Beck Anderson Yoga & Wellness Hammock

I just got back from a 15 minute walk around the block, and am now attempting to eat a super health egg salad before my next meeting. Who hates Monday? Not me!

What do you do to make your Monday awesome?

Easy Egg Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 hard boiled farm fresh eggs
1/2 C mayo
Salt and pepper to taste
dash cayenne (optional)

Directions

1. Peel eggs and smash with a fork
2. Stir in mayo, salt and pepper. Add cayenne to taste.
3. To serve, scoop on top of a bed of spring greens.

Guess which one is better, then click the photo for the answer!

Recently I’ve been getting the questions, if I can’t eat processed grains… what do I eat for breakfast? Do I just eat eggs? Booo-ring!

Do you feel you’re in a breakfast rut? This post will give you some great ideas to get your morning started right!

For many people it is important to start the morning by eating a balanced meal (healthy fat, good quality protein, carbohydrate) to break the fast from dinner the night before. Some studies show eating a healthy breakfast will help boost your metabolism and avoid the munchies through the day. If you don’t feel hungry right away, eat a small breakfast.

What’s for Breakfast

Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing! Use this template to create your own: protein, carbohydrate, fat

• farm fresh, organic eggs and steamed vegetables with lots of butter
• farm fresh, organic eggs, bacon and sausage with a side of sprouted toast and butter
• steak, farm fresh, organic eggs, red potatoes fried in butter or coconut oil
• ham, farm fresh, organic eggs, red potatoes fried in butter or coconut oil

Grab-and-Go Recipes

Make these the night before or a few days before and grab them on your way out the door!

• Bacon and Egg Muffins
• Cheesy Biscuit
• Egg Bake
• Hot Cereal (properly prepared grains)

Sit & Relax Recipes

Perfect for a lazy Saturday morning or for impressing your significant other with breakfast in bed. (Is my husband reading this?)

• Bacon, Eggs and Feta
• Peanut Cinnamon Paleo Pancakes
• Peanut Butter Acorn Pancakes
• Eggs in Ramekin

Are you immune to this photo? I’m not–it makes my mouth water. These squash pancakes are moist and airy and taste phenomenal with lots of butter and berries on top!

Peanut Cinnamon Paleo Pancakes

Serves 4+

Ingredients

8 farm fresh, organic Eggs (and soy free!)
1 C Squash (pre baked or steamed)
1 C Smooth Peanut Butter
1/4 tsp real Salt
1 Tb Cinnamon
3/4 – 1 C Water

Directions

1. In a medium size mixing bowl, add in squash and eggs and mix until creamy using a Hand Blender if you have one.
2. Then add in peanut butter, salt and cinnamon and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
3. Lastly, add 3/4 cup water and mix. If it needs a little more water, add the last 1/4 cup in very slowly. It’s hard to remove water after its mixed in!
4. Use these directions on how to fry the perfect pancake and enjoy!

Creating the perfect pancake was always a struggle for me. Especially because I use cast iron or Chantal Copper Fusion Fry Pan – in other words, not a non stick pan because of the unhealthy chemicals used in the coating (that topic is for another day). Consequently my pancakes would stick to the bottom and create massive clean-up issues and deformed (but tasty!) pancakes.

Not anymore! My parents visited us last year and I watched my dad make perfect pancakes with easy cleanup. Here’s how he does it. (Step 1 is crucial!)

Step 1

Add 1+ tablespoon of ghee (or coconut ghee oil) in a pan and turn the burner on HIGH for a few minutes or until a drop of water causes a sizzling sound.

Step 2

Add the pancake batter and immediately the burner to MEDIUM. You’ll know you did step 1 correctly when the oil in the pan sizzles and ripples away from the batter.

Step 3

Flip the pancake after about 30 to 60 seconds, or until bubbles appear at the top of the pancake. The second side will need about 30 seconds of frying time.

Note: Bubbles generally will not appear on thick pancakes, so then flip when the bottom of the pancake is solid. The second side will need to fry for more than a minute.

Step 4

After each batch of pancakes, or whenever the bottom of the pan is looking dry add another slab of ghee or your preferred choice of oil, with one exception: do not use vegetable oils! Why? Because they have a low heat point and will go rancid at high temperatures.

If you are concerned about too much healthy fat in your diet, don’t be! If your only knowledge of “healthy eating” is to listen to what the media says… read What’s Wrong with the Modern American Diet to know in less than 1 minute why we need red meat, egg yolks, and full fat milk and why we do NOT need soy and 6-11 servings of whole grains every day. And read the Myths and Truths about Heart Disease to know why you won’t increase your risk of heart disease by eating healthy fat.

As always, materials and stoves may offer differing results so use this as a guideline and keep an eye on your ‘cakes!

Linked to: Creative Juice, Taking a Time Out Thursday, Pennywise Platter, Full Plate Thursday

If you were to walk down the “maple” syrup aisle at my local grocery store, you would have a host of non-maple syrup treasures to pick from and a few genuine products thrown in the mix. Unfortunately the majority of grocery shoppers look first at the price and then at the advertising claims. (i.e. “0% fat!” and “No cholesterol!”) (more…)

This recipe is perfect for a couple of blurry-eyed morning people. In other words, it is a favorite of ours. Typically we throw the ingredients together the night before then stick the pan in the fridge. In the morning, a designated sleep-walker turns the oven on and slides the pan in to bake for an hour before breakfast. And, usually, crawls back into bed for a few more minutes of shut-eye.

To reheat, throw in the oven on “broil” for 5 – 10 minutes and it tastes fresh-baked. One pan is large enough to get both of us through a 5-day week.

Egg Bake

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 pack organic frozen Hash Browns or Potatoes
1 pack organic frozen Bell Peppers
1 Onion
1 pint Organic Whipping Cream
12 farm fresh, organic Eggs
Salt and Pepper
Shredded Cheese
Sausage
Butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spread butter on the casserole pan, then pour in hash browns and bell peppers.
3. Mix whipping cream, eggs and salt and pepper together and pour over top.
4. Add cut up, pre-cooked sausage to the top (not shown in photo).
5. Sprinkle cheese over the top.*Up to this point, Egg Bake can be prepared the night before.*
6. Bake 45 – 55 minutes.

Parties: Frugal Friday, Foodie Friday, Fight Back Friday

May I suggest a new recipe for you?  Simple to make and a party in your mouth; it’s the solution to busy weekday mornings or an absolute treat for a relaxed Sunday Morning.

Cheesy Biscuits

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 farm fresh Eggs
1/4 tsp Real Salt
1/3 C. diced Onions
1 C. Cheddar Cheese
1/3 C. Coconut Flour
1/4 C. liquid Ghee (heat in oven)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Mix all ingredients and bake for 15 minutes.
3. To reheat: heat in a fry pan.

This weekend I went to our local book store and spent a solid half hour wandering around looking at books.  I spent the length of time in the store where it felt like I should buy something but I just couldn’t talk myself into any book.  So I began that slow, meandering exit walk toward the front door that can sometimes appear very awkward.  Determined not to make it too strange, I stopped next to a few stacks of books on my way out.  And the unimaginable happened: I found a book with my name all over it. 

Household Discoveries and Mrs. Curtis’s Cook Book is 102 years old and is split into two parts, household discoveries and the cook book.  (In 1899 Mrs. Curtis was an editor for the Good Housekeeping magazine, too.)  There are gems like “preparations for wash day,” “sewing and mending day,” and “what the home nurse ought to do.”  And the cookbook has recipes for beverages, stale bread, sour-milk breads, eggs, soups, fish, veal, left-over chicken and turkey, pickling and fermenting, salting and pickling meats, and all sorts of candies and desserts.  I hit the jackpot.

So I’d like to share with you the first recipe I have tried from Mrs. Curtis’s Cook Book.

Eggs Baked in Green Peppers

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 Eggs
1 Pepper

Directions

1. Cut pepper in half, scoop out seeds and stem and parboil pepper until tender.
2. Break an egg into each pepper and set pepper into a baking pan with boiling water.  In 15 minutes the eggs should be firm.
3. Serve on toast, with a white sauce or tomato sauce (optional).

Yógourmet yoghurt maker and Bulgarian culture.

Since borrowing a Yógourmet Electric Yogurt Maker from my Mom, I’ve been making oodles of bacteria-laden yoghurt every week!  Beneficial bacteria, that is.  Yogurt originally comes from Bulgaria.  Unlike soured milk, yoghurt is produced by heating the milk and then adding a culture.  According to Nourishing Traditions, the fermentation of milk makes it easily digestible for persons with lactose intolerance because a large part of the lactose is transformed into lactic acid, and because the presence of the enzyme lactase in fermented milk products helps break down lactose in the digestive tract.  Also, a portion of the milk protein (casein) is decomposed, liberating the amino acids of which it is formed.  Research shows that proteins in yoghurt are digested twice as quickly as those of nonfermented milk.

Various researchers have learned that children and certain adults can beat allergies by taking the supplement lactobacillus acidophilus, the friendly bacteria found in yoghurt [and other fermented foods].  One published study revealed that every allergic child who volunteered to be tested was deficient in lactobacillus acidophilus, a condition corrected, in most instances, by taking this supplement.

There are many variations of how to make yoghurt – here is one option.  Feel free to mix and match to figure out which way works best for you.

Letting the whey drip out.

Making Yogurt with Raw Milk

Ingredients

1 Quart Real Milk
1 packet Yoghurt Culture OR 1 Tb yoghurt (from a previous batch or commercial)
a candy thermometer

Directions

1. Slowly and gently heat milk to 175 degrees and then allow to cool to 110.
2. In a small bowl, mix 1 packet Yoghurt Culture with 2 Tb of heated milk.  Make sure the Culture is completely dissolved in the milk.
3. Pour the milk into the Yogourmet Yogurt Maker and set timer between 12 and 14 hours.
4. If you prefer thick yoghurt, pour yoghurt into multiple layers of cheesecloth or linen bag and let drip for 1-3 hours.  The clear liquid is whey and can be use in making sauerkraut or salsa or numerous other lacto-fermented foods.

Without raw milk

Ingredients

1 Quart pasteurized whole milk, nonhomogenized
1 packet Yoghurt Culture OR 1 Tb yoghurt (from a previous batch or commercial)
a candy thermometer

Directions

1. Slowly and gently heat milk to 180 degrees then allow to cool to about 110 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, stir in packet of yogurt culture with 2 Tb of heated milk. Make sure the culture is completely dissolved in the milk.
3. Pour the milk into the Yogourmet Yogurt Maker and set timer between 12 and 14 hours.
4. If you prefer thick yoghurt, pour yoghurt into multiple layers of cheesecloth or linen bag and let drip for 1-3 hours.  The clear liquid is whey and can be use in making sauerkraut or salsa or numerous other lacto-fermented foods.

Enjoy as a snack with raw honey and Nut Granola, or over Hot Cereal or Acorn Pancakes!!

Entered in Fight Back Friday, and Foodie’s Follow Friday.

A delectable and nutritious breakfast muffin. Much better than any fast food restaurants “muffin” selection.

These muffins are made with real bacon, not some reproduced soy piece of plastic.

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Muffins

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 pastured Eggs
2 Tb Bacon drippings
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
3 TBS Coconut Flour
8 strips nitrate-free Bacon: pastured pigs not fed soy
1/2 cup (4 oz) Cheddar Cheese: grass-fed, raw cheese
Butter, lard or paper muffin inserts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Fry bacon in a pan until crispy.  Then cut into little pieces.
3. Mix eggs, bacon drippings and salt in a mixing bowl, then add coconut flour and keep mixing until there are no lumps.
4. Add shredded cheese and bacon.
5. Grease your muffin tin with butter or lard, or use paper inserts.
6. Pour batter into muffin tin.
7. Bake 15 minutes.

Original recipe from Cheeseslave; tweaks by me!