The Best Breakfast Potatoes

It's been quite a while since I've been on here and posted anything.  The reason being I've been having a hard time maintaining my own eating plan.  These past few months I've dealt with bipolar problems, and my father passed away.  Neither situation is good for disciplined eating and all for emotional eating.  I am trying hard to get back on track.  I've been talking to a nutritionist again, and in a couple weeks I am going to start talking to an exercise coach.  My daughter joined a gym; it looks really nice and I think I am going to join to.  You just can't beat $10/mo!!!

Anyways, I just wanted to put up a quick post.  This one is hard for me to calculate any nutritional information for because it really depends on the type of potato you use and how much (or how big your waffle iron is).  I'm just going to give you the info for 1 cup of fresh potato to make it general and easy.

You can use any type of frozen potato (tater tots, diced hash browns or shredded hash browns).  I have to admit, I have not tried this with fresh potatoes.  If you try it, let me know how well it worked out for you.  I'm thinking they would have to be cooked a little first to get them soft enough to get pressed by the waffle iron.

UPDATE:  The other day I used thawed diced potatoes, and it didn't work out as well.  I could have been that I didn't spray the waffle iron, but I think it was more that the potatoes didn't mash and cook together the same way the tater did or that shredded hash browns would.  

Thaw frozen potatoes by sitting them out or in the microwave for a minute or two.  Get your waffle iron  hot.  Spray it with pan spray.  Spread your thawed potatoes over the waffle iron, but not too thick but plenty for good coverage.  Press the lid down tight so the square doohickies really mush together well.  My waffle iron beeps when it is done.  It usually takes about 5 minutes or so.

When they are done, they will be nice and crispy, no oily sogginess, and just perfect with a little salt (and I like ketchup).

My kids are so picky about their breakfasts in the mornings, and I truly feel like a short order cook.  Matthew likes eggs with ham and cheese at the moment; Sara doesn't like much of anything and seems to have an upset stomach in the mornings a lot.  She's been eating a piece of Nutella toast with a glass of milk.  Yesterday I tried this idea of the waffle iron potatoes, and guess what!  Both of them asked for it again!  In the picture you see here I used thawed out tater tots.  Next time, though, I'm going to try shredded hash browns.

They turn out just perfect, in my opinion.  I've made hash browns in the skillet a lot, but they always turn out soft and soggy from the oil.  I can never get that nice crisp outside layer like they do in the restaurants.  Now I succeeded!

Ok, for 4.5 oz of Great Value brand tater tots, the nutritional values are:  240 calories, 12g fat (3g polyunsaturated, 3g saturated and 6g monounsaturated), 0mg cholesterol, 495mg sodium, 615mg potassium, 30g carbs, 3g fiber, 3g protein.  6 Points Plus.

Enjoy your breakfast potatoes!  Over and out.

Lisa
happyfairylove@live.com

Some product reviews and how I used them for a great breakfast

I was talking to my nutritionist the other day, and since I was having problems with getting hungry too quickly after breakfast she suggested I have more protein in the morning.  She said Egg McMuffins are a great breakfast.  I don't like eating at McDonald's even occasionally, so I'm definitely not going to spend the money to go there every morning.  I decided to make my own version at home, and this is what I used:

1.  Thomas' Hearty Multi Grain English Muffins

Just 100 calories, a big 8g of fiber and 5g of protein per muffin.

2.  My new favorite find...Hormel Natural Choice deli meats in the cold cut section of the grocery store.  They taste like actual ham and turkey and have NO ADDED NITRATES OR NITRITES!

Just a little on the pricey side, but so worth the cost!

3.  1 Egg
4.  1 slice Sargento Ultra Thin Provolone cheese.  Only 40 calories per slice!!!  They are creamy when melted onto the egg muffin, and packed full of flavor for such a thin slice of cheese.

I used Provolone, but it also comes in Swiss, Cheddar and some others.

5.  2 tsp of butter.

I'm sure you can figure out how to cook it, but I like adding pics to my posts. :)  Spray the pan with a little bit of pan spray.  Put the burner on medium heat.  Crack the egg into the pan and break the yolk with a fork (but don't scramble it).

Add a little pepper and salt if you like a pinch of salt.  While that is cooking, split the English muffin with a fork and toast them.  Spread 1 tsp of butter on each side after toasted. 

Add 2 slices of Hormel Natural Choice honey ham into the pan.  Flip the egg.  Flip the ham.

Put 1 slice of Ultra Thin Provolone (or flavor of your choice) onto 1 side of the English muffin.  To make the egg fit nicely onto the muffin I cut it into halves or thirds and stack it a little, just covering the area of the muffin.  Add ham.  Eat and enjoy.

This is my and my kids' new favorite breakfast.  It's got a good amount of protein, fiber, not bad on carbs and good on calories for a small meal.  Here are the stats:

291.2 calories, 14.4g fat, 4.75g sat fat, 2.3g polyunsaturated fat, .99g monounsaturated fat, 208mg cholesterol, 780mg sodium, 70mg potassium, 27.8g carbs, 8g fiber, 18.7g protein.

It keeps my feeling full and satisfied all the way up until lunch time.  I have to admit, they are so tasty that it's tempting to have another one, but I don't allow myself to do that.  That would kind of defeat the purpose of being healthy, wouldn't it? :)

Enjoy your breakfast and have a happy day!
Lisa
PS  Hover over the black bar on the right side of the screen to pull out more  menu options for my blog.
happyfairylove@live.com

Eggs on the Go (Recipe, Pics)

I was going to make a recipe one day last week that called for egg substitute.  When I went shopping I picked up a little container of Egg Beaters, but what I didn't realize is that I picked up the Southwestern Style Egg Beaters instead of plain.  oops.  I don't think the dessert I was going to make would taste good with peppers and spices.  So it sat in my refrigerator for a while.

In the meantime, I have received several emails from Hungry Girl with recipe ideas for Eggs in a Mug.  I didn't have the directions in front of me when I did it, but how hard could it be, right?  I sprayed a coffee mug with pan spray.  Then I shook up the Egg Beaters, measured out 3/4 C, which is equal to 3 eggs in baking, and poured it into the cup.  I got 2 slices of Jennie-O 98% Fat Free Turkey Ham and cut it up into pieces.  I added that to the eggs and gave a little stir.  I did not know how long to cook it for, so I just put it in for about 45 seconds.  It was not near done, so I just gave a quick stir and put it back in.  I put it in for another minute and checked again.  Still didn't seem to be done.  Stirred it again.  Put it back in for another 30 seconds.  I think I ended up cooking it for about 3 1/2 minutes.  At the last little bit I put a little sprinkle of grated cheese on top and nuked it for about 15 seconds with the cheese on it.

My eggs look a little small in this mug.  That's because it's a pretty big mug.  It was more than enough to fill me up.

Caution:  The mug was VERY hot.  After I let it cool a bit I was able to eat it, because right out of the microwave it is entirely toooooo hot.  Good thing there's a handle on the mug!  The Southwestern Style flavor of the Egg Beaters was really good.  Nice little kick to it, but not overly so.  The turkey ham was also a good idea.  I like meat in my eggs.  The one thing that is not so good about Egg Beaters?  The price!!!  I can't remember the exact price but for a small container it was something like $3.79, and it's only the equivalent of 7 eggs!  That's an expensive dozen eggs, for sure. 

The nutritional information, though, is very different on the Egg Beaters vs regular shelled eggs. 
1 Real Egg                               1/4 C Egg Beater (1 egg equivalent)
70 calories                               25 calories
fat 5g                                       fat 0g
saturated fat 1.5g                      saturated fat 0g
cholesterol 185mg                    cholesterol 0mg

Having 3/4C of the Egg Beaters saved me 135 calories over 3 regular eggs.  That's a pretty big difference.  For the price it's not something I would do all the time, but I'm sure there are those out there who can afford it.  Maybe what I might do is mix 1/4C egg beater, 1 whole egg and 1 egg white.   An egg white only has 17 calories in it, so that mixture would save (over 3 real eggs) about 98 calories, and 370mg cholesterol, which is still pretty significant.  That might be a good choice, and a little more economical.  If you get the plain flavor you can do all sorts of things with your Eggs in a Mug.  Add anything you would to an omelet.  I am going to try a wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese in one, cut up into pieces and melted as it cooks.

Oh, I was going to mention that I checked the directions Hungry Girl gives for the Eggs in a Mug, and she says to cook it for 1 minute, stir and cook for another 30-45 seconds.  Mine definitely weren't done in that amount of time.  Maybe it's because I used more Egg Beaters, or maybe my microwave is different....or a combination of both.  Point is, just try it and see what works with your oven.

If you're a little short on time but want still want to have a healthy, filling breakfast, try cooking up some Egg Beaters in a mug with your favorite fillings and take it with you.

Have a Good Morning and Don't Skip Breakfast!

Lisa
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