breakfast and lunch

     Even though I did break down and buy a box of Peanut Butter Cheerios, I have been trying to be good and not eat them for breakfast every day.  It's just nice to have something quick during the week, especially since I've not slept well the past few nights (I guess when Jon is traveling I am sleeping with one ear open, and I hear every little sound...it worked out good the other night, however, when Nathan's sleep talking woke me and I decided to check Zach's blood sugar...he was 54).  This morning I made myself a cheese omelet with 2 eggs, about 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar, and then topped it with that yummy chipotle Tabasco sauce.  Since I had a tomato I had a slice with some salt and pepper, plus a half of a navel orange (BJ's, they're good!).  Very satisfying, and I felt like my body was really happy with me!

Lunch yesterday was coconut curry chicken nuggets, sweet potato spears (dipped in melted coconut oil and baked on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil for about 30 minutes at 450 degrees, turned halfway during cooking), and the Brussels sprouts I blogged about last time.  The kids dipped the spears and nuggets in some ketchup, but I think some sort of yogurt dipping sauce would be good with the chicken.

Sometimes, I just feel inspired...

Brussels sprouts, really?

I have heard numerous family members comment on how they used to hate Brussels sprouts until they had them prepared this way.  I'm pretty sure I posted on this before, but perhaps not in as much detail (I'm obviously being too lazy to look back at previous posts).  Any-hoo, it deserves to be posted again, nevertheless.

Best Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

• about a pound of Brussels sprouts, I get mine in a 3 pound bag at BJ's in the produce section
• about 1/4 cup coconut oil
• a couple tablespoons of butter
• a couple tablespoons of soy sauce
• a little sea salt
• a good heavy skillet

Directions:

     Wash sprouts thoroughly, maybe remove any dirty-looking leaves (sort of like you'd do with cabbage or lettuce, which they look like a miniature version of). Cut them in half (such that you have two equal parts).  Heat your oil over medium-high heat until hot and almost popping, then neatly place the sprouts cut side down to cover the bottom of your skillet.  Check them after a few minutes using a fork, and when sufficiently browned turn each one over, cook a few more minutes on that side.  If the oil has mostly absorbed at this point, add a couple pads of butter to the pan to keep it moist, and toss the sprouts around a little.  Add a little soy sauce, not too much if it's not low sodium, and just a little salt.  Toss a bit more, and then they're ready to be devoured!  Seriously, we have them with cheeseburgers instead of fries.

strawberry goodness

We've gone strawberry picking a couple of times this year, most of which I froze, some of which we had with whipped cream or plain, some of which Jon had in his Cheerios, and some of which I used for making this dessert.  I tweaked Elana Amsterdam's Very Vanilla Cupcakes recipe a little (if you get her almond flour cookbook, the original recipe is delectable!), put about a tablespoon of whipped strawberry icing on top (roughly 7 grams of carbs, not too shabby), then topped that with a half of a strawberry.  They're very rich and moist, and would be good with coffee for breakfast.  Since I did use vegetable oil (I have also made them with melted coconut oil, even better) and sugar, these are definitely shmaleo.  Here is my revised and therefore original (?) recipe:

Strawberry Almond Flour Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup vegetable or coconut oil (melted)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

     Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.  In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until pale yellow, then whisk in the oil, sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice.  In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks begin to form with a handheld mixer, then gently fold egg whites into the mixture.  

     In a separate bowl, combine the last three ingredients, then gently fold that into the egg mixture.  Put about 1/4 cup scoops into muffin cups, bake for about 20 minutes, or until slightly golden brown on the edges and the tops spring back when touched (or toothpick comes out clean).  Cool on a wire rack, then frost, etc.  I stuck mine in the freezer overnight, they were sort of refreshing that way!  FYI, I have been bolusing Zach about 25 grams for one, and he doesn't even spike.