Tag Archives: breakfast

Breakfast on the Grill… Yum!

April 21, 2015 A Labour of Love 2 Comments

We had a wonderful vacation, visiting friends and family, enjoying the warmth of the south and the ability to spend 90% of our days outside.

One of our favorite things to do when we are camping is cooking nearly every meal on the grill. One of the highlights was our eggs benedict breakfast for Easter. All done on the grill.

Salmon Crabby Patties

Two Salmon Fillets, cut up into 1 inch pieces

1 can crab

1 small sweet pepper, chopped finely

2-3 green onions, chopped

2 eggs

1-2 gluten free, rice free pieces of bread (enough to bind the ingredients, you could alternatively have used some Almond flour)

1 tsp. dill, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

Seasonings and

1 TBS dijon mustard

Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add enough of the bread so that you can firmly form patties. Place the patties in a coconut oil or grape seed oiled skillet on the grill. Cook on low while you make the hollandaise sauce.

Hollandaise Sauce

3 Organic egg yolks, well whisked

Melt approximately 3/4 to 1 C. butter, in a small pan over the grill

Using a larger skillet, lay a canning ring on the bottom and add water just covering the ring. Place your mixing bowl on top of the ring and this will make your double boiler. (Make sure your mixing bowl is of a heat proof material.)

Whisk the eggs in your double boiler along with 1 TBS. water until it begins to thicken. As it thickens, slowly add the melted butter and continue whisking.

After you pour in the butter, drop in your eggs on the already buttered skillet and cook just so they are over easy. When nearly done and the eggs have been cooked over easy on the grill, remove the mixing bowl and whisk in 1 TBS Lemon juice and a dash of salt and Cayenne Pepper.

Place one of the patties on the plate, topped with one of the eggs and add the sauce on top.

It may not look as beautiful as it would if you went out to eat, however, the taste was absolutely a winner. Especially for those children who are not fond of either salmon or crab. 🙂

Why?

Gluten Free Sweet Potato Muffins

October 16, 2014 A Labour of Love Leave a comment

Packing a punch when it comes to vegetables, Sweet Potatoes are full of nutrients. Containing Vitamins A & C, Potassium, Calcium, Manganese, B6, B3, B1, B2, Biotin, Fiber, Copper, Pantothenic Acid, and Phosphorus, sweet potatoes were a main food staple for early settlers in America. Christopher Columbus introduced sweet potatoes to Europe and the Spanish also contributed to the introduction of sweet potatoes all over the world.

Sweet potatoes have been known to be high in antioxidants and anti inflammatory properties as well as have been used to help in the detoxing process of heavy metals. Even though they are called “Sweet Potatoes” research has shown that they actually are a low glycemic index food, helping to regulate blood sugar.

Sweet potatoes are not Yams. Yams are a starchier potato native to Africa and Asia. When it comes to buying sweet potatoes it is likely that even if the sign says Yams, you are most likely buying Sweet Potatoes in this country. Buying true Yams are usually only found in specialty stores.

Once again, I had leftover sweet potatoes and rather than making those yummy sweet potato pancakes, I decided to try my hand at making muffins. Now, keep in mind that with all of the information above, sweet potatoes are best eaten steamed or baked with a little fat added by using a little butter or olive oil. My muffin recipe, although healthier than a store bought muffin, certainly does have starchy carbs therefore minimizing the benefits of the sweet potato. The benefit of using them in the muffin is that I’ve not wasted a leftover sweet potato and I have still added in some additional nutrients to our otherwise simple sugar carb overloaded morning muffins.

Gluten Free Sweet Potato Muffins

2 small or 1 medium cooked Sweet Potato(s), flesh removed from peal

3 farm fresh Eggs

1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 C Raw Honey

2 TBS Olive Oil or Avocado oil

1/2 C. Raw Cream, or heavy cream that is NOT ultra pasteurized

Mix the above until well blended. Then add:

1/4 C. Arrowroot Flour

1/4 C. Potato Flour

1 C. Sorghum Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Sea Salt

1/4 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Allspice

Lightly mix all ingredients. Don’t over beat. Then slowly fold in 1/4 C. chopped raisins or currents and 1/4 C. chopped pecans. Place into muffin cups or well oiled muffin tins and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. If you kiddos like a little extra treat, try a light sprinkle of brown sugar on the top prior to baking.

They are dense, so a little raw butter goes well when serving. 🙂

Resources:

www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64

http://articles.mercola.com/sweet-potato.aspx

Menus / Recipes

Swedish Pancake Spin

October 9, 2014 A Labour of Love Leave a comment

Breakfast is such an important meal of the day. It provides the energy boost our body needs after a long evening of rest and repair. It’s too bad that in our home breakfast is usually eaten between 10-12 a.m. By the time I wake up, wait an hour after taking my thyroid medicine, then take an hour and a half to ingest all of my Lyme meds, wait another half hour before consuming anything, it ends up being at least 10. Then if I get creative and decide to make something other than eggs, it can be at least another hour if not more. Fortunately for us, there is enough to do in those hours we are up so that no time is wasted and everyone enjoys waiting for a little something warm and home made.

One breakfast treat that the kids really enjoy and I rarely remember to make, gives me the warm fuzzies as I am reminded of my youth. When I was at college, one of my grandmothers came up to visit me and she saw lingonberries in my pantry. She told me how lingonberries go well with Swedish pancakes and she would show me how to make them. Well, it just so happened that I had the recipe for Swedish pancakes in my cookbook “Where’s Mom Now That I Need Her”. So we both went up to the store and bought the other ingredients and made Swedish Pancakes filled with lingonberries. A warm memory that makes me smile. 🙂

As I pulled out that book this morning, I looked at the recipe and decided to try and make them a bit healthier with the ingredients I had on hand. I must say, it was the first time the kids said they were like a pastry, very soft, sweet and the best I’ve made yet. So, that being said I thought I’d share what I did.

Swedish Pancake Spin

3 eggs

3/4 C. Organic whole milk vanilla bean yogurt

1/4 C. purified water

2 TBS Raw Honey

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

2/3 C. Sorghum flour, Sifted

Start with the first 5 ingredients and whisk them together until well blended. Then add the flour by sifting it into the bowl and mix well.

Heat a cast iron skillet with a little butter and once hot, pour very little of the batter into the pan in a circle. If need be, lift the pan with the handle gently allowing some of the batter to spill into a larger circle.

The batter should look like an extremely thin pancake. Flip it when it begins to look dry on the top.

Place onto a plate and fill with lingonberries if you have them or with fresh cut up peaches, nectarines, strawberries or blueberries. Roll them up with the seam at the bottom of the plate. We also like to dust them with an ever so little bit organic powdered sugar just before serving.

Can you say Yum?

Celtic Fun, Menus / Recipes

A Cooler, A Cutting Board, A Bowl and A Crockpot… Not a Crackpot!

October 6, 2014 A Labour of Love 4 Comments

In the two weeks we were traveling we only ate out one time. What? How is that possible?

Well, let me tell you how. A cooler, a crock pot, large bowl, cutting board, some serving utensils and some prep.

Breakfasts: Hard boiled eggs, GF cereal with raw milk, GF bagels with organic cream cheese or almond butter, home made GF muffins and pre-made home made GF waffles. I made the waffles and muffins before we left and froze them. We would put the waffles wrapped in foil into the crock pot over night on warm and by morning we had warm waffles to enjoy with some sliced strawberries and maple syrup. We also had kefir or yogurt with some strawberries and bananas.

Lunches: GF organic Turkey sandwiches made as we wanted them. Sliced GF organic grass fed beef sausages with GF Rice Free Lentil crackers and raw cheese. Costco also has a wonderful organic GF chicken salad in single serving cups that were delicious. We also ate leftovers from our dinners the previous night and pre cut veggies with organic hummus.

Dinners: Prepped before leaving was the marinated chicken I cooked, cut up into cubes and froze. This was also useful in the cooler acting as another ice pack. The kids and I were able to wash some lettuce with some paper towel, I cut up tomatoes and we tossed the thawed chicken into the bowl with the lettuce and tomatoes adding in an organic Caeser salad dressing with a little cheese and we had a chicken Caeser Salad.

I also cooked up chicken breasts and shredded them mixing them with a habanero pineapple sauce and some barbecue sauce. Both were organic without high fructose corn syrup. I then froze it and when thawed, cooked it in the crock pot serving it on GF buns as pulled chicken sandwiches. Serve with a few homemade sweet and sour pickles, cut up veggies and gluten free organic chips.

One night we made taco salads. I had precooked and frozen some ground beef and used it also as an ice pack for the cooler when we first left. We again washed some lettuce, tomatoes and put all in the metal mixing bowl with fermented salsa, raw cheese, organic avocado, and the organic dressing. The leftovers we ate for lunch the next day.

We took some precooked chicken brats that were frozen and I put them in the crock pot with some cut up peppers and onions in the afternoon one day in CA and we had dinner ready when we were done with our day.

On the way home, we made a stop at Costco and Whole Foods. We chose some pre-made salads and chicken dishes that we could put in the cooler.

Snacks: We had apples, bananas, dried fruits, cut up veggies with organic hummus cups, and of course I allowed the kids some GF chips of various kinds. Believe it or not, I actually found pretzels that were GF and rice free. Woo hoo, I actually enjoyed a few pretzels.

Traveling doesn’t have to be expensive when it comes to food as long as you have a few hours of prep, the resources and the want to eat nutritious meals. I cannot remember the last time we were in a fast food drive through. Other than coffee it has to have been at least 12 years. We travel quite often and we rarely eat out when we do.

When we did eat out in CA, it was the first day, in San Francisco at Fisherman’s Wharf. Of course, who could pass up such a wonderful Ahi Tuna. 🙂

Lymes, Menus / Recipes

Breakfast, Health and Healing Part 1

June 19, 2014 A Labour of Love Leave a comment

Over the years I have been amazed at the food choices some people make. I have had acquaintances with women who are skinny as rails, spend hours in the gym, go home and eat 1/2 of a chocolate cake. I’m not kidding! I on the other hand can spend hours at the gym, eat salads 3 meals a day and gain weight. I’m serious!

With Lyme disease, I have found it so painful at times and the exhaustion so extreme that cooking anything seemed daunting. I know I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… I praise God for a husband and children who love me enough to take over the “mom” duty of cooking over the last year. They not only cooked, they also prepared healthy meals following the directions I’ve given them over the years. Even as teenagers, their rebellion against food is usually against the bag of organic gluten free cereal. They are becoming more and more against cereal and enjoy their eggs, yogurt and a pancake once in a while. You could say they typically complain if it’s not cooked or prepared just prior to eating.

Research after research shows how unhealthy our food choices are in this country. We have GMO’s and many other toxins in our water, vegetables, meats and fish. So what is one to do? Learn, read, study and educate yourself. I am quite confident that my own battle with Lyme disease and all of it’s wonderful co-infection friends will only be won if I stay on track and continue to try to build up my body with nutrition and not give in to the foods that can make my mouth water at the name or smell.

Since I had the B12 shot, changed my meds around, and made more significant changes in my meal choices, I have been increasingly finding myself better each day. I have moments of fatigue, so I rest, I have moments of pain, so I evaluate my diet or activity level and I make more changes. I thought I would share what a typical day of my diet looks like, since it only changes slightly. Today, we will start with breakfast.

A pint of juice from fresh vegetables provided by my own garden and our local CSA that is now in full swing.

Now, I began juicing each day broccoli, kale, spinach, carrots, celery and cucumbers. I felt great about 2 weeks into it and then I crashed. I learned from a friend who is in the medical field and who also has health issues of her own that if one is hypothyroid caution should be taken with cruciferous vegetables. It dawned on me that I had read that early on in my diagnosis of adrenal fatigue and hypothyroidism a number of years ago. So, I read up on what is safe to eat and for the last two weeks I have once again been feeling that my energy is better. I am quite certain that the nutrients released out of the fiber has helped my body regain the vitamins and minerals it needs to help heal itself. When I have to miss a day, I certainly feel it. Here is my daily juicing recipe (all organic):

bunch of celery – Known to be an antioxidant, helps with inflammation, contains Vitamin C, B1, B2, B6, and also potassium, folate, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, sodium and many amino acids. Some caution is taken due to the sodium content in celery.

1/4 large cucumber – aids in digestion, helps with hydration, has been found to fight cancers, is also a good source of the B Vitamins

beet greens – vitamins C, A, and K, protein, phosphorus, zinc, fiber, magnesium, potassium, copper, manganese, calcium, iron

organic pre-cooked beets – lowers blood pressure, fights inflammation, Vitamin C, minerals, detoxifies

carrots – beta carotene, Vitamins A, K, C, calcium, potassium, copper, B6, folic acid thiamine, magnesium

cilantro – detoxifying, phytonutrients, antioxidant, is used as an anti-septic, fungicide, aids in digestion, has Vitamins A, C, K and B as well as calcium an potassium

swiss chard – used as an antioxidant, beta carotene, Vitamins E, C, zinc, lutein, also helps in regulating blood sugar levels and is a good source of calcium

dandelion greens – Vitamins K, C, B6, thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, zeaxanthin, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, and copper

1 lime – Vitamin C

I also eat a gluten free, rice free Glutino English Muffin. Toasted twice, and on both halves I put 1 TBS each of Coconut Oil. Then I sprinkle Maca Powder on one half with an organic soaked and dried nut butter on top. The other half gets a TBS of my raw honey.

This mornings addition was left over Avocado Cucumber salad. Consisting of:

Sliced and de-seeded cucumbers, avocados, fresh chives chopped up, fresh garden cilantro chopped finely, and two limes which I cut in half and squeezed on top. Add a little salt and stir. The family like it and it was so healthy. I was glad there was some for breakfast.

Menus / Recipes, Why?

Waffles & Leftovers

March 18, 2014 A Labour of Love 3 Comments

When the kids were little, we had fun with breakfasts. We had muffin Mondays, Twisted Tuesdays (which could be anything from omelette’s to yogurt), waffle Wednesdays, thankful Thursdays (again, either eggs or yogurt) and french toast Friday’s. As years have gone by and they are getting older, we still don’t eat much cereal and eggs are usually the breakfast choice. Unless of course, mom is having a good morning and we change it up a bit and make either muffins, crepes, or waffles. This morning, I felt pretty good and was able to make my husband an omelette and the kids waffles.

As I served them up, our son announced that he really wasn’t looking forward to waffles as they “usually have no flavor and honestly just don’t taste good”. This mornings however, were “delicious and were the best ever”. When they asked me what I did different I told them that “I think it’s better you don’t know and then you’ll keep on enjoying them”. Of course, that only made them really want to to know what was in them so I informed them that the left over sweet potatoes they’ve avoided for two days were discretely placed in their “delicious” waffles. Our son had already assumed there was a vegetable in there somewhere. After all, when they were little I used to add things like carrots and zucchini to their muffins and either cut up prunes, dates, or apricots to their pancakes. Who needs chocolate chips in pancakes when you have apricots? 🙂

Anyway, I thought I’d share the recipe for those of you looking for something really yummy and easy to make.

Waffles & Leftovers (this made 5 waffles)

In a blender add the following ingredients in the order given and blend until smooth:

8 farm fresh eggs

2 tsp. organic vanilla

1/2 C. raw honey,

2 tsp. organic apple cider vinegar

1 C. precooked organic yams or sweet potatoes

2 tsp. celtic sea salt

2 C. Organic Almond flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 TBS. variety chopped presoaked, dried nuts

1 TBS. shredded organic coconut

Make sure you have a hot waffle iron that has been lightly oiled with either lard, grape seed oil or a coconut oil. Pour your batter in the waffle iron, close and set timer for 3 minutes. If you have a waffle iron that turns over, I usually pour in the batter, set the timer and turn over immediately, then turn it back when I have about 1 minute left.

What is wonderful is fresh or frozen cut up fruit to place on top of the waffles with a little butter. Who needs syrup when you have fruit? 🙂

Menus / Recipes, Why?

Coffee? Tea? What is that?

February 25, 2014 A Labour of Love 1 Comment

I think that one of the hardest things to get over right now is the fact that I usually spend about 4 hours in the kitchen each day preparing all of our meals from scratch. At the moment, and for the last 7 months that has not happened. I am finding myself getting tired of the same things to eat each week. My brother and sister in law used to say that their dinners were on a rotation with specific things on specific nights. Well, they would be pleased to know that we are hitting a rotation menu. Although, not by choice, and honestly, in our house we are all getting a bit bored.

This morning I almost didn’t even eat because I just did not want scrambled eggs… again! ( I know… you’ve heard this before right? Just a few days ago?)

So, out came the cookbook and creativity followed. Almond flour Cheddar and herb muffins. The kids and I really enjoyed them and honestly, they weren’t difficult to make.

What I did next however, made them look at me like I had 10 eyes. In fact, my son exclaimed, “What, are you done with coffee now too? Didn’t you have any? You just made a whole pot! What are you doing with all of those things. That looks disgusting, and if I did that you’d tell me I was going to throw up.” (Point made, point taken, now go get your school work done!)

I have been reading so much about Turmeric and it’s health benefits, along with it’s ability to help with inflammation and killing parasites etc. My husband just sent me another article from the Wall Street Journal discussing Turmeric and colds. Since I’ve been congested the last few days and have been feeling punk, I decided to come up with my own “tea” concoction. It’s surprisingly good and amazingly healthy. (By the way, I’ve been doing this for a few days now, I guess the child just hadn’t seen me actually make it.) 🙂

What’s That? (per mug)

1 TBS Coconut Milk/Cream

1/8 tsp. Turmeric

1/8 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 – 1 tsp. Fresh grated Ginger

1 TBS Raw Honey (or a 1/4 dropper of Liquid Vanilla Stevia)

Hot water

Put all of the above in a mug, preferably in the order listed, stir and drink hot.

Yummm….

Why?

Breakfast and Ramblings…

February 18, 2014 A Labour of Love 2 Comments

Disclaimer: I wasn’t going to post this until my son encouraged me to as a social experiment for his study of Anthropolgy. He is curious as to how much trouble I will be in with comments.

After 5 days of not eating dairy, limited beef, no sugar and of course limited gluten free carbs, you could say I needed something that would satisfy. So, this morning our son once again made his famous “egg tortilla” and just the thought made me nauseous. I am almost sick of eggs. Almost…

I looked in the cupboard and decided that Quinoa hot cereal with fresh fruit sounded wonderful. So, as I pulled out all of the things I wanted to add to it, I was reminded of the last time I added Hemp Hearts to my breakfast. My son usually makes his jokes about moms “pot stash”. Now, for those of you who know me, you know this has got to be a joke. After all, most comments or nicknames I get are more along the lines of the “bible thumper”, “tree hugger”, or “prude”. Where would he come up with such a joke? Well, apparently he watched some documentary on an educational channel about Hemp Hearts and their usage in growing marijuana. Who would have thought. I mean, when I read about the health benefits of nuts and seeds I guess I assume you can safely buy them without a stigma attached. Although, as I mentioned to one friend, I wonder if the Hemp Hearts will have the same medicinal benefit as smoking the plant, without the side affects. NOT likely…

Can I just add… I understand medicinal usage for some, however, legalizing it? Really? Just goes to show you how influential Hollywood is. I have teenagers that have enjoyed some of the zombi apocolypse movies and we laugh over the unrealistic characteristics of humanity. Well, I now admit that it’s a very real possibility. Unlike the recent statement that it’s no worse than alcohol, experts have declared that smoking up to 8 in a month actually can alter one’s DNA that will affect even their grandchildren. I mean, think about it. Legalizing it, creating a society that in 20 years will be reflective of human zombies walking around who collect entitlements because they are too stoned and lazy to work. Then you throw in the push for healthy eating and minimally processed foods (which I agree with). What does that have to do with the zombi apocolypse? Have you ever heard of munchies? Well, the way I figure it, there will be human zombies with constant munchie syndrom looking for food not easily found to cure the crave, so just maybe they will start eating those of us who are the healthy , motivated go getters. I mean, would they be able to recognize or conceive the wisdom to understand it’s the go getters that provide the funding for those entitlements? Of course, if all the Lymies were to be eaten by the zombies then it would be like War of the Worlds and our spirochetes would kill them. Ahhhhh, there is a plus to having Lymes. I knew God would not disappoint and that there was purpose! I don’t know, maybe I have too much time on my hands to think and watched too many movies in the last 6 months of “doing nothing”.

Sorry, just a rambling thought…. or maybe I am feeling the side affects… either way, here was breakfast!

Quinoa Flakes cooked as box directed, 2 TBS Coconut Milk, 2 TBS Hemp Hearts, 2 TBS Pumpkin seeds, 1 TBS coconut, dash of salt…. topped off with sliced banana, blueberries, and rasberries!

Yummmm!!!

(I have to admit, I had about 5 good hours of almost normal after eating it. Hmmmmm.)

Menus / Recipes

Breakfast Anyone?

February 4, 2014 A Labour of Love Leave a comment

With last week being a week of set backs, of epic proportions I might add. I felt good enough this morning to try to make my kiddos breakfast. Even though the doctor said to let the kids do all the prepping while I rest and for my only job to be the compilation of the meals, I guess you could say that I’ve hit my peak of feeling like a sluggard and was determined to help start their school day with a breakfast aroma that just shouted out “I love you guys”.

That being said, I slowly (doctors orders) looked through the fridge and pulled out all of the ingredients to make an egg frittata. Sydney and I watched one of the cooking shows make one on Saturday, so I thought I’d try it. Out came the leftover paleo hash that Gary made for me on Saturday, the eggs, green onions, black olives, frozen peas, butter, homemade pesto, cilantro and ricotta. Started on the stove and then placed in the oven, I’d say that for the 10 minutes worth of prep it was well worth it.

Thank you Lord for giving me the strength, desire and ability to still care for my family. I pray that all I do will honor and glorify you!

My Version of the Egg Frittata

Saute (in a large cast iron pan, this one made 8 slices that fit on a salad plate):
Leftover Paleo Hash, cut up green onion, black olives, frozen peas, in butter and a little grape seed oil

Mix 8 eggs, cilantro, salt and pepper, and add about 3/4 C. Milk

Pour over the sauteed vegetables. Let cook until starting to firm around edges. Then dollop the pesto and ricotta on top and place in the oven at 350 for about 20-30 minutes. Cut and serve hot.

Mmmmmmm!!!! Now I’m off to bed, my one activity for the day is done. 🙂

Our version of paleo hash:
turnips, beets, large white radish, onions cut up into small cubes and sauteed until soft. Yum!