I’m back to eating properly, which for me means whole foods, no flours or sugar, and a diet very low in carbohydrates.� I have yet to find the perfect balance of protein, fat, and carbohydrates for me.� Those grains just do something whacky to my system.
I picked up the newest Atkins book the other day.� (Hint: It’s not written by Atkin’s wife or Atkins (obviously) so don’t be like me and look for it under the As.)� So far I have read 1/3 of the book and am pleased with the changes made to the food plan.� Granted, the last Atkins book I read was in the 90s.� Maybe these changes aren’t so much new as� they are new to me.� Anyway, the plan is far more focused on vegetables, offers meal plans for vegetarians and vegans, and seems to have done away with the “eat all the bacon and butter you want” marketing plan.� The reason I bought it is because of the way they reintroduce grains.� They do a staggered approach which allows you to take note of what works for you.� I would love to say that I could do this on my own without buying a book, but I’m not that disciplined. I do best when someone tells me what to do and how to do it.
My family just read that last sentence and dropped to the ground in a fit of hysterics.� I guess I should clarify that my love of instruction is limited to diet and nutrition.
Lazy Fritata
serves two (you can also eat it for breakfast and lunch, which is what I will probably do)
- 3 eggs (one more would probably be better, but I’m not a fan of eggs)
- 1 ounce brie cheese
- 1 handful spinach
- 2 TB butter
Preheat broiler
Crack eggs in bowl and whisk vigorously. Melt butter in 9 inch skillet and swirl to coat pan.� (If you have a� nonstick skillet you can use less butter or a spritz of nonstick spray.) Add eggs and cook on the stove over low heat until eggs are nearly set.� To make things go a bit quicker, pull back the edges of the fritata and allow the raw egg to run underneath.
Add spinach and cheese.
To ensure the cheese melts and the top is cooked enough for your taste, you can either cover the pan with a lid or pop it in the broiler.� I like using the broiler.� If you leave it on the stove, your eggs will continue to cook on the bottom. The broiler is faster, too, and should only take a minute or two.� Certainly not 3-4 minutes while you compulsively check your email, which will burn your spinach.� Not that I know anything about that.
(I call this lazy because there are a host of ingredients that would have spiced this up, like scallions, garlic, tomatoes, etc.� Consider this a base recipe.)
This is perfect! My sister and her husband (Atkins’ followers) are in town and I was trying to think about what to serve for breakfast tomorrow morning. Thank you for sharing!
Don’t forget to check out the Atkins website for recipes. There are a ton of great ones there!
Thanks for the review of the “new” Atkins. I would never look at their stuff before because of the whole bacon and butter thing. I even knew someone who got gout while doing Atkins several years ago!
http://40daysof.wordpress.com/2010/04/16/7-quick-takes-friday-4/
Well, new book or not, some people still don’t understand the right way to do it. I was lurking on a forum where one woman was complaining that she had only lost 26 pounds in 14 weeks (!!) and hadn’t lost weight in a week or so. Then she detailed what she ate in one day:
2 boiled eggs for breakfast 8:30 AM
11:30 Am i eat 28 Almonds,
1 PM I eat 1/2 of a Joseph’s pita (2 net carbs) with 1 slice of muster chees, 2 slices of wild harvest deli turkey, 1 small lettuce leaf, a swipe of mayo, water or soda water through out the day,
dinner is a chicken breast, 2-3 button mushrooms, 2 pepper slices sauteed with a slice of munster cheese melted on the other half of that pita, and a sugar free jello cup.
Um, what kind of meal plan is that? Nearly everyone chimed in and pointed out what should have been obvious to this person: (1) she’s not eating enough to function, let alone lose weight and (2) where are her vegetables?! 2-3 mushrooms and pepper slices smothered in cheese? One small lettuce leaf? Good grief! I had more vegetables with the first three bites of my breakfast than she did in her entire day. If anyone is going to get gout, it’s this person.
p.s. It took me the better part of a year to lose 50 pounds, just to put this woman’s weight loss in perspective. Also, on average, I have 4-6 cups of spinach and mixed greens everyday on top of my regular vegetables, which is in line with what the new Atkins books recommends. Actually, I had to bump up my vegetables a little more, if you can believe it.
This is so cool! I think I will not only make this but buy the book as well. I need things like this to just take with me to work or else the only thing I will ‘eat’ for breakfast is a latte. It’s portable. Beautiful photo btw:)
That frittata looks DELICIOUS!!
beautiful picture. what were the camera settings for it? also, was the natural lighting as low as it appears?
Nicole, you know I’m not that fancy! I just looked in iphoto for the settings. It captures them from every image. Definitely this is nothing I did intentionally.
Shutter: 1/40
Aperture: 5.6
Max Aperture: 5.7
Focal Length: 55.00 mm
Flash: Off (that I did on purpose. I know that much!)
ISO Speed: 400
Now if someone wants to tell me how each of those setting contributed to the picture, I would be thrilled. I’m pretty sure my high aperture setting is what makes the silverware blurry, right? The shutter allows in light, but I have no idea what 1/40 means. 1/40 of a second? ISO 400 is a standard setting, I think. Good for various settings? I remember buying 400 film and 800 film for action. I think.
Yes, the natural light is that low. I’m sure most of you have noticed that I take 99% of my styled pictures on the antique table in my kitchen. It sits directly under a window and, despite the low light, I can always open the door right next to the window in a pinch. It was an overcast day, no direct sunlight. You can tell the difference between this shot and the book shot I did a couple of weeks ago. I thought I would have to open the door, but I didn’t.
I compose all my shots in the view finder. Eye piece. Whatever that thing is called that you put up to your eye. I very rarely crop with editing software because my software, since it’s free, has limited options.
know that all this below if coming from a relative novice, so it might be as clear as mud in my explanation.
shutter: how fast the shutter works. 1/40 is average; you would want a faster speed for moving stuff.
aperture: the size of the opening in the lens when a picture is taken. the two key things to know: the larger f stop (the smaller the number) the more light is being let in since the lens opening is larger. so, if in manual, you might have to adjust the shutter speed if the f stop is large and it is a bright light situation. also, aperture determines depth of field: bascially the amount of the shot in focus. the larger the number, the more that is in focus. the smaller the number, the less in focus. so an f/22 will have more in focus than an f/2.8, while an f/2.8 will let in more light than an f/22.
iso: i have been trying to strive for iso 100 in most cases since they say it produces the least noise. i have used 400 in very cloudy situations. they say the higher you set the iso, it is best advised to use a tripod.
anyhow, the picture is very lovely. one would never guess you weren’t sure what the settings mean, as it all looks very intentional in its final result!