WIAW + Easy Egg White Garlic and Veggie Frittata

Hello and welcome to my (at least lately) once a week post!  I used to be better about posting at least 3 times a week, but it's apparently busy season at work with life in general.  I've noticed a few other bloggers have decreased their postings too, so I don't feel so bad, but I do prefer writing to all of you about food over working.

Anyway, how's it going?  Are you taking advantage of the Cyber Monday week?  Seriously, retailers find any excuse to extend their "deals" to keep on advertising and get people shopping.  It works for me....when online....I despise going out in the crowds to shop.

Amazon has some pretty awesome deals all this week and although I should be looking for others, I always end up looking at the food deals....for myself! I can't help it, I have an addiction to seeking out good food!  Anyone else with me here?

Speaking of online shopping, time is limited and I want to get everything for friends and family now, so I'm cutting the post short.  Plus, I just tried to upload pictures and apparently I've met my 1GB of storage allowed.  So I have some clean-up on aisle Picasa Web Album before I can post more pics.

When you're in a crunch for time but still want a delicious and healthy meal, this loaded veggie frittata is a must! I like to microwave steam my frozen veggies while I let the pan pre-heat on the stove.  You could just toss them right on without steaming, but it will take longer to cook them...obviously.

Easy Egg White Garlic and Veggie Frittata

Ingredients

1.5 cups of frozen or fresh veggies of choice

3 egg whites; or 1/2 cup liquid egg whites

2 cloves garlic, chopped

A dash each of cumin, black pepper, dried basil, chili powder, and cayenne

1/2 tbsp Coconut Oil

Optional topping of choice - I like salsa or brown mustard

Directions (Follow them, or not, I'm sure it'll turn out great!)

-Set a wide, medium depth saute pan on the stove over medium-high heat

-Steam your favorite mix of vegetables. I used mushrooms, broccoli, red bell peppers, celery, and onions

-Add oil and garlic to pan and saute until fragrant; about 45 seconds

-Add the rest of your veggies and spices and stir to combine everything together. Let cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

-Add egg whites to pan and twirl to evenly distribute.

-Cover pan to let top of eggs cook from the steam for about 1 minute.

-Check to make sure top of eggs is set and remove from heat.  Slide onto plate, add toppings if desired and enjoy!

I love the fact that you can use a slice of the frittata as a delicious sandwich filler.  If you haven't tried....do it, sandwiches are awesome.

Okay, off to do some shopping for loved ones....and maybe some for myself.  Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I do have a nice salad topped with roasted veggies and eggs that made a great dinner.  Thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting What I Ate Wendesday!!

And of course I had a cup of both types of my chocolate and vanilla winter squash protein dip for dessert.

If you haven't entered yet, click here to enter for your chance to win a box each of Crunchmaster Kid's Cheesy and Grammy Crisps. The contest will end this Friday, November 30th.

Meatless Monday Microwave Frittata

Do you still eat fish and eggs on Meatless Monday? I mean, eggs aren’t meat, and fish is always classified as “fish” separately from “meat” when used in a sentence together. So, although I try to refrain from fish in observance of Meatless Monday, it might sneak in my meals occasionally.

Did you have a good weekend? I didn’t do much on Saturday, and Sunday was cook and mow the lawn day. Fun. We did pack the 3 bikes (1 road bike, 1 mountain bike, and Kelley’s mountain bike) that were in our garage into our car and sold them…..for way too cheap. I hated doing it, they were nice Giant brand bikes with some pricey components, but I don’t ride like I used to, so it was time to sell.

I want to buy a decent hybrid bike that I can use to ride to work (when it’s not 100+ here) and take it on a smooth off-road path if I so desire. Anyone else like to ride? Do you have any suggestions for a good all around bike?

Since my typical Sunday of trying to prepare 5 meals each for Kelley and me to take to work, experiment with at least 2 recipes, make a big bowl of healthy dessert dip to enjoy throughout the week, mow the lawn, and get a work out in, I sometimes forget to actually eat. You would think standing in the kitchen for hours and being surrounded by food would have me constantly eating, but my head is too wrapped up in everything I want to make!

Do you have that problem, or do you find yourself snacking and sampling your creations? Anywho, I was in need of something good, something quick, and obviously healthy; so I looked to the mighty microwave for help.

With half a bag of cut okra and a few carrots begging to be used, I microwave steamed the two in a somewhat shallow bowl. Not really looking like the okra and carrots would fill me up (surprise!), I added 3 egg whites and a little Artisana Coconut Oil right in the bowl. I don’t skimp on the seasonings, so after spicing the mix up, I put it back in the microwave for a minute. Another 30 seconds after that, and I had a healthy and tasty microwave “frittata.”

Artisana sent me several sample packs to try and review, and the coconut butter and oil are FAN-tastic! I can’t believe it took me this long to try the stuff! Anyway, keep an eye out for my review coming soon to a blog near you…..mine.

If eggs are on your acceptable list today, give this easy, healthy, and highly customizable dish a try; you’ll be happy you did!

Microwave Veggie Fritatta

by RC Liley

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 6-8 minutes

Ingredients (Serves 1)

• 1.5 cups of frozen or fresh veggies of choice
• 3 egg whites
• A dash each of cumin, black pepper, dried basil, chili powder, and cayenne
• 1/2 tbsp Artisana Coconut Oil
• Favorite salsa and hot sauce for topping

Instructions

Microwave steam your veggies. I used cut okra and carrots, covered in a microwave-safe bowl and cooked for 5 1/2 minutes.

Add spices, egg whites, and coconut oil to your veggies and stir to combine.

Microwave uncovered for 1 minute 25 seconds.

Turn bowl to bring any uncooked egg to the side and cook another 45 seconds.

Remove from bowl* or eat in bowl using salsa and hot sauce as toppings.

Enjoy! This could be turned into a tasty veggie and egg sandwich too....maybe next time?

*You may need to coat your bowl with cooking spray to keep from sticking. I didn't use any and the fritatta came out easy, but just a note.

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After making a frittata in the microwave, I’m starting to question what else I could make in the “hot box.”


Q: Do you have any favorite microwave recipes? Please share what you have as I obviously love microwave cooking!

How to Make Your Own Healthy Egg “McGriddle”

Have you ever had a McGriddle breakfast sandwich from McDonald’s? The soft maple-flavored pancake “buns” sandwiching crispy bacon or sausage, egg and cheese creates a sweet and savory fast food breakfast. Mmm, I really enjoyed these sandwiches back in my “ignorant to how food is made” days. Now...not so much.


Glad to be free of food ignorance now, I see through the "M" branded griddle cakes stuffed with fluffy egg and crispy bacon.  I only see low-quality, non-nutritional ingredients like enriched flour, artificial flavors designed in a science lab, and cheese that is anything but. Starting from the top, lets break down the ingredients in one of these sandwiches from McD’s. This info is straight from their site here.

Who brands their buns anyway?

One Bacon, Egg, and Cheese McGriddle (source) packs a whopping 420 calorie handheld heart attack served neatly in colored paper wrap. You get a substantial (not in a good way) 18g of fat, 240mg of cholesterol, 1110mg of sodium, 2g fiber, and 15g of sugar. Still sound good? Lets keep going….

The top-level ingredients for a Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles® are:

Griddle Cakes, Folded Egg, Pasteurized Process American Cheese, Bacon, Liquid Margarine


Seems somewhat safe, but dig deeper and we find the Griddle Cakes have a little more than you or I would use to make pancakes:

Water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, dextrose, palm oil, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), brown sugar, salt, soybean oil, rice flour, whey powder, modified tapioca starch, buttermilk powder, caramel color, natural (dairy and botanical source) and artificial flavors, soy lecithin, corn oil (processing aid).


Surely there’s nothing in the Folded Egg besides "egg"….right?....wrong:

Pasteurized whole eggs, food starch-modified, soybean oil, natural flavors (botanical source), sodium acid pyrophosphate, carrageenan, flavor enhancer [salt, maltodextrin, natural flavor (plant source), spices, herb, turmeric (color)], monosodium phosphate, citric acid, soy lecithin (release agent).

And the topping on (and in) the “cake” is Liquid Margarine:

Liquid soybean oil and hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils, water, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, salt, soy lecithin, mono-and diglycerides, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservatives), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color).

This is an example of why I cook at home. You can find many places that provide fresh, healthy ingredients, but the fact that I just don’t have control of what I'm eating bothers me. Plus, I don’t want to pay a premium because someone else prepared my meal when I can do the same from the comfort of home; and I’ll tip myself, thank you.

My version is actually what you would expect an egg sandwich with pancake buns to be; two pancakes with a cooked egg in the middle. Wow, shocker!! I cooked a batch of pumpkin pancakes using less liquid in my crepe recipe on this post, but you can use your favorite pancake recipe if you choose.

The fluffy white one was my weapon egg of choice for the pics.

For the egg, I had this bright idea to microwave it in a small, circular glass dish to make the perfect round egg patty. As you can see, I did this 4 times and the egg just expanded into a miniature Leaning Tower of Pisa. Fail. I made do with the best rounded one of the bunch and just saved the other eggs to put on salad. Since my pancakes were too big, I trimmed around them a little; not necessary, but I wanted to make it look good!

Topped with a drizzle of honey, sprinkle of cayenne, and dash of pepper, this was a delectably sweet and spicy sandwich I devoured right after the last picture. I was so excited when the idea to make this sandwich came to mind, and I’m glad I did. I no longer crave a McGriddle after seeing the extensive list of crap for ingredients, but my non-McGriddles are a delightful (and healthy) way to start or end the day.

I think it's smiling at me...

Egg sandwiches are just awesome, and I recall having many homemade scrambled egg and ketchup sandwiches on white bread as a kid. Not all that healthy, but better than McD’s. I'll just have these instead from now on.


Q: Have you ever made your own fast food version into something healthier?


Q2: Do you like egg sandwiches with ketchup?