After a devastating rendevouz with his doctor, Eric Isaac decided to change his diet. Here is one of his new breakfast recipes. By Eric Isaac
Today I end my love affair with sugar.
Let me back up a bit. It actually ended about 2 months ago after a brief phone call with my doctor in which he told me, “You have the liver of an alcoholic”. You could say I was a bit devastated. I should have known that after a lifetime of poor diet choices that it would lead to something but I never thought it would be my liver. This is a potentially serious condition that, at this point, is completely reversible. The time to act is now.
A few months before, I had started readingThe 4-Hour Bodyby Timothy Ferriss. I had quickly lost interest before I even got to the diet part of the book, which was like chapter 3. (Yeah, I lose interest that quick—I blame the ADD.) After I got the news, I picked the book back up immediately and reread the entire diet section. I skipped the sex machine part of the book, for obvious reasons.
After reading that book, I jumped over to a recommendation from a 4HB friend calledWhy We Get Fat and What To Do About Itby Gary Taubes. This is the definitive book on why carbs, specifically simple carbs like sugar and starch are so bad for our bodies. But it’s even more specific on why fat and protein are NOT bad for you, even in large amounts. I say fat first, because realistically, when looking at the calorie to gram ratio, fat is more than twice as large.
I now follow the 4HB diet as a lifestyle change, not as a diet. I make a point to pack in protein and complex carbs from beans and lentils into every meal. But more importantly, my fat content, especially the fat content from animal fat, is even higher than it ever was. I don’t go out of my way to find animal fat, I’m just not as scared of it any more.
That said, my girlfriend is a vegetarian, which means no animal fat for her. The protein sources are limited when you factor out the occasional soy product, which really isn’t good for anyone, let alone women. I think coping with that, has made life a little more difficult for her. Even more difficult is packing in 30 grams of protein a day for breakfast. I doubt either of us came anywhere near that in the morning. For her busy full time schedule, it makes it even more challenging so I’ve developed a recipe to make it a little easier on her:
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Egg Muffins
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Author:Eric Isaac
Total Time:25 minutes
Yield:3 muffins 1x
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Description
A healthy morning meal from Eric Isaac.
Ingredients
Scale
12 Eggs
4 cups of spinach, finely chopped, then wilted
3 cups of lentils, cooked
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cupcake tray with nonstick spray or grease with oil.
Add eggs to a large bowl, mix with a whisk, then add spinach, lentils, and spices.
Using a half cup measure, pour mixture into cupcake tins. I like to additionally mix it around with the measuring cup before scooping and pouring as the lentils tend to sink to the bottom. It’s important to keep a good mix of egg and lentils.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until completely set in the center. Remove from oven, let cool. This is important for having a clean pan when you take them out of the tray. If you try to remove them still hot, they will crumble.
As the cool they shrink enough that they pop out with ease, leaving nothing behind, as long as you’ve coated the pan with enough oil.
I’ve also recently played around with different protein sources other than lentils. I did chickpeas and black beans recently and I found that I actually loved them more than the lentils. But the lentils are smaller and denser so you can pack in more protein per square inch. When you are eating these every day for breakfast, it’s best to mix it up every once in a while.
Eric Isaac
Eric Isaac is an American food and travel photographer based out of NYC. His blog, SnapFood, highlights food in and around new york as well as what he discovers in his travels throughout the world.
"They can be packed with added sugar and low in fiber, sending your blood sugar levels on a roller coaster before you even get to work," says Charlotte Martin, MS, RDN, CSOWM, CPT. Yet, muffins can be a healthy breakfast option if you make them at home yourself.
Placing a muffin tin in a rimmed baking dish of water will prevent the muffins from rising too high as they bake. This prevents them from collapsing and shriveling later. The difference is quite noticeable, and all you have to do is add an extra pan of water to the equation when you bake these.
Silicone muffin liners are best because they release the egg muffins easily, clean up quickly and you don't need to grease them. Avoid paper liners as they are difficult to remove from baked muffins. If silicone liners are not available, generously spray muffin tin with cooking spray.
It's too wet to use in these egg muffins, and it makes them soggy (I learned the hard way). Instead, experiment with pre-cooked vegetables. Chopped sautéed spinach would be a nice addition, provided you squeeze the excess moisture out first.
Lisa D. Harkins, RD and LDN at Ideal Nutrition & Fitness, LLC agrees. “An Egg McMuffin is not the worst thing you can have,” she explains. “It's much better than no breakfast, a doughnut, or a fatty, empty calorie Dunkin' Donuts coffee drink.”
Now muffins aren't all bad. These things are only unhealthy if eaten on a regular basis. If every so often you want a muffin for breakfast or a snack, that's no big deal. When you grab a bakery muffin for breakfast daily, that's when you increase your risk for unwanted weight gain and other health issues.
If there isn't enough egg, your batter or dough may not be able to hold its structure or could end up overly dry or dense. On the other hand, if there is too much egg, your baked goods could lose their shape due to excess liquid, or have a rubbery (or even overly cakey) texture depending on the recipe.
But give them a few minutes, and they flatten out substantially. The same goes for your breakfast muffin. It is going to shrink partially because of the main ingredient. Eggs don't automatically deflate on their own, but once you introduce air into the mix, nature takes its course.
If in doubt, use parchment paper or cupcake liners to prevent sticking. The muffins puff up while they cook in the oven. Fill them 3/4 of the way up to prevent overflow.
Both yogurt and buttermilk are good substitutes for eggs. It's best to use plain yogurt, as flavored and sweetened varieties may alter the flavor of your recipe. You can use 1/4 cup (60 g) of yogurt or buttermilk for each egg that needs to be replaced. This substitution works best for muffins, cakes, and cupcakes.
Storage & Reheating Instructions: Cover leftover egg muffins and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Microwave: Wrap or cover egg muffins with a damp paper towel and microwave for 20–30 seconds, or until warmed through. (Don't overheat, or they will taste rubbery.)
Why Are My Egg Muffins Flat? If your egg cups are deflating a bit when you take them out of the oven, don't worry. This is super normal. The air bubbles in the mixture expand in the oven and then deflate as they cool.
If you over mix muffin batter then you will likely end up with dense rubbery muffins. When baking muffins you want to mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients and stir only until they are just combined. This step should literally take a few seconds. A thick and lumpy muffin batter is good.
A high-fiber, low-fat option with calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and selenium, whole wheat English muffins make a great weight loss breakfast food. But be careful what you put on it. Adding tons of butter or jelly may also pack on unnecessary calories.
Muffins are definitely breakfast food, and are healthy if they are not too sweet or fatty. Sweeten them by adding fruit (raisins, any type of berries, apples, etc) not by using recipes high in sugar.
With the rise of the middle class in the 19th century, families could afford to hire cooks, If you have someone who you can command to wake up before you, you can have hot food for breakfast without any trouble to yourself, so gems and muffins became popular.” Elias continues to say these little “yeast-risen breadstuff ...
Is an English muffin better for you than bread? A. English muffins are slightly healthier than bread because they include fewer calories, carbohydrates, fats, and sugar than bread. However, both have a high carbohydrate content, which can offer energy throughout the day, and many nutrients.
Introduction: My name is Aracelis Kilback, I am a nice, gentle, agreeable, joyous, attractive, combative, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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