Sunday, November 15, 2009

Saturday brunch, Sunday dinner

Mark Bittman move aside, there is a new star/obsession: Deb over at smitten kitchen. Yes, I know that I (and so many others) have been singing her praises for a long time now- but mostly that was for baked items. Today, I am singing about eggs.

In tomato sauce.
Served over fresh toast.
And a side of kale.
And bacon.


Can you think of a better brunch? Me neither.
*TE wants me to give credit here to our dear friend Dave, who made a similar huevos rancheros breakfast for us this summer and inspired our brunch theme this weekend
**Also, this is not a "Liz-size" serving. A "Liz-size" serving would be: one piece of toast, one egg with sauce, 2 slices of bacon and a 1/2c of sauteed kale.

Oh, and I am also singing about sweet potato gratin.


I will admit, I was not sure about gratin. Is it a side dish? A main dish? A brunch dish? A dinner dish? I am no more clear about when to serve gratin, but if they are all as tasty as this one, I will continue to make them for any occasion (I ate it tonight as a side dish for dinner).

Now, you do spend a lot of time prepping the Swiss chard, but trust me- it is worth it! The contrast between the bite of the chard and the sweet potatoes is divine. And the Gruyere cheese. I had to stop myself from eating an entire ounce while I was grating it... so good.

I did use a few of my calorie saving tricks to lighten up the recipes (a bit):

For the poached eggs:
No cheese needed
For the gratin:
Cooked onions and chard in 1tsp butter and chicken broth as needed
Used whole milk instead of heavy cream (maybe next time I will try 1% or 2%)

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Friday, November 13, 2009

Snacking Tips

I am a snacker and I like to eat often.

I usually get stuck eating the same things all the time: Fiber One granola bars/Lara bars, fiberful fruit leathers, 100-calorie popcorn bags, yogurt and granola/cereal... You get the idea.

I also get bored with food, so my latest helpful diet tips will relate to snack ideas!
Complete with calorie information:

  1. Medium apple and 1T peanut butter- 170cal
  2. 10 baby carrots, 4T Sabra hummus- 140cal
  3. Red Pepper slices (1/2 of medium pepper), 4T baba ghanoush- 115cal
  4. Hard boiled egg- 80cal
  5. Kashi crackers and Laughing cow wedge cheese- 165cal
  6. 15 grapes, light string cheese- 105cal
  7. Stacy's pita chips (my favorite) with salsa/dip (150-200cal)

Want more ideas?
Hungry Girl lists their favorite snacks. I am a fan of some of these...

Do you have a favorite healthy snack?

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Savory Muffins

So I realized when I was looking through my blog recipes- I do not have many meals/foods I can just go to for an easy, tasty, diet-friendly recommendation. I have a binder full of my go-to meals so I decided to recapture them here. Also look for new tags on old posts for easy perusing :)

This post will be dedicated to a recipe for Savory Breakfast Muffins. First I made these as instructed... Photo courtesy of Eating Well... My muffins do look pretty similar to these photos!


Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole-wheat flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/3 cups buttermilk
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup thinly sliced scallions, (about 1 bunch)
  • 3/4 cup diced Canadian bacon, (3 ounces)
  • 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
  2. Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, pepper and salt in a large bowl.
  3. Whisk eggs, buttermilk, oil and butter in a medium bowl. Fold in scallions, bacon, cheese and bell pepper. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until just moistened. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan (the cups will be very full).
  4. Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges and turn the muffins out onto a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.
Nutrition:
Per muffin: 217 calories; 9 g fat (3 g sat, 4 g mono); 50 mg cholesterol; 24 g carbohydrates; 9 g protein; 3 g fiber; 339 mg sodium; 113 mg potassium.

The end result was, eh. They were fine. Very strong pepper flavor, not much cheese flavor. And maybe a little dry.

The second time was also good, less fiber than the original- but these will be the ones I will make again.

Liz's Savory Breakfast Muffins

2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix, made as directed
1 bunch of chopped scallions
1/2c chopped red pepper
30z Canadian Bacon

Mix, Bake, Enjoy!

Easy!!

Calorie information is similar, if not less, than the original.
And the muffin is much more moist and enjoyable!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Long time, no post

Wow, I actually had a whole month with no posts. And September was not too stellar either.

So what has been going on with me?! Who even knows...

Stress. I blame the stress.

I have not wanted to think about anything. I have not been cooking (baking- yes! cooking- no!) or planning or anything that this blog is dedicated to...

But slowly I am getting back into it. I had a day last week where I made 6-servings of pasta and meat sauce for lunches/dinners and egg white crustless quiches for breakfasts. Then I had a week where I made 2 smitten kitchen cakes. Spurts. I work in spurts. But it is coming back to me. Healthy, balanced eating. Not just eating for calories.

And soon I will be back with insightful blog posts that will help me get through this, through future rough patches, and through my future post-CALERIE. Oy. Only 3 months left. Where did it go? Wasn't it August not too long ago?

Thanks for sticking with me!