Health for life

Made this  Egg Free French Toast  for our breakfast today using pandan (screw pine leaves) flavored bread, which was perfect.

My family was super impressed, cant really tell that it was eggless. We loved it! I served them with brown sugar and banana slices. Actually the syrup was a left over from my Monkey Bread, diluted with few spoons of milk.

For other variation, you can add besan (chickpea flour) instead of cornflour and seasoned with ground black pepper and chopped cilantro for a savory  version.

To obtain a nice golden color, use low medium heat when frying the toast.  If you are allergic to dairy product,  replace it with  almond or soy milk instead.

EGG FREE FRENCH TOAST
Yield     :     1 serving

3 slices white/wholemeal bread
1/2 cup fresh milk
1.5 tablespoon cornflour
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp  ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 tsp butter

METHOD
Combine milk, corn flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt in  shallow bowl, whisk  until  smooth.

Dip both sides of each bread slice into milk mixture.

Heat a non stick pan, melt a teaspoon of butter, place bread on heated pan, cook each slice to a golden brown.

Serve with your favorite fruit or syrup.
_http://treatntrick.blogspot.com/2013/01/egg-free-french-toast.html

Like 10% of all Americans, I used to work at McDonalds. Like 33% of all McDonalds workers, it was the morning shift.

Everyday in the summer of 1997, I hauled my cookies in at 5am to start the percolator, fire up the grill, and lug 50 pounds of Happy Meal toys out of the sub-basement. My early morning co-workers were a sweet 72-year-old, a slightly retarded janitor, and a middle-aged woman that had no business dealing with the public. On good days, I got to take orders from the drive-through, and didn’t have to face anyone for a few hours. On bad days, entire buses of senior citizens would argue with me over the price of a 60-cent cup of coffee.

During that time, I learned the menu backwards and forwards, including basic nutritional information for most of the meals. While the Deluxe breakfast would melt your aorta, I was always pleasantly surprised at the Egg McMuffin. An egg, a muffin, a slice of Canadian bacon, and a dollop of cheese would come in around 300 calories, which still stands as one of the leanest fast food breakfasts around. Plus, they were (and are) delicious. I know. I ate one every morning for three months.

After last week’s Strata, I had a bunch of leftover Canadian bacon, and decided to give homemade Egg McMuffins a shot. Happily, it wasn’t rocket science, and ten minutes of cooking time scored me two eminently edible imitations of the real thing. Even better, no one yelled at me afterward.

So! For your McMuffining pleasure, here are step-by-step instructions for homemade Mickey D’s. Of course, there are a few things to know first:

1) If you don’t have an egg ring handy (and who does?), try a THOROUGHLY WASHED tuna can with the lids pried off. (NOTE: Don’t use a Bumblebee can. The bottom lid sticks outward, making it nearly impossible to remove. See the pics below? It took ten minutes of straight-up wrestling to create that hole. In the end, it was big enough to pour the egg through, but I almost lost a thumb in the process.)

2) For a more McDonalds-like experience, go with American Cheese. Then, have a 62-year-old retiree berate you because his coffee was too hot.

3) The muffins aren’t browned in a toaster for two reasons: A) they’re harder to hold, and B) I like ‘em better this way.

4) At $0.93 a serving, these should be cheaper than your local Mickey D’s. If not, look at it this way: you don’t have to deal with the tall girl behind the counter. You know – the one with the 1000-yard stare, whose only thought is, “Man, I can’t wait to get back to school. This nametag is making my boobs itch.”

Happy cooking!

Egg McMuffins
Makes 2 McMuffins

Cooking spray
2 English muffins, split in half
2 slices Canadian bacon
2 large eggs
1 ounce reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I prefer Cracker Barrel)
Salt and pepper to taste

1) Coat a medium non-stick pan with cooking spray and heat on medium-high. Once pan is warm, place English muffins facedown on pan. Squish lightly with a spatula, so they get evenly browned.

2) While muffins are toasting, break one egg into a cup. Break its yolk with a fork, but DON’T beat the egg.

3) When muffins have been lightly toasted (about 3 minutes), place them on a plate and IMMEDIATELY sprinkle grated cheese on one side. This will get the melting process started.

4) Re-coat the pan with cooking spray. (Note: if you have a gas oven, do this away from the stovetop to avoid a fire.) Place the Canadian bacon in the pan. Place an egg ring OR thoroughly washed tuna can (with both lids removed) on the pan. Pour the egg into the ring. If some should leak out the bottom, no worries. You can flip it later.

5) After 2 or 3 minutes, the egg should be pretty set, so cut it out of the ring and flip it over. Then, add egg #2 to the ring. Flip the bacon while youre at it, too.

6) After another minute or so, egg #1 should be finished. Place it on top of one of the cheese-covered muffin halves, and add salt and pepper to taste. Then, add a slice of Canadian bacon and top with the other muffin half. Press down lightly with a spatula so the egg will finish melting the cheese.

7) Repeat steps 5 and 6 with the remaining ingredients.

8) Take a blog picture in front of a sufficient light source.

9) Serve and eat with glee.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
283 calories, 12.4 g fat, $0.93

Calculations
Cooking spray: 0 calories, 0 g fat, $0.04
2 English muffins, split in half: 240 calories, 2 g fat, $0.38
2 slices Canadian bacon: 89 calories, 4 g fat, $0.79
2 large eggs: 147 calories, 9.9 g fat, $0.38
1 ounce reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, grated: 90 calories, 9 g fat, $0.25
Salt and pepper to taste: 0 calories, 0 g fat, $0.02
TOTAL: 566 calories, 24.9 g fat, $1.86
PER SERVING (TOTAL/2): 283 calories, 12.4 g fat, $0.93

Sweet readers! You did it! Using last week’s Ask the Internet column, you jointly refined an okay recipe to be inexpensive, healthy, and totes delicious. Color me excited.

To recap: last week, I posted that I’d been having problems with a new dish, Parmesan Polenta with Spinach and a Fried Egg. The polenta was dry, the spinach left a funky aftertaste, the texture was mushy, and it lacked overall oomph. Based on your suggestions, I experimented with it three separate times, tweaking the ingredients and methodology a little each time. It kind of went like this:

ATTEMPT #1
Changes: For the polenta: skipped the parmesan, replaced milk and water with chicken broth, increased the amount, and stirred in butter at the end. Added a little more garlic and red pepper flakes to the spinach, and cooked it for a slightly shorter period of time. Left the egg as-was.
Result: Improved polenta flavor and texture. Egg so-so. Spinach and oomph still questionable.

ATTEMPT #2
Changes: Sauteed one ounce of chopped pancetta to start. Stirred it into polenta, and used the leftover oil to cook the garlic, red pepper flakes, and quick-wilt the spinach. Then, used the leftovers to “fry”/steam the egg.
Result: Pancetta an EXCELLENT addition – increased flavor and textural fun-ness. Didn’t need extra fat to cook the egg, either. Spinach continued to be the bane of my existence.

ATTEMPT #3
Changes: Swapped Swiss chard for spinach.
Result: VICTORY, sweet readers. The chard gave it all the scrumptious veggie goodness with nary a fraction of that annoying metallic residue. Now we dance!

Ultimately, the whole shebang was maybe a tad heavier and a few cents more expensive than I intended. But the former makes it suitable for dinners, and the latter can be easily remedied by buying Swiss chard in season. (Which I did not do. Mine was plated in gold, apparently.) These are minor quibbles, though. Overall, the whole thing rocked my socks. (And I’m not even wearing any. Go figure.)

So, I’m raising a pretend glass of champagne to y’all. Then I’m pretend drinking it. After that, I’m pretend stumbling around and wondering why the apartment is spinning. Finally, Im pretend sauntering downstairs, pretend shoving my face into the fridge, and pretend eating the leftover pancetta raw. Woo hoo!

~~~

If you like this recipe, you might also quite enjoy:

• Grilled Swiss Chard
• Kale with Mushrooms and Polenta
• Swiss Chard with Pinto Beans and Goat Cheese

~~~

Polenta with Swiss Chard, Pancetta, and a “Fried” Egg
Serves 2.
With help from Carrie, Ira, Morgan, Ona, Evelyn, Clea, Michelle, Meagan, Anna N., Claire Dawson, Diane, Katy, Rick, Val, anotheryarn, biankat, wosnes, Happy in Nevada, Katie, Rachel, LaDonna, JohnB, Deeds, Mary Joy, Dana, Elizabeth, Sassy Molassy, Rebecca, and sweet, sweet Anonymous.


2/3 cup corn meal
1 14.5-ounce can low-sodium, reduced-fat chicken broth
1 teaspoon butter
1 ounce thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 ounces fresh Swiss chard, stemmed and torn into bite-sized pieces
2 eggs
2 teaspoons parmesan
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1) In a medium pot, whisk the cornmeal and broth together. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until all liquid is absorbed. This should take 8 to 12 minutes. When finished, turn off heat. Stir in butter until melted. Set aside.

2) Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook pancetta over medium heat until it releases its fat and is almost crispy. This should take 8 to 12 minutes. Remove meat from pan with a spoon, and stir into polenta. Evenly distribute the mixture between two serving bowls.

3) Turn skillet heat up to medium-high. Add garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook in pancetta oil until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds, stirring frequently. Add Swiss chard. Saute about 2 minutes, until just barely wilted. Spoon on top of polenta.

4) Crack two eggs into the skillet, making sure you keep the yolks intact. Add a teaspoon of water to the side of the skillet and cover. Cook 2 to 4 minutes, until the barest white film appears on the top of each egg yolk. Gently place the eggs (one each) on the polenta and chard. Sprinkle each bowl with 1 teaspoon parmesan. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
333 calories, 12.2 g fat, 4.4 g fiber, 15.9 g protein, $2.13

Calculations
2/3 cup cornmeal: 336 calories, 1.6 g fat, 6.8 g fiber, 7.8 g protein, $0.30
1 14.5-ounce can l-s, r-f chicken broth: 9 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 1.8 g protein, $0.75
1 teaspoon butter: 34 calories, 3.8 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g fiber, $0.03
1 ounce thinly sliced pancetta, chopped: 100 calories, 8 g fat, 0 g fiber, 6 g protein, $1.05
1 small clove garlic, minced: 4 calories, 0 g fat, 0.1 g fiber, 0.2 g protein, $0.03
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.04
4 ounces fresh Swiss chard: 22 calories, 0.2 g fat, 1.8 g fiber, 2 g protein, $1.49
2 eggs: 147 calories, 9.9 g fat, 0 g fiber, 12.6 g protein, $0.42
2 teaspoons parmesan: 14 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g fiber, 1.3 g protein, $0.12
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.02
TOTALS: 666 calories, 24.5 g fat, 8.7 g fiber, 31.7 g protein, $4.25
PER SERVING (TOTALS/2): 333 calories, 12.2 g fat, 4.4 g fiber, 15.9 g protein, $2.13

A new study in Diabetes Care found that eating eggs may raise the risk for developing type 2 diabetes:¹

"These data suggest that high levels of egg consumption (daily) are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in men and women."

The data came from two large cohorts, the Physicians Health Study I (1982–2007) that included 20,703 men, and the Womens Health Study (1992–2007) that included 36,295 women.

Men experienced an increased risk for diabetes of:

• 18% for 2-4 eggs/week
  
• 46% for 5-6 eggs/week
  
• 58% for 7 or more eggs/week

Women experienced an increased risk for diabetes of:

• 19% for 2-4 eggs/week
  
• 18% for 5-6 eggs/week
  
• 77% for 7 or more eggs/week

An earlier study from May of this year that used the same Physicians Health Study I cohort found that men who ate more eggs had a higher risk of dying during a 20-year follow-up than men who ate fewer eggs. For men who also had diabetes, the increased risk rose from 25% to 200%.
________
¹Egg Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Men and Women, Diabetes Care, published online ahead of print November 18, 2008.