Figure Girl Quiche

Golden Vegetable Crust:  
Ingredients: 

• A little oil for the pan
• 2 Cups Packed Cups grated yellow summer squash (I used Zucchini)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 Cup peeled, grated Parsnip
• 1 TBSP melted Coconut Oil

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.  lightly grease a 9 or 10 inch pie pan.
2. Place the grated zucchini in a colander in the sink.  Sprinkle with salt and let it stand 10 minutes.  Squeeze excess moisture and transfer to a medium sized bowl.
3. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Transfer to pie pan and sculpt an attractive crust with a fork (and possibly you fingers)
4. Bake for 40 minutes.  You don't need to let it cool before filling.

The Quiche Part: Pre heat Oven to 375 F

Ingredients :

• 1 whole Omega Egg + 1 Cup Egg whites 
• 1 Cup Skim milk plain Yogurt or 1 Cup milk 

Method:

1. Beat together Eggs 
2. Add Yogurt 
3. Pour over pie Filling 
4. Bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes or until firm.  Cool at least 10 minutes before slicing. Serve at any temperature.

I arranged blanched Asparagus spears in my crust before pouring this filling over ...the possibilities are absolutely endless!

A Rainy Weekend in February involves taking care of your body your mind and your soul.  I figured now was as good time as any to break down and treat myself to a cook book I had been dreaming over for quite a while.  The Enchanted Broccoli Forrest by Mollie Katzen author of The Moosewood Cookbook.  In an effort to prolong my McNulty Wire episodes I decided to choose a couple of recipes and breath some life into my neglected blog.  

What I chose first is to make a quiche ....except one that would be highly suitable for Spring Figure Gal diet.  Nothing about a Julie child french Whole Cream Cheesy quiche would really come close..... but I had a couple of ideas up my sleeve that could transform it to something ....perfect???

The Broccoli Forrest has a recipe for a golden vegetable crust.  Only problem was the Ingredients list included  2 TBSP of oil.  This seems like a lot to me and I put myself to work to try and find a concession that would suit.  Coconut oil is what I came up with :) 
Lets give this a shot.  Everything I had research about this interested me.

As with many, I view the idea of FAT as something that was going to make me fat.  As I try and calm my mind on this idea I have slowly learnt the proper in's and outs of the whole thing and incorporate fish oil, almonds, and other nuts and seeds that are high in valuable essential fats Acids (EFA's.... meaning the ones my body can't create on its own) into my diet.  These actually aid  in ridding our bodies  excess fat.     

SO.... Coconut oil.  Here's the goods:
The makeup of Coconut oil includes short &  medium chained fatty acids.  These are known to increase thermogenesis giving increased metabolism and energy.  This is the primary reason coconut oil results in reducing body fat while keeping muscles intact.  Besides   Thermogenesis  http://thermogenesis.org/   another reason why coconut oil promotes leaner bodies is its ketogenic effect.  Ketones are high energy fuel that nourish the brain.  Our bodies can produce ketones from stored fat while in a fasting or starvation state.  But they can also be produced by converting medium chain fatty acids from certain foods (like coconut oil!).  In a fasting state, the body's use of ketones is to access energy while preventing muscle loss (Yeahh!!!  That's what Im talkin 'bout SON.... this Fat's Right! )