Bacon & Gouda Waffles

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I started using a FitBit in January to start helping me to be more accountable for my health.  And so far, it’s my little miracle machine, and I’ve lost 15 lbs so far this year!. I wear it everywhere and check it throughout the day, making sure I’m hitting my goals for steps, miles, calories burned, etc.  I’ve also been *pretty* good about logging my calories, and the Food Journal shows you the ratio of Fat to Carbs to Protein in your summary:

So this breakdown lead me to wonder:  What’s the ideal ratio for each of these categories?  My research all seemed to point towards the 40/30/30 ratio: 40% Carbs, 30% fat, & 30% protein.  But I’m a carb-fiend, so I’ve been finding it difficult to hit that mark each day. I almost ALWAYS end up high on the carb side. 
Then I thought—if I can find recipes or meal ideas that focus on this 40/30/30 ratio, then it should be a lot easier to hit that target.  I spent a few minutes searching for “40/30/30” on Pinterest (NOTE: this is NOT a helpful search—the search function pulls these numbers individually, so you get results like “40 recipes that cook in under 30 minutes!” and “Bake the 40 shrimp at 350F for 30 minutes”), then went over to Google.  Where I learned that the “40/30/30” ratio is also referred to as The Zone Diet (just goes to show how out of the dieting loop I am).  And fortunately, the Zone Diet people are nice enough to have a full database of recipes on their website—for free!
I pinned a few recipes that sounded tasty, including one for “Bed & Breakfast Waffles” that included Chicken Sausage in the ingredient list.  I thought, “ooh, savory waffles!  That sounds fun!”  I talked up these savory waffles to the Hubs & he was on board.  But then…I actually read the directions, and it just said to make the sausage & serve it on the side.  BORING.
So…I took the base for the waffle batter, and then decided to add some bacon into the waffles (since we didn’t actually HAVE any sausage to try to integrate into it)…and then…I saw the block of smoked gouda. 

INGREDIENTS: (makes two servings)
1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese
2 large eggs
1.5 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp agave syrup
2 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled
1/2 cup shredded gouda
DIRECTIONS:
Combine all of the wet ingredients and blend until smooth(ish).  Then add in the dry ingredients, and finally the bacon & gouda & mix well.
Heat your waffle iron & spray both plates with olive oil.  Then spoon about 1/2 cup of batter into the waffle iron and cook until crisp & golden (on my Cuisinart iron, I use the “4” or “5” setting).
Serve topped with fresh fruit & drizzle with real maple syrup.  These things were SERIOUSLY good, guys.  The salt & savory-ness from the bacon & cheese balanced perfectly with the syrup & slightly sweet cake.  And the use of eggs & cottage cheese in the batter helps boost the protein level in this normally carb-rich dish.

NUTRIFACTS:
Calories: 335
Fat: 18g
Fiber: 2.6g
Carbs: 21g
Sodium: 400mg
Protein: 20.2g

Daniel Fast Day 12: Fasting & Valentine’s Day!

Today’s Devotion: “Let God Arise- Psalms 68:1 ‘Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.’

It is day number 12 in our fast & 12 is the number of perfect government. To be governed perfectly means that the King is sitting upon the throne of our hearts ruling & reigning in our lives. That is a picture of his kingdom. I believe this is what this verse in Psalms is referring to when it declares, “Let God Arise”. Whenever we become complacent in the things of the Lord seems to be the times most of the attacks of the enemy come against us.  Not as though the Lord has left us or anything like that, but it represents times when we put Him out of mind & begin to do our own thing. But the answer is simple, ‘Let God Arise.’ We can avoid the heartache most of us deal with if we will remember this simple truth.”

Well, Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!  The day where we celebrate a man who was martyred for marrying Christians with champagne, flowers and boxes of chocolates.  Completely logical, right?

Well, with the Daniel Fast, we can only celebrate with one of those things.

(Thanks for the flowers, Bishop Valentinus.)

So, are we stuck at home munching on celery & carrot sticks?

NOPE.  Well…okay, we are eating at home, but definitely not rabbit food!

(Unless rabbits also eat fungus & tubers. In which case…erm…well…sorta.)

Breakfast:  ½ whole wheat flatbread w/PB & pumpkin pie spice

Lunch: Leftover salsa rice.

Valentine’s Dinner:  Garlic Rosemary mashed potatoes, balsamic grilled mushrooms & onions, and steamed peas.

That’s right…tonight’s dinner actually doesn’t have any “real” protein, because we’re kinda burnt out on beans.  So I used my favorite marinade to make us some meaty mushrooms and comforting mashed ‘taters.

INGREDIENTS: (serves 2)

Potatoes -

• 2-3 large russets, peeled & cubed
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon (if it has no actual chicken product in it)
• 1/2-2/3 cup almond milk
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• salt & pepper to taste

Mushrooms & Onions-

• 8 oz fresh portabellas, wiped but not washed
• ½ onion, sliced into thin rings
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• ½ tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

For the Mushrooms—place the oil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, salt & pepper to a large Ziploc and mix well.  Then add the mushrooms and marinate for about 30 minutes.

Boil potatoes with the chicken bouillon, minced garlic & rosemary to help infuse those flavors into the potatoes.  When the potatoes are tender, drain the water and add coconut oil and milk and puree until creamy.  Add more garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste.

While your potatoes are boiling, heat a large skillet over medium heat, spritz lightly with olive oil, and then add your mushrooms & the sliced onions.  Sauté until tender and the onions are caramelized.  You can add a bit of water if the marinade starts to render down too much.

And for Dessert?  More fake ice cream!

(1 ripe banana, mashed, 1.5 tbsp peanut butter, 2 tsp unsweet cocoa powder, 4 dashes cinnamon: blend together & freeze)

Garnish with some fresh fruit (used a cookie cutter to make the shapes).

As for gifts: I pulled another “Crafts in the Office” & made The Hubs a little wall hanging from one of our favorite photos.

Supplies:

• 5” wooden plaque (Hobby Lobby)
• Wood Stain or Paint
• Modge Podge
• Photo, trimmed to fit
• Any lettering/decorations you want to use
• Ribbon
• Two thumbtacks & some Scotch tape

This was a super quick little craft. I had the photo printed at 5x7 so that I could trim it to fit, and then went through a recent mag and picked out some letters to decorate with.  This seemed appropriate. :)

Backstory: This is from a trip to San Fransisco.  We missed the last Alcatraz tour (which you can barely see in the background).

I stained the edges of the wood that would be visible, and then set it aside to dry.  Then I applied Modge Podge to the wood, attached my photo, and then sorta “squeegeed” the photo to get the excess glue out.  Then let it dry.  Once dry, I added the letters, and Modge Podge’d over the whole thing, let it dry again, and used some sand paper to buff any edges of the photo so that it would be flush with the plaque.

I taped the ends of the ribbon so they wouldn’t fray & used the tacks to connect to the back.

Ta-Da!

Oh, and I also ordered The Hubs some personalized beer bottle labels, since he’ll be bottling up his first batch of home brew over the weekend!

And for me?  Well… you know… I don’t ask for much… and yet, The Hubs takes quite good care of me.  Love you to the moon & back, sweetie!

Greek Yogurt Crème Brulee

In 2005, I fell in love.  I was young, it was Paris!  How could I not?

Wait…no.  It was London.  And I was in a French restaurant.  But anyway…

I’d be lying if I said I remembered the name of the place.  All I know is it was near Harrod’s.  We were famished and dashed into the first non-British food establishment we could find (having already gotten our “fill” of London “cuisine” the night before).  I ordered a Caesar Salad (that came topped with peppadews—sweet Heaven!) and decided to branch out & try my very first crème brulee. 

H.E.A.V.E.N. 

Still warm, it had a layer of raspberry sauce at the bottom, and a fresh raspberry on top.  Since that time, I’ve devoured nearly every crème brulee I come across.  They’re irresistible!  The crisp crack as you break through the sugar coating, the silky smooth custard that just melts away like butter…

…and that slight feeling of guilt after the indulgent bliss wears off because you just ate like, 600 calories.  Maybe only 300 if you shared with a friend.

Because, let’s be honest… it’s sugar, heavy cream, eggs, and more sugar.  Not exactly good for you.

But….but…but I got a kitchen torch for Christmas!  I NEED to make crème brulee!!!

No worries… We can make a light version…with Greek Yogurt!  And you can eat the ENTIRE THING for only 300 calories!

Ingredients: (makes two large servings, or 4 small ones)

• Two 6 oz containers nonfat plain Greek yogurt  (alternately, you could use vanilla & omit the vanilla extract & add less sugar)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F.

Combine all of the ingredients (except the sugar for the topping) in a food processor or mixer and beat until smooth.  Then transfer into ramekins.  Place the ramekins in a roasting pan and then add hot water to the pan (being careful not to get any water into the ramekins) until the water comes halfway up the side of the ramekins. 

Carefully place the pan into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes for large (8oz) servings, or 25-30 minutes for small (4 oz) ramekins…once the center shakes like Jello, they’re done.  Remove from the oven & let chill in the fridge for 2 hours (this is the hardest part…the waiting.)

Now…the fun stuff.  Get out your kitchen torch: (if you don’t have one, you can set your oven to Broil & just watch veerrrry carefully so they don’t burn…but I think it’s more fun to play with fire.) NOTE: If you don’t want to shell out big bucks for an official “kitchen torch”, get a $3 pencil torch from the nearest hardware store.  Works just fine.

 

Put 1/2 tbsp of sugar on each ramekin, and then FIRE!!!!

 

Let cool for a couple minutes, then serve!

See?  See that layer of sugary delicious glass?  That’s my favorite part.  This is a REALLY tasty recipe…the cinnamon & orange really balance out the bitterness of the Greek yogurt.

I’ve seen a couple other recipes that suggest making a light strawberry sauce (just smashed strawberries boiled down a bit), pour that into the bottom of the ramekin, cover with vanilla Greek yogurt, and then do the sugar coating, leaving the eggs out all together.  I plan on trying that version next!

 

NutriFacts:

Calories 310.3

  Total Fat 4.5 g

  Saturated Fat 1.6 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.7 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 1.9 g

  Cholesterol 184.0 mg

  Sodium 78.1 mg

  Potassium 29.0 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 49.8 g

  Dietary Fiber 0.0 g

  Sugars 49.3 g

  Protein 17.9 g

Chicken, Kale, & Quinoa Soup

So last week I got a notice from my local blood bank that they were in dire need of O- blood, which happens to be my type.  So I went in to donate—but got turned away because my iron levels were too low.  I was SO bummed, even though they told my I can come back in two weeks to try again.  But I don’t want to get turned away again, so I’ve been ramping up my iron-rich foods.

This soup was one of the inventions I threw together to try to help.  Like, literally, “what do I have in my fridge to throw in a pot?”  And I was SO happy with the way it turned out.

Quinoa is a very iron-rich foods; one cup of quinoa contains about 37% of your recommended allotment.  Kale is also a good source, with about 1mg per serving,but it’s also got a TON of Vitamin C, which helps your body to absorb iron.   And chicken doesn’t hurt—there’s about 2mg of iron in a 3.5 oz serving. 

Even though it was just a mish-mash of things thrown together, I will definitely be making this again….it was delicious and filling, and only 265 calories for a big (2.5 cup) serving!

My husband noted that it “smelled & looked healthy”, but “tastes much better than it smells”.  The seasonings and the bacon really add a ton of flavor to the veggies.

INGREDIENTS:

6 cups water

4 bouillon cubes

1 chicken breasts, boneless / skinless

1/2 tsp chicken seasoning (equal parts onion powder, garlic salt, & paprika)

Olive oil mister

1/2 onion, diced

1 zucchini, cubed

2 cups kale, chopped

3/4 cup quinoa

1 tbsp bacon crumbles

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp Cajun seasoning

1 tsp dried basil

salt & pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Lightly spritz a pan with olive oil & heat over medium.  Add onions, season with S&P, and sauté until translucent.

Meanwhile, add the water & bouillon to a large pot & heat on High. Add the kale, zucchini, quinoa, bacon, garlic, & seasonings….bring to a rapid boil then cover & cook for 15-20 minutes.  Add the onions when they’re done.

In the same pan, sauté the chicken breasts & season on both sides with the chicken seasoning.  Once fully cooked, cube the chicken & add it to the pot as well.  Taste as you go, and add more seasoning to your particular preference.

The soup is done when the quinoa is fully cooked.  Makes 4-6 servings.

 

(PS—The Scoop is finally closed for the winter, so I hope to be posting a lot more over the next few months!  I lovelovelove holiday cooking!!!)

 

NUTRIFACTS:

Calories 265.7

  Total Fat 5.7 g

  Saturated Fat 1.0 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.7 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 1.5 g

  Cholesterol 59.5 mg

  Sodium 1,306.8 mg

  Potassium 497.3 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 26.3 g

  Dietary Fiber 4.1 g

  Sugars 4.5 g

  Protein 27.2 g

  Vitamin A 158.1 %

  Vitamin B-12 6.0 %

  Vitamin B-6 33.5 %

  Vitamin C 44.4 %

  Iron 20.2 %