Category Archives: Breakfast

Easy Baked French Toast: The Perfect Breakfast Treat

I have just posted my first video since we moved back to town. It’s quick and dirty (no tripods or proper lights) but to say we are happy with our move is an understatement. First, I will post the recipe and video. Then, I will give you a life update.

Baked French Toast

A simple, busy-night, macro friendly French toast.

Ingredients
  

  • Any hearty bread, like French bread one inch slices
  • 1 egg (or the equivalent egg whites) per slice of bread
  • 1 glug of milk, almond milk, water, etc.
  • 1 vanilla, amount depends optional
  • 1 cinnamon optional

Method
 

  1. Slice your bread into one inch slices. Lay on a baking sheet and let dry out completely (one to three days, depending on your temperature and humidity).
  2. Oil your baking dish (spread with butter or spray with Pam). Place your dried bread in your baking dish.
  3. Crack your eggs into a bowl, add a little liquid and any other optional ingredients. Beat well, then pour as evenly as possible over each piece of bread. Cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour or two. Remove from refrigerator, flip your bread, ensuring each piece gets coated with the egg mixture. Cover and place back in your refrigerator until all of the egg mixture is absorbed (3 to 5 hours).
  4. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove your bread from the refrigerator, uncover, then place in the oven. Bake for 25 to 40 minutes.

Notes

This is a highly adaptable recipe. You can make one to 20 slices of French toast at once. This is why my amounts are not specific. The most important factor is allowing one egg per slice of bread and adding your chosen liquid to help the egg absorb.

This year has been filled with so many endings (and beginnings) that I wouldn’t want to sit here and list them all. The most impactful were our decision to move back to town and the unexpected loss of my sister.

When I posted the last time, I did not anticipate the affect that would have on our lives. Yes, we were frustrated and felt like we were going in circles and had no options. Our situation (and a possible solution) were still coalescing, hadn’t quite completed, when I made that post. However, the reaction we got from the family was … we were gobsmacked. I’m pretty sure once my jaw dropped, it stayed there for a few weeks as the reactions kept getting worse (and more dramatic) by the day.

After looking at real estate prices, we came to the conclusion that we had no alternative but to move back to our house. That meant kicking my sons out, which took time. One decided New Jersey was the place to be (we are in California) and he’s making great progress there. The other moved in with his aunt until he can get some things taken care of and join my other son in New Jersey. He wasn’t able to make this move until July. So, for 7 months, our lives were very stressed. There were a few months solid that no one in the family would even acknowledge my existence (seriously, they would turn their head or look away if I tried to speak to them). I am grateful this was only my husband’s family and not mine.

During this prolonged death, we were dealt with the blow of my sister’s unexpected passing. In the grand scheme of things, it was gratefully quick but … she’s my big sister and it’s still (she passed May 22 of this year) just too raw.

I spent my time going through all of our belongings, packing, catching up on yard work at the house and getting it ready for us to move back in. We are still not officially all moved in but we are getting there. It will just take some time (we will be lucky to be able to clean out our cargo containers by the end of the year). We are actually fixing (not just coping with) our property.

When we were lucky enough to buy this house, we just lived here. There were so many things wrong/things we would love to change, but this was just a temporary place to live. Now? We are actively making this our home. We are repairing the garage floor, will be replacing the kitchen cabinets, will be tearing out some walls, installing new flooring, etc. We might even build a large shed/gym, too!

We are SO happy to be here and SO excited for our future together!

Basic Egg Loaf

For those who don’t know, this is keto/low carb french toast! Today, I made french toast dippers in my corn stick cast iron pans (and they turned out better than I have ever made them).

This is one of the easiest recipes! It’s full fat cream cheese, eggs, and melted butter in a ratio is 2:2:1. That means it can easily be adjusted up or down!

Basic Egg Loaf

Ingredients
  

  • 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
  • 8 eggs room temperature
  • 4 ounces butter, melted room temperature

Method
 

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Once all of the ingredients are at room temperature, place them all in a bowl and blend until smooth. You can use a Kitchen Aid, a food processor, a blender, a stick blender, etc.
  3. Pour into a greased baking dish (just about any will work: loaf pan, 13×9 casserole, muffin tins, etc.) and bake 30 to 45 minutes (or until brown).

Here’s the link to my meal prep containers:
https://amzn.to/31czIBI

Sprouted Grain Buttermilk Biscuits

My favorite biscuits are Baking Powder Biscuits from Kraft (https://www.myfoodandfamily.com/recipe/051722/baking-powder-biscuits). Out of all of the recipes I have ever tried, these always turn out fantastic. So, I thought I would try to adapt that recipe for my sprouted grain flour. I think I have a winner!

Sprouted Grain Buttermilk Biscuits

Notes

Sprouted Grain Buttermilk Biscuits
8 – 10 biscuits
2 cups sprouted grain flour (or whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup COLD butter, cut into cubes
1 cup buttermilk (for quick buttermilk, add roughly 1 teaspoon vinegar to 1 cup of milk)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Add the cubed butter and cut it into the flour (you can use a fork or a pastry blender) until the butter is about the size of a dried pea. Add the buttermilk and mix until almost all of the flour in incorporated (do not mix too much or the biscuits will be dense).
Sprinkle flour on your countertop and scoop out the biscuit dough. Gently fold the dough until it becomes more solid (roughly 20 times), only adding flour to prevent it sticking to your hands or countertop. Pat flat so the dough is at least 1/2 inch thick.
If you want circles, cut with any item that is at least 2 inches round (a biscuit cutter, a drinking glass, an empty food can, etc.). If you want squares, just cut with a knife. Place biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet an bake for 8 to 12 minutes (until the edges start to brown). Let cool a few minutes, then split with a fork (use the tines of a fork to split the biscuit instead of a knife). Serve.

"Spam" and Eggs … Help!

Well, it looks like my gallbladder was just one part of my health issue. Since having it removed in October, I started feeling a little better, then slowly went downhill. All my organs look good (especially the surgical area), so last week I had my first audition for a porn movie (Upper Endoscopy). There wasn’t anything dire but they did see several inflamed areas. I am currently waiting for the biopsy results (they took several) and waiting for my insurance to approve a scan to make sure there aren’t any rogue gallstones floating around anywhere.

In the mean time, I have been instructed to change my eating to low fat, little to no fiber, nothing hot/spicy (especially black pepper) and no large solid chunks of meat that will be more difficult to digest. EVERYTHING in my house is high fat! Last week, I was whining and crying because I have no idea how to even cook low fat (and no solid meat)!

So, now that I have calmed down, I wanted to show you my way of getting at least some meat in my belly for breakfast:

This is 2 eggs, half a cup of baked on a rack so it is lower fat DRY ham, and just a bit of half and half blended and cooked in a non-stick skillet sprayed with PAM. It’s actually tasty and surprisingly filling but I need help!

Does anyone have any ideas/recipes that I might be able to tweak that aren’t all scrambled eggs? I could boil meats to remove more fat but then what? My intestines HAVE been happier/less fetal-position painful but I need ideas! All I have in my house is meat and full-fat everything else. Please help me!

Oven Roasted Tri-tip

One dark and stormy night (a relief in Central California) we really didn’t want to barbecue in the rain (and we were low on charcoal). So, my husband made a tri tip roast in the oven. If you aren’t accustomed to this cut, here’s the Wiki about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-tip.

How we (my husband as I watched and took pictures) made it:

Oven Roasted Tri-tip Roast
Ingredients:

  • 1 beef tri tip roast
  • Your choice of seasonings

Season your roast (we have been using McCormick Montreal Steak seasoning lately).
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Place a heavy skillet (we love our cast iron) on the stove and heat on high. Once the skillet is hot, add about a teaspoon of oil to the pan (or spray with Pam). Place the roast in the pan and sear it for about 4 minutes (as you can see from the photos, it wasn’t that brown this time and turned out better than ever). Flip it over and sear the other side.
Now, place the skillet in the oven (do not cover) and let cook until you are happy with the doneness.

Here’s a great webpage about proper doneness of beef: https://www.certifiedangusbeef.com/kitchen/doneness.php.

The basic rule of thumb is 10 minutes per pound. We baked ours for almost 20 minutes and removed the tri tip from the oven when the thermometer read 135 degree F.

While resting (we let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting) it reached 140 degrees F.


That’s it! To serve, either slice it thick (against the grain) like a steak or thin (think roast beef). My favorite way to eat it is with some cheese and avocado (OH! Maybe some horseradish sauce, too!). Tri tip is great leftover, too! Either dice it and add to scrambled eggs, pan-fry and serve with fried eggs, or just grab a piece and munch away!
Here’s some pictures (unless you do not like this setup, I think I will post any recipes I/we create before any pictures because I HATE having to scroll a mile just to read a recipe).

IMG_0776.jpg
Browning in cast iron skillet
IMG_0778.jpg
Our meat thermometer from Home Depot
IMG_0777.jpg
Resting
IMG_0779.jpg
Medium Rare (almost medium) 140 degree internal temperature

Diet Revolution Rolls


Diet Revolution Rolls (aka Oopsie rolls or Cloud Bread)
There are tons of variations of this recipe out there (and I have tried quite a few, including substituting avocado for the cottage cheese) but this one is the best! These are not excessively moist, do not collapse to nothing (they do collapse when they cool but not nearly as bad as other recipes), and they have a great texture.
Makes 6 Rolls (2 rolls per serving)

  • 3 eggs separated
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 3 Tablespoons cottage cheese (NOT low-fat)
  • 1 package Sugar Twin (or 1/4 teaspoon sweetener of choice)
  • Pam spray (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spray Pam on Teflon cookie sheet (or use ungreased parchment paper).
Separate eggs very carefully (make sure that none of the yolk gets into the whites). Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until whites are stiff but not dry.
Blend yolks, cottage cheese and Sugar Twin together until thoroughly incorporated. Fold yolk mixture into beaten egg whites (be extremely careful not to break down the egg whites). Mix for no more than a minute.
Place the mixture carefully on the teflon cookie sheet (parchment paper), gently putting one Tablespoon full on top of another until each “roll” is about 2 inches high (or use 1/3 cup ice cream scoop). Repeat this until you have 6 piles. Rolls should resemble delicatessen rolls.
Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for about 1 hour. Let them cool before removing from the baking sheet (the will deflate a bit).
Do not slice to use for a sandwich (they are not thick enough).
One roll=one slice of bread
Per Roll: 39 Cal (56% from Fat, 38% from Protein, 6% from Carb); 4 g Protein; 2 g Tot Fat; 1 g Carb; 0 g Fiber; 0 g Sugar
Caraway Rolls

  • Mix 1 Tablespoon of caraway seed into yolk mixture.

Per Roll: 40 Cal (56% from Fat, 38% from Protein, 7% from Carb); 4 g Protein; 2 g Tot Fat; 1 g Carb; 0 g Fiber; 0 g Sugar
Onion Rolls

  • 2 Tablespoons minced onion
  • 1 Tablespoon butter

In a small frying pan on medium heat, sautee 2 Tablespoons Onion in 1 Tablespoon melted butter until they are almost brown. Let cool, then mix into yolk mixture.
Per Roll: 58 Cal (68% from Fat, 26% from Protein, 6% from Carb); 4 g Protein; 4 g Tot Fat; 1 g Carb; 0 g Fiber; 0 g Sugar
Serving examples:
 

Just Out Of The Oven
IMG_1647
Grilled Breakfast Burger
French Toast with Sugar-Free Syrup


Bread Crumbs

Double Dipped (egg, then breadcrumbs twice) Fried Chicken Thigh

Bread Crumbs

  • One entire batch of Diet Revolution Rolls (without sweetener or salt, if you plan on using either in the bread crumbs)

Put the six cooked (and cooled) rolls into a blender or food processor. Process until the rolls become fine crumbs. For drier crumbs, either let the rolls dry overnight before processing. Season according to your tastes/recipe and use in any recipe to replace traditional bread crumbs. When used as breading, this tastes like flour breading (not actual bread crumbs).
Total Grams: 3.1


Diet Revolution Bread

  • 2 Tablespoons Soya Powder (if you have to buy this, here’s a non-affiliate link to what I bought: http://a.co/d/ggqvd01)
  • 1 Tablespoon water

While making the Diet Revolution Rolls above, mix these ingredients in with the yolk/cottage cheese mixture. Let this sit for 15-20 minutes. This allows the soya powder to re-hydrate (and not become hard rocks in the bread).  Proceed with the rest of the recipe above.
Originally from the Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution (1972), pages 225-227.

Scrambled Eggs with Spicy Ham

I am adding the 7 day menu from the Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution (1972) book to the About 1972 Atkins page. In doing so, there are dishes listed that I have not posted to my blog (until today). Get ready for some posting craziness! 🙂


Scrambled Eggs with Spicy Ham
Serves 2
4 thin slices boiled ham
Mustard sauce
2 Tablespoons butter
4 eggs
Salt
Pepper
1 Tablespoon heavy cream
Cut ham in half to make squares.
Spread with Mustard Sauce.
Melt butter in skillet.
Beat eggs with cream, salt, and pepper and scramble in the butter until lightly cooked.
Spoon out some scrambled egg in center of each square, roll up, fasten with toothpicks, and serve hot.
Total Grams 4.0
Grams Per Serving 2.0
From the Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution (1972)

Broccoli Cheese Waffles – My Attempt

I know I reblogged this recipe just a few days ago but I had to try making it NOW.  Well, I originally made this video for a small group of friends (that’s why the quality of the camera work is lacking) but thought I would share my experience with all of you.  I will make these again but like Shannon did!


Here’s the recipe:
http://theprimitivepalate.com/2015/02/23/broccoli-cheese-waffles/
Ingredients:
1 head of fresh broccoli (you will only need 1 cup processed)
1 cup mozzarella shredded cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
2 whole eggs
2 tablespoons Mrs. Dash Spice (I like garlic & herb)
2-3 tablespoons fresh chives
2-3 tablespoons fresh parsley
And here’s what Shannon (mydiabetesandme) came up with:
https://mydiabetesandme.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/school-is-closed-again-tomorrow-but-tacos-make-life-worth-living/

Egg Fast (from I Breathe … I'm Hungry)

So, this week Melissa from I Breathe … I’m Hungry has been on an egg fast and I’ve read every single one of her posts.  I was curious how she would be able to do it without getting so sick of eggs (I do and I don’t eat nearly enough to survive JUST on eggs for even one day).  Some of the recipes she came up with are PERFECT for a keto diet (High fat, low carb, moderate protein) and anyone on Atkins who is trying to work up something different to add to their menu.
So, here are her posts from this week:
Basic explanation of her egg fast.
AND recipes:


Buffalo Omelette (Low Carb)

For the filling:
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp blue cheese
1.5 tsp hot sauce
For the omelette:
3 eggs
1 tbsp water
2 Tbsp butter

Salted Caramel Custard (Low Carb)
For the custard:
2 eggs
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup water
1.5 Tbsp granulated sugar substitute (splenda, ideal, swerve, etc.)
1.5 tsp caramel extract
For the caramel sauce:
2 Tbsp salted butter
2 Tbsp granulated sugar substitute
1/4 tsp (or to taste) caramel extract

Easy Deviled Eggs (Low Carb)
6 eggs
1/3 cup sugar free mayonnaise
1 Tbsp green tobasco
1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Snickerdoodle Crepes (Low Carb)
For the crepes:
6 eggs
5 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp granulated sugar substitute (Splenda, Swerve, Ideal, etc.)
butter for frying
For the filling:
8 Tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar substitute
1 Tbsp (or more) cinnamon


Fettuccini Alfredo (Low Carb)

For the pasta:
2 eggs
1 oz cream cheese
pinch of salt
pinch of garlic powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
For the sauce:
1 oz Mascarpone cheese
1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp butter

Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Muffins AND Recipe Rant

First the rant, then the link and ingredients. I get most of the recipes I share via email (various blogs and groups). I typically set them aside until I have the time to post them here. Most do not include a link to the recipe (which can be frustrating but I usually find the recipe pretty quickly). I’m a stickler for giving credit where credit is due. I feel if some not only spent the time but the money on developing a recipe they enjoy enough to share, they should be given proper credit. So, the first recipe I wanted to share was a Lemon Poppy Muffin. I had no idea there would be SO many variations! So, I clicked on Images, thinking it would be easier to find that way. Well, I found the image … to the WRONG RECIPE! In other words, whoever posted this low carb recipe STOLE the photo from another website. How pathetic is that? If you don’t have a camera, do not post a picture stolen from another site, especially when the picture is of a non-low-carb version of your recipe. Just don’t post a picture at all! OR, if you have a horrible camera, do like I do and post awful pictures! The people will get the idea.
REMINDER for those who may be new here: When I share others’ recipes, I include the title, link, and ingredients only (and occasionally their picture of the food, linked to their website). You must go to the creator’s website to read the details.
Having said that, I went on the prowl for a properly credited recipe that was similar to my emailed version. I found one even better!

http://thenakedfig.squarespace.com/recipes/2014/3/11/meyer-lemon-poppyseed-muffins

Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
3 tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
3 tbsp coconut oil (or butter)
1/3 cup honey (vegans use agave or other liquid sweetener) (sugar substitute of your choice)
1/2 vanilla bean scraped (or tsp vanilla extract)
juice and zest of 1 meyer lemon
juice and zest of 1 regular lemon
1 egg, lightly beaten (vegans omit)
1 meyer lemon, sliced thinly and then cut into half-moons for topping (optional)