The Best Scrambled Eggs Ever

If you've visited this blog before, you'll know I sometimes struggle to eat eggs. I'm not a giant fan of their taste, but as such a great source of protein I'm always trying to find new ways to tart them up. 

Easier to put together than my yummy breakfast muffins, I reckon these scrambled eggs have cracked it. (Sorry!)

In the picture above, I've served my eggs on a toasted slice of ProFusion Protein Bread. It's made with flax seeds, wheat and milk protein and rye flour and works out to about 5g of carbs per slice. You can get it in The English Market. 

The Best Scrambled Eggs Ever (Serves 1)

Ingredients

2 Medium Eggs

Generous Knob Of Butter

Tablespoon Cream Cheese

Salt & Pepper

Method

1. Turn your stove/ hob on at a medium heat.

2. Crack two eggs into a small saucepan and add the butter.

3. Place over the heat and stir with a spatula. Don't use a whisk.

4. Continue stirring until the eggs begin to thicken and bind together as one. It usually takes about 90 seconds-2 minutes to get the right consistency.

5. Take the saucepan off the heat and add the cream cheese. Stir until completely mixed.

6. Season with salt and pepper. Serve!

These creamy eggs are tasty enough to eat alone, but to avoid samey-ness I like to mix it up from time to time. Here are a couple of my favourite variations:

• Add a pinch of chili flakes when stirring in the cream cheese, skip the salt and pepper.
• Fry off some bacon, finely chop 1 spring onion and mix into the eggs.
• Sprinkle with grated cheese before serving.
• Fry a bunch of cherry tomatoes on the vine, then mix into eggs before serving.

Muffin Love

I was excited to see my yummy breakfast muffins pop up at the top of this post over on allday.com, featuring inventive ways to use your muffin tin!

There are some great ideas there- particularly these Mini BLT Bowls.  I'm going to have to up my muffin tin game!

Easy Low Carb Breakfast Muffins

These keto breakfast muffins are so simple to make and really tasty to boot! If you've read the blog before you'll know that I'm always trying to find new ways to eat eggs. I hate eggs. But I love these muffins.

This is what I like to think of as the 'classic' recipe, but you can pretty much fill them to suit your taste. They're also a great way of using up leftovers or those odds and ends in the fridge which are about to go off.

This recipe makes six muffins, which S and I love to eat warm on a Sunday morning. You can equally make them ahead of time and grab one on your way out to work in the morning- keto breakfasts can be a time-consuming affair. They'll keep for a day or two in an airtight container.

Ingredients (makes 6 muffins)

6 slices of pancetta

2 eggs

1/2 a white onion, finely diced

3/4 cup of double cream

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 cup of grated cheddar cheese

Method

Preheat the oven to 220/430 degrees and grease your muffin tray with a spray oil.

1. Heat a little oil or butter in a frying pan- I used ghee- and fry off your pancetta slices.

2. When crispy, set aside and saute the onions in the bacon grease.

3. Chop the pancetta into small pieces and mix with the onions. Evenly distribute the mixture into the muffin tray.

4. In a bowl, break the two eggs and add the cream and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

5. Pour the mixture into the muffin trays, covering the pancetta and onion.

6. Top with grated cheddar cheese.

7. Bake in your preheated oven for 15 minutes et voilà!

Get creative with your fillings and try adding mushrooms, peppers or chorizo! If you like your food on the spicy side, sprinkling some chili flakes into the egg mixture will add a nice kick.

Carb Count: With the ingredients I used, these muffins work out at a very respectable 1.5g net carbs each. If you're watching your carb count, make sure to do your own math.

Low Carb & Gluten Free Pizza

Pizza is part of that universal food type- a flat piece of carbohyrate as a convenient delivery system for meat and/or vegetables. It's something I love, particularly on a Friday night when I'm starting to unwind and it's something that I don't want to have to go without. I've tried and disliked the cauliflower pizza base- this one is far closer to the 'real thing'.

As part of my neverending quest to treat low carb as a way of life, not a punishment, this recipe is a big deal to me!

Ingredients
2 Cups Grated Mozzarella
2 Tablespoons Cream Cheese
3/4 Cup Almond Flour/ Ground Almonds
Pinch Salt
1 Large Egg
Pinch Black Pepper
Garlic Powder

Your choice of toppings.

Preheat the oven to 180/350 degrees.

Method
1. Put the grated mozzarella and cream cheese in a microwavable bowl and heat on high for 1 minute. Take it out and stir well, then pop it back in for another 30 seconds.
It should look something like this:

2. Once the cheese is done, mix in the almond flour, egg, salt, pepper and garlic powder as quickly as you can. Mix well until it binds like a dough.
You'll see differences in the colour of the dough where there the cheese & dry indredients aren't well combined. Aim to get it as even a colour all-over as you can.

Place the dough on a baking tray. I've found the best results are achieved with a silicone pat on the baking tray.

4. Use your fingertips to gently push out the dough into an even layer with no holes. The dough will be quite sticky, so wetting your fingers with cold water will help make it easier to spread.

5. Prick the dough allover with a fork to stop air bubbles forming. Bake at 180/ 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Then take it out and prick again with a fork. It'll look a little more solid:

7. Put it back in for 6 minutes and then it should come out looking something like this:

8.  Now, add your toppings! My go-to combination is passata, grated mozzarella and chedder mixed, pancetta and pepperoni from Iago.
If using a tomato sauce, spread it thinly so it doesn't make the base soggy. I usually use Bunalun organic passata as it is relatively lower in carb than other shop-bought sauces.

Note: I've found that you get a crispier base if you can transfer it from the solid baking tray to one with holes before adding your toppings. It's not the end of the world if you don't have one, but I'd recommend investing if you like your pizza crispy!

For something a little different, try adding chilli powder or mixed herbs to the dough. Add some creative toppings and your base can set the scene for some pretty interesting flavour combinations.

With the ingredients I use, each full pizza works out to about 10 carbs. However, I'm not your mama so if you're counting carbs for weight loss make sure to do your own calculations!

Crepes

I'm not a big fan of eggs, I don't like them boiled, fried or scrambled. My mother blames herself for not giving them to me as a child, though she didn't give me wine either and I certainly developed a taste for that.

Eggs are such a great source of protein, and an important part of eating a low-carb diet, so I'm always looking for a way to trick myself into eating them. These crepes are so quick to make, and go with everything.

The recipe below makes three crepes, but it's a great idea to triple the quantities and keep the mixture in the fridge. You'll have three days' worth of breakfast ready to go and a washed out squeezy mayonnaise bottle is a handy dispenser.

Ingredients

2 Large eggs
2 Tablespoons of double cream
1 Teaspoon of vegetable oil

Method

1. Mix everything together in a bowl.

2. Lightly grease the hot frying pan with a small amount of butter or oil, then spoon in the mixture.

3. Give each crepe about a minute on each side.

4. Serve with streaky bacon and sugar-free maple syrup for an American-style breakfast.


Pro-Tip: These crepes also make a great dessert option. Serve with homemade nutella, mascarpone and crushed walnuts or pecans.