The Hardcore Chef

We have a lot of “concoctions” on this here The Hardcore Chef. One might get the impression that we eat nothing but maple bacon muffins and chocolate cake. (Hey, IIFYM, amirite?)

In reality, the daily “hardcore diet”contains plenty of Real Food — meat, greens, a few root vegetables, onions, peppers, eggs, herbs, spices, maybe some dairy if you’re into that, lots of coconut, and a few nuts here and there.

During ultra-low-carb eating periods, the food I (Naomi) make for myself features lots of fat in healthy, sustaining combination with protein and vegetables. I only usually eat 2 meals a day with the occasional later-evening snack, so my lunch (meal 1) and my dinner (meal 2) have to be loaded with Everything:

All the colors you need in your diet. Downside: 100% calories from wax.

• Protein (in balance with fat)
• Fat (but not too much plant fat)
• Green things like spinach and broccoli
• Red things that are not watermelon or crayons
• Yellow/orange things like peppers
• Sulfurous things like onions and garlic
• Blue things like… blueberries.

And of course, it has to taste good.

Hippies call this “eating the rainbow”, and it makes sense right up until they try to argue that tofu has a color.

But trying to get all that and a bag of kale chips onto your plate can be a preparatory challenge.

The “One Dish Nutrition” Manifesto

Tasty food that fits your macros shouldn’t take hours to prepare (unless it is done by a robot), and definitely shouldn’t take lots of effort to clean up after.

Most of all, since low carb food tends to be so satiating and most people end up eating fewer times per day, the “one dish” meal needs to be densely packed with micronutrients as well as balanced in healthy lipids with plenty of protein.

Therefore, to mitigate the insidious proliferation of what can only be described as snacks, I’ve created a new category and feature here called “One Dish Nutrition”.

Every week, in addition to the special featured recipe, I’ll post a “real food” recipe like the following Gourmet Cheeseburger Scramble. It will not be complicated or even remarkable — just Real. In addition, I have many tips and tricks lined up to help you make the most out of your meals and your time.

Here’s the first one, a scramble I make quite often, usually as a late lunch.

Gourmet Cheeseburger Scramble

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Portions	1-2
Prep time	8 minutes
Cook time	8 minutes
Total time	16 minutes
Allergy	Egg
Dietary	Gluten Free, Ultra Low Carb
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish
Misc	Serve Hot
By author	Naomi Most

Simple to make but complex in flavor, small amounts of cheese tie fresh ingredients together into a quickly-prepared but intensely satiating one-dish meal.

Ingredients

• 1/3lb ground beef
• 2-3 eggs (large)
• 1oz brie cheese (or whatever you prefer)
• 1 cup spinach or kale
• 1/3 cup red onion
• 1/3 cup red pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 dash salt
• 1 dash black pepper

Note

Use whatever cheese you like, and scale ingredients according to taste and needs.

Directions

Step 1

Assemble your ingredients. Chop the onions and the red pepper, season the meat how you like it, open the bag of greens, cut that piece of cheese and put away the rest. Leave no prep work undone, because the cooking process will go quickly.

Step 2

Melt butter in a saucepan, and add chopped onions. Sautee for about 2 minutes.

Step 3

Add red peppers and greens, stirring to coat veggies with butter and onions. Cook for 30 seconds.

Step 4

Add the ground beef in little bite-sized burger chunks. Again, stir to coat with butter and allow the veggies to continue to cook until outside of meat is brown.

Step 5

Crack your eggs messily into the mixture, and toss pieces of cheese into that mixture as well. Stir, cook, stir...

Step 6

Cook until eggs are obviously done and cheese has melted. Add a few more fresh leaves, if you care to (I always do), letting them gently wilt in the heat.

Step 7

Serve and devour IMMEDIATELY!