What goes around, comes around

Isn’t life interesting?

It is almost a year ago that I posted last to this blog. I got tired of eating eggs and (to be honest) I still believed that eating fat was going to make me sick and kill me.

So, what have I been up to you may ask? Well, April 5th of last year I went raw vegan!

Yes, I gave up coffee, sugar, all dairy, all meats, all processed foods, processed carbs, chocolate, fats/oils, nuts and eggs.

What did I eat then? Fruits and vegetables and nothing else. I juiced fruits a lot, I drank a lot of smoothies, I ate salads with no dressing and I felt crappy. I learned how to make raw mashed potatoes with cauliflower, I made “pasta” with zucchini noodles, and all of the tricks to trick one into eating a high raw, vegan, no fat diet and not miss regular food.

HA!

I didn’t lose any weight. I didn’t have boundless energy. I lasted 6 months and then I had to eat something cooked, potatoes or rice or something warm! I was going to go nuts if I ate one more banana or drank one more date smoothie.  I just felt worse and drained of energy and I felt cranky pretty much of the time, not to mention feeling socially isolated.

Once the gates were re-opened, more and more cooked food found its way into my daily meals until raw fresh fruits and veggies were an afterthought.

So, after much thought and soul searching, I have resolved to eat fat again, but I plan on staying vegetarian. I will be following a modified LCHF way of eating that is quite popular in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries, eggs, cheese and some dairy will make up the fat/protein portions of my meals, coconut oil, olive oil and raw nuts will round out the rest, but I won’t make the mistake of not eating vegetables and salads this time around.

What’s for supper tonight? (recipe)

Asparagus stuffed omelet with smoked salmon and gouda.

Whisk 2 eggs with cream.

Pour into 2 tbsp melted butter over medium heat  in a frying pan 

When eggs begin to set, layer smoked salmon slices (I used 3) and asparagus (I used 8 stalks cut in half (pre steamed)), sprinkle about 1/4 cup loosely packed shredded cheese (I used Gouda), fold over and lower heat and cover. Leave for a few minutes until cheese melts. I garnished with half an avocado.

Eat!

No egg cup for you Layered egg and broccoli casserole – recipe

Just in case I was getting to be known as the egg cup lady, I thought I would offer something different, however, this recipe could be made into egg cups if you were so inclined.

Ingredients:   

12 eggs
1/4 cup cream
2 cups chopped broccoli
1/2 cup onions
1/2 cup chopped, sliced or shredded mushrooms
1/4 coconut oil ( I used aroma free – you could butter, olive oil, bacon fat or lard)
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 cup shredded cheese (loosely packed)
Himalayan sea salt (a couple of twists)
rectangle baking dish
cooking spray

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Whisk together eggs and cream.
Add herbs and mix well.
Sautee onions and mushrooms in your oil of choice. When onions are translucent,
Add half of the egg mixture and reduce to low (3-4) and stir constantly until eggs mixture thickens slightly.
Pour the thickened eggs mixture into a greased baking casserole dish.
Sprinkle the broccoli on top of mixture and add cheese on top of broccoli.
Pour remaining egg mixture over the broccoli/egg mixture and bake in oven for 25 minutes (check at 15 minues and every 5 minutes as ovens vary).
When the middle of the egg casserole is lightly set (no more jiggling), turn off oven and leave in oven for another 10 minutes.

Eat!

*to turn this into egg cups, let the sauteed onions and mushrooms cool before mixing into the egg mixture. Stir all ingredients together including cheese, pour into greased muffin wells and sprinkle a little extra cheese on top. Bake for 15 minutes in 350F oven. Turn oven off and leave in oven for another 10 minutes to allow eggs to set without over baking them.

Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche But They Do Eat Egg Cups (recipe)

It’s safe to assume that my egg cup recipes are actually little quiches made without flour, hence baking them in a muffin tin.

—————————————————-
Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche, by American Bruce Feirstein, is a bestselling tongue-in-cheek book satirizing stereotypes of masculinity, published in 1982 (ISBN 0-671-44831-5). It popularized the term quiche-eater, meaning a man who is a dilettante, a trend-chaser, an over-anxious conformist to fashionable forms of ‘lifestyle’, and socially correct behaviors and opinions, one who eschews (or merely lacks) the traditional masculine virtue of tough self-assurance. A ‘traditional’ male might enjoy egg-and-bacon pie if his wife served it to him; a quiche-eater, or Sensitive New Age Guy would make the dish himself, call it by its French name quiche, and serve it to his female life partner to demonstrate his empathy with the Women’s Movement. He would also wash up afterwards.

The book’s humor derives from the fears and confusion of contemporary middle-class men about how they ought to behave, after a decade of feminist critique on traditional male roles and beliefs.
—————————————————–

So, to call a spade a spade, here is a recipe for mini quiches that men will make, eat and serve to their life partners and then clean up afterwards.

Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche But They Do Eat Egg Cups

Preheat oven to 350F.

Crab egg cup

Ingredients

12 eggs
1/4 cup cream
1 can crab meat (I used chunky style), drained
1/2 cup loosely packed shredded cheese (I used gruyere)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
sea salt (pink Himalayan salt) to taste
ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup each chopped onion, green peppers and mushrooms sauteed in 2 tbsp butter
a large pinch of marjoram

Method

Whisk eggs and cream. Add dijon mustard, cheese, salt and pepper.
Add the contents of the strained crab meat, mix well.
Add sauteed onions, peppers and mushrooms.
Grease your muffin tin. Using a measuring cup (I use a 1/3 cup) pour egg mixture into each well.
Bake for 18 minutes, turn oven off and keep them in oven for another three minutes.

Eat!

It’s safe to say the egg cups are now my most favourite thing like raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. They fit perfectly in those 8 oz snack sized containers from Ziplock and each one is one serving of egg.

What’s for brunch today?

A slice of upside down spinach egg pie, a slab of feta cheese and a glass of unsweetened natural almond milk.

Delish!

What’s for dinner tonight?

I whipped up two eggs with a couple tbsp of cream.

Cooked my omelet in coconut oil, added some steamed asparagus spears and added 1/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese.

Folded that baby over and voila!

Greek egg cups (recipe)

If you like olives, feta and sun-dried tomatoes, this’ll hit the spot.

Ingredients

12 eggs
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup crumbled feta
6 sun-dried tomatoe halves, sliced into strips (sulphur free)
1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives
1 tsp Greek seasoning
muffin tin
cooking spray

Method

Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix eggs, cream, feta, sliced up sun-dried tomatoes and Greek seasoning.
Spray the muffin tin well.
Divide the egg mixture into the 12 wells (I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup and it does the trick).
Bake for 15 minutes. Turn oven off and let the heat continue to cook the egg cups for 10 minutes. I found this produces a moist firm egg cup.

Option: serve with a chunk of feta.

Poached eggs (curry style) – recipe

Curry? With eggs? Interesting…

Give it a go, you never know.

Serves two.

Ingredients

4 eggs (*use the freshest you have,  more on why)

2 egg serving

1 1/2 tsp coriander
1 1/2 tsp curry powder (your choice of strength)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp salt (use pink sea salt aka Himalayan sea salt)
1/4 tsp ground  pepper
water

Method

Fill a medium saucepan with about 3 inches of water.
Add the spices and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to simmer.
Break the cold egg, one at a time into a small bowl (if yolk didn’t break, pour egg slowly into the simmering water.
Cook in the simmering water 3-5 minutes.
Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon. Rest the  spoon on a paper towel to remove some of the excess water and plate them.

*Use fresh eggs as they will keep they oval shape better.
Do not allow the eggs to boil, you’ll end up with a mushy mess.

Options: serve on a bed of steamed asparagus and cover in yogurt hollandaise sauce. OMG!

Or a bed of bacon braised spinach.

Just keep in mind that all of the nutritional values will increase as you add more delicious stuff to the eggs.

Did you know that 201mg is equal to 0.2g?

What’s for lunch today?

A slice of upside down spinach egg pie, a chuck of feta with a dollop of kalamata olive tapenade.

Hollondaise sauce (using yogurt) – recipe

This is a great alternative to the regular hollondaise sauce. It makes 1 cup and will be enough to  top 8 poached eggs.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
3/4 cup plain (natural) yogurt (the full fat kind) 
2 tsp sugar (I use un pasteurized honey)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest (dry zest work just as well)

Method:

In top of double boiler, whisk together all sauce ingredients.
Cook over simmering water, stirring constantly until thickened, 10 to 12 minutes.

Eat!

*options: serve over vegetables, fish/seafood and of course eggs.