Crust-Less Spinach Quiche My-Way

hehe.. I sure do a lot of things My Way, don't I?  Reminds me of good ol' Frank Sinatra...

Before I get into this I want to stress the importance of eating BREAKFAST...   not just any breakfast, a high protein breakfast.. (and NO toast, muffins, pancakes, english muffins, danish, cereal, waffles.. basically nope.. none of the really yummy stuff... )  If you eat a high protein breakfast with none of the goodies listed above, you will stay full for hours.. not a single hunger pain...it's really true... isn't it worth it? 

Anyhow, I had a request from a very good old friend for this recipe. (She's not not really OLD, cause she is 10 years younger than me and I'm not old yet...  but our camaraderie and (partnership in crime) goes way back to when we both had a houseful of kids... and she did such radical things as carrying one of her daughters (who was crying) out of a church service upside down by her feet... (sorry, dear friend, I just can't help it that every time I think of you I get that image in my head.)   oopps... sorry I digress.  For now, my good old friend will remain anonymous.

So... Crust-less Spinach Quiche.. there IS an actual recipe, but forget that... just follow the basics and make it how you think you'll like it.. keep on experimenting with different combinations, it's fun and almost always tasty.... not only that.. it's cheap, easy, and handy to have in the fridge for a quick low-carb meal or snack.  You may even get your family hooked on it.

First, fry up some bacon (assuming you like bacon)... get it good and crisp, then take it out of the pan and crumble or chop it to add back later.  Saute a chopped onion in the bacon grease... Big onion, small onion, your choice.  If you haven't fried bacon... just use some bacon grease that you have saved from previous bacon-frying. (WHAT?  you don't save bacon grease??? what's wrong with you... you can use oil if you must.. preferably healthy oil like olive or coconut).  So, saute the onion.  When it gets nice and soft, that's when you add some spinach or other greens of your choice.. a healthy choice is KALE.

Now, get this.. you have to pre-steam the (chopped up) kale or spinach if you are using fresh (then squeeze out the excess water..)  If you choose frozen greens, you should defrost them ahead of time and squeeze out all the water. (the original recipe actually calls for 10 oz of frozen spinach) Add that to your large skillet with the onion and bacon grease.. you can add back the crumbled bacon.. let it cook a little while to cook out any excess moisture.

Meanwhile.. you should have cracked 6 eggs into a bowl.. added 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  Whisk it up... Add three cups of grated cheese.  I usually use mostly pepper jack with maybe a cup of something else like cheddar...  (you should have been doing that while the stuff in the skillet was sizzling away).

Add in the stuff in the skillet.. stir well and pour into an 8x8 pan.  (mine is glass, not sure if that matters or not)...  oh yeah.. don't forget to "grease the pan"... I use cooking spray.  I have used coconut oil before but it seemed to cause the "quiche" to brown a little too quickly on the bottom.  But, hey, experiment.  You are all grown up now and can do whatever you want!

(If you really want your "quiche" to look like a quiche, you can bake it in a large pie pan... I prefer the 8x8  square.. round stuff is so awkward to fit in the fridge.. )  A long time ago I thought that any round containers should be outlawed...  we have enough senseless laws, at least this one would make sense.. saving space.. and who doesn't want to save space?

So.. you have all that in the pan... sprinkle some Parmesan on top if you happen to have it.  It will make it pretty and brown nicely.. good for you too.  I usually use the shredded Parmesan but ran out and used the powdery stuff  and it turned out just fine too.

You should have preheated the oven to 350.  I forgot to mention that as the first step.  oopps.

Put your quiche in the oven for about 25 minutes.  I usually take a peek and poke it with a butter knife at about 20 minutes since my oven is sort of schizophrenic.  It's the ol' butter knife routine.. you know?  when it comes out "clean" it's done.  ...May even take 30 minutes.  I just cook until the butter knife is clean.

There you go... Crust-less Spinach (or Kale) Quiche.. MY WAY

Not such an artistic photo, I know.. I think I did better on the next one (below)

Something for more adventuresome experimenters...  I often make them in silicone muffin pans.  They cook a little less time.. the silicone lets them pop right out onto a cooling rack where I let them cool and then freeze them individually on a cookie sheet before stuffing them in to zip lock bags for later one-at-a-time quick breakfasts. This is a bit more of a hassle than just pouring it in a pan and setting the cooked quiche in the fridge until it disappears (which usually isn't long).  BUT these are really handy for times like.. if your hubby eats all your quiche and you need some for breakfast.. or to take along on a weekend away.. or whatever.. and anyhow they are sorta cute, right?

Ta-Da... Instant breakfast.  Don't forget to nuke them though.  I Love these silicone things.. I had lots of trouble with the mini quiches sticking to regular ol metal muffin tins.. no matter what I tried to prevent it.  I got these on Amazon.

Also...  you dont' have to stick to bacon as your "meat".. heck, you don't even have to put meat in at all.. but you can use whatever meat (and or) veggies that you happen to have on hand... chopped ham, left over burger or whatever.. (the only alternative I have actually tried though is the ham... I mean as long as I have bacon... I'm eating bacon.  If I run out of bacon, then I may have to make due with something else like ham.

Other good additions that i have tried.. mushrooms, finely chopped water chestnuts.. left over broccoli, left over zucchini...  (But don't omit the greens if you can help it because GREENS are sooo good for you, especially spinach and kale.)  NOTE:  Nope, you can't add potatoes to this and keep it in low-carb status.

Basically:  6 eggs, 3 cups grated cheese, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, about 10oz frozen spinach or equivalent, BACON or something similar.  cook about 25 minutes give or take in 350 oven.

Okay, old friend... is all that clear?  If you have reached this point, you get another gold star.

Sorry.. no time to proof read or even re-read to see if this makes sense.

Trying to give credit where credit is due:
I can't remember where I got the original recipe, but I'm pretty sure it was from Carb Tripper   http://carbtripper.blogspot.com/ 

The Way I Eat... most of the time

The Way I Eat... most of the time

I should have started this earlier in the morning instead of watching last nights episode of The Bachelor....  oops.

Anyhow (hoping I can find my brain), I want to tell you about the way I eat currently which is for basic health, and not to actually lose weight, but not to gain it either.  I'm pretty sure that my current eating plan may cause some people to LOSE weight though if it is a drastic change in their diet.

The Way I Figure It.... the best way to eat is the simplest way...

Meat, Fish, Eggs, Cheese, Fresh Veggies (steamed or raw), Fresh fruit, Lots of Healthy Fats (will explain that one later) and lots of water.. and yeah, coffee with heavy cream...

When I say simple, I mean how hard is it to broil or grill (on an indoor contact grill) a steak, pork chip, or burger patty... and steam some veggies to go with it?  Or throw together a mixed green, kale, or spinach salad?

How hard is it to scramble some eggs, add whatever else is handy...  bell peppers, spinach, onions (YUMMM lots of onions, always) etc... then make a bunch... eat some, save some to heat up another day?

Or make a big batch of tuna mixed with hard boiled eggs, celery, onions, peppers, cukes, or whatever.. and MAYO (NOT miracle whip which has BAD BAD SUGAR in it.)  Mayo is okay (my opinion) although I buy the olive oil kind most of the time.  Miracle Whip is not.. that's a hard pill for some to swallow.. but hey, I made the switch a LONG time ago when I got serious about melting off some pregnancy fat.  The big ol batch of tuna can be dinner, lunch, or a snack.. add some sliced tomatoes on the side.. eat it for several days..  I do.

How hard is it to snack on cheese and cut up veggies?  I LOVE red bell peppers.. they are super sweet and are great to munch on.. I just slice up a bunch and have them handy in the fridge.  Cukes are good too.  I try to limit fruit to once a day, kinda desertie... I steer clear of bananas for the most part, but pears, apples, kiwi, berries.. all make it into my tummy.

Some people like hard boiled eggs.. not me, but I keep them in the fridge for my son and husband to snack on.. easy-peasy.   Or maybe deviled eggs for something a bit fancier?  (and actually CHEAP protein too... even when the price of eggs gets "high".. it's still cheap protein.)

So that is just a brief description of my daily eating pattern when I am at home.  Notice that last part... when I am at home.  When we go out occasionally or have family gatherings, go to our camper on weekends or do whatever else that is out of the routine...   I eat WHATEVER... It keeps me sane.  I don't usually get too crazy, but sometimes I do... Cheetos?  yummy!  French Fries.. ummmmm... 

Now for the EAT-NOTS...  (this list too, is subject to the exceptions listed above as well as occasional times of weekness)... but generally speaking...

I stay away from:

• GRAIN
• SUGAR
• PROCESSED FOOD including all sorts of "quick meals" that come in boxes and frozen packages.

Well, that's it!  Not really so hard.

Less important, I can add that:

• I no longer GUZZLE milk but drink it occasionally.  (I love milk... especially on CEREAL, which of course I don't eat hardly ever!)
• Also, I try to use Stevia as my sweetner of choice on the rare times I need sweetener.  I revert to Splenda on occasion because Stevia just doesn't work in cole slaw and a couple other things that I can't remember right now.
• I rarely drink diet soda.. (or heaven forbid, REGULAR soda, which I have lost my taste for.  (Another day, another story on that one.)

 

As for Booze.. well.. that's for another day too, but there are choices in this department that can be acceptable too... maybe not exactly healthy, but not "fattening"...  I'm not a huge drinker, so it's not at the top of my list.. but I do like do partake every now and then when we're out with friends.

About Me and this Blog...

About me and this blog...

My intention (at this moment) is to make this blog about some of the ways that I have found the low-carb, high-fat way of eating to be beneficial to me AND some tips about how I have implemented it (or some variation of it) for most of my adult life.

Who knows what else I may toss in along the way.  As my friends and family know, when my fingers hit the keyboard, they can be uncontrollable and don't know when to stop.  My brain thinks it and before I know it, my fingers have typed it.

I took journalism all through school starting in the 7th grade.  I was a writer...(a good one)  not a proof reader.  I liked that and adopted it as a way of life.. I no longer have proof readers at my disposal, so I just forget that part... I write.  Period. I always loved grammar in school, but it interfers with my creative juices, so you will just have to overlook run-on sentences, .....'s, and other relatively minor stuff in the major scheme of life.

A little about me.... (for those who don't already know these fascinating details):

• I am 62 years old (last time I calculated it)
• I weigh about 147 pounds.  I am 5'8" tall.  145 is about perfect for me.  140 is too skinny and my face starts to look like an old hag.  150 is when I put the brakes on.  (That's where the low carb thing comes into play)
• I have been married to my husband (duh), Jay for all my life.  (Well, since age 19 however many years ago that was)
• We have 9 kids and yes, I gave birth to them all....  7 out of 9 were born at home including my twins.  Call me pioneer woman... haha..
• I don't work.  (Ask Jay, he will tell you.)  I just do "stuff" around the house including fulfilling my role as family secretary, counselor, loan officer, and maid.
• I let my hair go gray a few years back mostly because I was too lazy to do the upkeep on keeping it brown. Body maintenance...  so much to tend to!  (Especially since my eyebrows have moved to my upper lip and chin.)
• I have lost my brain somewhere along the way...  but I still have bursts of sanity fairly often.
• I like to "think out of the box" and find different and easier ways of doing things.
• I like to do research on a topic that interests me.  I usually remember my conclusion, but often forget all the details and reasons why. 
• We moved from San Diego (where I was born) to Small Town USA, (Fulton Missouri) in 1979 with a group of friends (and four young children, two dogs and two milk goats) to set up a Christian Community (sorta like a commune).  We left there a couple years later, but stayed in Fulton.
• Yes, we are still Christians, but we do not currently go to "church".

This concludes my first post on this blog.

My intention is to write many more in the days to come.  (I do not always carry out my intentions... so I rarely make promises...  to myself or anyone else...)

In future posts I will (probably) get back to my original intention to share more of how and why the low carb, high fat style of eating has been benificial to me over the years.  So if this part has bored you, please don't shut me out yet.

Thanksgiving 2013 - Me and my daughters. We call this "Boots" inspired by me buying my first pair of boots since I was 18 years old. We had intended to take a picture of all of our kids together, ..............but.... can you believe... we forgot!