Cookbook #73, The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook

I picked up another cookbook while out here in Vegas.  Just what I need.  I was feeling a bit out of it without my cookbook library though and I kept flipping through this book each time I was in the store.  I'm not a huge fan of diet type books because many seem to propose a somewhat narrow perspective.  I loved Jillian Michaels Master Your Metabolism book because it's not a "diet" book--she addresses health and hormones and artificial food additives and all those scary lovely things I love to read about--she's pretty much responsible for my eliminating most of my plastic storage containers.  This cookbook is the companion to her book and what I love about it is all of the extras nutrition and body chemistry information she packs in with the recipes.  The recipes do come with a calorie count, but even better is her nutrition information on health impacts of the foods that make up the recipe.  Love it.  On top of that, most of the recipes are pretty easy, the kind you actually can easily make after coming home from a 10 hour day...tandoori turkey kabobs, thai green curry barramundi, spicy mahi-mahi and mango tacos, chard potstickers with tamari dipping sauce and barley risotto with asparagus and lemon. 

In light of the fact that my breakfast trips have been far from the healthiest selections, I started Jillian's cookbook off with two breakfast/eggie recipes.  Did I really need a cookbook for these?  Probably not in truth, but love her twists and her info such as "Omega-3 free-range organinc eggs are the best choice as they have all of the good nutrients and none of the bad.  Studies have specifically shown them to have half the cholesterol of conventional eggs and the cholesteral they do have is predominantly HDL (p56)."  It's basic logic that healthy chickens produce healthy eggs and crack chickens produce crack-addict eggs. 

The first recipe for chicken sausage with poached eggs and sweet potato hash was quick and easy and catered to my obsession with going to Trader Joe's often now that I'm near one.  Trader Joes just happens to have Sweet Apple Chicken sausages that are called for in the recipe.  That's really why that store rocks.  

Truthfully no recipe needed, the photos say it all (except that obviously I cooked the sausage at some point).  The other note is that the sweet potatoes were cooked in the microwave for about 5 minutes (with a bit of water) to soften them up prior to browning them in the pan. Season hash with salt and pepper.

And the second "recipe" was even easier...it's a poached egg on wilted greens. While heating up lettuce may seem a bit odd to anyone that hasn't sampled that delightfulness before, some of the best salad I've ever tasted involved grilling half a head of romaine just until it's slightly wilted to impart a smoky flavor.  Wilting the spring greens in the turkey bacon pan does a bit of the same.  Throw an egg on top and this is really a 10 minute breakfast.  Slightly healthier than my weekend breakfasts.