Spinach frittatas

I found this recipe in an ad on my Facebook page (for once, my Facebook ads actually turned out something that interested me): http://www.opsm.com.au/eyeamhealthy/recipes

I decided to give it a go on a Monday night I wanted to pre-prepare some lunches without spending too much time in the kitchen. I didn't really fine-read the method before getting the groceries, and I realised a bit too late that it was a little too laborious for my liking, involving lots of zesting and wilting and chopping and beating and what-not. The OPSM guys promised it should take only 15 minutes to prepare - but for me it took at least 30... But then again, I'm such a slow-poke in the kitchen.  Also, you want to save this one for a day you are in the mood for doing large amounts of dishes: My kitchen was soon swimming in colanders, baking bowls, saucepans and bits of floppy spinach. 

Anyway, the frittatas turned out pretty well, and now I'm happy to have my lunches sorted for the rest of the week. Also it doesn't hurt to know that these frittatas are good for your eyes, especially if you spend a large part of the day staring at a screen. 

It's also such an improvement to see that something containing three types of full-fat cheeses is marketed as a healthy option!  

This is my take on the recipe. 


Ingredients:
1 small zucchini
120 g (1 bag) baby spinach leaves
1 teaspoon sea salt
375 g ricotta cheese
100 g grated Parmasan
2 green shallots
2 cloves garlic
20 g fresh dill
zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs
85 g crumbled feta 



Method:

• Grease 12 muffin-cups with oil.
• Grate the zucchini. Combine the zucchini with 1 teaspoon of salt in a colander and let sit to drain for 15 minutes.  Squeeze out as much liquid as possible using a spoon. 
• Steam spinach in 1/4 cup of water in a saucepan for a couple of minutes until floppy-looking. Then drain and set aside. 
• Beat the eggs well. 
• Combine ricotta, half of the Parmasan, feta, shallot, garlic, dill and lemon zest. Then stir in the beaten eggs, zucchini and the spinach. 
• Divide the mixture into the muffin-cups and bake for 35 minutes. 
• Sprinkle with  the remaining Parmasan and return to the oven until the cheese has melted. In my oven, it took roughly five minutes.  
• After removing from oven, allow the frittatas to cool down so they set. 

PS: Thanks to everyone who still keeps visiting my blog, even though it's updated once every leap-year... I can't promise that my presence here will be any less erratic, but I might pop by when I feel a sudden urge to blog. Sorry about not having answered comments recently! 

Omelette with feta, basil and sun-dried tomatoes

Oooops, I completely forgot to blog something last week. Suddenly, I'm super-busy again and time is just flying... I hope you will forgive me! But when life was more relaxed a few weeks ago, I used the opportunity to enjoy looooong, gourmet breakfasts on my front-veranda.I discovered that it doesn't take much to "pimp" that boring old omelette to something that could be served in the trendiest breakfast-place in Brisbane. So, I thought I'd share a breakfast recipe for a change. This is a slightly modified version of a recipe I found in the book  "Lavkarbo husmannskost" by Anna Hallen.

Ingredients
3 eggs
50 ml cream
10 sun-dried tomatoes
10 cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp butter
7 feta-cheese pieces
10 basil leaves 
A few "twists" with your salt-and-pepper grinders


Procedure

• Combine eggs, cream, salt and pepper and whip lightly using a fork. 
•  Melt the butter in a frying pan, and pour over the egg-mixture. Let egg-mixture settle into an omelette (like normally).
• Cut the sun-dried tomatoes, cherry-tomatoes and feta-cheese cubes in halves. 
• When the omelette is nearly cooked, sprinkle the sun-dried tomatoes, cherry-tomatoes and the cheese on top, along with the basil leaves. 
• Leave to simmer for a couple of minutes under a lid. 
• Serve!

Low carb scones for breakfast

This morning I was enjoying a slow start, and I decided to treat myself to home made low carb scones for brekkie. The recipe came from one of my Norway-treasures: The cookbook "Frisk med lavkarbo - 100 oppskrifter" by Norwegian  doctor Sofie Hexeberg and Gunn-Karin Sakariassen , currently not available in English (that I know of). 

Ingredients

80 g butter

120 g cheese

4 large eggs

120 g almonds

120 g walnuts

1 teaspoon baking powder

Olive oil 

Procedure

Coat a muffin tray  or large muffin cups with olive oil. 

Melt the butter, grate the cheese and whip the eggs lightly. 

Grind almonds and walnuts in a food processor. 

Add butter, cheese, almonds, nuts and baking powder to the whipped eggs and mix. Add a bit of water, should the batter feel too dry. (I didn't need to). Spread the mixture in a tray or muffin cups. I used a tray as shown in the photo below, and got 12 scones. 

Bake on 180 degrees C for 15 minutes. Then let the scones cool down before removing from the tray or the muffin cups. 

According to the authors, the scones are well suited for freezing. They may be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days, but apparently taste best when freshly baked or when heated up after being frozen. I can foresee this recipe going on repeat in my kitchen: SO yummy, and the scones will work for both breakfast, lunches or as a snack on-the-go. Next time I'll double the recipe and freeze most of it. 

I had mine with a bit of sugar free jam this morning, but they are probably even better with butter and cheese. 

The authors suggest adding bits of bacon, cooked ham or some spice to the batter for a bit of variation, and I might try that next time. 

Toasted müsli, LCHF style

I am SO glad I found this recipe, as well as finally finding he time to make it! Because this is the best müsli I have ever eaten.  It’s so healthy as well, without any of that nasty sugar the store-bought toasted müslis are full of.  And of course, it’s low in carbs as well. 

Ingredients

1 cup almonds

1 cup walnuts

1 cup hazelnuts

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup linseeds, whole

1 cup sesame seeds

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup water

½ cup coconut oil

5 tablespoons erythritol (or other sweetener), plus more erythritol for tossing

Cardamom

1 teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Roughly chop walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds and transfer to a large baking bowl.  Add seeds and the shredded coconut, stir.  Then add salt and sweetener. Pour over oil and water and stir well. Spread mixture on a baking tray, there’s no need to use baking-paper underneath.  Sprinkle more erythritol on top, along with some cardamom (if desired). Put the tray in the oven, without stirring at this point in time. Bake for 15 minutes in the middle of the oven. Then remove tray, stir thoroughly to prevent burning. Add another layer of erythritol, then bake for another 15 minutes before stirring again. Repeat process every fifteen minutes, with or without adding cardamom. I think I got 4 layers with sweetener, and chose to add cardamom on two of those layers. The baking-time was roughly 1 hour to make a crispy, golden müsli. Depending on your type of oven, it may take a bit more or less. I reduced the temperature down to 160 degrees C towards the end.  Guess what I’ll be having for breakfast tomorrow –  and probably for the rest of the week  :-D

Enjoy! 

Thanks to Caroline on www.fotballfrue.no for inspiration. I have made a couple of small changes, and "australianised" the recipe somewhat using cup-measures. 

Almond sesame crackers

These crackers have become a favourite of mine. They are perfect for breakfast, and also work nicely with a cheese-platter and some wine. I’ve been having them for breakfast quite frequently the last couple of months. Three of these with some brie and butter on, and I’m full until way past lunch-time.  I found the recipe at Linn’s blog, www.linn-sin-verden.blogspot.com.

Ingredients

250 ml ground almonds (or if you ground your own, use about 200 ml of whole almonds)

100 ml sesame seeds

2 eggwhites

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sweetener, I use erythritol

2 teaspoons psyllium husk fibre

Procedure

Heat oven to 180 degrees C.

Combine all ingredients in your mixer and mix for half a minute or so.  Then form round balls which you then squeeze flat on a baking paper.  Moisten your hands with water beforehand;  it makes it easier to form the crackers.  This recipe gives me 8-9 “breakfast-sized” crackers, but if you are making these to have with wine and nibblies, they can be made smaller as well. They also taste nicely with some sea-salt tossed on top right before they go in the oven.  Bake for 20 – 25 minutes depending on size.

Enjoy! 

This is how my breakfast looked like one morning. I had actually been a bit  too optimistic with the amounts of food on my plate, I couldn't finish it all... 

LCHF breakfast rolls

My favourite Norwegian low carb blogger, Lena Beatrice on  www.lenabeatrice.net has written her first cookbook. Through the last year and a half I have found so much inspiration on her amazing blog. So of course I had to get her book! This amazing author personally mailed me the book all the way from Norway to Australia! Even with a very nice dedication and her autograph! Lena has lost 45 kgs following LCHF, and - like myself - she has found LCHF the solution for staying slim for life!

What I love about her cooking - and her book as well - is that the recipes are simple: Just yummy everyday foods with ingredients you can find in most food stores.

I thought I'd share her recipe for breakfast rolls: They are a bit oopsie-like and SO yummy. Enjoy!

4 egg whites
25 g almonds, grounded
25 g sunflower seeds, grounded
25 g linseed
25 g sesame seeds
1 teaspoon  baking powder
1 pinch of salt

Beat the egg whites stiff. Carefully turn in seeds and almonds. Use a spoon and place into four little piles on a baking tray covered in baking paper.

Bake on 175 degrees at the bottom shelf of the oven for around 20 minutes.

Nannah's crispbreads

Nannah has been active on a Norwegian low carb forum for years, and she is wellknown for her amazing recipes. Her low carb crisp breads are a hit among Norwegian lowcarbers. This recipe is so good that it deserves to be made available for the English-speaking world, so I decided to post it here on my blog. Nannah has now started a low carb blog, where she posts recipes and photos of all her wonderful LCHF food creations. Have a look at it here, and use google translator: 

http://hanseloggretel.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/nannahs-knekkebrd.html

200 g sunflower seeds 

50 g linseed

50 g sesame seed

50 g natural bran

2 tbsp (the 15 ml size) psyllium husk fibre

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tbsp erythritol 

500 ml water

Stir ingredients together.  Let the dough sit for 10 minutes for the psyllium husk to swell. Spread the mass on two baking trays covered with baking paper. Use a pizza wheel to divide into squares.  Bake on 160 degrees C for 1 hour 10 minutes, both baking trays in the oven at the same time. Let the trays switch place twice during the baking time, as well as turning the trays around once. 

Each crispbread should have less than 1 grams of carbohydrates (based on 32 plates)

The crispbreads tastes wonderfully when served with some butter and cheese. Can be eaten for breakfast, snack or even lunch.

LCHF breakfast smoothie

Having this nutrition-bomb of a smoothie on your front-veranda is such a fabulous way of starting a day. I found the recipe on my new favourite blog www.densyvendesans.wordpress.com and only changed it slightly. 

1 tbsp linseed

1 tbsp sunflower seeds

1 tbsp dessicated coconut

80 g frozen raspberries

100 ml cream 

50 g cottage cheese

50 g Greek yoghurt 

(NB! The tablespoon measures I've used are all the 15 ml kind, which should equal an Aussie dessert spoon)

Combine the seeds and coconut in a blender and blend for a few seconds. 

Add the rest of the ingredients into the blender and blend untill smooth. Add some milk if it's too thick.  (I had to add some, but don't know the measure exactly)

Serve in a tall glass with a couple of ice cubes. This nutritious and KJ dense smoothie kept me full for six hours straight. 

LCHF waffles

If I’ll be honest, sometimes it sucks having to follow an eating program where you have to make most foods from scratch. It’s all about planning if you want to succeed, and I’ll admit that I can be a bit slack in the planning-department. I have all these good intentions, but I still sometimes wake up, not having a clue what to have for breakfast or lunch. There’s no way I can buy anything in the café at uni, because it’s all heavily laden with starch and sugar. I’m not a morning-person at the best of times. But Friday I really had to force my eyes open when my alarm clock rang because I was so exhausted after a long and hard week. I didn’t feel able to put two thoughts together until I had finished my ginormous jug of coffee with cream. I opened the fridge, and found nothing exciting. I didn’t feel like cooking anything, and there was my partner just popping two pieces of bread into the toaster, and his brekkie was ready. Oh, how tempted I was to do just that! But after half an hour of procrastinating and slowly waking up, I suddenly found a solution to both my lunch and brekkie-problem: Low carb waffles! Waffles are perfect, because you can just make a big batch and have several days in a row. (If you have the time to make them, of course) I decided not to do the 30 minute drive to uni, but have a day of home-study, so even though I had such a slow start I still ended up with a productive morning. 

So, my advice to anyone, including myself, following a low carb way of living is: Planning, planning and planning! That way you’re not faced with making impossible decisions on mornings when you are walking around comatose and just wish you could sneak back into bed and pull the covers over your head. ..

The recipe that came to my rescue was by amazing blogger Cecilie from www.fristendelavkarbo.no, and her amazing pink baking-book by the same name (unfortunately not available in English - yet)

4 eggs
4 dessertspoons of erythritol
1 tub of full fat sour cream
100 ml almond flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 dessertspoons psyllium husk
Cardamom and/or cinnamon after taste

Let the batter stand to swell for a few minutes before baking  in a waffle iron. The waffles get quite thin, but very tasty. 
Serve for example with blueberries on. Enjoy! 
(Makes 10-12 waffles)

Low carb bread

Scandinavian people definitely eat lots of bread. Norwegian health authorities actually advice people to eat bread three(!) times daily. However, this is whole-grain bread with a lot more good stuff than even the healthiest bread we can get here in Australia. For example, the bread my mother bakes is heavy as a brick and fills you quite a bit.  Perhaps because  Scandinavians are so addicted to their breads, low carb blogs and forums are full of recipes for yummy low carb breads. What I love about low carb baking is that it's so easy: No hour-long waits for the bread to rise, just mix the ingredients together and pop it in the oven. Here is the recipe for my favourite low carb bread. One reason that I like this recipe is  it demands no mysterious ingredients that you have to venture to a health food store to get.

Recipe for one bread:
4 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
150 grams Creme Fraiche
60 grams natural bran
40 grams linseed
50 grams sesame seeds
50 grams sunflower seeds

 Mix ingredients and pour into a bread tray covered with baking paper.
Bake at the bottom shelf on 180 degrees (C) for around 50 minutes

Enjoy it for example with butter and brie, cheese with some ham and capsicum. Or with peanut butter and sugar-free jelly (if you can handle the extra carbs from peanut butter). Super-healthy and leaves you full and with a stable blood sugar for hours and hours.

PS:  I had to make a few changes when making the bread that's on the photo. I didn't have linseed, so I used LSA instead. And I added pumpkin seeds. In addition, my kitchen scales are broken, so I just had to improvise. I'm normally one who follows recipes strictly, but this time I actually had to play with the ingredients - and it worked!

Easy LCHF breakfast

Put some frozen berries in the microwave and defrost.
Add some full fat Greek yoghurt. If you think the yoghurt tastes too "sharp", add  a little bit of cream.
Add a mixture of chopped nuts, for example hazelnuts, macadamias, almonds and walnuts.
Enjoy with a cup of black coffee with full fat cream.

Keeps me full for six hours!

We spent Christmas on the Sunshine Coast, and I had breakfast each morning enjoying this view, after coming back from my morning walk along the beach. Oh how I wish I could wake up to this view every day...