Treme Inspiration

We've been watching Treme, a series about a set of characters in post-Katrina New Orleans (NOLA).  One of the plot lines concerns a Chef, Jeanette, and her struggle with her restaurant.  Some of the scenes run towards The Food Network, and I found myself inspired by a soft-boiled egg in a ramen noodle broth.

Like many people I've been trying to tweak my diet to reduce fat and calories and keep myself fitting into my jeans.  I always take lunch to work, and this is a big help because I eat what I brought, and that's it. 

No matter what I eat for breakfast at home I always want to eat something else when I finally arrive at work.  It's a habit with me.  If I don't bring something to eat I'm likely to find myself going to Dun kin Donuts.  Dun kin Donuts, even on a good day, will turn my "second breakfast" into lunch and I brought lunch and I don't need to eat two lunches.  In the past I've taken an English Muffin, toasted with peanut butter, French Toast, or just plain toast with jam. 

My battle with the bathroom scale has not been going all that well and I decided I wanted to move to a more protein full snack, that was less than 100 calories.  Portion control is a huge issue with me.  I tried a hard-boiled egg but it didn't do the trick.  I need to chew on something to really feel like I've eaten enough.

Inspired by the egg dish on Treme this is what I came up with.

I begin with egg stuff in a carton, wraps, frozen veggies and seasoning.  If I have cheese I'll get that out also.   If my husband is around I'm more likely to use real eggs because I split what I make between the two of us.



I quarter the wrap and put half back into the package.  They're large.

I grill my quarter and put husband's on a plate.  He doesn't like his grilled because he gobbles his down right away and grilling makes the wrap tough to chew.  By the time I take mine to work the wrap has gotten soft and if it hasn't been grilled it's soggy.

I put some spinach/peppers into a bowl with a touch of liquid.  I had been sauteing spinach in a pan but that required butter/oil and ran the calorie count up too much.  Microwaving works just fine.

Once it comes out of the microwave I put a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar in.  It makes the spinach a little tart.  Spinach can always use flavor.

I never re-heat after I've put vinegar in.

You see my wrap still grilling.  I spray a pan with oil and pour the egg mixture in.

If I'm using cheese I'll sometimes put the cheese on the eggs.  I'm going for taste and I think the taste of the cheese stays stronger if I don't mix it up with the eggs and cook it down, so often I prefer to sprinkle the cheese on top.

When the eggs are done I assemble.

To avoid drips I use tin foil.

I layer the egg and spinach on the wrap.  This one is fairly large as husband was gone and I didn't split the eggs into two portions. 

Then I grated some white cheddar on top.  I also like Feta or Blue Cheese.  When husband isn't around I'll put green olives on top.  I top the whole thing off with salt.

It works to eat this at work, I can fold the wrap up.  It's a little drippy but I don't mind.  I feel like I've eaten something and thoughts of Dun kin Donuts are banished.

Without being all neurotic and recounting the calorie count I am pretty sure it's 100 or less.