Bye Bye Bacon Frittata

Last night, as I was working, I rediscovered Hungry Girl.  Hungry Girl is a woman, not a nutritionist, who loves food but fights the same battles as basically everyone in the world who loves to eat but doesn't want to eat themselves crazy.  She offers low calorie recipes and tip and tricks to help you stay on track.  As I was browsing through the contents of one of her cookbooks, there was a recipe for a frittata that seemed interesting.  I perused a couple of online recipes looking for low fat, low cal frittata recipes, and I got the jist of how to create a healthy, delicious frittata.

So I did!  This morning for breakfast, I created what I call the Bye Bye Bacon Frittata.  And let me tell you, it was so good! And I didn't feel guilty eating it.  It was full of veggies (green peppers, red peppers, cucumbers, onions), and I used reduced fat cheddar cheese.  To cut back on cholesterol, I only used 1 whole egg, and just the whites from the rest. 

The catch was the bacon.  I called it Bye Bye Bacon because I had 5 pieces of bacon left in my fridge.  Now, if I'm trying to lose weight and eat healthier, I don't think bacon should be part of my meals.  At least not much.  So, this was my farewell moment with the bacon that I dearly love.  I spent a long time debating how I could possibly fix something with bacon and not have it full of fat, so I thought - "Why not just take out all the fat?"  So I did.  I tenderly snipped off ALL the fat from the bacon with kitchen shears, AND then I cooked it on a George Foreman grill, so that squeezed out even MORE greasy fat. 

Here's the recipe and a couple pictures.  It was very delicious, and one serving was JUST the right amount!

Bye Bye Bacon Frittata

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1 whole egg
2/3 cup water
1/2 a green pepper
1/2 a red pepper
1/4 cup sliced cucumber
1/2 an onion
1/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp each salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Bacon pieces (I used 5 slices)

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease a small baking pan (I used a 8x8ish pan).  Slice bell peppers into strips, slice cucumber (then I halved the slices), and set aside.  Chop onion and sautee in water until tender.  Place all the vegetables in the pan.  Trim the fat from the bacon, and cut the bacon meat into half-inch strips.  Cook on a George Foreman-like grill to remove more grease and fat.  Add the bacon to the pan with the vegetables.  Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese in the pan.  In a bowl, combine the egg whites, the whole egg, and 2/3 cup water.  Add in salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and whisk until fluffy.  Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and bacon in the pan.  Cook for 30 minutes.  During the last 2 minutes, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the frittata and let it continue to cook.  When done, slice into quarters and serve!

Makes 4 servings.  Add a tablespoon of salsa for a little bonus!

Bye Bye Bacon Frittata with Tbsp of Salsa

Happy New Year, Friends!

2010 has come and gone, and 2011 is looking bright as ever!  My New Year's Eve was spent in my apartment with Jason.  I fixed us a DELICIOUS meal of chili, veggie pizza, and corn bread.  It was my first time making chili, and I think it was pretty successful!  (Jason's really particular about how he likes his chili, and we don't completely see eye-to-eye.  He thought mine was pretty good for a first try!)


I ended 2010 very happily.  I got to spend about 2 weeks at home with my family and friends, got to rest a LOT, and got some great Christmas gifts!  My apartment is still not all put back together yet - there are boxes of this, and gift bags of that still laying around in places, along with my still full luggage. Woops!  But as I rang in the new year, guess what happened. Again. Jason fell asleep.  He was sick - AGAIN - during the holiday, and so I just said Happy New Year to myself :-/  But that's ok! I'm not sad about that.  People need to rest when they're sick.  He's better now, thanks to off-brand Pedialyte.


On the morning of January 2nd, however, something tragic happened.  I woke up late for church that morning, so I had to rush to get ready in a jiffy, since I was singing with the praise team that morning.  I showered, did my hair and makeup, and went to throw on some clothes.  As I was pulling on my dress pants, I realized something very sad.  They didn't go up.  They just didn't!  About a year and a half ago, I took those pants in about 2 inches because they were too big for me, and at this particular moment, they were too small!!  So, hastily in my hurry, I ripped that stitching out in desperation - I needed to wear pants!  As I pulled the stitching out, the reality hit me - I've gained about 15 pounds.  That's a lot of pounds.  I've been in denial of this, and I've sucked my belly in, and I've strrreeeeetched my jeans out before putting them on.  That morning, the reality of how much my weight gain is affecting me became real.


So I'm doing something about it.  That afternoon, I got home from church and wrote out my New Year's Goals.  I don't call them resolutions.  That seems to intimidating to me.  I call them goals because they're something that I'm working towards.  Here are my 2011 goals:


*Drink more water.
*Take your vitamins.
*Eat healthier.
*Do something active every day.
*Practice. Seriously.
*Pray like you mean it.
*Keep a clean house.
*Save more.  Spend less.


I'm very satisfied with my goals.  I believe they're practical and worthwhile.  So far, I've been doing OK with them.  Hopefully with diligence and prayer I'll be able to accomplish these goals and have a happy, healthy, successful year!!


I wish you all a blessed new year, and I hope that you work hard to keep whatever goals you're working towards!