Beyond the Microwave – Highlights of a Moonlighting Chef

If you’re like me, you grew up on processed food.

You know, enough Kool Aid to give the Kool Aid man diabetes.

Enough Frank’s Hot Sauce to OD on sodium.

A Salt n’ Vinegar Pringles stack higher than the Eiffel Tower.

You get the picture.

Armed with the knowledge of what time to set frozen Soft Pretzels on in the microwave. And lets not forget the optimal cereal to milk ratio for Frosted Flakes.

These are serious hard skills.. But over time, any reasonable person will realize that there is more to life than Hot Pockets and Pot Tarts.

That being said, real meals are not a given in this fast paced modern world.

It’s easy to get caught up in the hamster wheel of life (menial work, dead-end relationships, financial stress, etc.).

Leaving you with no time to make all those delicious recipes. Even with time, it can be overwhelming to start.

If you find foodies too weird or TV personalities like Gordan Ramsay too intense, derive a morsel of inspiration from me. A humble, moonlighting chef (definitely not a Chef ) Who dared to venture beyond the microwave…

The Highlight Reel

as Advertised.

Rather than spamming various Social Media accounts with pictures of food, I feel better sharing the highlights in a concentrated blog post. With, hopefully, more meaning than a parade of virtue signalling efforts to get likes from people I never see in real life.

At the end of the day, I guess we’re all mildly narcissistic, humble bragging, hypocrites. Before I get too cynical…

Viewer discretion is advised: These pictures are not polished, they are real, they are raw.. don’t be intimidated.

1. Taco Salad

Now, I’m not going to list every ingredient and measurement because that’s no fun. This isn’t Martha Stewart’s Living. Its better to approach cooking like a mad scientist and figure it out yourself.

So whats so special about this average looking Taco Salad? What takes this Taco salad To The Max?

First if the budget permits, opt for Grass-Fed (High in Omega 3 fatty acids > Omega 6 fatty acids) ground beef or Ground Turkey. If your going to include the chips, ditch the high glycemic index Doritos and go with some Multi-Grain chips

Oh yeah and try this grain free Taco seasoning recipe from Cardiologist and Bestselling Author, William Davis – http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2015/02/taco-seasoning-mix/ Other than that, throw in some greens plus your favorite salsa and your good to go – This one is fairly self-explanatory.

2. Wild Caught Grilled Salmon

That might be the same fork from the Taco Salad picture. #minimalist.

Anyways, go ahead and Shot Put your outdated, 50 pound microwave off the top floor of an apartment building. Next, order a George Foreman grill off Amazon. You’ll thank me later.

Step 2, 2 Days later, plug in the grill and put the fish on the grill for 10 minutes.

Step 3 – Enjoy this crispy, excellent source of animal protein and healthy fats. Bonus: Add Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a pinch of Himalayan Salt for enhanced taste, nutrition and texture.

Prep Time – 2 Days and 10 Minutes

3. Broiled Chicken Wings

Growing up, deep-frying chicken wings was almost a weekly ritual.

I’m not trying to get Heart Disease, so I revived this childhood favorite by simply buying quality antibiotic-free wings and then broiling them until they reached desired crispness.

Best Served Buffalo Style

Mix Frank’s Hot Sauce, Grass-Fed Butter, Tabasco Sauce, and Lemon Juice then douse the hot wings to complete this mouth-watering dish. Add celery for good taste.

Here is a recipe that I loosely followed to get me started http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/recipes/buffalo-chicken-wings-wheat-belly-10-day-grain-detox/

4. Coconut Flour Pancakes

There are plenty of recipes for these pancakes on Paleo and Ketogenic diet blogs, I use (no order) coconut flour, eggs, vanilla extract, coconut oil, stevia, baking soda, Canned Coconut Milk, and that’s the starter pack.

Mix the ingredients in a high watt blender, or food processor than pan fry. You can add walnuts, Grass-Fed Butter, Lemon Juice (surprisingly good substitute for syrup), etc. These pancakes will also fill you up due to the high fiber and protein content in coconut flour.

So next time you participate in Denny’s all you can eat pancakes, eat one coconut flour pancake prior.

I added Raspberries and Walnuts to this one.

This pancake is fit for a body builder or really anyone looking for a nutrient dense meal, both high in protein & fiber and low in sugar.

Ingredients: Lentils

Coconut Flour, Chia Seeds, Eggs, Baking Soda, Ground Cinnamon, a pinch of Himalayan Salt, and a couple scoops of this super food blend. Top it off with some Grass-Fed butter and your good to go. Sweeteners aren’t really necessary in this one.

While on the semi low-carb baking tangent, check out this coconut flour blueberry pie.

The pies at the grocery store taste good but are loaded with sugar and carbs so I started making own, using mostly : Coconut Flour, Eggs, Wild Blueberries, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Raw Honey. It’s a work in progress.

6. The Sweet Potato

Go ahead and curb stomp your $4 Bag of Lay’s Potato Chips then pick up some Yams aka Sweet Potatoes (ranging from $0.69 to $1.29 per pound)

Great with Ground Cinnamon

You can add Hot Sauce for less of a dessert vibe. If you don’t have hot sauce, you can add cayenne pepper, apple cider vinegar, and Himalayan Salt for a similar effect.

7. Last But not Least – The Omelette

Bonus

Grilled Grass-Fed Burger

Ingredients: Organic Grass-Fed ground beef, Red Onion, Sweet Onion, Garlic, a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar, a touch of Himalayan Pink salt, and garnished with Romaine Lettuce plus one Kosher Pickle Spear. After years of high glycemic, refined carbohydrate binges, disguised as meals, the bun isn’t necessary.

Bonus #2

In the words of Billy Mays (RIP) from OxiClean



Duck Eggs

Higher in Protein + Omega-3 Fatty Acids than Chicken Eggs

More of a rich, orange yolk, indicating more nutritional value



Check out this article from modernfarmer.com for information on Duck Eggs

Blooper

With not many ingredients at my disposal, I got creative. The results…

This thing..

Stay hungry and Have a good day!