Sunny Side Up Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms

Sunny Side Up Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms 

4 large eggs

2 cups fresh spinach 

1 cup fresh mushrooms 

2 slices Pepper Jack cheese

Salt, pepper, garlic powder

Sauté mushrooms and spinach in skillet with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  

Place 2 slices cheese on top.  Crack 4 eggs over top in saucepan.

 

Cover and let steam for 3-5 minutes- until cheese melts and egg whites firm.  Serve hot and enjoy!

Fat 33.5g, Carb 11.3, Fiber 6.7g, Net Carbs 4.6g, Protein 38.2g

Ice cream and listeria: Information for pregnant women

Ice cream is a favorite treat among pregnant women. Unfortunately, an outbreak of listeria has been traced to Blue Bell Ice Cream products and that affects women here in Plano, where I practice, and all of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Here’s the scoop on the listeria outbreak and what you can do to protect yourself and your baby from bacterial infection.

The latest listeria outbreak

Ice cream, frozen yogurt, and other products made by Blue Bell have been recalled in 23 states, including Texas. Three people in Texas and five others in Kansas have been treated after testing positive for listeria.

If you have eaten products that have been linked to any listeria outbreak, we recommend calling your doctor. He or she will decide the best course of action. If you are experiencing any of the listeria symptoms, your doctor may want to test your blood and possibly start antibiotics.

Some patients we’ve talked to are very concerned but are not having any symptoms (fever, headache, muscle aches, and sore throats). In these cases, no testing or treatment is necessary.

What is listeria?

Listeria is a bacteria that causes listeriosis infection, which can be spread by contaminated foods. Listeria outbreaks are often caused by deli meats, hot dogs, and cheeses made with unpasteurized milk. In 2014, some raw fruits and caramel apples were contaminated.

Anyone can get sick from listeria, but pregnant women are especially vulnerable. In fact, it infects pregnant women at a rate 13 times higher than women who are not pregnant. It typically affects women who are healthy and is generally diagnosed in the third trimester. Pregnant women with diabetes or HIV, or who are or on steroid therapy, are even more likely to come down with an infection.

If a pregnant woman contracts listeria, it can be transmitted to the baby and cause serious problems, including premature birth, miscarriage, and stillbirth.

To learn more about the symptoms associated with listeria and how to avoid it, please read this post by my colleague, Dr. Robyn Horsager-Boehrer.

Parmesan Squash Zucchini Bake

6 yellow squash
4 zucchini
1cup Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper
Onion salt
Garlic Powder

Cut up veggies. Place in bowl. Add salt, pepper, onion salt, garlic powder to taste.  Add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.  Mix well.  Place in greased pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese over top.  Return to oven for 15 minutes or until brown.

Serves 8. Per serving: Calories 83, Fat 3.5g, Carbs 8.9g, fiber 2.9g, Net Carbs 6g, Protein 6.8g

Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Fat Bombs

Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Fat Bombs

#LowCarb, #Ketogenic, #Induction friendly      

Recipe  
8 tbsp unsalted butter  
1 cup organic coconut oil  
1cup natural chunky peanut butter (I love Laura Scudders)  
1/4 cup sugar-free Torani Salted Caramel syrup    

Melt in saucepan.  Poor into silicone mold, such as an ice-cube tray.  Place in freezer until set..  Remove fat bombs from tray and store in air-tight container in freezer.    

Makes 18.  22.3g fat, 2.8g carb, 0.9g fiber, 1.9g net carb, 3.1g protein

PUMPKIN TOPIARY

I've been avidly following all the autumn decorating posts on Pinterest and decided to make my own Pumpkin Topiary.  So off to Michaels I went today to get my "fake" pumpkins. 

For each topiary I purchased:  

• Large Orange Pumpkin
• Med White Pumpkin
• Small green pumpkin
• 7 ft Leaf garland with berries
• Small pumpkin/leaf filler for the top
• Bag of green Spanish moss  

I used tomato plant stakes and hot glue to put it all together.  To make the topiary:

• I cut a hole in the bottom of the small green pumpkin and then hot glued the filler to the top.  
• I cut a hole in the bottom of the med white pumpkin
• I hot glued these 2 pumpkins together.
• I cut a hole in the bottom and top of the large orange pumpkin.  
• I then threaded the tomato stake through it and into the Med white pumpkin 
• I hot glued the Large orange pumpkin to the White/Green pumpkins.  
• I place the pumpkin topiary with stake into a large decorative urn.  
• I hot glued the leaf garland around the topiary.
• Finally I filled in the bottom with green Spanish moss.

I think they look great!  I am going to add orange mini lights to the garland for Halloween so that they will glow at night.

Doctor, we need smelling salts in here...

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away...  Isn't that how all fairy tales begin?  If you had told me 20 years ago that this is how my life course would go, I would have said that was a fairy tale.  So I feel it's an apropos beginning.

We were married on April Fools Day which should have been an indication of how the rest of my married life would be~ a crazy rollercoaster.  In March 1999 I got pregnant for the 1st time and had a miscarriage at 12 weeks.  After a D&C, I was hospitalized for a week with an infection.  My husband and I were devastated, but with our Faith and family, we moved on.  In August 1999 I had my 2nd miscarriage.  After the D&C, the doctors discovered it was boy/girl twins.  Once again our hearts were broken.  My OBGYN sent me for a work-up with a Rheumatologist to see if there were any reasons that my body might be attacking the pregnancies.  He  discovered I was ANA+ and placed me on a baby aspirin each day.  We decided to try one more time, and then we would explore adoption.  I just couldn't keep going through the heartache.  On Christmas Day 1999 I took a pregnancy test, and it was positive!  We were excited, but also very nervous.  In early January on my husband's 30th birthday, we went to the doctor for an ultrasound to see if there was a heartbeat.    As we waited with all the other smiling, pregnant couples, I couldn't relax.  I was worried, anxious, terrified.  What if there wasn't anything there?

The ultrasound tech called us back and prepped me for the vaginal ultrasound.  Little did I know at that moment, but the wand would be my best friend for the next 28 weeks!  At the time, I was a Postpartum Nurse, so I knew a little about how to read the ultrasound and watched the screen with hope.  The tech started the procedure, got very quiet, and turned the screen away from me so I couldn't see it anymore.  I glanced at my husband who was standing in the corner.  Our eyes met and filled with dread and familiar sadness.  I said in a soft voice, "Please tell me that you see a heartbeat this time."  She paused for a long time, looked up at me on the table, and said those now-famous words, "Well, as a matter of fact, I see THREE heartbeats..."  What, did I just hear her correctly?  THREE HEARTBEATS?  Surely I am hallucinating.  

Suddenly I'm jolted from my stupor as I hear a loud "THUNK"!!!  I look over to where my husband *had* been standing, and he's gone.  Did he run out in horror?  Left me here on the table?  Where is he?  I sit up, and he's lying on the floor passed out.  He fainted!  I watch it all in slow motion as the tech runs over to him, calls for help, and asks the doctor to bring smelling salts.  As they fervently work with him, I'm still laying on the table.  Hello?  Hello?  Bueller?  Anyone?  Um, woman pregnant with triplets laying on the cold table with her friend Mr. Wand still in place.  Uh, I'm here in a compromising position!  Bueller?   Anyone?  Nope, everyone is ignoring me.  I shake my head and lay back down unable to comprehend the last 3 minutes.  OMG, I'm having three babies at ONCE.  And so our Fairy Tale begins with my husband and I both flat on our backs spinning...

eLf AnTicS!

My triplets are in love with their elves, Wynter, Shimmer and Tuck.  They came in 2006 to visit during Christmas.    The kids would cry and cry when the Elves had to leave, so we wrote Santa a letter asking if they could just stay with us.  Well Santa answered and  they "retired" to live with us permanently, as Santa said they had earned a break.   Our elves are definitely creative, and I'm hoping you like our pictures to share with your elves!