Sounds delicious. I love a rare steak myself, and grass-fed beef is actually the best source of Omega 3 there is. Poultry, while lean, has a high proportion of Omega 6 so the fat you do get from it is not so great for you.

How about egg-cauli muffins/mini frittatas for work snacks?

That’s my girl!!! You had me worried for a minute 🙂 Sorry to be such a mother hen, always looking after my chicks!
Sounds delicious!

Sorry Birdy, I should have known better than to doubt you

Sorry Allie I couldn’t resist😉😉🤣🤣. I love that you are a mother hen and you stopping us from doing something stupid means the world to me.❤️

Skipping sorry just being naughty and silly 😛.

I am going to look up the recipe now and make a quick batch before work. Can I put feta in Essie?

Hi Skipping, my linseeds dont smell of anything, I think they might be off especially if they have got damp, they could be fermenting.
Did someone have a recipe for chia seed pudding. I have vegetarians coming to house sit next week. I am planning on a butternut squash curry with onion bhajis and chickpea flour chappati but dont want to buy a dessert in case it has gelatine or something like that in it. Thought chai seed might be interesting and authentic enough to impress. They are from Argentina (the house sitters) and they are total strangers from a website we use. All very exciting.

Well, I didn’t know that about the higher level of omega 6 in chicken so fat not as good. Useful to know, thanks.

Do I need cottage cheese to make these little muffins? Or just use beaten eggs? Sorry 💞🦜

Sure can, Birdy. In fact, you can make pretty much the identical combination of the scramble you made the other night. Thin out the egg a little with chicken broth, chop the spinach once you’ve sauteed and drained it and mix it all up together. Pour into muffin cups and bake as usual.

Edit: I believe the recipe from the book uses cottage cheese. Mine doesn’t. Hold on let me track mine down and post it.

Do I need to put them in cases or straight in the non stick muffin tin? Also how many can I have? Just want to make sure I take enough to work tonight. Thank you Essie 💞🦜

The linseeds went out of date a year ago. No wonder I was struggling to like them. What amazes me is that this means I moved house with them from another country. I think I better move on to tidying the panty ( which is actually a coat cupboard in the hallway- this is what you get if your husband goes house hunting whilst your on holiday) before I make myself ill.

Okay so here’s my baseline mini-frittata recipe. You can add any veg, protein or seasoning your heart desires. Just make sure it’s not too wet, so for example if you’re adding spinach, be sure to sautee and drain it first, squeezing out the water thoroughly. Mushrooms work best pre-browned as well.

Mini-Frittatas (makes 12)

8 eggs
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl. Add broth and seasonings and whisk. Add any veg, meat or cheese you like. My favorite combinations include smoked turkey and gouda, spinach, garlic and feta, cheddar and scallions, roasted broccoli and parmesan, capers and smoked salmon, gorgonzola and bacon, mushrooms and Swiss. In terms of quantities, start with one ounce of grated/crumbled cheese to two ounces meat/fish. You can adjust to taste very easily.

Spray the muffin tin with a light coating of non-stick oil or wipe the cups down with an oil-imbued paper towel. Pour the egg mixture evenly into the 12 cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the eggs are set. The cook time will depend on what you put in and how much of it. Just look for the eggs to turn that lighter color that indicates they’re no longer raw. Cool on a rack. Carefully pry out each muffin with a butter knife or spatula.

Your Housesitters sound like they’re in for a treat, sunshine.ah onion bhajis. We’ve had lots of Housesitters over the years and they’ve all been lovely. My friends and family think it’s a bit odd letting strangers into your house. The only pain for me is having a proper clean up before we leave.

Thank you thank you thank you Essie. I will cook as soon as I have eaten. ❤️💞🦜

I know what if forgot to ask what are the macros in one of them, I am going to use spinach garlic and feta.

Birdy, I calculated 5 oz spinach and 2 oz feta just for this example, but you can comfortably double both of those if you want the muffins nice and stuffed because each muffin is 65 cals, 1 g carb, 4 g fat and 5 g protein so there’s plenty of leeway.

Edit: just checked and 10 oz spinach and 4 oz feta bumps the cals up to 81 but the net carbs stay the same at 1. The extra spinach adds a gram of fiber.

Oh, and a quick word about chicken broth. It’s rock-bottom in cals, should have no carbs and I use it in everything from eggs to salad dressings and even drink a cup during fasts when I get cold. Almost all the brands you find in the store have added sugar, however, not just sugars from the veggies, but actual sugar (dextrose usually) on the ingredient list. It’s a damn plague. What finally saved commercial chicken broth for me was kosher and halal products. They do not add sugar.

Thank you and I am sorry for being a bit lazy there, but I am in a rush as have to be at work in an hour🤣🤣🤣. Should have organised my self better. 💞🦜

I went with 5 and 2 on the spinach and feta xx

Breakfast- greek yoghurt, chia seeds and almonds.
Lunch – home roast beef with tsp horse radish sauce, lettuce
Dinner- half tin tuna, lettuce, 5 olives, and 50gr of cheddar.
Semi skimmed milk for tea

Hi Essie the frittata muffins turned out really well and they were tasty too! I added chilli flakes as I am obsessed with them at the moment. I ate four of them during the course of my night, the first two at 12.30 am and then the other two at 3.30am. I prefer them rewarmed but still nice cold, even though they are a little wet. Thank you again for sorting me out with the recipe and macros it helped an exhausted brain and birdy a lot.🤗💞🦜

It was my pleasure, Birdy. I’m glad they worked well for your challenging night shift. Regarding the wetness, was it like a watery layer or more like the eggs weren’t quite set? The latter can be remedied by a longer cook. The former is probably spinach-related. You might want to make up a big batch of spinach ahead of time and then let it dry out in the pan for a while. Then you can drain it super dry, pack it up and use it in eggs during the week.

Today’s meals

Breakfast …Greek yoghurt. Almonds. Chia seeds.

Lunch .. roast chicken and beef slices. Horseradish sauce. Lettuce.

Dinner – grilled chicken in tikka marinade. Big bowl salad. Garlic mayo.

Milk to drink with tea.

X

Hi Essie they were cooked perfectly it was the spinach as I was in such a rush I probably could have squeezed a lot more water out of them. It wasn’t disgusting or gushing out when I ate them it was just a little wet. Thank you for the tip of pre doing my spinach I will do that this week along with a lot more batch stuff as I will have no son and an empty house to concentrate on just me and this WOE. Please be prepared for lots of questions as I want it to be second nature before he comes home so I don’t have to think when looking after him. I will miss him but the me time will be great.

My food for today nothing as I am fasting😜😜. Haven’t had a bite since my last frittata at 3.30 am this morning. Lots of water, ginger water and herbal tea for me. 💞🦜

So far this week:

Breakfast: baked omelette ( ham peppers cheese)

Lunch: veg soup

Dinner: salmon in almond flour crust with green veg

How’s everyone else’s menus looking?

Is anyone actually following any of the menu plans in any of MM books?

hi 1960, I did at first but had to swap around some things I didn’t like. Eg the mackerel pate I switch for tuna. I can still make a weekly menu cobbled from some of the meal examples but been doing this for so long I just know what to eat and, more important, what not to.

Thanks SG that makes sense!

breakfast: poached egg, avocado
lunch: hummus, veg matchsticks
dinner: chickpea chilli, cauli rice

trying to get my water intake up and getting there…

I love a real coffee and fresh cream after breakfast too.

Not yet eaten today as it’s Good Friday and fasting. Absolutely starving. 😐

Make sure you drink loads Halicarnassus. Fasting is a fantastic tool. Well done you. Your first meal post fast is going to be an absolute joy ! What I love most is the respect it gives me for good, nutritious food and that hunger is nothing to fear.
Have a great Easter !

Fennel tea can help during fasts, if you don’t mind the taste. I make my own with a combination of licorice root and anise seeds, but you can find plenty of pre-made commercial versions too. It’s surprisingly sweet and very soothing to the stomach.

Don’t know what to have for lunch today! Need something not too high in protein as I am having steak on the bbq and a little halloumi kebab to go with. 💞🦜

So I am back on this WOE after a naughty weekend and my day of food today is this

Omelette with mushrooms and spinach

Chicken with little gem wraps

Small steak with fried left over cabbage and a little shallot.

My macros look good on this!

Protein 47g
Carbs 14g
Fat 50g. Then I am into a fast for 24-36 hrs. Need kick myself back in.💞🦜

Only eat 2 meals per day and trying to keep a good 18 hour fast with a 6 hour eating window.
Lunch: 200g undressed coleslaw with 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 2 teaspoons soy sauce and 200g prawns
Dinner: home made cauliflower and broccoli soup with 100g cooked chicken
Soy milk in my coffee

So far so good
3 weeks in and 8.4kg weight loss