Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

I have my McDonalds trained well. I can go through the drive-thru and order an Egg McMuffin without the muffin and they will give me an egg, ham and cheese wrapped up without the muffin. They don’t even blink when I order it anymore and they send me through the drive-thru pretty quickly.

I timed it once. From the time I stepped into the garage to the moment I got back home, I was able to get myself a Low Carb Egg McMuffin in only fifteen minutes. That was five minutes driving there. Five minutes driving back and less than five minutes in the line.

For fun, the other day, I threw together one egg, some ham and a slice of cheese. It was the same ingredients I get from McDonalds, but I had to cook them. I thought that it was a big pain in the butt until I timed it.

How long does it take me to cook a Low Carb Egg McMuffin on my own? FOUR minutes.

FOUR MINUTES! I can’t even drive to McDonalds in that amount of time!

So many times, I think that getting “fast” food is easier, but it’s not. By the time I get into the car and drive over there, I could be EATING my homemade version. All I need to do is make sure I have the ingredients in the fridge and I am ahead of the game.

The next time you’re tempted to just grab some fast food, remember that it might just be quicker to make your own.

Photo via: Treadmill Tricks & Drive-Through Shopping

Last July, I invented one of my favorite breakfast treats, called the Chocolate Cream Cheese Omelet.

• Starling Fitness 07-12-12 » Low Carb Decadence: Chocolate & Cream Cheese Omelet

Every time I make it, it’s uglier than the last, but it tastes like a deliciously chocolate pancake, despite not having a lick of flour in it.

Last Tuesday, I figured out how to make it ever so slightly better. The original recipe had you heating a tablespoon of butter in the pan so the omelet wouldn’t stick. I used a tablespoon of coconut oil instead and the flavor was divine! It adds about twenty calories to the recipe, but the coconut flavor of the oil pairs so well with the chocolate and cream cheese that it’s worth it.

When you eat low carb, it’s really easy to eat too much protein. In fact, the biggest mistake rookie low carb eaters make is eating too much protein. You have to LOOK for ways to add fat to your meals in order to keep your percentages at a level that won’t give you gout. Adding coconut oil to my chocolate cream cheese omelet gives it a boost in flavor and some well-needed calories from fat.

The next time you’re at a loss for what to eat for breakfast, try my chocolate cream cheese omelet and give yourself a treat!

The most interesting thing about this Breakfast Burrito from Finding My Fitness is the egg white tortilla.

Does it actually work? Does it hold the burrito together so well that you can eat it with your hands, or do you have to use a fork? The blog entry doesn’t clarify, so I guess I’ll have to try it myself. (more…)

I found some pancake forms at the dollar store the other day, so I made some heart-shaped eggs and star-shaped eggs for breakfast.

When I cracked the eggs into the forms, some of the egg whites escaped, but that didn’t ruin them. It worked really well and I loved having the same breakfast I have every day shaped in fun shapes instead. Why should having a heart-shaped egg make it taste better?!

If you can’t find pancake forms in your dollar store, here are some links to some:

• Norpro Nonstick Heart Pancake Egg Rings at Amazon.com
• Norpro Nonstick Star and Flower Pancake Egg Rings at Amazon.com
• 6pc Silicone Egg Rings at Amazon.com
• Mickey Mouse Icon Silhouette Egg/Pancake Rings at Amazon.com

The next time you’re feeling bored of your normal eggs and bacon in the morning, drag out the pancake forms and have a treat for breakfast!

I love the presentation on this Caprese Salad. I found it here:

• beautifulpicturesofhealthyfood: Hasselback… – Turning day-dreams, into reality

I’m used to seeing Caprese Salad looking like this:

Cutting the tomatoes partially looks so pretty and allows the vinegar and olive oil to pool nicely between the mozzarella and basil. Here is how it looked when I made it.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 3 tomatoes
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella
• 20 to 30 leaves (about 1 bunch) fresh basil
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Coarse salt and pepper

Directions

• Cut the tomatoes into 1/4-inch thick slices, but only 3/4 of the way through the tomato.
• Cut the mozzarella into 1/4-inch thick slices.
• Tuck one slice of mozzarella and a couple of leaves of basil between the tomato slices.
• Drizzle olive oil and vinegar over the tomatoes.
• Sprinkle salt and pepper over the tomatoes.
• Serve chilled.

Next time you’re not in the mood to cook in the hot kitchen, make this chilled salad and enjoy the fresh flavors!

Paula Deen recently lost 30 pounds to help keep her diabetes in check. She talked about it on the July 9th issue of People Magazine, but the recipes that she shared were LOADED with carbs. I’m glad that she has lost weight and I hope her diabetes is controllable for her, but most of the things she recommended to lose weight with, like fruit smoothies, would send my blood sugar through the roof.

She did have one good recipe, though. Chicken Kebabs with grilled onions.

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 2 TBSP teriyaki sauce
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• Pinch pepper
• Pinch salt
• 1 lb. chicken tenders cut in half
• 1 small bunch green onions

Directions

• In a large, resealable plastic bag, combine the garlic, soy sauce, lemon juice, teriyaki sauce, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and salt. Add the chicken. Seal the bag and chill for 1 hour.
• Soak 10 wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes.
• Spray a grill track with nonstick cooking spray, then preheat grill to medium high.
• Drain the chicken, discarding the marinade.
• Thread the chicken onto the skewers.
• Grill the chicken about 3 minutes on each side.
• Grill green onions until browned, about 3 minutes on each side.
• Arrange onions on a platter, top with the chicken and serve.

I wish Paula Deen the best and I hope she lives a long and healthy life. I just want the world to know that her love of butter did NOT cause her diabetes. It was the carbs.

If your morning bacon and eggs has gotten a little too routine, here is a way to mix it up. I made myself a chocolate and cream cheese omelet on Sunday and it was divine!

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 TBSP heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa
• 2 packets of stevia
• 1 oz. cream cheese

Directions

• Put the butter in your skillet and set the flame on medium.
• While the skillet is warming up, mix the eggs, cream, cocoa and 1 packet of stevia in a bowl. The cocoa won’t fully mix in (there will be tiny chunks of it), but that doesn’t affect the taste.
• Once the butter is fully melted and bubbling, pour the egg mixture into the pan and put on a lid for approximately three minutes.
• Mix the cream cheese with the other packet of stevia (you can use the same bowl that you mixed your eggs in).
• Flatten the cream cheese mixture until it is approximately the size of half your omelet.
• Place the cream cheese on the egg mixture and gently fold in half.
• Cook for two minutes more or until the cream cheese is melted.
• Allow to cool slightly before serving (no one wants molten cream cheese lava burning their tongues in the morning).

Nutrition Facts:

• Calories 396.6
• Total Fat 37.2g
• Total Carb 3.6g
• Fiber 0.6g
• Protein 15.3g

The next time you’re feeling chocolate deprived, remember that you can create low carb chocolately food on your own without sacrificing your health.

Update 02-12-13

I’ve found that Sweet N Low tastes better than Splenda in this recipe. Additionally, using coconut oil instead of butter makes it taste especially yummy and only adds twenty calories. I talked about it here:

• Starling Fitness – A Delicious Tweak To The Chocolate Cream Cheese Omelet

Avocados were on sale at my grocery store, so we bought a couple of them. Sunday morning, I made a yummy treat for breakfast.

It was so easy, I feel silly writing the directions here.

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium avocado
• 1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese
• Sprinkle of season-all

Directions

• Cut the avocado in half. Save half for next time and use the other half.
• Sprinkle cheese and seasoning over the top.
• Put it in the toaster oven at 275 degrees for five minutes.
• Increase the temperature to 400 degrees for one minute (or until golden brown).

Nutrition Facts

• Calories 199.3
• Total Fat 16.9g
• Total Carbs 8.5g
• Fiber 8.0g
• Protein 8.4g

The next time you’re feeling like you don’t have anything good to eat, run to the store and grab an avocado. It will be a great treat if you haven’t had one in a while.

I have found a lot of really motivating things on Pinterest lately, so I started a couple of boards to keep you motivated and fed.

• Starling Fitness Motivation Pinterest Board
• Starling Fitness Low Carb Pinterest Board

Whenever I’m feeling like there is nothing I can eat, I look at my low carb board and get some good ideas. Whenever I’m feeling like giving up or skipping my workout, I look at the motivation board and get inspired. They have been very helpful to me.

Please follow me on those boards and enjoy the daily motivation.

There is something in the Atkins low carb shakes that hurts my stomach. I have NO idea what it is, but it really doubles me over within an hour of drinking one.

Not to mention the fact that they just taste wrong. Sure, they’re sweet and taste kind of like chocolate (or vanilla or caramel coffee), but they just don’t taste as good as I’d like.

But I like to have a low carb shake to drink in the morning, so I set out to create one. After a little experimentation and a lot of worrying about why cocoa doesn’t mix in with my almond milk, I finally figured it out. (more…)