In my low-carb, high-fat reincarnation, I find myself cooking more and trying new dishes. No longer can I slap ham and cheese between whole-wheat bread, garnish with potato chips, and call it lunch. A bit of creativity is in order. But only a bit. I am a simple man. My method as both a cook and a writer is the same: I simplify. As a writer, I compose a sentence, and then go over it to remove words. I’m hell on adjectives and adverbs. Call it the “blue pencil” approach (or maybe the "Twitter … [Read more...]
A day in my low-carb life: May 2017
It's been a while since I recounted a day of low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) eating. Granted, only an LCHF beginner would find such a post interesting and/or useful, and even that may be wishful thinking on my part, but taking a close look at what I'm doing diet-wise is a major purpose for the blog -- at least from my point of view. If nothing else, writing down what I'm eating makes me pay attention to the process. So here goes. … [Read more...]
A classic low-carb breakfast for burning fat
The classic low-carb breakfast starts with eggs, in one form or another, and often ends there. Scrambled eggs and fried eggs are my mainstays. Sometimes, for the sake of variety, I might have hard-boiled or poached eggs, but the problem with those is too little fat. Remember, I'm eating a HIGH fat, low carb diet. I want a great fat-busting ratio of fat to carbs plus protein to start my day. (See my post on calculating the Skaldeman fat-burning quotient.) So eggs pan-cooked in butter or coconut … [Read more...]
Perfect low-carb blueberry pancake recipe
For months, I've been working to perfect my low-carb blueberry pancake recipe. I'm finally there. What makes these the perfect pancakes? Well, they're easy to make -- just five ingredients. And they're high in fat, low in net carbohydrates, and the recipe makes just enough for one person to eat on a weekend morning when he or she is hungry for a treat. Oh, and the blueberries add a lot to the experience! I suppose a person could share the pancakes with another person if that other person would … [Read more...]
Salad is better with eggs
Obviously, eggs add protein, fat, nutrients and taste -- plus a dash of contrasting color -- to a green salad, but it turns out they do even more than that. According to a new clinical study, whole eggs on a salad also help people better absorb the nutrients from the raw veggies. Salad is better with eggs. The study from Purdue University found that the lipids in the eggs -- that is, the fatty acids -- increased the absorption of the carotenoids from a variety of vegetables. While the fats in … [Read more...]
Avocado in the morning
Avocado in a low carb diet Pictured is my low-carb breakfast this morning: two eggs fried in coconut oil, three small and crispy strips of bacon, and the flesh of half an avocado. It's a fairly typical breakfast for me these days. I eat other things in the morning, including a goopy mixture of chia seeds, almond butter, walnuts and (LCHF purists avert your eyes!) oatmeal. But day in and day out, my breakfast is likely to include eggs. If I'm fortunate enough to have an avocado on hand, … [Read more...]
Great foods for a low-carb diet (part 5): eggs
Eggs aren't merely a great food for a low-carb diet. They're nearly the perfect food. You've got a whole potential chicken in that little spheroid, so an egg is jam-packed with the building blocks of life. Like most people, I've always eaten eggs, either as a main dish or inside of recipes, but for 30-plus years I limited my consumption to two or three eggs a week. Maybe four in a really wild week. Why did I do such a thing? Why did I foolishly limit this nearly perfect food? You know why. I … [Read more...]
Just your basic low-carb blueberry pancake
People eating low-carb, high-fat usually learn pretty quickly about wheat flour substitutes. At least they do if they have a hankering for foods like pancakes and waffles. To be honest, I'm happy eating eggs for breakfast most mornings, with or without bacon or sausage on the side. But a change of pace only enhances the pleasure you take from the usual, customary fare. So occasionally I make pancakes. My basic recipe mixes almond flour/meal and coconut flour, at a ratio of three parts to one … [Read more...]
No-filler salmon patties in coconut oil
Since salmon is a carb-free food, it should be easy to create a low-carb salmon patty, right? Just leave out other ingredients that would add carbohydrates. Easy-peasy. That's how I figured it in 2011 when I wrote one of the most popular posts on this blog: "No-filler salmon patties." The recipe presented in that post is about as simple as they get. It calls for a can of salmon, an egg, and two tablespoons of olive oil. Maybe some garlic powder. My new version is just as easy. I'm changing … [Read more...]
Building your own breakfast special
Back in my carb-eating days, my favorite meal to eat out was breakfast. There were a couple reasons. First, breakfast is an affordable meal to eat out. You can usually get a hot breakfast for a few bucks. Even in Manhattan, on the edge of the theater district, Anita and I got a breakfast special at a Greek diner that included eggs, meat, toast, two cups of coffee and a small glass of juice for five dollars each. In mid-Michigan, breakfast specials typically start at $2.99. Second, breakfast … [Read more...]