Turkey Scotch Eggs

I absolutely love Scotch Eggs.  The first time I made them, I used Melissa Joulwan's (author of Well Fed) recipe.  I had just started on the Paleo path and her site was such an inspiration and help to me.  That was when I was lifting 3 days a week and running 3 days a week.  I was pretty badass!

I remember a recipe that I thought was on her site for homemade turkey sausage links.  When I searched, however, I came up empty.  Perhaps it was there, but is now in her book.  I'm not sure.  I should see if there are Kindle versions of her book; I just like supporting the actual author, when possible (NOTE: I don't get anything for sending you to her site or store.  I just genuinely believe in her stuff).  Anyway, I couldn't find the recipe I was looking for.

So, I made my own.

I will need to update this post when I make a larger-than-4 batch of eggs.  I measured absolutely nothing.  Yep, I'm one of those people.  I just shake a spice shaker over the food til I get tired of the colour and go from there.  I'm very bad at this.  Hence why I'm doing a blog.  Maybe I'll get better at photos, too...

The initial batch turned out okay.  I should have used a bit more salt and probably should have sauteed the fennel bulb before throwing it in.  And added garlic.  I'll very likely look up some other sausage recipes to see how people spice their sausage to come up with something a little more flavourful, but, for now, this is what I have.

Turkey Scotch Eggs

Mine sorta didn't stick together.  Next batch will be better!

Ingredients

4 eggs, hard boiled, mollet, or baked (I used baked)

1lb ground turkey

1/4 fennel bulb & stem

1tsp salt

1T. "Italian Seasoning"

1tsp Tumeric (This was for me.  I'm supposed to take tumeric twice a day to supplement my immune system.  You may leave it out, if you wish)

1tsp Black Pepper

Instructions

1. If you're going to bake your eggs, pre-heat your oven to 320* F, place your eggs in mini muffin tins, then put them in the oven for 30 minutes.  Make sure your oven is completely pre-heated.

2. Sit down and rest.

3. Once your eggs are finished, set the temperature to 375* F.

4. Dice the fennel.  Use both parts of it for maximum flavour!

5. Heat a skillet over medium and add about 1 T of coconut oil to saute the bulb part of the fennel (I didn't do that this time, but I plan to in the future).

6. Mix the turkey with all the spices and the fennel.

7. Divide the turkey mixture into four even balls or lumps or patties.  Turkey isn't known for holding together too well, so you're going to put it in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes.  If you're not pre-heating your oven to 375* F yet, now is a good time to start!  

8. Sit down and rest.  Cool off, if you need to.

9. Line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper (I have a gas oven; parchment paper makes me nervous).

10. Peel your eggs and form a relatively even ball of meat around it, making sure to seal any cracks and place them on a baking sheet.

11. Bake for 25 minutes.

If you're looking for something quick, this is not it.  If you're looking for something healthy, this is a good option.  This is something that can also be batched and keep in the fridge for two weeks (I think; we've never had them go longer than a day or two).  I probably would not make more than 12 at a time, which would yield 6 servings (unless you don't eat a lot; then 12 servings).  These are good for a high-protein breakfast, lunch, or snack.  Have them with a side salad or by themselves.  They're quite tasty and not extremely heavy.  

Mean Green Smoothie

I am not lazy.

I just don't always have the energy to stand in front of my stove and cook myself real food.  It's a frustrating thing.  Batch cooking does not work well for me, either, as I either forget I have food pre-made or I am simply not hungry and, therefore, don't eat.

That last one is usually the case.

This is also a very bad thing.  When I was power lifting, I would eat when I was hungry, until I felt satisfied.  That is, in fact, how Paleo nutrition works.  It helps if you have a large expenditure of energy to burn off calories.

I no longer have that energy to burn.  But, I still want to be healthy!  In fact, I know the key to a flat stomach starts in the kitchen.  So, what to do when you want something healthy, but can't expend the energy to create something healthy?

I'm a huge fan of Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, aka The Paleo Mom.  I use her blog frequently and it is my go-to blog for recipe ideas.  I cannot, however, spend as much time as some of the recipes require me to spend.  Yes, prepping in advance would be an excellent solution--however, I'm on a budget and I have neither a deep freeze, or a place to put one, currently.  So, I'm on a day-to-day basis with food.

In trying to figure out what I could do to accommodate a diet that makes me feel healthy while not actually being healthy enough to prepare it, one of my friends suggested blending smoothies.

What a great idea!  My husband suggested portioning out baggies of ingredients and putting them in the freezer, then blending them when I was ready to have one.  So, my first attempt at this was using a pre-existing recipe, the Green Piña Colada Smoothie.

Original Green Piña Colada Smoothie

This is what my first attempt looked like.  I used an immersion blender and poured the results into a glass.

Dr. Alejandra Carrasco created this recipe to serve 3-4 people.  Meaning, there's a lot of it.  So, I did what my husbeast suggested, and portioned 4 baggies with the ingredients (all but the coconut milk).

This first attempt was good, but it seemed to be missing something.  It had healthy fats from the coconut milk, power nutrients from the collard greens, and antioxidants and sweetness from the pineapple and banana.  But, to me, it was a bit sweet.  Maybe I grabbed too much pineapple?  I don't know.  It felt like it needed something crunchy in it...something salty.

So.  I added bacon.

Because, why not?
My neurologist was concerned about my hormone levels and cortisol levels being very low.  My cholesterol has always been a rock solid 1:4 ratio.  However!  My neurologist suspects my cholesterol is actually too low, so I've been instructed to eat more fat.  Yay for prescription bacon!

Here's what I ended up doing for today's Green Piña Colada

Kryssie's Mean Green Piña Colada

2 Collard Green leaves, torn (minus the main stem)
1/4 cup of frozen pineapple chunks
1/4 banana

Super thick Mean Green Piña Colada Smoothie

80ml of coconut milk (to start; I probably put in about a 1/4 cup)
1 strip (overly) crispy bacon

Step 1 - Cook bacon on stove top (or in oven) til desired done-ness
Step 2 - Blend all ingredients til combined.
Step 3 - Enjoy



If you find that it's still a bit thick, add more coconut milk.  I don't have a good blender, yet, for making these, so I used an immersion blender, which doesn't work as well as one might hope. :\

I like the thick cut bacon from the meat counter at our local Albertson's.  I do the best I can with the money I have, so if you're looking for a "Paleo Purist," I am not your girl.  I consider my diet more "Primal" than "Paleo," anyway, since dairy does not cause me issues.  Still, I don't feel right saying this is my recipe, since I used someone else's as a base.  So, please make sure Dr. Carrasco gets the credit for the main recipe.  I just added the bacon!