Turkey Bacon Omelet

(makes 2 servings)

Ingredients:

• 6 sun-dried tomato halves
  
  


• 2 plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
  
  


• 2 thin strips turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
  
  


• 2 Tbsp. crumbled ricotta salata cheese ( or goat cheese)
  
  


• 2 large eggs
  
  


• 3 egg whites
  
  


• 1 Tbsp. water
  
  


• 2 Tbsp. chives or scallions, chopped
  
  


• ¼ tsp. salt
  
  


• ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  
  


• 1 tsp. olive oil
  
  

Preparation:

• In a small-size dish, place sun-dried tomatoes then add boiling water to cover and let stand until softened (about 15 minutes). Drain and chop.
  
  


• In a small-size bowl, combine sun-dried tomatoes, plum tomatoes, bacon, and ricotta.
  
  


• In a another bowl, whisk together with the eggs, egg whites, water, chives, salt, and pepper until slightly frothy.
  
  


• In 10" nonstick skillet, heat ½ tsp. olive oil over medium heat then add half of the egg mixture (a scant ½ cup) and cook for 2 minutes, occasionally lifting edges with spatula and tilting pan, allowing uncooked mixture to flow underneath.
  
  


• Spoon half of tomato mixture down center of cooked egg when the eggs are almost set. Loosen edges of omelet with spatula and fold sides over filling. Slide onto warm plate. Repeat with remaining oil and egg and tomato mixtures.
  
  

Make 2 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving : 215 Calories, 17 g Protein, 8 g Carbohydrates, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 13 g Fat, 7 g Saturated Fat, 800 mg Sodium

Drug Cessation and Weight Gain

Commenter "mem", who has been practicing healthcare for 30+ years, made an interesting remark that I think is relevant to this discussion:

Recovering substance dependent people often put on lots of weight and it is not uncommon for them to become obese or morbidly obese.

This relates to the question that commenter "Gunther Gatherer" and I have been pondering in the comments: can stimulating reward pathways through non-food stimuli influence body fatness?  

It's clear that smoking cigarettes, taking cocaine and certain other pleasure drugs suppress appetite and can prevent weight gain.  These drugs all activate dopamine-dependent reward centers, which is why they're addictive.  Cocaine in particular directly inhibits dopamine clearance from the synapse (neuron-neuron junction), increasing its availability for signaling.
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Breakfast in a Muffin

(makes 12 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1¼ cups finely crushed whole grain wheat or bran cereal
  
  


• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  
  


• ½ cup stone-ground whole wheat flour
  
  


• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
  


• ½ teaspoon baking soda
  
  


• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
  


• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  
  


• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
  


• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
  
  


• ½ teaspoon salt
  
  


• 2 egg whites or ¼ cup Egg Beaters
  
  


• 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  
  


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
  


• ½ cup packed brown sugar
  
  


• ½ cup fat-free plain yogurt
  
  


• ½ cup orange juice
  
  


• ⅓ cup raisins
  
  


• 1¼ cups fresh or frozen blueberries
  
  


• 1½ Tablespoon coarsely chopped almonds
  
  


• 1 Tablespoon turbinado sugar
  
  

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
  
  


• In a large-size bowl, whisk together with cereal, flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, orange zest and salt.
  
  


• Combine egg whites, oil and vanilla in bowl. Whisk in brown sugar, yogurt and orange juice. Stir into dry ingredients until just blended. Fold in raisins and blueberries. Spoon into muffin cups.
  
  


• In small-size bowl, stir almonds and turbinado sugar. Sprinkle by rounded ½ teaspoons over each muffin.
  
  


• Bake until top of muffin springs back when lightly touched (about 20-25 minutes). Cool on rack in pan about 2 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely.
  
  

Make 12 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving : 168 Calories, 3 g Protein, 30 g Carbohydrates, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 4 g Fat, 0.5 g Saturated Fat, 245 mg Sodium

2011 Haiku Winners Announced

Our voting is complete and I'm pleased to present
to you the winners of our
2011 Neighborhood Haiku Contest: