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savory egg custard in an Instant Pot

To heal my insulin resistance and use up my excess body fat, I started following a high-fat, moderate protein, low carb diet. (Diabetes stalks everyone in my family, so Pure Paleo hasn’t been enough to keep me lean. Actually, it didn’t help me lose weight at all. I’ve abandoned the CICO model in favor of LCHF and IF- Great success this last month). I want to enjoy cooking and eating. So I am looking for recipes worthy of a Feast.  Here’s one I think you’ll enjoy.

High Fat and Savory Custard, adapted from a recipe by Julia Childs, which of course means delicious.

Special Equipment: Pressure Cooker

  • 1 whole egg
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 3/4 c hot, delicious homemade broth (I used beef marrow broth)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Set up the steam basket or trivet in the Instant Pot and add the water. Butter the ramekins. I used two for this recipe.

Add salt & pepper as desired to the broth. (Mine is already well-seasoned, so I don’t do this. But you could!).

Whisk the egg and yolks;  stream a thin ribbon of the egg mixture into the broth while whisking.

If you want pretty custard, keep the foamy top from going into the broth. As you can see from the bubble marks on my photo, I don’t care so much about pretty when cooking.

Pour the mixture into the ramekins and cover the ramekins tightly with aluminum foil. (This keeps the condensation off the top of your custard and hopefully prevents a rubber, rather than silky texture). Edited to add: if you don’t cover the dish, the steam will settle in the dish and you’ll end up with your custard in a water bath. 😦

Set the ramekins onto the steam basket/trivet; Lid the pot. Be sure the vent knob is on Sealed.

Manual – Low Pressure – 6 minutes, followed by Full Natural Release (about 6 minutes).

Carefully remove the ramekins and the foil. No steam burns are permitted!  Enjoy. I liked eating these warm. SMOOOOTH!  They take the flavor of the broth, so be sure to use the best quality. Watch out for nasty ingredients in store-bought. I imagine they’d be good cold too. But these didn’t last that long.

custard

savory egg custard

 

 

chicken curry in a hurry

I recently bought an Instant Pot and I love being able to turn my back on a pressure cooker. I made a delicious chicken curry the other night and was asked for the recipe. Serves 4 unless you’re feeding teens. Then it serves 3.

  • 6 chicken drumsticks
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 red onion, medium, peeled and quartered
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into coins
  • 2 T curry paste (sorry, peeps, I went store-bought on this one).
  • 2 or 3 small tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 zucchini, sliced into big chunks
  • Salt to taste
  • 100 ml coconut milk, full fat, no additives
  • half of a tiny jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, sliced into bits. (Don’t wipe your eyes!)
  • half an English cucumber, peeled lightly and chopped into bite-sized bits

Serve over: cauliflower rice  (raw worked fine for me)

Heat the Instant Pot on Saute, add the oil and brown the chicken thighs with the onions. Add the carrots. Add about 1/2 c water, the curry paste and coconut milk. Stir wildly. Add the tomatoes and zucchini. Stir gently.  Lid the pot. Close the vent. Push the stew button. Come back in 30 minutes.  Enjoy over cauli-rice, topped with the chopped cuke.

After dinner, we had about half the recipe remaining. I left it in the pot, replaced the lid and pushed the slow cooker button. The next morning, I transferred the curry to a glass storage container (because I’m paranoid about plastic). Slow cooking overnight had transformed it into an even more delicious meal.

 

21DSD January L1Day One

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21DSD January L1Day One

today’s plan: work at home, prep for lectures this week, grade papers, do laundry, tidy up from holiday

today’s eats

breakfast:

  • several mugs of Pheasant bone broth (prepared overnight in the oven in a cast iron covered dish)
  • espresso with a little whole milk x3

Lunch (late in the afternoon, since I didn’t get hungry)

  • homemade almond milk smoothie with whey protein powder, a cucumber, avocado and ginger

Dinner (again, late)

  • pulled pork shoulder, avocado, salsa, tomato, red peppers, sour cream, cucumbers
  • sauteed green apple, cinnamon, ginger, bacon fat, squeeze of lemon, with butter and almond flour, Greek yogurt

Late snack (I was hungry and waited! for it to pass. It didn’t)

  • warmed mug of almond milk

21DSD T-1 ready?

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1DayChecklist

I did my “big shop” yesterday: chard, cauliflower, zucchini, Italian chicory, peppers, cucumbers, Granny Smith apples, pink grapefruit, pork shoulder, fresh salmon, smoked salmon, eggs, pork belly, pheasant and chicken bones, and on. I made stock overnight from the chicken thigh bones leftover from dinner. And we smoked the back bacon yesterday. I use the Royal We, but in fact, Jeff watched the smoker temperature all day. I helped by curing the meat for a week, flipping it in the smoker and then putting it away this morning.

Today I’m going to roast the pork shoulder and use up the ground beef I bought a couple days ago. And practice what I preach: sketch out some meals using the  meal planning forms I found on the internet. Each of these forms provides a space for planning breakfast. I felt confused at first. I’ve never really planned a week of breakfasts. Then it occurred to me that mornings would be easier if I at least decided in advance what the possibilities were. THIS planner turned out to be my current favorite. Organized by meal category (breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner), this form includes space for seven ideas for each meal category. Then you can check off each meal after you make it.

The 21DSD book has meal plans and recipes. I want to keep it simple this week. I will try some “tried-n-true” and some new.

Interested in small group support? I am organising coaching support, probably with a couple weeks of testing later this month. I hope to be ready to start in February. Meanwhile, there is a lot of support in the official Detox Forum. You can find more information here. Lots of guides, lists, recipes and friendly people too.

21DSD T-5 prepare for success

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21DSD T-5 prepare for success

How do you want to feel in 2015? Free from sugar cravings? Join me!

Click Here!

5DayChecklist

21DSD – T-7 One week away from Day 1 (Monday, 5 January)

strength in numbers! Here’s to a healthier January.

50 fit

I’m thinking about ways I can make this program easier: I will succeed at three week sugar-free me.  I’ve joined the official program at the basic level, so I can have access to the 21DSD forum. Join Here!

Identify your why

  • why are you doing this? What do you want to get out of it?
  • what are you willing to put into it?
  • how do you plan to stay on track? do you have a reminder system? A buddy?  Come join us at 50 Fit.

Learn from the past

  • What have you tried in the past?
  • What worked? What didn’t?
  • Think about how you can apply what you’ve learned. Write some notes to yourself.

Read the instructions in 21DSD

  • choose your level (keeping in mind the phrase, “don’t be a hero”)
  • look at the yes/no lists for your level
  • do you need an energy modification?

Plan for your…

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Ketogenic AIP: Q&A

Petra is a smart writer whose food views coincide with my own. However, she’s much better at writing regularly. So I thought you’d enjoy a “re-blog”

soft-boiled eggs with Swiss chard

I am looking for ways to add greens to my meals and to rock out of my food rut. Instead of saying “I should” to myself, I ask my brain, “how could we do this….” Solutions, rather than shoulds.

This morning I loathed the idea of fried eggs. Instead, I spied some fresh baby chard and thought, why not for breakfast?

I paired soft-boiled eggs with the Swiss chard, which I sautéed lightly in bacon drippings.

I started the eggs before the greens. They were done at the same time. A twist of pepper and a dollop of balsamic vinegar creme and voilà! Very satisfying.

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21DSD – Notes from Day One (Monday)

First piece of advice: never start on a Monday. They’re busy enough. … It would help to follow the directions – the book suggests taking a week to get prepared. I am more of a Jump-Start person. I have a kitchen-full of “alternative” ingredients (almond butter, coconut oil, coconut amino, etc.). So I felt comfortable getting going.

On the other hand, why wait? I did not want to fall victim to “I’ll start tomorrow”.  And I’ve decided I don’t need to be perfect.  I’ve tried the Whole30 protocol and have FAILED repeatedly, making me think I am a FAILURE. False.  

I decided instead with the 21 Day Sugar Detox that 1) I am going to do several of these;  2) I will try my best;  3) I will not be perfect; and 4) I will be gentle and persistent. 

When I took the quiz, I scored as  a Level 1 [since I’ve been “free range eating” lately], which did not satisfy the inner-food-Nazi. But did delight the inner milk-addict.  I’m going to try the “easier way”.  Easy is good. Easy gets done. Easy leads to more joyful experiences. That’s my new story.

 

21dsd Day zero. Sunday

planning ahead means I don’t have to rely on will power to make good choices.

Planned:
eggs, bacon, tomato and spinach
coffee with almond milk

Ate:
Eggs scrambled in the remnants of fried pancetta
handful of sliced cherry tomatoes sprinkled with basil
roasted Brussels sprouts with pancetta and chopped walnuts
espresso with whole milk [my kryptonite]

Planned:
salmon salad with nori wrap, green salad

Ate: leftover Brussels sprouts cold from the fridge
Banana
Just wasn’t that hungry.
Coffee with whole milk

Planned:
mini-meatloaves
cauli-mash
salad

Ate: ground beef stir fry with recipe from Well Fed. It was tasty but I have to admit that Chinese five spice is not my favorite combination.
Japanese veggies. Boksoy, yellow carrot, mushrooms, red onion, leek and snow peas.

Roasted parsnips and pumpkin. So so easy!

Planned:
snack: beef jerky, hard boiled egg

Ate: None. Not hungry

thinking ahead: afternoon concert has a short pause where I can drink tea or coffee if I bring my own creamer. Enjoyed their fresh koffiemelk.

other good ideas:

water. Check.
sleep. Soon!
exercise. Not much yet.
fun. Definitely