Quick and Easy Slow-Carb Breakfast Ideas

Spinach Salad with Tuna and Guacamole
Doesn't get much easier than this. Buy a package of spinach or baby spinach from the produce department, get some canned or packaged tuna and put it on top of the spinach (which I like to rip up into smaller pieces), then squeeze out some pre-made guac and mix together. This breakfast salad is super simple and tasty and quick. It was my go-to breakfast while on vacation since my hotel had a mini-fridge.

Egg Whites, Kale, and Baby Portobello Mushrooms
To be honest, the kale and mushroom mix was premade the night before. I sauteed some kale and sliced baby portobello mushrooms with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and seasoning and put it in the fridge to use for other things. Then in the morning I warmed up the premade mix in a pan and added some 100% Cage Free Egg Whites from Trader Joe's. I also added a little bit of Trader Joe's Bruschetta Mix to the top for extra flavor. The key to success is preparing things ahead of time. Makes breakfast and lunch a lot easier to prepare when half the work is already done ahead of time. Enjoy!

Most of my recipes are random

Chicken, onions, celery, red bell pepper, and spinach seasoned with rosemary garlic. Woo!

Ingredients: thin-sliced chicken breasts cut up into strips, diced celery, onion, and red bell pepper, grapeseed oil, chicken stock, and rosemary and garlic seasoning.

Directions: heat grapeseed oil in pan. add onion and sautee until onions start to get clear. add celery, bell pepper, chicken, and a generous amount of rosemary garlic seasoning. add a smidge of chicken stock. when chicken looks like it is almost cooked, add spinach and turn down heat. cook until spinach is wilted. EAT IT. (I also mixed in some lentils that I had pre-made. Fun times.)

Chicken & Kale

Hello slow-carb followers! I have a few recipes to add so that Dave doesn't completely take over my blog. I also cook in a Dave-like fashion where I tend to not measure spices/herbs/seasonings and just throw them in. If it tastes like it needs more, then I add more. Depends on what you like. Don't be skurred. 

Ingredients: Thin-sliced chicken breasts, kale, frozen green beans, chicken stock, italian herbs (oregano, basil, thyme), salt, pepper, garlic powder, navy beans.

Directions: pour a bit of grapeseed oil in a pan and add chicken breasts. sear briefly on both sides. add frozen green beans and enough chicken stock to somewhat cover the chicken breasts. add italian herbs, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. once chicken stock is boiling, add kale. mash around until kale wilts.

Pea Soup

Pea Soup
If the soup is too thin at the end of step 3, continue to simmer, uncovered, until desired consistency is reached. If it is too thick, thin it with a little water. (It will thicken as it cools.)

Prep time: appx 10 minutes
Cooking time: appx 1.5 hours (although most of it consists only of occasional stirring)
Makes 6-7 servings

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped fine (about 1.5 cups)
Kosher salt
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press
7 cups water
1 ham steak (about 1 pound), skin removed, cut into quarters
4 slices thick-cut bacon (about 4 ounces), left whole
1 pound green split peas (about 2 cups), picked through and rinsed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 whole dried bay leaves
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
1 medium celery rib, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
Ground black pepper
Large pot or Dutch oven with a lid

Instructions:
1. Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. When oil starts to shimmer, add onion and ½ teaspoon salt;
cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Then add water, ham steak, bacon, peas, thyme, and bay leaves.
2. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer, stirring frequently to keep peas from sticking to bottom. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until peas are tender but not falling apart, about 45 minutes.
3. Remove ham steak, cover with foil or plastic wrap to prevent drying out, and set aside. Stir in carrots and celery; continue to simmer, covered, until vegetables are desired level of tenderness and peas have almost completely broken down, about 30 minutes longer.
4. When cool enough to handle, shred ham into small bite-size pieces with two forks. Remove and discard thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and bacon slices. Stir ham back into soup and return to simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Dijon strip steak with KALE

I am hijacking Heidi's long-unused blog to post recipes, per request of fellow dieters, and non-dieters I suppose. I don't know how to make other people contributors but if someone is interested I can look into it. Anyway, I know this diet is allegedly not supposed to be "fun" but I don't see why you can't make food that tastes good and still follows the rules. So, without further ado:

Dijon grass-fed strip steak with KALE
**GENERAL DISCLAIMER: I rarely measure anything precisely, and most of the things on here are just kind of thrown together, so unless stated otherwise, all measurements are approximate. You may find your tastes differ. I will sometimes weigh instead of measure, and make no apologies for listing ingredients in grams at my whim. Get a scale!

Prep time: appx 10 minutes
Cook time: appx 10 minutes
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
1 & 1/2 pounds grass-fed strip steak (appx 2 medium-sized steaks), trimmed & thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 T grapeseed or vegetable oil
Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste
1/2 C chicken stock
1 T fresh thyme
2 T Dijon mustard
appx 6 cups kale, chopped (I know it seems like a ton, but it cooks down a LOT)

1. Season steak with salt & pepper. Heat oil on medium-high heat in a large saute pan until it starts to shimmer. Add the steak and garlic, and saute until steak is seared on the outside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the chicken stock, thyme, and mustard. When the steak is sufficiently seared, pour the mixture over the steak & bring to a simmer for a minute or so, stirring.
2. Add the kale to the pan and cook, stirring often & mixing thoroughly, until the kale is tender (about 2 minutes or so), then remove from heat. If desired, leave liquid in pan and cook to thicken before pouring over mixture. Serve immediately.

Good thing I have a Masters in Chemical Science to fall back on...

I attempted to create the nails shown here: http://www.refinery29.com/nail-art-tricks/slideshow?page=1#slide-1, but quite clearly I didn't get the concept of "start swirling". I think I also missed the boat on the "wipe off excess" since no instructions are given on exactly HOW to do that. I didn't want to ruin either of my nail polish colors by mixing them on their respective brushes, nor did I want to ruin my Seche Vite by using it to mix the colors. I used the toothpick method. It wasn't spectacular, but it looks alright from far away. It's like a Monet....?

Things to warm you up on cool fall days

Triple Ginger Spice Woopie Pies with Cream Cheese Frosting