onions, garlic, and butter
hot dogs (Hebrew National)
heat up sauerkraut
super quick supper
Hey, it’s not gourmet, but it will keep you out of the drive-thru.
This article was first published on January 2, 2015 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.
We ate too much of the wrong foods over the holidays, and now it’s time to get back on track.
Having the right foods in the house help tremendously to stay on track of eating real food.
fresh parsley, thyme, and basil
green onion, avocado, onion, limes, lemon, mushrooms, garlic, and green beans
eggs and fresh mozzarella
all beef franks, roast, steaks (on sale), and frozen chicken breasts
This article was first published on January 2, 2015 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.
I have an easy roast going in the crock pot for some warm comfort style food. Easy roast is placing a bed of chopped onion in the bottom of the crockpot, placing the roast on the onions, and then salt and pepper. I cook it on high for an hour or two and then turn it down to low to cook all day.
Then to add some brightness and fresh herbs to the day, I will marinate some fresh mozzarella balls. Plus, one of the kids asked very nicely at the store yesterday for fresh mozzarella to marinate.
This article was first published on December 30, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.
About this time of year many are looking to the new year and perhaps some changes they want to make. By looking at marketing and sales that roll around every January, I would guess those changes include weight loss and exercise.
My recommendation is fix your diet first, then add your exercise. I am not suggesting being a couch potato, but put off the serious stuff for later.
To jump start your weight loss and break any sugar/carb addiction, start with the Atkins two week induction
After two weeks move to a LCHF (low carb high fat) diet as described by Andreas Eenfeldt, MD.
Happy New Year!
This article was first published on December 26, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.
Fried eggs over chili and cheese
Workability is key to any changes in dietary patterns. If you can’t keep up with it or stick to it because it is too difficult, it won’t work.
One way to help make things easy is to take part of one day a week and cook. Use a couple of hours worth of time to make things like chili, roast, or just cook a large quantity of meat seasoned with only salt and pepper. We refer to these as planned-overs.
Planned-overs allow variety and quick meals. The chili above has been eaten alone, in a salad and this morning tasted great with some cheddar cheese and a couple of fried eggs.
The good thing about planned-overs is the base food can be something that requires time to cook but most of it can be unattended, e.g. chili simmers in a pot, roast… well, it roasts. It does require some time but not a huge amount and the payoffs are worth it.
This article was first published on December 23, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.
So we picked up a bag of parsnips at the store yesterday. I’ve heard of them and found where they are considered low-carb. They’re not exceptionally low-carb so if you’re working towards or trying to stay in a ketogenic state then you should probably consider skipping them.
I’ve never had these strange vegetables that look like a malformed, white carrot.
I sliced the top off of them and inhaled their aroma. The flesh of the parsnip smells like a combination of carrot, ginger, and some sort of citrus. I also noticed how light they seemed to be for their size. Their similarity to carrots and the fact that they belong in the same family made me expect they’d weigh about the same. Not so. They are much lighter, less dense, than their carrot cousins.
I peeled them, sliced them, and dropped them into a pot of hot oil. They fried up nicely into chips. Just make sure you don’t walk away while their cooking. This site points out the quickness with which they will go from soggy white yuckiness to burnt, black nasty in a few seconds. Tis true. While none of them made it to the burned stage, they are the only thing I’ve dropped into hot oil that you can literally watch the color change on. Pull them out before it’s too late and you end up with a batch of nice, browned chips.
I cut the thinner ends of them into fries after slicing off thin bits for chips. My opinion? Don’t go with fries with a parsnip. When the outside is perfect, the fibrous inside is still a it too uncooked for my taste. I imagine it’d be the same for most people.
I tried a couple of other experiments with them. I whipped them into something was an attempt at mashed potatoes. So uh…. that didn’t work out quite right.
It was good enough but even better, it gave me a great idea after the wonderful wife tasted them.
The other bit that they can do was so excellent my brother-in-law, who happened to drop by, declared what he tasted to be amazing. When it’s perfected I’ll post an actual recipe here.
Merry Christmas!
This article was first published on December 7, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.
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I tried something completely new this past weekend. I made sausage.
I initially intended only to put three heads of garlic through the grinder attachment of the KitchenAid. While I had it out I thought, I might as well grind up the pork shoulder roast my lovely wife picked up for me. It occurred to me that I was more than halfway through with making sausage. Something I’d been wanting to try. So off we went.
Once all the spices were decided on, I started dumping them in with the ground pork already in the mixing bowl.
The hog casings were not as gross to handle as I thought they would be. Even the little man got in on the action. He was enjoying keeping the casing straight until he asked, “What is this stuff anyway, Dad?” Strangely, he lost most of his interest in helping about that time.
As they came out I twisted them into a few different lengths. I figured I’d cook a few individually then later smoke a few lengths.
That evening when it was time to eat, I cut one of the shorter ones off and tossed it in a pan with some sliced onion. I’m fairly certain my wife would have been quite justified in questioning my sanity shortly after. Not many mid-forties men go running into the living room yelling, “Look, it’s a sausage!”
I did.
It tasted good and had zero sugar or chemicals.
This article was first published on November 19, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.
Heat one block of cream cheese (half of a box of cream cheese works fine, too) with half a stick of butter (decrease the butter if using less cream cheese) and a little cream
add garlic powder, dried parsley, and salt to taste
whisk until smooth and hot
whisk in a handful of grated parmesan
yummy on veggies and/or meat
no noodles necessary
This article was first published on November 17, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.
One of the most frequently cited reasons for not eating healthier is “I can’t afford it.” That ranks right up there with not having the time or the know-how. I understand all of those. There is no magic formula to address them either. They can be overcome with a little effort and dedication if you are willing.
But today, once again, I’m talking about affordability. Affordability doesn’t always line-up with ease. For one thing, the USDA recognizes that “produce prices tend to be more volatile” than prices for staple foods. I think this statement can extend beyond produce to any fresh food. Prices for food free of stabilizers, preservatives and other chemicals has a reduced shelf life and is effected more by seasonality. This reduced shelf life translates into lost profit for retailers if the product isn’t sold and with a little effort, you can turn this to your advantage. For instance…
This package containing two tuna steaks was in the local markets sale area. If your on a tight budget, the slightly more than 40% reduction in price can move fresh tuna steaks from the realm of a special evening meal that needs planning to, “Hey, how about this for dinner?”
The steaks in this particular package found their way into a grill-pan. Prior to that, they were briefly soaked in a whisked together mix of:
I spooned it over them while they were cooking in the pan.
Cooked for a little less than a minute on each side they were then put on a plate to rest.
I followed up with a little of the oil mixture above that had been set aside and a tiny bit of wasabi paste.
End result, a delicious, affordable tuna steak for about half of what you would expect it to cost.
When relying on cost-savers to eat healthy, you do have to put forth a little more effort to ensure you are still getting a quality product. I would recommend that you shy away from reduced-price meat that has been highly seasoned if you can avoid it. Firstly, there have been cases where grocers were accused of using lots of seasoning to hide meats that were about to go bad. Second, you can’t be sure what that seasoning contains and one goal of healthy eating is to get more control over what goes into your body. If you shop at a reputable grocer you should have no issues.
Concerned over cost saver meats/poultry/seafood? Read more:
This article was first published on October 19, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.
Need a quick, affordable breakfast? Try this one on for size. A word of caution, you better be hungry.
Slice up a couple of jalapeño peppers, half an onion, and toss them into a skillet with some butter to sauté. While that’s going on, I cracked two eggs into a bowl and beat them well. I prefer to add about a tablespoon of heavy cream to my eggs, but that is not necessary.
Next, pour your eggs into the skillet. Grate some cheese of your choice, I used a mix of Colby Jack & Pepper Jack. Put a bit of the cheese into the eggs and set the rest aside. Give the eggs a quick stir.
The little wife picked up a package of chicken at the store pretty cheap. OK, real cheap. I took one of those that was already cooked, diced it up, and in it went. The whole thing took about twenty minutes and cost less than the price of a fast food breakfast. It tasted better too.
This article was first published on October 14, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.