You knew this was gonna be weird, you just didn’t know how weird.
I have to begin by saying that this is not at all an unusual breakfast food combination for any of the four guys I live with. But somehow the pepperoni-sausage-and-black-olive pizza, hard boiled egg, and cantaloupe just demanded I take a photo, and The Maker was willing, if not yet fully awake.
And I was fairly pleased about his choice of whole grain toast, I might add. Fiber!
Sometimes when I have an giant bag of ripe green apples, I cut them all up to make what we call an apple hash. I add chopped celery (which doesn’t really show much in the picture, but I add plenty), cinnamon, almond slivers, and dried cranberries, then I pack it all into a container and stick it in the fridge.
The boys love to snack on it!
I grew up eating Waldorf Salad, which had apples, celery, mayo, pecans, and raisins. I liked it, and if I’m craving that flavor I will make my healthier version of Waldorf Salad with plain yogurt in place of the mayo. But frankly I like Apple Hash better!
I particularly like this apple cinnamon-y salad slightly warmed up, or even cooked for a bit. Add a bit of water to help it steam up, and stir regularly as it cooks. Don’t cook it so much that the celery and apples turn to mush; it’s most delightful when it’s still crunchy. It’s even approaches apple pie goodness!
I like Apple Cinnamon Hash best with green Granny Smith apples, but it’s also good with sweeter varieties. Add plenty of cinnamon! And don’t be afraid to load in the celery — it’s really a nice flavor addition to the tart apples and spicy cinnamon, and it adds a lovely crunch as well.
I couldn’t resist these pink and white gems in the grocery.
They’re French Breakfast Radishes, which I hear are easy to grow because they tolerate the heat well and stay sweet and tender even in adverse growing situations. They’re easy to find around here, and so full of flavor and crunch that you’ll find yourself picking up a bunch of them again and again.
These radishes inspired me so I determined to actually eat them for breakfast (sadly I could not eat them in France), sprinkled lightly with salt and white pepper, moist and crunchy. I would have added lemon juice if I’d had any. Some people like them on crostini with cream cheese; I think they are divine all by themselves.
If I were making a summer salad, I might layer them with fresh basil leaves, and drizzle them with some extra virgin olive oil and white balsamic vinegar. Mmm.
They call for a haiku, don’t you agree?
The Man Pulling Radishes
Kobayashi Issa, Early 1800’s
The man pulling radishes
pointed my way
with a radish.
Cottage cheese, fresh pineapple, and bran flakes makes an incredible breakfast.
I buy large curd cottage cheese because I love the texture of the gorgeous, tangy curds. A half cup of cottage cheese is a great base for your morning fruit, and the creamy flavor compliments the bright-and-sweet pineapple just perfectly. Bran flakes add some more fiber, and plenty of crunch. They won’t get soggy quickly, either.
My husband is funny about cottage cheese; he only likes it with non-sweet foods like tomatoes, and that only rarely.
I think it’s a far more versatile food, and I could eat it nearly every day. I grew up eating cottage cheese with canned pears (still love that), and these days I’m likely to top it with anything from fresh sprouts and almonds to cantaloupe cubes, frozen raspberries, edamame, or raw spinach leaves. I like fresh ground black pepper on it, too. Delicious.
I pity all the people having plain Cheerios and milk for breakfast.
Don’t you?
I don’t often see watercress in the fresh greens section of the Whole Foods, so when I saw it this time I grabbed it right up. Watercress has a lovely, slightly peppery taste, and my little bunch came with all its roots still in a wet ball. Watercress is high in vitamins A, C and K, and it has calcium, manganese and other good nutrients in it as well.
Don’t put your watercress in a glass of water in the windowsill — stick it straight in the fridge and make sure the roots stay wet and the leaves are damp. The small bunch I purchased was enough to add to a salad in addition to this wrap I made.
My wrap has a layer of handmade pimento cheese on a bed of red kale, and it’s topped with a fabulous cloud of crisp, pretty watercress. Those are low-carb whole wheat wraps, too. I find they have much more flavor and texture than the pasty, bland white flour kind, and they don’t stick together in the package like the white ones do either.
I enjoyed the special treat of the watercress so much that I actually looked into growing it. It doesn’t sound too difficult, but I don’t know whether or not I will actually try. So many projects, so little time!
Kale is just gorgeous, isn’t it?
It’s probably my second-favorite green to have in salads (spinach is my favorite), and it is loaded with healthy goodness. Lots of dietary fiber and loads of vitamins A, C and K, plus plenty of folate.
I bought this lovely green variety of kale from the local Farmer’s Market and after a good wash, I steamed it for just a few seconds until it was bright green. Then I put it in the fridge to chill it back down.
The next day, I tore the kale into bite-sized pieces and tossed it with some watercress (another delightful salad ingredient), some fresh chicken breast, sprouts, blue cheese crumbles and a big red bell pepper. You’ll probably see some jalapenos in there too. Those sneaky little guys.
A little extra-virgin olive oil, a drizzle of white balsamic vinegar and presto: a perfect lunch.
Take a look at this incredible food, and don’t be a hater.
I started with a whole-wheat, low-carb wrap, which I always have in the fridge unless the boys have been voraciously eating them and I’ve not been to the grocery. They have a total of 15 g of carbs, but 8 grams are dietary fiber, so the net carb gain is only 7 grams. Pretty good.
It’s slathered with red pepper hummus, which you can hardly see in the picture because I piled it with other goodies, but it’s there. I actually prefer a plain garlic hummus, but this red pepper version looked a pretty shade of orange and I do love bell peppers. I haven’t been making my own hummus lately, so this batch came from the Whole Foods.
Above that is a good handful of clover sprouts, which seem to be the greenest options in the row of sprouts in my grocery, and thus I’m forever picking these up out of the line-up.
Then comes a pile of sprouted legumes: adzuki beans, lentils, and peas. Again, I could do this myself, but they are so easily available in the produce section and they add a wonderful crunch to any sandwich, salad, or wrap.
Finally I added jalapeno peppers, for which I have a weakness, and a few slices of yellow bell pepper. I cut and eat the entire pepper every time; they are such juicy goodness!
Nothing better than a spring wrap like this. It’s like eating sunshine and happiness. Go ye and make your own!
The first week of December I re-injured my shoulder, and spent two solid months in physical therapy and out of boxing. I became the cardio mistress (wore my thigh-high leather boots, carried the whip) but the intense PT schedule meant I had to give up some of my regular workouts. I got sloppy with my diet and ate depressively and now I’m five to seven pounds past the weight I like most to be.
I have a plan: move less, eat more.
Wait! No, I remember, it’s move more, eat less. (The funniest part of that Mad TV vid: “Bullcrap, you don’t know me!”)
And to that end, I’m picking up my workout schedule and writing out my meal plans again. As you may already know, I typically follow The Zone (by Dr. Barry Sears), which controls weight by controlling insulin. It’s not a low-carb or a high-protein diet, but rather a protein-carb-fats balanced diet. I used to use the one-third / two-third rule: eating one part protein (lean meats) and two parts low-density carbs (fruits and veggies) with a sprinkling of good fats (mostly monosaturated, like you find in olives and almonds).
But I got sloppy about it.
Now I’ve decided to work with the “blocks” that Sears outlines in his books. In the back of each of the books I own there’s an index of sorts that lists lots of healthy foods and tells you how much of that food equals a block. Most women want to plan meals with 3 blocks of protein, 3 blocks of (low density, which equals fruits and veggies) carbs, and 3 blocks of good fats. Guys can do 4, 4, and 4.
I invested in a scale so that I can actually figure out how much 3 ounces of something is, and I’m measuring everything until I get a sense of the amounts again.
So, here’s my meal plan for my first day back in the Zone:
Breakfast
Snack
Lunch
Before boxing snack (one set of blocks from my dinner)
After boxing dinner
This outlines a pretty stringent Zone day, and as you saw, I didn’t quite get the breakfast balanced. But for me the really tough part about this plan is the period between lunch and boxing. The best way I know to do it is to eat lunch about 1 or 2 pm, so that I’m not perishing for food by 6, when I’ll tuck into my Zone bar.
But I’m resolved to get on the plan once again. I’ll keep you posted.
My office mates are convinced I have no love for them. I do feel a little bad, but I can’t help it. Onions are just so delicious! And onions, tomatoes, and yellow pepper with a bit of olive oil and Balsamic vinegar are absolutely heavenly.
And given how cold and crappy it is outside, doesn’t this pretty salad make you feel like summer is just around the corner? The only way this tri-color treat could be any better is if there were a bit of fresh chopped basil mixed in. Or fresh, spicy cilantro!
Your friends will forgive you. This salad rocks the winter.
Now you see it… and later — when you’re not mad tired of it — you’ll see it again.
That’s okay, sometimes you have to take that leftover turkey and make it work for a couple of months from now.
Easiest way? Bag it up into single servings and freeze it. Stuffing too (that’s mine on the left; it was delicious)! Then, the night before you want to eat it, take one bag out of the freezer and stick it in the fridge. Take it to work with you, along with a good salad or some other veggie delights, and lunch is served.
Remember, the best way to know what an appropriate-sized serving of protein looks like is to look at your hand. You want a serving of turkey (or whatever your protein source) about the size and thickness of your palm.
And make those stuffing servings much smaller; that’s mostly bread and fats in there, and it falls into the delicious and wonderful “periodic treats” category, rather than the “stuff yourself and fall into a coma” category.
Other ideas? Post comments below and share the triptophan.