Low-carb January - 11 days in

Recipe of the week...
...Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients: 200g spinach leaves (from fresh or frozen), 6 large eggs, 100-150g cheddar cheese, a pack of Quorn Spinach and Red Pepper Slices, and butter/marg for greasing

Time taken: 25 mins prep and 25 mins in the oven

Serves: Approx. 10 muffins

Hi readers,

How are you all today? Are you well, and getting on okay back at work? Surviving the January Blues, if you’ve come down with them? And whatever cold / flu you probably have, on top?

Hang in there, readers! That’s my main message in this post today. If you’re ill, if you’re dieting, if you’re sick of it being cold and dark, if you’re going through a break up or divorce (as it would seem most people are), if you’re eleven days into the new year and already fed up of your job / house / prospects… FEAR NOT.

Chill the F out, readers. There’s plenty of time for things to turn around. Just think – 354 days of 2018 to go! Who knows what could happen in that time! For sure, it won’t stay cold and dark for the entirety (though, maybe the majority). It’s unlikely you’ll feel ill on all of those days. The diet will break / work before you know it. And so on.

Plus, I have some GLORIOUS tips for those of you in the break up / divorce team, for how to engineer human contact. What do I mean? What does she mean??

Well. You know when you become single, readers, have you noticed how you stop making contact with other humans? You see humans, probably every day. Same as before. But you just never touch them. And nobody touches you. Like – all those humans could actually be holograms and you wouldn’t know.

It’s saddening. SO I’ve been brainstorming the rare instances in which I do actually make contact with other humans (please see below) and I’m thinking, if you’re feeling down about things, maybe it might cheer you up to sort of engineer one of these to happen? Human contact! Works wonders for the single soul, I hear.  

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Here we have it...

Ten instances of human contact for the single person (read: me) 

• If I accidentally bump into someone or someone accidentally bumps into me 

• If someone is handing me something and our hands brush

• The occasional handshake in a work meeting

• If I'm holding a baby or holding a child's hand near a road 

• If I'm sat very close to someone (e.g. theatre, public transport, footy game) and our sides are touching

• If I'm stepping up or down, or crossing a river? And a friend lends me a hand for safety

• If my yoga teacher is helping me correct a pose

• If I fall over in the street or in a nightclub and someone hoists me back up again

• If we line up for a night out pic at pre-drinks and my friends put their arms round me

• If a friend or relative gets drunk or emotional and hugs me (or vice versa, if I'm drunk/emotional and hug them)

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See! I bet there were a few in there you hadn’t thought of. I hope this comes in handy, readers, and you’re feeling better soon. Just think – this summer you’re going to be spending the money you would have spent on their birthday present, on fruity cocktails instead. To sip by the sea somewhere exotic. You’re winning, right? YES YOU ARE… you’re winning!

And it will feel like it very soon, I promise.

Also – in the spirit of cheering you up, if needed – I have a recipe of the week for you, readers! This one came recommended to me by one of the besties, who has been following my progress with low-carb eating in January and recommended me a recipe that she herself has been using for a spot of healthy January eating, as you do.

This recipe, readers, is for Breakfast Muffins. And really – there’s not much of a recipe to it! As you’ll see shortly, these muffins are very easy to prepare, in just a few simple steps. And you can chuck anything in them that you like really – there’s no need to stick with the ingredients I’ve used in my muffins. Free style to your heart’s desire!

I was only using Quorn Spinach and Red Pepper Slices because I found them on offer in the shop. Although they're very tasty - so I do recommend! Here’s a vague idea of the recipe in just ten simple steps…

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Recipe: Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients: 200g spinach leaves (from fresh or frozen), 6 large eggs, 100-150g cheddar cheese, a pack of Quorn Spinach and Red Pepper Slices, and butter/marg for greasing

1.     To start off, you need to prep your ingredients. I did this the night before to maximise my time in bed in the morning, but you could sprint out of bed and sort this in the morning no problem.

2.     First off, begin by finding a pan with a lid and heating it over a low temperature. Fill the pan with spinach leaves (just leaves - no water required), then keep checking back every few minutes to stir the leaves around and add more to the pan, as the leaves begin to wilt and reduce in size.

3.     While your spinach is wilting, grate your cheddar cheese and dice your slices of Quorn into small pieces.

4.     Once all your spinach has wilted, drain in a colander and then press between squares of kitchen roll, to remove moisture from the spinach – so you don’t end up with soggy muffins!

ChefBeHere Top Tip: If you’ve begun prepping the night before, you can leave it here. Store your cheese, Quorn and spinach in the fridge overnight, and pick this up in the morning.

5.     Next, heat your oven to 200C and get out a large mixing bowl.

6.     Crack six large eggs into the bowl and season with salt and pepper.

7.     Add your cheese, wilted spinach and Quorn to the bowl, and give everything a good stir together.

8.     Grease the holes of a muffin tray with butter or marg, and then spoon your eggy mix into the holes, filling them almost to the top.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: I filled ten muffins holes, but your mix might make more or less depending on how much you’ve made. Don’t fret! Just keep filling almost to the top.

9.     Carefully transport your tray into the oven, and leave the muffins to bake for around 25 minutes.

10.  Once your muffins are golden brown on top and firm to touch, you can safely remove them from the oven and switch this off. Your muffins should easily come out of their holes in the tray – leave to cool for a few minutes and then you can tuck in!

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What do you think, readers? Are you tempted by this recipe? Have you made similar breakfast muffins before? I must say – I have never tried anything of the kind, didn’t know this was a thing! And I’ve always been on the fence about whether or not I like egg and cheese paired together.

But, readers, these muffins came out well and they taste so good! I’m over the moon with them! Honestly, it’s been a good thing I’ve not been working from home today or I fear I would have snacked my way through the lot. I can confirm they can be eaten warm or cold, tasting just as good cold as warm, as there has been SOME snacking since I got home.

I originally made these muffins for breakfast this morning, before setting off to work, and they put me in such a good mood today! A warm, filling, tasty, low-carb breakfast – the dream! And a break from the monotony of yoghurt, seeds and berries, which has been my staple low-carb breakfast for ten or more days now. Far too long.

I shall be saying a BIG thank you to my friend when I see her this weekend, for recommending the recipe, and I’ll definitely be making these breakfast muffins again soon! How about you, readers? Do you think you might give these a go? Let me know what you think – I’m interested to see whether everyone raves about them as much as me! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Until next time, readers. Take care.

And wilt safely,

Hayley

CLUCKING, NOT COMMANDING

Recipe of the week...
... Clucking and Avocado Salad

Ingredients: One handful of frozen Quorn ‘chicken’ pieces, one avocado, half a pepper, a dozen cherry tomatoes, a stalk of celery, a drizzle of your favourite dressing, and a plateful of salad leaves.

Time taken: Not long at all! Maybe quarter of an hour.

Serves: One mammoth plateful.

Hi readers,

How’s it going?? How are things today? Are you well? And having a great Sunday? Up to much or jusss chillin'? However you’re spending your Sunday, I hope you’re having a fab time! I’m taking it easy this Sunday. Not heading anywhere in particular. I made it out on a blustery run and am considering baking something to take to work tomorrow. Potentially a banana bread, we shall see.

As I write, I’m sat in Sheffield’s Mr Bubbles coffee bar. Watching people battling the wind outside. Listening to the coffee machines steaming, and people chatting while they do their laundry. It smells like coffee and detergent. Outside, it’s beginning to look like rain.

I had intended to share with you this week, readers, a selection of very interesting posts from other bloggers for you to read. But, not to be down on other bloggers, there seem to be many posts this week asking somewhat silly questions (e.g. What’s Your Best Advice for Small Appliance Repairs?, or Why Does My Wine Taste Funny When I Sip It with Asparagus & Artichokes?, or I Avoided All These Foods While Pregnant. Was It Worth It?, or Is It Bad To Stay Inside For An Entire Day?). Yeah… see what I mean?

And then there are a whole other load of posts which are, for lack of a better word, commanding people about what they should be doing with their time (e.g. Did You Just Get a New Range? 5 Things to Do Right Away, or How To Conquer Your Fears, or The One-Touch Method: The Ultimate Productivity Rule, or 12 Things You Should Do Every Morning Before Work – this includes things as basic as ‘let the light in’ and ‘make the bed’, and things as far-fetched as ‘tidy your toiletries’ and ‘add a fragrance to the room’).

I am not putting other bloggers down. These people behind these articles often post interesting content and they write about it really well – I enjoy reading their articles and it’s great that they’re blogging! And there is, of course, no right way to blog. But sometimes I wonder… how can people be so sure of themselves? So sure that other people should follow their advice (/commands)? And then their lives will be better as a result.

I’m not so certain about anything! But one blog post I did read this week, which I found to be thought provoking, is 10 Little Things to Remember When Life No Longer Excites You by Marc Chernoff, which you can read here. Without commanding you to give it a go… may I quietly suggest reading this? Relevant for anyone who finds themselves bored at times by their everyday routine. I related as I have a killer commute to work at the moment, which bores me on a daily basis. My highlight is the line: “There is good reason why you should wake each morning and mindfully consider what and who you will give your day to.” Think about this.

SO… on to food food food. My recipe of the week, this week, for Clucking and Avocado Salad, comes entirely from inside my own brain. It comes about following an alarming number of lunchtime panini runs that I’ve been making for colleagues at work. These are somewhat stressful times at my work, readers, and the team’s coming to heavily rely upon panini-power to get through an afternoon.

The farm shop near to my work serves up an ever changing array of eccentric lunchtime flavour combos (green bean and orange?! Does. Not. Work.). The food there is never the same, never ever boring, and not always wisely thought through. But they do have some staples on their printed menu, which you can more or less count on to be there every day.

One of which is their chicken and avocado panini, which is fast becoming a favourite among the team. I’ve been quietly bemused, having:

a)    Never eaten a panini without cheese in it before (isn’t that the best part?!).

b)    Never tried chicken and avocado together (as I gave up meat 9 ½ years ago, when avocados were still yet to wash up on the English shore).

But these paninis are just getting more and more popular in the office. They’re like the Prom Queen of paninis. And, ever curious, I’ve been pondering the flavour combo. So, whilst scheming up a new salad recipe this week, to jazz up my regular old plateful of leaves, I decided to go for it! Of course, on the ChefBeHere blog we like our chickens to be clucking and roaming free, so no chickens were harmed in the making of this recipe.

I just made a salad, chopped up an avocado, grilled some Quorn ‘chicken’, and slung these on top. And it tasted good. I can’t complain! Not raving yet – I think maybe I need to give this combo a try together in some other recipes first – but it was a fine plateful of food. Want me to talk you through it?? Here’s how to whip up your own Clucking and Avocado Salad, in just eight simple steps…

1.     Pour a cool drink and, if it isn’t blowing a gale outside, open a window for some fresh air. Clear your mind, take a few deep breaths, and set some summery music playing.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: This week I’ve been listening to the track ‘Barcelona’, from Ed Sheeran’s new album, on my morning walk. Never mind what you think of Ed Sheeran – this is a really feel good, upbeat tune. It puts me in a good mood.

2.     Turn on the George Foreman or, if you don’t have one of these, your regular grill.

3.     While the grill heats up, take out a plate and cover this with your favourite salad leaves.

4.     Drizzle your leaves with a salad dressing of your choice – I went for a balsamic vinaigrette.

5.     Set a handful of Quorn ‘chicken’ pieces grilling.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: If you’re using a regular grill, you might want to pop your Quorn in a little boat fashioned out of tin foil.

6.     Time for veg prep! Use a sharp knife to halve a dozen cherry tomatoes, cut up half a pepper into bite-sized pieces, chop your stalk of celery up into chunks, and cut your avocado up into chunks, too.

7.     Arrange your veg artistically over the leaves on your plate.

8.     Top with ‘chicken’ pieces fresh from the grill… et voila!

Clucking and Avocado Salad

And that, readers, is all there is to it. What do you think?? Have you tried avocado and chicken together before? Or avocado and a meat-free ‘chicken’? Do you like this taste combo?? Would you top a salad with these two? Do you have any other recipe suggestions where I can try them together? (Besides paninis… which I see far too many of these days!)

I’m intrigued to hear whether there’s anything to dislike about this pairing of ingredients. Is it controversial or a totally safe bet? Could I serve this to friends and count on people liking their food? Would anyone not be up for avocado and chicken?? In the office, it’s everyone’s favourite flavour, but step out the door and… who knows! What do you think, readers?

I shall leave you to ponder this, obviously, LIFE-CHANGING conundrum. And enjoy the rest of your wonderful Sunday.

Salad safely,

Hayley

And cheers to the Irish! Happy St. Patricks!
There was Baileys in my cocktail this week :)