfed ghee, whole fat Greek yogurt, Himalayan salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast.

I set that aside, then cooked the fresh tomatoes with dried parsley and dried oregano. Part of the reason I did this was because I'm trying to use more herbs and spices on a regular basis. They are so delicious and have such great medicinal properties.

After that, I mixed the tomatoes and eggs together and cooked them for another minute or two. Done! (I use stainless steel pans, never nonstick. They were super easy to clean with soap and hot water.)

I made enough for two servings, so tomorrow's breakfast is ready also!

A note about my smoothies: I've decided to cut them in half, so now instead of 20 oz., I drink 10 oz. Surprisingly, I don't feel any less satisfied. The reason I'm doing this is because I'm trying to cut down on fruit in an effort to bring down my blood sugar numbers. My blood sugar isn't terrible, but I know I can do better!

Muesli

I don't have a lot of time for lunch on Sundays and Mondays, so I need something quick and easy, but still healthy and delicious. Muesli is the perfect solution.

Muesli is like granola. The difference is that granola usually contains oil and is baked. You can find both in stores, but making your own is sooooooooooo easy and much healthier. Plus, I think home-assembled tastes better.

I say "home-assembled" because that's literally all you have to do - assemble the ingredients you have on hand. It's so much fun to make because you can get creative and customize it the way you like it. The basic components of muesli are grains, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. I also like to add fresh fruit to mine sometimes. 

Be careful when choosing your grains. Contrary to popular belief, grains are not a necessary part of a healthy diet and they can, in fact, have adverse effects if you eat too many of them or ones that are highly processed. Also, if it isn't organic, it's likely loaded with pesticides. Yuck. Apart from rolled oats in my muesli twice a week, the only other grain I eat regularly is organic air-popped popcorn. 

Popcorn - that's a whole other blog post for another day. Let's get back to the muesli. Here are the ingredients in mine:

-a small swirl of real maple syrup (A swirl is an official unit of measurement, isn't it?)

-1 cup whole fat, grass fed, plain Bulgarian yogurt 

-1/4 cup dried mulberries

-1/4 cup pecan pieces (I buy them already broken into pieces.)

-2  tbsp. rolled oats 

-1 tbsp. hemp seeds

-1 tbsp. raw cacao nibs

-depending on the season, fresh fruit (currently pomegranate arils)

 

(All ingredients are organic.) 

 

I never buy anything labeled low fat or fat free because it's probably highly processed and contains unnatural and unhealthy ingredients. In addition to that, some vitamins are fat soluble, so healthy fats are a necessary part of a healthy diet. I try to include a little healthy fat in every meal and snack.  

 

As for raw cacao nibs, if you eat them right out of the bag, they're a little bitter. I personally like the taste of them right out of the bag. They're like nuts with a hit of chocolate flavor to them. In this recipe, the bitterness is balanced out with all of the other ingredients. So if you don't like them right out of the bag, try them in a dish. I also like them in salads. They're very healthy. What a bonus!

Okay, now let's put this all together.

 

First, I mix the yogurt with the maple syrup. (Please use real maple syrup. Pancake syrup is not the same!) Then I layer layer the ingredients as listed above. You can mix it all in when you make it or you can wait until you're ready to eat it to mix it all in. I prefer to leave mine layered until I'm ready to eat it. A 2-cup Pyrex glass dish is perfect for this make-ahead meal. It takes me about 10 minutes from start to finish (including cleanup) and I have made it up to two days in advance before. It's a most awesome feeling when I'm ready to eat my lunch on Sundays and Mondays and I can just pull it out of the fridge and dig in!

How can you customize muesli for yourself using the basic components of grains, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit?

Salmon Salad

People sometimes wonder if I eat meat. The answer is yes, but I am very selective about the kind of meat I eat. This salad contains canned salmon, but it is wild caught from a BPA-free can. 

 Here are all of the ingredients:

-canned wild caught salmon
-lettuce mix (organic and local)
-green olives (GMO-free)
-pomegranate seeds (organic)
-fresh tomatoes (organic and local)
-hemp seeds (organic)

And my favorite homemade salad dressing (all organic):

-olive oil
-fresh lime juice
-real maple syrup

A bright salad like this hits the spot for lunch on a cloudy day!

Mango Lassi

When I want to satisfy my thirst and hunger at the same time, and I want something fun to drink, this mango lassi hits the spot:

-frozen mangoes
-whole fat, grass fed Bulgarian yogurt
-pinch of ground ginger
-pinch of ground cardamom

Just blend and enjoy! If you want to add more sweetness, add a touch of coconut water or real maple syrup. It doesn't need much! I recommend using organic ingredients whenever possible. A colorful, reusable straw doesn't hurt either!

Strawberries, Cashew Cream, and Cacao Nibs...Oh My!

A little healthy treat I put together for my birthday last Sunday - frozen strawberries, homemade cashew cream (literally just cashews and water blended together with a touch of real maple syrup), and raw cacao nibs (everything organic). I wanted fresh strawberries, but the store didn't have any. The frozen variety actually turned out to be a really refreshing addition.

How to Boil an Egg

I love eggs and I eat one everyday for breakfast with my smoothie and popcorn. (Yes, popcorn for breakfast. Note to self: That's a blog post for another day.)

I believe hard-boiled eggs are not only satisfying to the taste buds, but also healthy, especially when they come from small, local, pasture-based farms,where the chickens are raised in a healthy environment.

I recently had a conversation with a friend who told me he does not eat hard-boiled eggs because they are difficult to peel. This immediately screamed, "Blog post!"

The peeling part of the process should not deter you from eating what I believe is one of the healthiest and most satisfying foods in our realm (thank you, Thor), so I am going to share with you a tried and true way to boil an egg and have it turn out easy to peel. This is not necessarily the only way to do it, but this is how it turns out well for me every single time. I use a gas stove. I'm not not sure if that makes a difference in the time it takes to cook, when compared to an electric stove.

I usually boil six eggs at a time and that way, I have one ready to eat for several days. However, this method has worked for me with any number of eggs from 1-6.

1. Take the eggs out of the fridge and set them on the counter.
2. Fill a pot of water enough that it will completely cover the eggs. (You'll add the eggs later.)
3. Boil the water. Hang out in the kitchen and talk to your cats while you're waiting for the water to boil. If said cat is not awake or nowhere to be found at the time, or if a cat doesn't own you, work on a Sudoku puzzle, practice mindful breathing, or play on your phone. Whatever. Just stay close to the stove while it's on.
4. When the water reaches a rolling boil, gently add the eggs to the boiling water using a slotted ladle. Occasionally, one make crack a bit. The egg, not the ladle. Do not despair! The end result may look ugly, but it will still be an edible hard-boiled egg when all is said and done.
5. Set the timer for 10 minutes.
6. When the timer goes off, turn off the stove and use the same slotted ladle you used to add the eggs to take them out of the water. 

7.  Soak them in cold water. This stops the cooking process.
8.  After about 15 minutes, take them out of the cold water. 

9. Peel and consume, or put the eggs in the fridge with the shell still on. When you're ready to consume one, just peel and eat! (If one does end up cracking in the water, I usually eat that one first. I don't know if it matters, but that's how I roll.)

So, how do you boil an egg? Does this method work for you or do you prefer a different tried and true method? I would love to know your thoughts!

Lentils

Lentils are an excellent source of lean protein and they have become a regular part of my diet.  It's healthy comfort food for me.  This is a quick, easy and tasty recipe using dried spices.  It can be eaten however you like.  With bread or with rice are common options.  Lately I have been eating them with just a side of veggies.  It's just filling enough for me.

If you want to add more flavor add fresh herbs instead of the dried spices.  Prepare ahead of time to soak the lentils for 8 hours before cooking them if that's how you like to eat them.  There are some who don't mind making a recipe like this without soaking them and that is quite alright.  :-)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup dry green lentils

1/4 cup dry black lentils

1 tsp dried minced garlic

1 tsp dried chopped onions

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup petite diced tomatoes

1 tbsp butter ( I use the real stuff.)

Pinch of salt

1.  Soak lentils for about 8 hours. 

2.  Boil water.  Fill the pot so that it will cover the lentils about a half inch above.

3.  Add lentils and tomatoes.  Stir.  Let it boil on medium high for approximately fifteen minutes.

4.  Add garlic.

5.  Add onions after two minutes.

6.  Add cumin and coriander after two more minutes.

7.  Let it simmer until it boils down.  There should still should be some broth.

8.  Add butter and salt.  Stir and enjoy!

Mashed Cauliflower

This simple, healthy and delicious recipe makes several servings.  It's a great side dish!

INGREDIENTS
1 head of cauliflower
Dash of salt
1/4 cup of your favorite Greek yogurt

DIRECTIONS
1.  Steam cauliflower for approximately 40 minutes, until soft
2.  Mash cauliflower in a mixing bowl
3.  Add yogurt and salt.  Mix it all up and enjoy!

Mommy-inspired Chicken Curry

Growing up, my favorite dish was chicken curry.  Not just any chicken curry. My mommy's chicken curry.  I could and did eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I've had many versions of chicken curry, but hers is by far the best.  Fact.  : )

When I recently told some friends about her magical concoction they were curious and wanted the recipe.  I believe that all good things should be shared whenever possible, and so does my mommy.  When I asked her for permission to share her recipe she did not hesitate to say, "Yes."  So she told me how she makes it and I stored it in my phone.  I then made it myself.  It was close to the taste of hers, but definitely not the same.  That's because hers has mommy's magical touch, which cannot be duplicated.  And so I share with you my Mommy-inspired Chicken Curry.  The actual perfect recipe cannot be duplicated unless my mommy comes to cook for you and adds her magical touch.  This is why I call it mommy-inspired.

The recipe below is how I made it.  You can change the amount of chicken or use dark meat.  You can also adjust the amount of spices to suit your taste.  I like it medium spicy.

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1 onion, chopped
oil (one turn of the pan)
1/4 cup curry powder
4 teaspoons garam masala
1 clove garlic, minced
2 wiri wiri peppers (or whichever peppers your prefer)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tomato, diced
Sprinkle of ground cumin
Salt to taste (a little goes a long way)
Water - enough to cover the chicken

Yum!

Directions:
1.  Fry the chicken with salt and onions.  Add oil if you are using white meat.
2.  Add curry powder, garam masala, garlic, and tomato paste.  Let it fry until dry.
3.  Add enough water to cover the chicken.
4.  Cover pan.  Let it simmer on low.
5.  Add tomato.
6.  Sprinkle with ground cumin.
7.  Serve with white rice or Indian bread.
8.  Devour!

Mommy-inspired chicken curry with white rice and wild rice,
served on a plate given to me by Stephanie.

 I would love to know what your favorite dishes are.  Please share below!