Omelet you in on these yummy high-choline recipes 04/29/2012
Posted by thetickthatbitme in Choline Diet, Whole Person.Tags: breakfast, choline, diet, Food, leftovers, mushroom, omelet, recipe, Smoked salmon, Spinach
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In my family, omelets are somewhat of a sacred tradition. My dad was the omelet-master when I was growing up, and whenever we had weekend company, he’d make each guest and family member his or her own made-to-order omelet. By the time I was in high school, I’d picked up his technique and was making omelets for all my friends after school. Little did I know back then what a great source of the B vitamin choline omelets can be! (For more on choline, see the Choline Diet page.)The best thing about omelets besides the choline factor is the infinite possibilities–there are no rules about what cannot go in an omelet. Here are some of my favorites.
Smoked Salmon, Spinach, and Avocado Omelet
Image via cuisineaustralia.com.
I love smoked salmon, and I’m always looking for new ways to cook with it (aside from just eating it on a bagel with cream cheese–yum). Check out this salmon omelet recipe from cuisineaustralia.com.
Choline Count: eggs (2) 200 mg + salmon (3 oz) 80 mg + spinach (2 oz) 11 mg + avocado (1) 19 mg = 300 mg of choline!
Mushroom, Spinach, and Feta Omelet
Image via closetcooking.com
What do I like almost as much as smoked salmon? Crumbly cheeses! Feta and spinach are always delicious together, why not put them in an omelet? Add shiitake mushrooms for a bonus 66 mg of choline! Check out this recipe on closetcooking.com.
http://www.closetcooking.com/2008/03/mushroom-spinach-and-feta-omelet.html
Choline count: eggs (3) 300 mg + shiitake mushrooms (4 oz) 66 mg + spinach (2 oz) 11 mg + feta cheese (1 oz) 4 mg = 381 mg choline!
Leftover Stir-fry Omelet
This was my go-to omelet when I was a college student and rarely went grocery shopping or planned meals. I always seemed to have leftover Chinese food in my fridge, so I devised this omelet to make leftovers into breakfast. I usually use two eggs per person with a little milk. If you’ve got the jumbo eggs, you can get away with using one and use a little more milk (1 oz of skim milk has 5 mg of choline!). I whisk up the eggs and the milk in a bowl, then pour them into my omelet pan (yes, they make a size of frying pan that’s just for omelets). Meanwhile, I heat up the leftover stir-fry in a separate pan. Once that’s heated through and the egg mixture has set in the pan, I spoon some stir-fry onto one side. After a few minutes, the other side will be ready to fold over.
Image via mccormick.com
If you want to make a healthy stir-fry at home to use for your leftovers, you can try this recipe for Orange Ginger Beef Stir-fry from mccormick.com.
Choline count: eggs (2) 200 mg + beef sirloin (1/4 lb) 96 mg + broccoli (1/2 cup) 31 mg = 327 mg choline!
Hope you enjoyed this week’s high-choline recipes. Eggspect (sorry, I promise I’ll try to stop) to see more next Sunday!
Have a high-choline recipe (and mouth-watering photos) you’d like to showcase on this blog? E-mail thetickthatbitme AT gmail DOT com.
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Eat Your Eggs, Benedict! 04/22/2012
Posted by thetickthatbitme in Choline Diet, Whole Person.Tags: Anaplasmosis, benedict, Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia hermsii, choline, diet, eggs, HBO, inflammation, Lyme, mushroom, recipe, salmon
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If you know my story, you know that when I was diagnosed with B. hermsii and Anaplasmosis, my doctor put me on a high-choline diet. Why choline, you ask? Choline is a B vitamin that aids in the transmission of nerve impulses from the brain through the central nervous system–this process is essential to functions like memory and muscle control. Since Borrelia like to attack the central nervous system, choline is especially important for people with (past and present) B. hermsii and B. burgdorferi infections. People who eat diets high in choline have also been shown to have lower levels of inflammation (like inflammation of the joints in Arthritis) than people who don’t. You can read more about choline here.
Enter the Benedict. It is by far my favorite egg-based dish, and I enjoy making it at home just as much as I do eating it for brunch in a fancy restaurant.
"Eggs" Benedict Talley (Mehcad Brooks) from HBO's True Blood. Photo via hbo.com.
One large poached egg has 100 mg of choline, so if you eat two, you get about half of your recommended daily amount (425 mg for women, 550 mg for men). Add to that other high-choline foods like smoked salmon (129 mg), Canadian bacon (39 mg), portabella mushrooms (39 mg), spinach (35 mg), asparagus (23 mg), avocado (21 mg), and tomato (6 mg) to get your choline fix!
Here are my top five Benedicts:
1. Old Fashioned but Fried
for those mornings (or afternoons, or evenings!) when I’m feeling traditional, yet lazy
I learned this simple recipe from my mother, and it
Image via firsttimerscookbook.com
brings back all kinds of fond childhood memories. A toasted whole-wheat English muffin, topped with pan-fried Canadian bacon and over-easy eggs (make sure they’re still a little runny, because that’s the best part). The hollandaise sauce I usually make with one of those sauce packets you can find in the grocery store (next to the gravy packets). It’s easy–you only need to add milk and butter–and, in my opinion, it tastes better than the from-scratch hollandaise recipes I’ve tried. Because of the butter and bacon, this is a slightly fattening meal, so I balance it with a side of boiled asparagus, which tastes delicious with the hollandaise sauce and adds 23 mg of choline to this meal!
Choline count: eggs 200 mg + Canadian bacon 39 mg + asparagus 23 mg = 262 mg of choline
2. Crab Benedict
for when I’m feeling crabby or rooting for the Terps
I’ve never made this one at home, but I’ve had it at Toasties Cafe, and it is delicious!
Image via Yelp.com.
Choline count: eggs 200 mg
3. Portabello Mushroom Benedict
for the fungus-lovers amongus
If you’re looking for a meatless meal or just craving these yummy mushrooms, this is the Benedict for you. Check out Jackie Dodd’s recipe at TastyKitchen.com, which also includes spinach, tomatoes, and Sriracha for a kick!
Image via TastyKitchen.com
Choline count: eggs 200 mg + portabello mushrooms 39 mg + spinach 35 mg = 274 mg of choline
4. Tomato Avocado Benedict
because I’m a California girl
My mouth was watering as I scrolled through SoupBelly.com’s deliciously illustrated recipe for this west-coast Benedict. If you want to make it even more California, use sourdough English muffins.
Image via soupbelly.com.
Choline count: eggs 200 mg + avocado 21 mg + tomato 6 mg = 227 mg of choline
5. Eggs Hemingway
for when I’m feeling literary
This one may seem a bit fishy, but I assure you it’s delicious and packed with choline. It’s also called Norwegian Benedict. Here’s a recipe at food.com that includes not only salmon but spinach, too!
Image via Wikipedia.
Choline count: eggs 200 mg + smoked salmon 129 mg + spinach 35 mg = 364 mg of choline
Now that I’ve made myself really hungry, I’m going to go make my own Benedict. Hope you enjoy these eggcellent (sorry, I couldn’t resist) high-choline meals!
THE TICK THAT BIT ME 