Breakfast: A mixed bag of food

My girlfriend always says I make whacky dishes. She’s probably right, but to me there’s nothing whacky about them. My goals are flavor and sustenance, and none of my bowls are ever lacking in either department.

Oatmeal, walnuts, almonds, peanut butter, blueberries, eggs, sardines, hot sauce, and salt.

Don’t knock it until you try it.

Meals & Recipes: Wild Salmon, Broccoli, Zucchini and Carrots

I try to cook at least one ingredient per meal. I think that the effort of cooking in preparation for eating helps prepare your digestive tract for the meal to come.

In this dish the salmon, broccoli, and zucchini were all cooked in prior days. But I had 3 carrots that were getting soft, so I decided to cook them this morning to add to my breakfast.

I went with a simple recipe.

• 3 chopped carrots

• 1 tbsp of olive oil

• 2 pinches of sea salt

• 1/2 tsp of onion powder

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp of chili powder

• 2 cloves of garlic chopped

• 1 slice of red onion chopped

Mix everything in a bowl and then add the contents to a pot preheated to lo-med heat. Spread the carrots evenly and cover. Cook for 10 minutes undisturbed.

These carrots came out really tasty and perfectly tender. Add them to any dish.

Breakfast: Sardine Omelette and Lentil Bowl

I’ve really been enjoying putting sardines in my omelette. I love sardines on their own but in an omelette they take on a different flavor and role in my dish.

I also beefed up the omelette this morning with avocado and red onion.

I’ve found lentils to be a food to start my day. They provide such a good balance of protein, fiber, and carbohydrates. I mixed my lentils this morning with roasted brussels sprouts, raw garlic, and ginger (left over from sushi the other night so why not).

I finished the whole dish with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and fig balsamic vinegar.

A great way to start the day.

A Beefy Egg Scramble!

One egg. Meatloaf. Roasted peppers (garlic and onion). Boiled beets. Avocado. Sautéed red onion.

Egg Scramble. Chop 1 beef patty or 1 meatloaf square into bite size pieces and add it to a bowl with one egg (I only had one, I would’ve preferred two), a handful of chopped roasted peppers, 1.5 beets chopped into bite size pieces, 1/4 avocado sliced. In a pan heated to medium, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 slice of chopped red onion. Allow to cook for 5 minutes and then add the contents of the egg bowl mixture. Cook 3 - 5 minutes before flipping to cook for another 3 - 5.

Your Bowl: Add the scramble from the pan into a bowl. Top with a generous amount of red wine vinegar and 2 pinches of sea salt, or any hot sauce or other topping you’d enjoy.

Buon Appetito!!

Cooking Instructions:

The Meat. Bring a pan large enough to fit the meat to med-high heat, add a tbsp of olive oil. Use 1 lbs of 100% grass fed and finished or pasture raised ground beef. In a mixing bowl add the ground beef, 6 pinches of salt, 6 pinches of black pepper, 2 tbsp mustard, 2 tbsp Primal Buffalo Sauce, 1 egg (beat it before adding it), and 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs. Mix it all together. 

Make 4 equal size meatballs using your hands. Add each meatball to the pan individually and flatten until each resembles a hamburger. Cook for 4-5 minutes undisturbed and then flip for another 4-5.

Or, make this Meatloaf and use 1 square for this dish.

Roasted Peppers. Bring a pan to medium-high heat. Chop 1 slice of onion, 2 cloves of garlic and 1 jalapeño pepper. Add to the pan with 1 tbsp olive oil and two pinches of salt. Cut out the core of three peppers (red, yellow and orange) and slice into 1/8 inch strips. Toss in a bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil and 2 pinches of salt. Add to the pan once the onion, garlic, jalapeño combination starts to give off an aroma. Cook for 15 - 20 minutes depending on how you like your peppers, flipping every 5 minutes.  

Boiled Beets. Buy 3-4 loose organic beets. Remove the skin. Cut them into quarters (1/8s if they’re large). Place in a pot, add water so covered by 1-2 inches of water. Add two pinches of salt. 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 60 minutes. Make sure you can easily pierce them with a fork before removing from water.

Remove them from water but keep the water you boiled them in. This water now contains all the nutrients that escaped the beets during the process. Put it in a jar in the fridge and enjoy it as a slightly sweet cold drink later in the day.

Sockeye and Eggs

Sockeye and Eggs, with mushrooms, avocado, red onion and beets. With homemade sauce.

Salmon. Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly coat both sides of the salmon filet (or filets if cooking multiple) with olive oil. Place the filet skin up on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Add a pinch of salt (or two) to each filet and black pepper. Cook for 8 minutes (longer if desired). 

Beets. Buy 3-4 loose organic beets. Remove the skin. Cut them into quarters (1/8s if they’re large). Place in a pot, add water so covered by 1-2 inches of water. Add two pinches of salt. 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 60 minutes. 

Mushrooms. We like organic baby bellas. Bring a pan to medium-high heat. Add a tbsp of olive oil. Slice the mushrooms into quarters, toss lightly with olive oil and salt, and add them to the preheated pan. Leave undisturbed for 5 minutes, then toss and let sit for another five. 

Egg Scramble. In a bowl mix 1 large egg, 1/4 sliced avocado, 1 slice of chopped red onion, 1 sliced beet and a handful of mushrooms.

Add to a pan heated to medium heat. Allow to cook fully and then flip to cook the other side.

Homemade Sauce. 1 tbsp Primal Buffalo sauce, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1/2 tbsp fig balsamic vinegar, 2 pinches of sea salt.

Assemble. Add 1 salmon filet to a bowl. Layer the egg scramble on top. Drizzle homemade sauce over the whole bowl and enjoy!

Buon Appetito!

Swiss Style Birchermüsli Bowl!

Birchermüsli bowl (with blueberries, raspberries, sliced apple, walnuts, cocoa nibs, chia seeds and honey)

Start with the muesli. We got this recipe from our hotel in Meiringen, Switzerland where we stayed for one night this past fall on a through hike. The muesli at breakfast was so good we asked for the recipe. Here it is, modified to fit our dietary wants.

2 cups rolled oats (we used Bob’s Red Mill Organic Rolled Oats),

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup ground hazelnuts

3 tablespoons sugar

2 cups soy milk

1 cup coconut vanilla yogurt

1 cup orange juice

Mix everything and leave it overnight.

Assemble your bowl. Add the muesli (enough to cover the bottom of the bowl). Add a handful of blueberries, a handful of raspberries. Add half a sliced apple. Add a few chopped walnuts, a pinch of chia seeds, a pinch of cocoa nibs, and a drizzle with honey.

Buon Appetito!!

Lentil venison breakfast bowl

There’s a good amount of prep work involved with this dish, but once you’ve cooked the venison, lentils and brussels, you’ll have enough for a few meals.

I used Force of Nature Ground Venison which contains 3 percent of grass fed beef. Heat a skillet on medium-high heat. Add olive oil and a pinch of salt, let it heat up. Throw in the venison and flat it out in the pan and sprinkle some salt on top. Let it sit for about five minutes before flipping it over (it’s easier if you cut the large patty in half or quarters to flip it). Let it cook for another five minutes to brown the other side. Then chop it up in the pan with a wooden spoon and allow the meat to cook all the way through.

For your lentils, bring 3 cups of water to 1 cup of lentils to boil, then reduce the heat to low to a simmer. Cook for 15 - 20 minutes or until your lentils are soft but not mushy (I like them both ways).

Cut the stems off your brussels and then cut them in half or quarters if they are bigger. Toss them in a bowl with olive oil and salt. Dump them into a pre-heated skillet. Pour a couple of tablespoons of water into the pan to create some steam, and then cover them. Let them sit for five minutes, then toss them using a flick of the wrist or a wooden spoon, and cover them again, letting them sit for five - six more minutes, or until you can easily pierce them with a fork.

Assemble your bowl: Lentils, ground venison, brussel sprouts. Add a pinch of salt and white wine vinegar to taste. Slice up an avocado and a tomato, and top with a fried egg. Add another pinch of salt and white wine vinegar and some EVO if you wish!

Buon Appetito!