I have been eating Paleo and following the Whole 30 program since December 30th and I feel amazing!!!! The Whole 30 is basically a challenge to go above and beyond eating Paleo by cutting out ALL forms of natural sweeteners too. Eating Paleo is basically eating meats, veggies and fruits and nuts in moderation. It is amazing how good your body feels when you start cutting out all the junk that you put into it!! I'm so excited!! And though during the challenge I'm not supposed to weigh myself but I did and in 5 days I had lost 4 lbs....so I'm happy!!
Here's what I had for breakfast this morning!! I was simple and yummy and I slathered it with homemade salsa!!!!!
Single serving (add more ingredients according to people)
2 eggs
1 small zucchini, halved longways then the halves halved and all of it diced
1 Tbls diced onion
3 small mushrooms sliced
1 lg handful spinach
1 lg clove of garlic, minced
Saute all veggies in coconut oil or olive oil for approx 5-10 minutes until your desired doneness. In a separate bowl scramble eggs and pour into pan with veggies add salt and pepper to taste. Mix around until eggs are fully cooked.
This dish can be made for breakfast obviously but also makes a lovely dinner alternative!! It's not a super complicated dish either and typically it's ingredients are ones that you have on hand!! Well.....ok maybe not the loaf of french bread......but there are many substitutions available!!
This is also a good pot luck dish or brunch dish!! It can serve a lot of people and you walk away full!! Not to mention it's super tasty. ;) It's very similar to the Sausage and Egg Minis I posted, just baked in a 13 x 9 instead of a cupcake tin!!
12 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 tsp season salt
1 tsp ground mustard
1 small can of diced green chile's
1/2 loaf of french bread, cut into cubes (you can sub sandwich rolls, slices of bread, sourdough or no bread at all if you are following a low carb diet)
1 lb ground sausage, cooked
2cups grated cheese, (you can use cheddar, jack, pepper jack, colby, swiss or whatever kind you'd like)
Preheat oven to 400 and spray baking dish with pam cooking spray. Arrange bread in bottom of 13 x 9 baking dish and sprinkle cooked sausage over top of bread. Now sprinkle green chile's evenly over sausage and bread. In a large bowl crack eggs and beat with milk, salt and ground mustard. Pour over bread and sausage mixture pressing bread into eggs so that it soaks in. Sprinkle top with grated cheese and bake for 45 to 60 minutes until eggs are set in center.
You can literally substitute ANY ingredients with the sausage or add things like spinach or mushrooms or bell peppers. You can use ham intead of sausage or you can use bacon or all three. The possibilities are endless!! Be creative!!
Please note....the title of this blog post is 'Biscuits and "Homemade" Gravy' not just gravy. If you use package gravy or heaven forbid....canned gravy *gagging* there should be some law passed against that. You know what.....that's what I will do with all my spare time....I will get a law passed against the inhumane unethical use of unnatural canned and packaged gravies!! Who's with me???? I will be sending out a petition the moment I'm done with this posting, so be sure to check your inbox!!!
I also made homemade biscuits. It really doesn't take long and the extra effort you put in for the homemade versions will definitely pay off in flavor!! Give it a try!! You can do it!! I also served scrangled eggs with these cuz I love to dip my eggs in gravy!! =)
Biscuits
2 cups flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 stick butter
1 cup butter milk
In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, soda, powder, and salt. Next using a pastry blender, incorporate butter into flour mixture until butter is the size of peas or smaller. Add buttermilk until all flour is moistened. Turn on to floured surface and flour top of dough as well. Either roll out with rolling pin or flatten with hands, until 3/4" thick. Either cut into squares or cut with round biscuit cutter. Makes 8-12 depending on size and thickness. Bake in 450 oven for 12-16 minutes.
Homemade Gravy
1 lb ground sausage
3 T flour
2 cups, milk or heavy cream or combo of both
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt (more or less depending on taste)
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
Cook sausage until cooked through. Drain drippings reserving 3 T only. Place drippings back in pan with sausage and add flour. Stir for approx 2 minutes to cook out the flour taste. Add milk, pepper, salt and nutmeg. Bring to boil and stir often until it is thickened. Pour over hot biscuits.
This recipe is for all my none carb eating peeps.....Can I get an Amen???? Hello......can I get an amen???? *tap tap tap* Is this thing on??
Oh....hehehe...I forgot I was blogging.....but really this could not be easier there are only a handful of ingredients and you don't have to make them in a cupcake pan either....but I did for the cuteness factor. ;) What can I say...I like my food to be cute! I don't think there is anything wrong with that!!
8 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk (I used heavy cream because I am on a no carb no sugar diet and believe it or not there is lots of sugar in milk)
1 tsp season salt
1 lb ground sausage, cooked
12 T of grated cheese (1 T per muffin tin)
Preheat oven to 400 and spray muffin tin with pam cooking spray. Divide sausage equally among 12 muffin cups. Put 1 T of cheese on top of sausage. Beat eggs and add season salt and milk. Pour egg mixture into muffin cups until almost full.
Should look like this. The are going to puff up in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Then gently remove from muffin tin and serve.
This is what they look like right out of the oven!!
This is a recipe that would make Popeye say "Strong to the finish when I eats me spinach!" But seriously......this breakfast was packed with protein to keep you fuller longer and it was SOOOO TASTY!!! I came up with the idea day before yesterday so I yesterday I headed to my favorite store Trader Joe's and got the ingredients!!
You know what I noticed today when I made it though....well a couple of things. I noticed how EXCITING it is when you have an idea in your head and you are able to make it a reality I <3 that feeling!! I also noticed...as a food blogger you eat alot of cold food. Lol.... By the time you prep the food, plate the food, prep the area to take the photos, photograph the food, and finally sit down to eat it...it can lose its warmth. Oh well......it's all a labor of love!! Sometimes Ive been so excited after taking one bite I couldn't wait to blog it so I blogged first and then ate......what can I say....I'm a dork!!
This recipe will make 2 servings!!
2 portobello mushrooms
4 cups washed spinach leaves
1/2 of a small red onion, sliced into thin strips
1 T red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs poached
2 tsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Place washed portobello's on a baking sheet cap facing down (or else they fill up with the juices and get mushy) Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in oven at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile start heating water to poach your eggs. In a frying pan, put a little olive oil and place over medium heat. When pan is hot add onions and saute for 2 min then add spinach. Once spinach has wilted remove from heat and add vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Your eggs should have been poaching during this time as well!! Remove mushrooms from oven and place on plate cap side up. Put half your spinach mixture in each one and top with poached egg. Sprinkle with salt pepper and 1 tsp on each one of the Parmesan cheese.
