I am an Egg lover. If you know me at all out know I have a thing about eggs. They are cheap, healthy, filling and SO SO versatile. You can eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Heck boiled eggs or deviled eggs make a perfect snack.

That brings me to my new favorite egg dish. It's very simple and yet very rich and satisfying.

Green Onion Eggs

• 4 eggs
• 2-3 green onions
• 1 slice cheese, broken into small pieces
• 1 tbsp. butter

1. Melt butter in skillet
2. Add eggs and scramble
3. When egg whites are just starting to set, add green onions and continue to scramble
4. Stir in cheese and spoon into two bowls
5. Enjoy!

Try very hard not to overcook the eggs. These should be soft and not too dry. It's amazing what a fresh taste this give plain scrambled eggs.

I've been so so hungry for cereal the last few weeks that I finally got around to making mine and Patty's sesame flax cereal. While I was eating a nice bowl of the crunchy, nutty cereal I was thinking there must be other flavors I could make that would be equally crunchy. While I was putting the stuff away, I came across a bag of unsweetened coconut and thought what a yummy cereal that would make.

So I pulled all the stuff out again and made a batch using the coconut and some pecans and let me tell you, I think it's as good as not better than the original. This one however is super yummy just to munch on.

Coconut Flax Cereal

• 1 cup flax seed meal
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans or nut of your choice
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. splenda
• 1 cup water
• 10 drops coconut flavor drops (I used Capella)
• 2 tbsp. melted coconut oil

1. Mix all dry ingredients together until well blended
2. Add drops to water and pour over dry ingredients and mix well
3. Mix in coconut oil and let set a minute or two until it thickens up
4. Pour on to cookie sheet that is covered with parchment paper or silicon mat (I'm lucky enough to have a silpat)
5. Use wax paper to press flat and even out.
6. Using a dull knife score into small squares.
7. Bake at 200 for 30 minutes; remove spread out squares and bake an additional 30 minutes.
8. If dry and crispy, remove and let cool, if not quite there, bake until it is, I had to bake mine an additional 15 minutes.
9. Then just bag it up and enjoy!

Sometimes you just you just want something simple and easy to eat without having to remember to take something out, or give it a lot of thought.

Those are the times I throw together stir-fries and skillet dinners. Whatever is in the fridge goes in and yummy goodness almost always comes out.

Sometimes you just want good old fashioned comfort food. And what is more comforting than bacon and eggs? Throw in a few potatoes and some peppers and onions and you're in hog heaven (forgive the pun please). This is my version of one of those hashbrown egg dishes that use high carb potatoes and if you get them in a restaurant normally a good deal of hidden sugar.

I've used turnips in place of potatoes in this version, but I've been known to use zucchini instead. I really prefer when I have some boiled turnips in the fridge because I find they are less likely to be bitter, but raw works just as well too.

Since I love spicy hot foods I add jalapenos to mine, but there is no hard and fast rules in making this. Use what you like

You will notice I didn't add amounts, that's because it is completely up to you. For two people I normally use 3 strips of bacon and 4 eggs, the rest is up to what I have, what looks good and what I feel like chopping.

As odd as it might seem to some and as normal to others I like my scrambled eggs in a bowl. I'm not sure why, my mom always served them on a plate and still does. I guess I just associate comfort with a bowl. If you think about it, soups, oatmeal, mac & cheese all the big comfort foods come in a bowl and are eaten with a spoon. So for me this is bowl food.

That being said, leftovers make a great breakfast taco!

Ingredients:

• Bacon, cut into pieces
• Onion, chopped
• Green pepper, chopped
• Turnips, chopped
• Mushrooms, chopped
• Jalapeno slices
• Eggs
• Cheese (optional)
• Sour cream (optional)
• Cherry or diced tomatoes

Method:

1. Fry bacon with onions, peppers and turnips until bacon is crisp and the veggies are tender, I like my turnips to brown around the edges too
2. Add mushrooms and jalapenos cook until mushrooms are done
3. Crack eggs over veggies and scramble until desired doneness
4. Serve with a sprinkle of cheese and a dollop of sour cream if desired
5. Other veg choices include tomatoes, zucchini, green onions, spinach or whatever is in your veggie drawer.

So the next time you're craving something simple, something comforting, something quick just reach for your bacon and eggs.

I belong to a couple of freezer groups and one of the things that comes up over and over is breakfast cookies. I had never heard of such a thing but sure hated that I couldn't try them because of the flour.

A few months ago, between mom's hospital visits, I decided to experiment. I wanted something else that we could quickly grab for breakfast and I wanted to get more fiber in my diet. My first thought was coconut flour. It low in carb, very high in fiber, so it fit the bill perfectly. I tried adding a little flax to keep the omega 3's but so far I haven't made that work yet. I tried chia for the same reason but I didn't like the results from it either.

I used the free sample of resistance starch that I got way back when from Hi-Maize. I have the wheat resistant starch you can get from netrition but I haven't used it yet, I'm still working on the huge sample Hi-Maize sent me, but I'm sure the wheat version would work just fine. It's simply to improve the texture.

I made these large so that one cookie would be more than enough for a quick portable breakfast. They are cake like and get sweeter as the days go by.

With mom in the hospital she wanted some to keep on hand but figured she would only eat half at a time. So I decided to make them smaller. I also wanted them to spread more so I added more fat and eliminated the cream cheese. What I ended up with is a cookie that looks and feels very much like a regular peanut butter cookie but with all the nutrition, protein and fiber of a breakfast bar. These were not cakey at all. I also left out the erythritol this time because I thought they were sweet enough without it.

Don't be afraid of the molasses, just make sure it's black strap. It comes from the last boiling of the sugar cane and contains all the healthy minerals especially iron, calcium, manganese and potassium. And a full tablespoon only has 11 carbs. When you're only using 1 it's not a bad addition to low cooking and it's a safe natural way to get a brown sugar flavor into your recipe. After all, brown sugar is nothing more than white table sugar with molasses added.

The protein powder and peanut butter both insure these have plenty of protein. The peanut butter, chocolate chips and butter, or coconut oil insure they have plenty fat. The peanut butter, coconut flour and nuts make them high in fiber. And they taste great too! I had all this figured out, but I lost the paper I wrote it on… oops! But suffice it to say they rated high on all counts. I hope you enjoy as much as we do.

Breakfast Cookies

 Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. butter, room temp.
• 2 oz. cream cheese, room temp
• 1 cup splenda
• ½ cup erythritol, shifted
• 1 tbsp. molasses, make sure it's black strap!
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ¼ cup peanut butter (natural type no sugar)
• ½ cup coconut flour
• ¼ cup resistance starch
• 2 tbsp. Powdered peanut butter, optional but adds to the flavor and protein level 
• 2 scoops protein powder (I use Designer whey)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup chocolate chips (optional)
• ¼ cup chopped nuts (optional)

 Method:  

1. Preheat oven to 325
2. Lightly spray cookie sheets, not really necessary but makes me feel safer 
3. Beat butter, cream cheese and splenda until light and fluffy
4. Add erythritol, vanilla, eggs, molasses and peanut butter. Beat until well combined
5. Shift in dry ingredients mix only until blended
6. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips if using
7. Drop by large, rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet (these are huge cookies)
8. Bake about 6-10 minutes or until golden brown
9. Cool and store in airtight container.

 Serve a big cup of coffee for breakfast. 

Optional: Add coconut instead of peanut butter, with nuts and chocolate chips, not as much protein but a bit more fiber. 

Make smaller and have 2 cookies instead of one  

For a more cookie like cookie- omit cream cheese and butter and use ½ cup coconut oil. These will need to be rolled into walnut sized balls and then flattened with a fork like normal peanut butter cookies.

We all know that eggs are one of the most versatile foods on the planet.  You can boil them, fry them, or scramble them.  Not to mention, poach, steam or bake them.  Then there is egg salad, deviled eggs and toasted boiled egg sandwiches.  Omelets, frittatas, quiches and breakfast casseroles. You can keep them simple or as extravagant as you want.

They are simply put one of the worlds most perfect foods. 

If you know anything about me, it’s that I panic if I get low on eggs.  No this isn’t a side effect of low carbing, I’ve always been this way.  Growing up there were always at least 3-4 dozen eggs in the fridge. No matter what else happened in life, we could always have eggs.

I’ve shared several different recipes in this blog for different types of eggs, but I have to admit, while I don’t go to the trouble to make them often, Texas Style eggs make my top 5.  I will full admit that more often than not I take the easy way  out and just scramble everything up together. But something, the rich, spicy flavor of Texas Eggs just calls my name.

Ingredients:

• 1 low carb tortilla
• 2 lg eggs
• 1/3 cup salsa, break out the good stuff
• 1/4 cup shredded pepper jack, cheddar, colby-jack or whatever cheese you like
• butter
• 1-2 tbsp. water

Method:

1. Melt butter in medium skillet
2. add tortilla and flip to coat
3. Toast until golden brown on both sides.  Remove to plate, keep warm
4. Add bit more butter to the skillet, and let melt.
5. Add salsa to hot butter, stir to combine but don’t let dry out
6. Add water and crack eggs over salsa cover and let cook until whites are set
7. Sprinkle with cheese, cover and cook until eggs reach desired doneness.

Serve on toasted tortilla with a dollop of sour cream, chopped green onion, sliced avocado, or just plain.

In the last few months it seem every fast food restaurant in town is offering breakfast bowls. A concoction of eggs, bacon or sausage and hash browns all topped off with cheese. It seems the carbivores in the world have decided that they liked this low carb breakfast but felt the need to ruin it with the addition of a flavorless frankenfood like hash browns. Can anyone honestly tell me the hash browns add anything to this otherwise yummy breakfast? And why do they only sell it for breakfast? I mean eggs, cheese and meat are perfect any time of the day. I've been making breakfast bowls for years, I just didn't call them that. I called them breakfast or lunch and sometimes dinner.

My favorite is sausage browned up with zucchini, onions, green peppers and a handful of broccoli slaw. Once the sausage is brown and the veggies tender I put it in a bowl, top with cheese then scramble eggs and place of top of that. I find it's much easier to make 2 than to make just one. With the meat, veggies and cheese that 1 ½ eggs is plenty, so making two and sing 3 eggs is so much easier. I pop the second in the fridge for the next day.

I've made many versions of this basic recipe and wanted to share with you just how quick, easy and versatile it really is. These can be made up in advance for a quick grab and go breakfast or lunch. I have also found that it's a great grab and heat dinner when time is an issue.

My favorite bowl to make these in is the flat Ziploc throwaway bowls. These stack beautiful and a plastic fork fits right inside for convenience. But you can use any bowl you chose.

Breakfast Bowls

Makes 2

Ingredients:

• 4-6 oz. Meat of choice (bacon, sausage, ham, ground meat etc)
• 1-2 cups chopped or shredded veggies (broccoli slaw, squash, onions, pepper or other veggies of choice)
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup of cheese ( any cheese you like) I really like Swiss but try to match my cheese to the meat and veggies

Method:

1. Pick your bowls and make sure it has lids that fits…giggle I've made them only to find out I couldn't find the darn lid.
2. Get all your ingredients together and chop your veggies
3. Start with the meat, it takes the longest to cook, unless your using left over then start with the veggies
4. Sauté until meat browns and veggies are tender divide between the two bowls and top with the cheese.
5. Wipe out skillet and add a little butter or coconut oil
6. Scramble eggs with a bit of cream if you like them fluffy. Season to taste
7. Split the eggs between the two bowls. Allow to cool completely before putting on the lid or you will have watery eggs (nasty)

Note: If you will be storing these in for more than a few days, I'd suggest you freeze them until you need them. Also I find that placing a folded paper towel on top of the eggs before placing in the fridge. It helps keep condensation for creating watery eggs. If you will be carrying these to work, those disposable forks you buy for picnics fit wonderfully inside the Ziploc throw away bowls so you don't have to worry about losing a piece of your flatware. I just toss it back in the bowl, bring it home, and wash. Then it's ready for the next one.

Anyone that knows me knows I have this thing about eggs. As long as there are eggs in the house, all is well because there is something to eat. But let me get down to two dozen eggs in the fridge and I begin to panic. It's time for someone to get to the store quick.

Eggs are just so versatile; you can do almost anything with them. I use them in baking, for a binder in meatloaf, in ice cream, and so many other things. Eggs are my most important staple in my house.

Since I'm just now getting back to sleeping, and my sleep pattern is all screwed up, I haven't been cooking as much as I should be. Therefore, I haven't had any recipes to post. So I thought this was a good time to post about some of my egg dishes.

These are my go too dishes when I'm hungry and need something to eat right now. I eat them quite often at night when my sleep pattern has me up all-night and sleeping during the day.

Scrambles

This has got to be my favorite. I start by heating up whatever left over meat there is or cut up smoked sausage, bacon or ham. Then I add in whatever veggies I have on hand; onion, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, or broccoli, whatever I want. When those are all nearly done, I crack 2-3 eggs over the top, season and scramble. Often I top that off with a sprinkle of cheese, maybe sour cream, and diced tomatoes. I get my veggies, protein and fat all in one skillet and it keeps me full for hours.

Fried Eggs

Fried eggs don't have to be boring. It's easy to jazz them up and take them from boring breakfast to delicious dinners with a few things you probably already have in your fridge. Start with a generous amount of coconut oil or my favorite butter. Crack your eggs in the skillet when the butter is sizzling. When the whites are set, flip and immediately top with your favorite toppings. My favorites are pepperoni, sliced mushrooms, onions rings, or ham. Then top with your favorite sauce. I like salsa, no sugar spaghetti sauce, or ranchero sauce. Then sprinkle cheese over the whole thing. Cover and let the cheese melt.

Sometimes I flip the eggs over once more, so that the cheese cooks and gets crunchy. This is especially great with salsa.

French Toast Scramble

Beat eggs, cream, cinnamon and sweetener until frothy. Pour in the skillet and then scramble. I like these cooked a little more than normal scrambled eggs. Spoon onto plate, drizzle with syrup and enjoy.

Frittata

Beat eggs with a little cream, pour into a hot skillet you've melted butter. Top with your favorite meats, veggies and cheese. Cover with lid and let cook until the bottom is set. Place under a broiler to finish cooking the top, melt and brown cheese. One of my favorite tricks is to cube up cream cheese and let it cook in the wet eggs. This makes for a wonderful rich and creamy surprise when the frittata is finished.

Omelets

Everyone knows how to make omelets so I want go into the how too, but to make them extra special, once you have them on the plate, spoon a little cheese sauce over the top instead of adding it to the filling. My favorites are spinach and spicy chicken, topped with cheese sauce and salsa. Pure heaven.

Baked eggs

Very versatile and perfect when your feeding several people. Simply crack eggs in a well-buttered baking dish, season, put a pat of butter on top of each and top with whatever you want. Salsa, cheese, finely diced green onions or diced tomatoes, whatever you like. Pop into a 350-degree oven until cooked the way you like, about 10 – 15 minutes.

Quiche

Butter a baking dish very well, sprinkle with parmesan cheese (cheap canister type). Brown, whatever meat you like, add to the baking dish. Sautee your choice of veggies and spoon them over meat. Beat eggs with cream, seasoning and a spoonful of sour cream until well blended, and then pour over the meat and veggies. Pop in an oven pre-heated to 350. Bake for about 20 minutes. Top with cheese and bake an additional 10 minutes. Wonderful warmed over. Assemble in muffin pans for mini quiche. They don't freeze particularly well in my opinion but they keep well in the fridge for several days.

This is just a quick run down; you can make them different every time you have them. You don't have to be bored with eggs, use your imagination, use flavors you like in other dishes, and by all means use up those little bits and pieces of fresh veggies and cheese we all have taking up space in the fridge.

I don't eat eggs everyday. But as long as you have eggs in the house, you'll never go hungry.

One of the things I am asked about most is, what I eat for breakfast. How do I keep from becoming burned out on eggs? I change things up a bit, so that I don’t eat the same things everyday.

I try to keep flax bread made up, it’s filling, has lots of fiber and is very quick to toast, smear with cream cheese and eat. I use to make it up as muffins, but we like it just as well if not better baked in a 9x11 baking pan and it’s a whole lot easier to clean up…giggle

I love eggs, more than some people I’m sure, but even I can get burned out on them. But mixing them with other things sure does help.

Omelets are great, I really like them, but I have to be honest I much too lazy to make them often. I’d much rather just scramble it all together or make a frittata. With summer here, frittatas are on hold until cooler weather so I’ve been eating lots of scrambles.

Some mornings I have simple fried or scrambled eggs with bacon or sausage. Some mornings I have scramble left overs in with my eggs like I did this morning. I heated left over Chicken Fajitas in a skillet and then cracked a couple of eggs in the pan, scrambled it all up together, sprinkled with cheese, then topped with spoon of sour cream and a spoon salsa.

Some days I have a Breakfast Scramble with left over veggies, or sauté the bits and pieces of veggies that I accumulate over the course of a week. They need to be used and cooking them in eggs is the perfect use for them.

Some mornings I eat coconut flour waffles spread with peanut butter. I make up the waffles in 3-4 at a time and freeze them so I only have to thaw, toast and spread with no sugar natural peanut butter for a quick satisfying breakfast.

Other mornings I just heat and eat left overs from the fridge. Believe me most things are just as good the next morning. Think about all the left over pizza you had for breakfast all those years…giggle

If you will make the time, you can make your very own cereal, it’s easy to make, delicious both in milk or just to munch out of a zippy bag on the run.

The point is to find something you like and can live with. Because it’s very important to start your day with healthy protein and some veggies if you can. I have to admit I don’t always get veggies in at breakfast time, but I do try.

I love the flavor of Coconut Flour Waffles but I'm not nuts about the texture. If you eat them right away straight from the waffle iron their aren't bad, but try to freeze them and you end up with waffle crumbs. Even straight from the waffle iron your more than likely going to have torn waffles. So I set my thinking cap on brilliance and I came up with so/so But hey we can't always come up with gems, right?

Anyway there is a marked improvement in these from the original and I can testify from this morning breakfast that the freeze and reheat wonderfully. I think they would even hold up to cutting into waffle sticks… yum who doesn't love warm wonderful syrup with waffle sticks to dip?

Here you go hope you try these and let me know what you think of them. And yes the egg count is right, it takes a lot of liquid in fat when working with coconut flour.

Ingredients:

• 4 lg. eggs, slightly beaten
• 5 tbsp. melted coconut oil or butter (I like the coconut oil)
• 5 tbsp. Hood calorie count down milk or equivalent in cream and water
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 4 tbsp. coconut flour, gently whisked
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• 2 tbsp. Hi-Maize 260 corn starch

Method:

1. Beat eggs, oil and milk until well blended
2. Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and Hi-Maize
3. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
4. Let stand a couple minutes. If too dry add water a tsp. at the time
5. Heat waffle iron and brush with coconut oil
6. Pour batter evenly over the grids and close
7. If yours is an old one like mine, you might want to flip the whole waffle iron to ensure even cooking.
8. When steam stops and waffle is brown, remove to plate or cooling rake.

Make 4 large Belgian waffles. Serve with butter and s/f syrup.

I made my own syrup by whisking ¼ - ½ tsp. glucomannan powder into my DaVinci's pancake syrup. It was just as thick as normal syrup, sweetened with Splenda and no carbs. But then I don't use much syrup I prefer lots of butter with a touch of syrup… yummy good!

As Promised, McVikki's is opened for business. That's right, we're opened all night for your breakfast convenience. No crowding folks, there is plenty for everyone.

You've been there, it's Monday morning, your youngest decided to brush the dogs teeth with YOUR tooth brush, now Fido is running around the house, foaming at the mouth getting toothpaste on everything, while the young one chases after him, screaming "I not done yet". The older one is screaming she can't find the hairbrush and she's looked EVERYWHERE, except on her dresser. The phone keeps ringing and you have a meeting you cannot be late for. In the midst of all this chaos little Mr. Happy Tooth asks, "Mom what's for bweakfast?"??!!!

Do you feed your dearly beloved demon children another bowl of poison; hmmm, I mean cereal? Drive through Mickey D's again? What about you? If you don't eat breakfast, by lunchtime you will be willing to eat the bark off the nearest tree. Forget about staying on plan, you will surely over eat due to hunger.

Well my dear, a little planning, a couple hours one or two weekends a month and you will be prepared for most anything. I will give you a few hints, a couple of recipes and hopefully a little piece of mind about feeding yourself and your family a healthy breakfast every morning.

First off, let me say if you are not using your freezer to its full potential, you are wasting one of your best assets. Your freezer can save you time, energy and Money… yes I said money. It allows you to prepare foods when you have the time. Then have them on hand when you need them. You can buy good healthy food when it's on sale and not every night on the way home. Keeping it well stocked and organized is one key to your success.

First, pick a weekend when you do not have a hundred other things going on. I know I know, THAT won't be until your children are grown, moved out and you've retired. But, maybe there's a weekend when you only have 99 other things to do. Grab it!

Decide what you want to make, make a shopping list, pretend your Santa's anal younger (much younger) little sister and check it two or three times. You do not want to have to run back to the store in the middle of cooking. And hopefully hubby took the kids off on some fun adventure to get them out of your hair.

Here is a list of a few things you might consider preparing.

Breakfast Burritos, Sausage bread, Mini quiches, waffles, pancakes, Waffle Sticks, Vikki and Patty's Sesame Flax Cereal, any of the flax bread recipes( look under breakfast recipes or bread for these), McOppsies, Breakfast Scramble, any of the roll ups from the "What's for lunch?"post. Of course, there is the stand by boiled eggs, egg salad or deviled eggs. Not something you can freeze. However well worth having made up and in the fridge when needed.

I have not tried a waffle recipe yet that would hold up to making waffle sticks. However, several out there freeze wonderfully, including the coconut flour waffle. There are so many low carb waffle recipes available on line, and I have only tried a few. Try your favorite, and see if it holds up to being cut into strips, frozen reheated and then dipped into your favorite syrup. If so please share!

Of course, you don't have to eat breakfast foods for breakfast. Left over dinner is amazing for breakfast. I love left over fried chicken for breakfast.

You can also make low carb shakes and smoothies using yogurt, Hood or almond milk, a little fruit a handful of spinach ( I know but you really can't taste it and whaa la veggies). DaVinci syrups are wonderful in these. You can get the fruit flavor with little or no actually fruit, depending on the number of carbs your limited too.

You can also make your own Low Carb Smoothies or protein shakes. For shakes just use your favorite Protein Powder and mix it into low carb milk. I'm personally not a big fan of Protein shakes or smoothies for breakfast. I want, no I need, to chew.

Ok, you've pick a weekend. You've check your grocery list a dozen times. Check it once more for good measure. Now it's time to plan your cooking session.

Make a list of the steps it will take to prepare all the meals you want to cook. See how much and what you can prep ahead. For example, you might be able to chop up the veggies the night before. Do you need to take anything from the freezer to thaw, such as bacon or sausage? Are your freezer containers readily available or are they in a hard to reach cabinet? Make sure you leave yourself a clean kitchen the night before. You do not want to start your day off taking out trash or washing dishes. Plan something simple for dinner on session night. Crockpot night might be just the thing or better yet have hubby plan on bbqing

The morning of your cooking session:

Eat a good breakfast. You will need it. Make sure you have on comfy cloths and shoes. Pull your hair back if need be, you do not want hair in your eggs… ICK!

Get organized; get your cookie sheets ready and in one place, for flash freezing.

Make sure you have freezer bags, bowls and a sharpie ( the only thing I know that will not come off or smear in the freezer)

Remember food safety and do not leave food out. Take eggs out as you use them don't leave them sitting on the counter all day. As soon, as the food is prepared, cool packaged and freeze. What could be worse than spending all this time and energy only to give your family food poisoning?

Pop in your favorite CD, breath deeply and take a minute to enjoy the quiet house and then get to work baby!

Work up one recipe at a time. Cook, cool, package and freeze. Then move on to the next.

When you get tired, take a rest break. If you planned too much, stop. You work on a recipe or two at night. If you wear yourself out, you will never do this again. Enjoy yourself.

Wash up as you go so at the end of the day you do not have a big mess to clean up.

At the end of the day when the food is in the freezer and the kitchen is clean. Take pride in knowing you have done something wonderful for your family, and your sanity!

If all else fails, a platter of veg sticks, a choice of hummus, peanut butter or cream cheese for dipping or spreading will go a long way to getting vitamins, protein and other nutrients into a hungry body. How about chunks of cheese and maybe a few berries for the kiddos. A cup of yogurt with nuts sprinkle on top and a little low carb jam mixed in. On the other hand, maybe a oopsie sandwich. I've had many a bologna Sammy on oopsies or Laura's Flaxseed Focaccia Style Bread. It's really not that hard, it just takes some thought, lots of planning and some often hard to find time. You can do it, because it's important.

I hope this will help give you some ideas about how to make sure that both you and your family always have a healthy breakfast. I'm sure you have your own favorite breakfast menus. Take a look at them, see if any of them can be made ahead and frozen or prepared and kept in the fridge for the week.

It really does not take that long to make up any one of these dishes. You could easily do one at night if you don't have any spare time on the weekend. Of course, you could do 2-3 easily on a Saturday afternoon.

Breakfast Scramble

Ingredients:

• 1 dozen eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup heavy cream or Hood milk
• Veggies of choice *
• Meat of choice*
• Cheese of choice*
• And seasoning
• 2 tbsp. butter or oil such as coconut

Method:

1. Chop all veggies
2. Cook or brown meat if needed
3. Sauté veggies
4. Whisk eggs, cream and seasoning together
5. Heat butter or oil in a large skillet
6. Pour meat and veggies into the skillet and give a quick stir
7. Pour eggs over and scramble till the reach desired doneness. I undercook a little, because they well cook a little more when re-heated
8. Let cool.
9. Portion out into 6 small bowls, suitable for freezing.
10. Top with cheese, place lids on tightly, label , date and freeze

To serve thaw and heat in microwave

Possible Veggie choices:

Spinach, broccoli, artichokes, onions, peppers, jalapenos, squash, egg plant, Jicama, or any other veggie you have on hand

Possible meat choices:

Sausage, ham, turkey, bacon, left over chicken, roast, pork even pepperonis or smoked sausage works well

Possible seasonings: I love thyme in eggs, but cumin, smoked paprika, rosemary, dill, oregano, red pepper, nutmeg goes well with egg, ground fennel, I always add a dash or two of dry mustard.

Other:

Picante or other hot sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 package of low carb tortillas
• A dozen eggs
• Your choice of ham, bacon, sausage, left over meat or anything else you like
• Vegetation: some like candidates are green and or red peppers, onion, mushrooms, spinach, squash, or eggplant. Choice what you like
• Cheese, again pick what you have on hand and your family likes
• 1/4 cup Dairy: Heavy cream, Hood milk or whatever you normally use.
• Seasonings of choice.

Cooking and assembly

1. Chop and prepare veggies
2. Cook meat or chop up left overs
3. Sauté veggies
4. Beat be eggs with milk and seasoning
5. Scramble eggs until barely soft set.
6. Mix in veggies and meat
7. Finish cooking until set
8. Spoon eggs on to tortillas, sprinkle with cheese.

Fold up the bottom of the tortilla over the egg. Then roll the tortilla up like a burrito.

Peanut butter roll up

Ingredients

• Low carb tortillas, number depends on how many you want to make
• 1 tbsp. Natural style peanut butter, the kind you have to stir the oil into, per tortilla
• Low carb jam or jelly
• Add Ons * optional see list below

Method:

1. Spread each tortilla with 1 tbsp. peanut butter
2. Spread on jelly ( amount depends on carb count and your preference)
3. Sprinkle with add ons if using
4. Roll up, place in sandwich bag or plastic wrap.
5. Freeze on cookie sheet, moving to large dated and labeled freezer bag the next day.
6. Thaw and eat

Add Ons:

• Chopped nuts or seeds
• Thin apple slices instead of jelly
• Shredded carrots, Jicama or celery
• Pickles, I know I know but I like peanut butter and pickles
• Unsweetened shredded coconut

If the carb count in peanut butter is just too high for you, or the natural peanut butter is too strong for your liking. Mix with softened cream cheese and a touch of sweetener.

Well you know me, I have to get in the Kitchen and "play" from time to time.  Tonight was one of the play sessions.  I wanted pancakes so I was going to make pancakes and eggs.  It's quick it's easy and it's filling.  I normally make my pancake batter from Carbquik, Hood milk, and a egg.  But I am really trying to up my fiber intake again because I have really relaxed in that area again.  So I thought I would add a tbsp or 2 of flax meal. 

However when I got in the kitchen I decided that I really did need to start using more coconut flour and since 2 tbsp. has nine grams of fiber and it makes a pretty decent pancake on it's own.  It thought what the heck.  So I grab all my ingredients and start mixing.  Then I started thinking french toast with it's cinnamon-y goodness.  So I added some cinnamon.   Then I got to thinking you know maybe what I should do is make a large pancake, fill with nuts, cream cheese and maybe some fruit, fold over and top with butter... yummy.

So I sprayed my pan with Baker's Choice ( the kind with the little flour in it) pour all the batter in the pan and sprinkled with pecans.  However when I went to turn it, it definitely didn't want to turn.  It tore and crumbled.  So I thought what the heck.  I'll just make a spoonable french toast.  So I scrambled, pressed and chopped the large pancake until I had a pan full of toasted brown crumbs.  I spooned those into a bowl, tossed some butter and syrup in the skillet just to heat.  I spooned the two ounces of warmed sweetened cream cheese( 2 drops of sweetzfree added to cream cheese soften in the microwave for 45 seconds) on top of the crumbs. Then drizzled the butter and syrup over the top of that. 

Oh my word it was good.  It was soft and warm and buttery.  It finally dawned on me after a few bites it tastes a great deal like rice pudding.  I was wondering why I kept thinking it needed a few raisins giggle.  Anyway, I really should have halved it because I was stuffed half way through and ended up wasting about half of it.  Next time I think I will use my DaVinci Pancake syrup and see how it does.

serves 2

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. coconut flour ( I started with 2 but needed to add the extra because it was too thin even for me)
• 2 tbsp. carbquik
• dash or two of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup Hood milk
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 cup small chopped pecans
• 2 oz. cream cheese
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/3 cup s/f pancake syrup

Preparations:

1. Whisk coconut flour and carbquik together.  Add salt and cinnamon and give another quick whisk.  Add the eggs and milk and whisk well. 
2. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat.  Spray with non-stick spray.  I used Baker's choice but I'm sure a regular non-stick spray would work as well.
3. Pour in batter and sprinkle with nuts.
4. Let the pancake cook until just before the edges are dry. 
5. Using a plastic or silicon spatula flip and scramble until you have toasted "crumbs". 
6. Spoon into 2 bowls. 
7. Add butter and syrup to the skillet and let heat
8. Spoon a tbsp. of warmed sweetened cream cheese on top of each bowl.
9. Drizzle the butter and syrup over the top. 
10. Enjoy.

The whole recipe has 36.5 grams of carbs with 24.5 grams of fiber for a net carb of 12.  Since this is split between 2 people that's 6 net carb + 12.25 grams fiber per person. Not counting your syrup.  Mine is 0 carbs but has Maltitol in it.  But I have found that at this small amount I don't suffer any of the side effects including blood sugar spikes.  I would like to find a new one, but this is what's available at my grocery.

Not too bad for breakfast or a late dinner.  Very filling.

coconut flour =15 gram carb       13.5 grams fiber

carbquik = 9 grams carb                      7 grams fiber

cinnamon = 2 grams carb                     1 gram fiber

2 eggs   = 2 grams carbs                      0 grams fiber

Hood milk = 1.5 grams carbs             0 grams fiber

cream cheese  = 2 grams carbs           0 grams fib

chopped pecans = 5 grams  carbs    3 grams fiber          

butter   = 0 net carbs                   0 grams fiber

syrup = depends on your brand

Well today for breakfast I did what I often do.  I dig in the fridge and see what I can find to go in my eggs.  As you may well know  my favorite spice is cumin.  I also had this idea of cutting my bacon up and cooking it then scrambling it in the eggs.  This recipe grew from that idea

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces, I use my kitchen shears
• 1/4 green pepper chopped
• 1 sm. yellow squash
• 2 tbsp. diced red onion
• 8-10 slices of jalapeno ( more would have been better)
• 1 tsp. sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil)
• dash or two cumin
• Salt and pepper
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup grated mexiblend cheese

Preparations:

1. Preheat broiler
2. Cook bacon until brown and drain.
3. Add peppers and let saute a few minutes.
4. Add the rest of the veggies.  Saute until the onions are translucent and the squash is tender.
5. Drain again if much more fat has been rendered.  You don't want this greasy... ick!
6. Add cumin to taste... I used several good shake.
7. Add eggs and scramble.  When just set add salt and lots of fresh ground pepper. Continue to cook
8. When eggs are set sprinkle with cheese and stick under the broiler to brown the cheese.
9. Serve immediately and add a couple slices of fresh tomato on the side.

• 3 eggs
• veggies of choice, I used onion, red pepper and zucchini all diced small
• cheese, grated, I used swiss
• 1/3 cup cream, could use hood but I like the richness and added fat in cream
• spices, I used salt, lots of fresh coarsely ground black pepper, thyme ( wonderful in eggs), celery seeds, mexican oregano, sage and I always add a dash or two of nutmeg to any custard type dish.
• Optional: bacon, slightly cooked; ham, anything you like 

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Butter muffin pan very well, it will add flavor if it's over buttered
3. Dice veggies into small pieces
4. Grate cheese
5. Pour cream in with eggs
6. Add spices
7. Beat til light and fluffy
8. Separate veggies and cheese among the muffin cups * if using separate meats too.
9. Pour eggs over veg and cheese
10. Bake for 35 minutes or until set, don't over cook.  They should be slightly moist
11. Let cool slightly before removing from the pan.

Place left overs in the fridge for several days.

This morning when I woke up I was ravishing.  I  went to sleep last night before I ate dinner so I was starving.  I decided that I needed a big breakfast.  So I popped my hamburger patty from last nights dinner into the microwave.  Ran some frozen spinach under hot water and wrapped it in a dish towel, squeezing dry.  I added butter to my skillet along with the spinach and a crushed clove of garlic ( yes garlic is good for breakfast).  I dropped in the little bit of onion from my hamburger patty ( yep fast food burger) into the pan.  When the spinach was done I pushed it to one side and cracked my eggs.  I scrambled them a little then mixed in the spinach.  Whaa Laa!  Green eggs.  I tossed my patty in while the eggs were finishing cooking.  Green eggs and Ham-burger!  So don't say getting veggies into every meal is too hard.  It's actually very easy.

Ever get hungry for breakfast cereal?  I know both Patty and I did.  We also got hungry for something crunchy to snack on.  Between us we came up with this.  It can have milk poured over it for cereal or carried in a bag to munch on.  Change the seasonings as you like. 

BTW Garlic and parmesan makes a wonderful snack treat that can go anywhere, and is a nice change from nuts.

Vikki and Patty's Sesame Flax Cereal