January 11, 2018 by Liz @ spades, spatulas, and spoons

January – Sous Vide Frozen Turkey Breast

One of the wonderful things about sous vide is that you can cook your food while it is still frozen…yes, frozen solid. You only need to increase the cooking time by half. For example, if something takes 4 hours normally, cook it for 6 if frozen. Even better, the maximum timing is flexible. Need to be out of the house for 8 hours? No problem.

Cooking things frozen allows you to take advantage of periodic sales, like the one recently for post holiday season boneless turkey breasts. After all it would still take at least overnight to thaw in your fridge, no waiting for that thaw time. And it comes out as if it had been cooked fresh.

I purchased an organic boneless turkey breast just after New Year’s with the intention of cooking it sous vide at some future time. Before putting it in a bag for vacuum sealing (you can also use a heavy duty ziplock bag), I browned it and rubbed it well with salt and herbs de Provence. Then I vacuum sealed it in the bag and froze it. The day before I planned to serve it, I placed it in my sous vide water bath (yes, still frozen) which had been preheated to 134 degrees F. Normal cooking times for a fresh and non-frozen turkey breast are 8 to 24 hours. The frozen breast will take longer, I usually add half the cooking time again. So if frozen it could be done in 12 hours at a minimum (8+4) but can go much longer. It will become even more tender with longer cooking time, but don’t go overboard as it will turn to mush. I cooked mine for about 28 hours.

Browned Turkey Breast

Turkey Breast Vacuum Sealed and Ready to Cook

We Are Cooking

Be sure the water covers the top of your bag and cover your container with a lid or plastic wrap. 24 hours is a long time and the water will evaporate otherwise. You don’t want to have to get up in the middle of the night to check the water level.

It turned out tender and delicious. If you are serving it warm, I would brown it again. But because this was intended for sandwiches and cold meals I didn’t bother.

Overnight Sous Vide Turkey Breast

Sous Vide Turkey Breast – Fresh or Frozen

Preheat the sous vide water bath to 134 degrees F
Brown the fresh or frozen turkey breast in olive oil, concentrating on the skin side
When cool, rub with salt and your herb of choice (I used herb de Provence)
Seal in a vacuum bag or place in a heavy duty ziplock bag.
Immerse in the water bath, using the water displacement method to force out any air in a ziplock bag. Make sure the turkey breast is covered by the water.
Cover your water bath with plastic wrap or a lid.
Cook for 8 to 24 hours if fresh, 12 to 30 if frozen.
If serving warm you may want to brown it again.

January 10, 2018 by Liz @ spades, spatulas, and spoons

January – Fast Metabolism – Phase 2 Day 1

How are you feeling? It’s day three if you are following along, time for protein. According to Haylie, Phase 2 is designed to unlock your fat stores. It’s 2 days of low carbohydrate, high protein foods. During these two days you will eat 3 high-protein, low-carb, low-fat meals plus 2 protein snacks.

Refer to the complete food list in the book.

Breakfast – Protein, veggie

Snack – Protein

Lunch – Protein, veggie

Snack – Protein

Dinner – Protein, veggie

The vegetables should be low-glycemic ones like leafy greens, which are also alkalizing. After the carbohydrate rich days which came before, this shakes things up a bit.

Expect to visit the bathroom more frequently if you are keeping up with your water.

Your menu could look like this:

Breakfast – 4 slices of turkey bacon (nitrate free) sautéed with sliced mushrooms and baby kale leaves

Nitrate Free Turkey Bacon

Snack – 1/4 cup of mixed raw nuts (no peanuts)

Lunch – Thinly sliced turkey breast wrapped around asparagus stalks (with mustard)

Snack – 1/4 cup of mixed raw nuts

Dinner – Sautéed steak with cabbage

Sautéed Turkey Bacon with Mushrooms and Baby Kale

Sautéed Turkey Bacon with Mushrooms and Baby Kale

Serves 1

4 slices nitrate free turkey breast
4 large fresh mushrooms, sliced
large handful of baby kale or baby spinach leaves
Optional: pinch of red pepper flakes

Cut the turkey bacon into 3/4 inch slices and saute in a non-stick skillet on medium until starting to brown.
Add the sliced mushrooms and a tablespoon of water to the skillet.
Saute until the mushrooms soften
Add the handful of baby kale or spinach with the optional pepper flakes and keep stirring until wilted.
Taste for salt, it may not need any as the turkey bacon is salty.

Note: if you are not on the diet, a couple of eggs scrambled in before the kale would be yummy!

Turkey Bacon with Sliced Mushrooms and Baby Kale

January 9, 2018 by Liz @ spades, spatulas, and spoons

January – Fast Metabolism – Phase 1 Day 2

It is day 2 of phase 1, first week of the Fast Metabolism Diet.

How are you doing? You don’t need to be on the diet to enjoy the healthy fat free recipes I am posting. And the idea of eating small meals throughout the day is not a new one, it keeps your body fueled and your blood sugar steady. There is also evidence that going many hours without food will put your body into starvation mode, so you actually retain fat. It makes sense if you consider our ancient ancestors, they would need to conserve in times of famine.

Here is my plan for the day, as a reminder here is the phase 1 program:

Breakfast – grain and fruit

Snack – fruit

Lunch – grain, protein, fruit, vegetable

Snack – fruit

Dinner – grain, protein, vegetable

You should plan your menu but here is my own:

Phase 1, day 2 – Tuesday menu

Breakfast – 1 cup Oatmeal cooked sous vide (or slow cooker) with freeze dried fruit (you can also cook your oatmeal the regular way). This recipe is a game changer for oatmeal and non-oatmeal fans alike.

Today I reheated the second canning jar of oatmeal. A few notes: I found the oatmeal made with oat milk rather than rice milk was smoother and naturally sweeter. I reheated it in the microwave (watch carefully) with a silicone cap. I find these silicone lids in various sizes invaluable in the microwave but also for storing foods in the refrigerator. They come in a variety of sizes and are useful for reheating anything from a cup of coffee to a large bowl of soup. I even use them as a lid for a frying pan when cooking eggs.

Overnight oatmeal with silicone lid

Snack 1 – orange

Lunch – Open faced sandwich (1 slice of sprouted wheat bread, mustard, sliced tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion), tangerine

Open faced chicken sandwich with mustard, red onion, tomato and arugula

Open faced chicken sandwich

Snack 2 – mixed fruit

Mixed fruit – blueberries, mango and strawberries

Dinner – Stir-fried Steak with Baby Bok Choy, Red Onion and Brown Rice

Steak and Bok Choy

You will find the links to the recipes imbedded in the titles.

January 9, 2018 by Liz @ spades, spatulas, and spoons

January – Stir-fried Steak with Baby Bok Choy, Garlic, Ginger, Red Onion and Cannellini Beans

This recipe is a quick weeknight dinner idea. You could make this vegetarian by leaving out the steak (of course) and adding an extra can of cannelini beans or, even better, use edamami beans instead. The addition of the beans allows you to stretch the steak, making more servings.

Stir-fried Steak with Baby Bok Choy, Garlic, Ginger, Red Onion and Canellini beans

Steak and Bok Choy

Serves 3 – 4

12 oz of steak, cut into strips
About 4-6 baby bok choy – mine were on the large size so I used only 4
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 large red onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves finely chopped
3 thin slices of fresh ginger
1/4 Tsp salt
2 tablespoons of tamari or to taste
Pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions:

Drain and rinse cannellini beans
Cut off the end stems of Bok choy freeing up the leaves
Cut the stems into slices and leave the leaves whole.
Separately rinse the stems and leaves of bok choy, dirt hides in the stems where they attach to the base. I found a salad spinner helpful. Dry each but keep them separate.
Chop the onion into medium dice and finely chop the garlic
Sauté onion, garlic, ginger and the pinch of crushed red pepper flakes with 1/4 Tsp salt in 1 Tbsp of water in a non-stick pan on medium heat until softened. Add more water if things get too dry but don’t add too much. The leaves and stems of the bok choy will release water.
Add in bok choy stems, steak and 1 tablespoon of tamari, cook until the stems start to soften and steak looses it’s pink color, about 3 minutes
Uncover and add the leaves of the bok choy and the beans, use tongs every minute while sautéing for another 3 minutes til tender but still crisp.
Add the second tablespoon of tamari and toss.
Remove the steak and vegetables to a serving dish, cook down any liquid until saucy and pour over the dish.

Note: a drizzle of roasted sesame oil would be delicious. Extra tamari at the table is a welcome addition.

I realize that many of the recipes over the next few weeks are on the comparatively bland side compared to my “usual” recipes. That is because they are designed to support a group who are following the Fast Metabolism Diet for 28 days. Don’t worry, the jacked up seasoning will be back. And, I may come back and “redo” some of these recipes.

But, meanwhile I think many people like simpler food without a lot of fancy ingredients. At the end of 28 days last May my taste buds had changed, I detected the sweetness of bok choy and the meatiness of the steak, my ability to taste more subtle flavors had become more acute. I didn’t need as much seasoning. Some folks are naturally that way and so these recipes will work for them as written. Feel free to use the recipes as a jumping off spot to your own creativity.

Serve with brown rice.

This is a phase 1 lunch or dinner for the Fast Metabolism Diet. In phase 1 serve it with with 1/2 cup of rice (the beans count as part of your starch). It is also a phase 2 lunch or dinner prepared without the beans.