Ham and Swiss on a Chaffle

I really wanted this flatbread panini but it was already past lunchtime and the panini bread was going to take longer than I wanted to spend... I was hungry now! So I decided to use chaffles for my bread. If you haven't tried a chaffle for breakfast yet, you really should. Basically, an egg and half a cup of shredded mozz, whisked together and poured into a waffle iron. It is really that simple. Anyway... I wanted a sandwich! So I present to you...

Ham and Swiss on a Chaffle

Mix up one batch of chaffles (two small chaffles)
When the first chaffle comes off the waffle iron, layer a slice of swiss, then a couple pieces of deli ham, a smear of dijon mustard, and two thin slices of granny smith apple.
When the next chaffle comes off... drop in on top!

Voila!

(Also, I didn't have brie which is called for in the panini recipe linked above, so I used Swiss!)

Basic Chaffle Recipe
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Whisk the egg. Add in mozzarella and stir to combine well. Pour half the batter (just over 1/4 cup) into a hot waffle iron. Cook a couple minutes. Remove chaffle. Repeat for second chaffle.


What are you eating? Whatever it is... Keep it Clean!

#nosugar #nograins - How to Do it

Just a quick post to summarize my way of eating.  I started out "eating clean" which, for me, meant just eating food in its natural state, or close to it at least (minimally processed). Processed, pre-packaged food is my enemy, but I also know that life is real and sometimes it's hard and a lot of the time it's real hard, so I do buy some processed stuff... I just make sure it has really minimal number of ingredients and no added sugars or grains.  That means reading labels which is a total pain but once you've done it a while, you get a pretty good idea of what you can buy.

By switching to a clean eating life, I lost about 30 pounds.

About 18 months ago, I transitioned to no sugar, no grains. I had picked up a few pounds again (I had definitely strayed from my clean eating). It paid off quickly and I easily dropped the weight I'd picked up.  It's been easier to maintain this way of eating too... at least for me.  I eat fairly high protein, moderate fat (because of my age) and low carb.

Okay, I said I'd keep this brief, but I do need to tell you that planning and/or prepping meals ahead of time helps a lot!  Also having some easy go-to snacks helps, although I find I don't snack as much if I stay on course.  I try to do intermittent fasting (which just means eating only for 8 hours a day... no, not continuously) but some days that just doesn't happen.  So... typical day:

10 am Breakfast:  Buffalo Omelette
Prepare the filling. Put 2 ounces cream cheese and 1 TBSP blue cheese in a microwavable dish and heat for 30 seconds.  Stir in 1 tsp hot sauce.

Make the omelette.  Heat 1 TBSP butter in a skillet.  Whisk together 2 eggs and 1 TBSP water.  Add to skillet. Cook on medium (cook it slowly... don't let it brown). As the eggs start to firm up, add the filling to one side.  Allow to firm up a little more and then fold the other side over the filling. Cover with a lid and cook on low until cooked through.

Strawberry Shortcake!

Noon Lunch: Grilled Hamburger Salad
Grill a hamburger to desired doneness.  Place over a bed of shredded lettuce or greens of choice.  Add  a side of dill pickle slices and pickled red onion.  Garnish burger with sriracha mayo.  (Make your own by mixing 1/4 cup mayo with 1 tsp sriracha, more or less to taste.)
Dessert (not every day!): Strawberry shortcake

3 pm Snack: 2 slices manchego cheese and small handful of blueberries

5 pm Dinner:  Ranch chicken and roasted spring onions

Honestly, you can just mix this up in the way that works best for you.  The focus is on eliminating added sugar and grains.

Sometimes I only have cottage cheese for breakfast (because I like it!) if that's what I'm feeling.  I try to eat more at lunch so I don't eat as much in the evening as that works best for me.  But if I keep my protein up, I don't feel as hungry throughout the day anyway.  Don't eat treats every day, even ones with no sugar, no grains, but we all need them now and then, don't we?

For best results, follow my blog to get great recipes.  Or page back through the old ones to see what you've been missing.

So Easy Baked Beans

My mom used to make her baked beans in an earthenware crock in the oven on a low heat for hours.  They were unbelievably thick and rich!  I have come up with a quick way to replicate that flavor...

So Easy Baked Beans

3 or 4 slices bacon
1 small onion, roughly chopped

Hard to get a good pic of beans, but they taste amazing!

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup mixed frozen peppers, thawed and chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP honey
1/4 blackstrap molasses
6 oz can tomate paste
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350F

Fry bacon on stove top in dutch oven (or oven safe pot) until browned and crispy.  Remove bacon and set aside.
Sauté onion in bacon grease until tender.
Roughly chop bacon and return to pot.
Add both cans of beans and peppers to the pot.
In a small bowl, mix together the apple cider vinegar, blackstrap molasses, honey, tomate paste and water.
Pour over bean mixture and stir to mix and coat well.

Cover tightly and bake for about one hour.

Coconut Macaroons... low carb!

 I love coconut and macaroons are the perfect low carb treat.  Just a few ingredients and you have yourself a great dessert or snack!

Coconut Macaroons

Bad pics of good food!

4 egg whites
1/4 cup granulated sweetener (I prefer Lakanto monk fruit sweetener)
1/4 cup almond flour
2 cups unsweetened coconut
1 TBSP coconut oil, softened
1 TBSP vanilla

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 375F.

Beat egg whites and sweetener in stand mixer until stiff peaks form.

While that's beating, mix together almond flour, unsweetened coconut, coconut oil, and vanilla in a medium sized bowl.

Once egg whites are stiff, fold gently into almond flour mixture.

Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet.  Bake about 10-15 minutes (see notes) or until tops are golden brown.

NOTES:  I make mine a little on the small side to get more so I bake them about 10 minutes.  You can make them larger and bake them a little longer.


What are you eating today?  Whatever it is, Keep it Clean!!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers - a great make ahead recipe!

This recipe can be made with basically leftovers, if you happen to have leftover sweet potatoes (I do!) and quinoa (I do!), but you can also just start from scratch!  Seasonings and add-ins can really be pretty much whatever floats your boat but still allows it to stick together.  You could sub brown rice for quinoa, leave out the corn, use a different kind of beans (maybe pintos??)... It's a pretty forgiving recipe.

In some parts of the country, you can get Jersey gold sweet potatoes which is what I use (again... leftovers!).  But any kind will do.  I love the flavor of these burgers, but mostly I love that I can make them ahead and freeze them. They are a great quick meal when you've had a busy week!

Sweet Potato Quinoa Burgers

Ready to go in the oven!

15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups sweet potatoes, cooked, cooled, and cubed
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1 TBSP olive oil
1/3 cup almond flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp organo
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
 (Also see notes below)

Preheat oven to 375F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mash sweet potatoes in a large bowl.
Pour the drained and rinsed black beans into a small bowl and roughly mash (most should be mashed, some can be whole).
Add the black beans to the sweet potatoes.
Add remaining ingredients to the potato mixture and mix well.

Form mixture into burgers about 1/2" thick.  Place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.

NOTES: 

• Use canned (drained), frozen, or leftover corn from the cob.
• I often keep a jar of minced garlic in the fridge.  You can substitute 1-1/2 tsp minced garlic for the crushed garlic, if you like.
• Quinoa is measured after it's cooked for this recipe. 
• I like to substitute 1 TBSP "Everything but the Elote" seasoning from Trader Joe's for the cumin, oregano, chili powder, and cayenne.
• To freeze ahead, place formed uncooked burgers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Place in freezer for an hour or so or until frozen solid.  Place in freezer container and freeze until ready to use. To cook frozen patties, just add some extra time (or thaw and then bake).

What are you eating today?  Whatever is it, Keep it Clean!

Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart

Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart ... there will be bacon!  I love this recipe.  It's pretty simple to make and you can do it ahead if you want and refrigerate for later.

Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart

2 cup almond flour
2 TBSP coconut flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart

1/4 tsp salt
4 TBSP butter, melted
1 TBSP water
2 slice bacon, cooked and diced
8 ounces goat cheese
3 eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream (sub: milk, half-and-half, or non-dairy milk)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
5 grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced thin

Preheat oven to 325F.
In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, garlic powder, and salt.  Stir in melted butter and water thoroughly.  Continue whisking until it clumps together.

Press dough evenly onto bottom and sides of a large pie pan or tart pan.

Bake 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.  Increase oven to 350F.

Process goat cheese in food processor until crumbly.  Add eggs, cream, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Process until smooth.

Pour filling into prepared crust.  Sprinkle with chopped bacon and slices of tomato.

Bake 30 minutes or until center is set.  Allow to cool 10 - 15 minutes before serving.

Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

Peach Cake #nosugar #nograins

Peaches are starting to come into season, so you need a new recipe, don't you?  My Favorite Husband makes a really amazing cobbler that is definitely not #nosugar #nograins, and sometimes I indulge.  But with keeping ourselves isolated I have probably been snacking just a little too much, so decided to make a more lifestyle-friendly dessert.

Peach Cake - #nosugar #nograins

3 medium peaches, peeled and diced

1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP Monk Fruit sweetener, divided

1/2 tsp cinnamon, divided

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1-1/4 cup almond flour, divided

5 TBSP melted butter, divided

2 TBSP coconut flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease 8"x8" glass baking dish with non-stick spray.

In a small bowl, combine peaches, 2 TBSP sweetener, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and xanthan gum.  Stir to fully combine.

In a separate small bowl, combine 6 TBSP almond flour, 2 TBSP sweetener, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1 TBSP melted butter.  Mix together with a fork.  It will be somewhat wet and lumpy. 

In a mixing bowl, combing 3/4 cup almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, 4 TBSP melted butter, 6 TBSP sweetener, and vanilla.  Mix until smooth with electric mixer.

Spread batter into bottom of prepared baking dish.

Spread peach mixture on top, spreading them to the edge.

Sprinkle with cinnamon mixture. (You may have to break off bits and drop it on, just try to distribute somewhat evenly.)

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 35 minutes.  Remove foil and bake 10 minutes longer or until top is golden.

NOTE: If you have fresh blueberries, throw in a big handful of those too!  It's winning combination!