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I'm Ree Drummond.
I'm a writer, blogger, photographer, mother,
and I'm an accidental country girl.
I live on a ranch in the middle of nowhere,
and all my recipes have to be approved by cowboys,
hungry kids, and me.
Here's what's happening on the ranch.
I'm home alone, just me and the dogs.
So, with the family gone,
it's the perfect opportunity to eat a little lighter
and get in some extra exercise.
For a quick dinner,
I'm making a delicious, juicy low-carb lettuce burger.
Then I'm kick-starting the next day
with a poached egg carb buster breakfast
followed by a perfect light lunch
of butternut squash and kale stir-fry.
Finally, I round things off
with a tasty orange resolution smoothie.
So, it's me, my two canine exercise buddies,
and 24 hours of keeping things light.
Welcome to my frontier.
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
You know, we all have periods of time
when our jeans get a little tight,
and we need to eat a little lighter
and exercise a little bit more.
Well, that time for me is now.
And the good thing is,
Ladd and the kids happen to be away from the ranch
for 24 hours.
So while they're gone,
I'm gonna go into a little bit of a boot camp.
The dogs and I have been on a long hike tonight,
and I have the perfect dinner to fuel me up.
I'm gonna make myself a low carb lettuce burger.
I love these things.
They're everything that's wonderful about regular burgers,
but they're just a little bit lighter.
Now I'll start by making the meat mixture.
I've just got regular old ground beef.
You can also use ground turkey if you like that.
And I'll season it with some salt and pepper.
When you're making a low carb lettuce burger,
the secret is to really season the meat.
Now, to make it really savory,
a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce.
All right. Now I'll just go in with my hands.
It's the easiest way to mix ground beef.
Okay. Now I'm just gonna take a little bit of this meat mixture.
And I'll just form it into a patty.
Now, normally when I have burgers,
I'll fry the patties in a little bit of butter.
I'm trying to be a good girl right now,
so I'm not gonna do that.
I have a really good seasoned iron skillet,
and I'll just put it right in there.
[ Sizzling ]
Okay. Now I'm just gonna wash my hands.
You know, we all have periods of time
where we have to take it easy
and eat a little bit better than we usually do.
Throughout my life, I've always had luck
just cutting back on carbs a little bit.
But you know what? I can't tell myself I'm on a diet,
'cause then I start to get rebellious.
It's no fun to be on a diet.
So I just make little changes here and there,
and if I stick with them, the jeans will button.
I'll get started on the toppings.
I'm gonna slice a red onion really, really thinly.
A little bit of red onion goes a long way.
Now, if it were my mother-in-law, Nan,
she would cut an inch thick
and eat it just right there on the spot.
She loves raw onions.
Okay. I'll just separate the rings.
Now, I have a lovely, juicy tomato,
and I'll just cut it into pretty thick slices.
And then, of course, avocado.
I can't have a burger without avocado --
cutting little slices.
Now, I'll flip the burger, let it finish up on the other side.
Okay. Now, this is a low carb lettuce burger,
which means instead of a bun, I use lettuce.
I sort of loosened the outer big leaves of iceberg lettuce.
I cut around the core,
and then the big leaves slide off pretty easily.
Okay. The burgers should be ready.
Grab a plate.
Now, I'll put one of the lettuce leaves on the plate
to receive the patty.
And I'll just put it right on the middle.
Oh. Smells so good.
I could never give up hamburgers ever.
I've got two big slices of tomato
and then a few red onion slices,
avocado slices, and then plenty of chopped pickles.
They add crunch and flavor -- glorious.
Now, usually when I make a burger,
I'll squirt on a whole bunch of ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard,
so it's pretty much dripping.
But for a little bit of a lighter take,
I use this special sauce.
The secret is to swap out mayo
and swap in about 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt.
Then, for flavor, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard,
2 tablespoons of spicy adobo sauce.
Then mix it all together
with a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce.
All right.
I'll just spoon this glorious sauce right over the top.
You can put on as much sauce as you want
'cause it's pretty much guilt-free.
I love the spiciness of this sauce.
It is so good.
Okay. Now I'll bring up the edges of the lettuce.
Just make sure it's tucked up over the top.
And then I'll take the second leaf, lay it over the top.
I'll tuck the ends under.
Okay.
Now, with a really sharp knife,
I'll hold it all together while I cut it in half.
I'm hungry.
Oh, boy.
I am really excited about this.
Look at that -- that luscious burger.
How great is it that you can eat a burger
without feeling too guilty?
[ Crunches ]
Mmm. Mmm.
I love it.
Come on, boy. Come on.
I think those low carb lettuce burgers
are about as delicious as it gets,
but for the times I'm not necessarily eating light,
I've got some more luscious versions.
I like to fix burgers
with everything that goes on a supreme pizza --
cheese, pepperoni, olives, peppers,
and lots of marinara sauce.
Or another favorite?
Piled high on a bun
with melted cheese and a crisp slice of bacon.
Oh, yum.
And I would never say no
to a perfect plateful of French fries.
So, Charlie, Walter, how do you guys like your burgers?
[ Chuckles ]
Truth be told,
they probably like their burgers any way they can get them.
Up next...
a super-satisfying carb buster breakfast,
butternut squash and kale stir-fry,
and a super-yummy orange smoothie.
It's Day 2 of lightening up, and I'm feeling good.
Yes!
Well, I just got back from getting a rick of wood.
Now, normally I would make my kids help me unload all this,
but since they're away from the ranch, it's all on me.
Fortunately, I'm feeling strong
'cause I had a pretty good breakfast.
To start my day off right,
I'm whipping up a carb buster breakfast --
poached eggs served on sautéed veggies with onions.
It is so delicious.
It's one of my favorite things
to eat first thing in the morning.
Another thing about the carb buster breakfast is,
it's not something that I would make for my family
on any given day.
So it's perfect for a time when I'm home alone.
I had this carb buster breakfast
in a hotel once when I was in New York City.
I didn't even know what it was.
I just saw it on the menu, and I thought, "I'm gonna try that."
I definitely wouldn't bill it as low-calorie,
but it is low in carbs.
I've got one zucchini and one squash,
and I'm just cutting them into chunks -- big chunks.
I've got chunks of onion
sautéing in an iron skillet with a little bit of olive oil.
All right. I've got the zucchini and squash all cut up.
And it goes into the skillet with the onions.
I'm gonna sprinkle on plenty of salt and pepper
just to make sure it's really seasoned.
The great thing about the carb buster breakfast is,
you can use whatever veggies you have.
Okay. I'm gonna let those cook.
Now, one of the things that's great on this
is a couple of slices of grilled tomato.
So I'll cut some pretty thick slices.
And I've got a little grill pan going,
and I'll just put them right on the pan,
press them a little bit,
sprinkle them with just a little bit of salt and pepper.
Now, the veggies are delicious and all,
but it's the poached eggs that I really, really love.
I've got some water on a gentle boil,
and I'm just gonna drizzle in a little bit of vinegar.
While the water's boiling, I'll take a spoon,
and I'll just make a little bit of a whirlpool
by stirring it around in a circle.
Okay. Now when the whirlpool is really, really going,
pull the spoon out and really quickly crack in an egg.
And then it's still really whirling,
so in goes the second egg.
Okay. I'm gonna just let those cook until the whites are set,
but the yolks are still really soft.
Now, the tomatoes look like they're ready to turn over.
Oh, they look perfect.
Nice grill marks on the outside.
Now, another delicious component to the carb buster breakfast
are a couple of hunks of cheese.
This is where you can do
whatever you have in your fridge.
I'm using Swiss cheese, but sometimes I do Monterey Jack.
Even pepper jack is really good.
Just need a couple of chunks.
Okay. That's it.
All the elements for the breakfast are ready.
I just have to put it all together so I can eat it.
Okay. I'm gonna start with a big bed
of these gorgeous, flavorful vegetables.
They're nice and golden brown on the outside,
lots of black pepper,
which means they're really, really flavorful.
Okay. I think that's probably enough for me.
What do you think? [ Laughs ]
I just wanted to create an ample bed
on which to put the poached eggs.
Okay. First, though, I'll put the tomatoes on.
They look perfect.
Okay. And the cheese, of course.
I'll just lay them on either side.
And the great thing is, the warmth of the veggies
starts to soften the cheese -- just glorious.
This is so delicious.
Okay. The eggs look absolutely perfect.
I definitely want to get them out before they overcook.
Overcooked poached eggs are a tragedy.
[ Chuckles ] I don't know what else to say.
And right on top.
Oh, my goodness.
And the last thing to do
is just a sprinkling of salt and pepper...
mostly on the egg.
My goodness gracious.
I cannot wait to dive into this.
This is my favorite part -- cutting into this glorious yolk.
Mmm.
Now, this is the breakfast of champions.
Now, believe me, that carb buster breakfast
is perfect by itself,
but I have a little trick for the times that I want
to make things a little more decadent.
So, imagine the carb buster breakfast.
Then you drizzle over some rich, delicious hollandaise sauce --
kind of like eggs Benedict, but different.
Oh, my goodness.
I cannot imagine how delicious that would be.
Okay. I admit it.
That's not exactly the kind of thing you'd want to make
if you're trying to eat light.
But let me tell you, so delicious.
All right. I got to snap out of my food fantasies
and finish up the wood.
Done.
And I got a little bit of a workout in the process.
I love it when that happens.
Up next...
I'm home alone with my four-legged friends,
lightening up lunch
with a tasty butternut squash and kale stir-fry,
along with cool ideas for making it more family-friendly.
Then, on the horizon, there's a tasty smoothie
and more fresh air and exercise with my canine kids.
Oh, big, steep steps!
Good boy, Charlie!
[ Breathes heavily ]
Yes! Charlie, yes!
Now let's go back down. [ Chuckles ]
Come on. Let's go.
Let's do it again, boys. Come on.
We can do this.
Yes! Good job.
I love this flight of stairs.
It's been here for decades and decades.
It's like a built-in piece of exercise equipment.
Well, it's been a pretty healthy day so far.
I had a really healthy lunch.
Let me tell you about it.
When it comes to eating a little bit lighter,
simple veggie stir-fries
are one of my favorite things to whip up.
I'm doing this butternut squash and kale stir-fry.
It is delicious, it's beautiful,
and it's really, really versatile, too.
Now, I peeled a half of a butternut squash.
I just have a teeny bit of butter in the skillet.
So, I'll get all the butternut squash in there.
I'm gonna turn up the heat just a bit
'cause I want these to get nice color on the outside.
Okay. Now, to season the butternut squash,
salt and pepper, of course.
And then I love seasoning butternut squash
with just a little bit of chili powder.
It adds a little bit of color, but also a nice amount of spice.
All right. Now I'll just stir this around,
get that chili powder all distributed.
All right. Now I'll just let that cook.
And I'll get to work on the kale.
Now, I've just got about half a bunch of kale.
This is what I like to call salad-bar kale.
It's just the regular stuff
that a lot of restaurants use to garnish their salad bars.
Now, I'm just tearing the leaves off.
They have really thick stalks,
so you definitely don't want to have anything to do with these.
I love kale with butternut squash
because the colors together are so gorgeous --
the orange of the squash and the deep green of the kale.
I'm very driven by color.
I don't know if you have noticed this before.
[ Chuckles ] I really respond to it.
All right. The butternut squash looks perfect.
It's really, really deep golden brown on the outside,
some really dark bits.
That gives it great flavor.
It's soft, but not mushy.
Okay.
Now I'll just throw the kale right into the skillet.
You'll hear it start to sizzle.
It needs to cook for about three minutes or so
until it's about halfway wilted.
You know, this stir-fry combination
is perfectly delicious on its own,
but it also makes a great component
to lots of other recipes my family and I love...
like delicious quesadillas.
Just cook a couple of flour tortillas in a skillet
with a little butter.
Then layer on some grated Monterey Jack cheese,
some crumbled goat cheese.
And then layer on the stir-fry combination.
Then put the other tortilla on top,
and when the first side is brown,
just flip it over to the other side.
Keep cooking it until the cheese is melted and really gooey,
and then the quesadilla's done.
Just slice it into quarters and feed it to hungry humans.
That's not the only thing I like to use this stir-fry in.
It's also utterly delicious in risotto.
You start by sautéing some onions and a little butter.
Then stir in some Arborio rice,
And after about a minute,
start adding warm broth a cup at a time.
Sprinkle in some salt, a little pepper,
and then when the rice is tender,
but still has a little bit of a bite to it,
stir in the butternut squash and kale.
Then you just add a little turmeric for color,
a splash of cream -- talk about decadent --
some Parmesan shavings.
Then just stir it all together.
And then sprinkle just a little chopped parsley over the top.
Okay, okay. Back to eating light.
Okay. The kale looks perfect.
Now, I'll just throw the butternut squash right in,
and then all I need to do is mix it together.
You know, you can also use spinach for this
instead of kale,
but I just love the way kale
retains a little bit of its crispiness.
And that is it.
So I'll just heap some in a bowl.
Oh, that looks perfect.
Now, another little trick I like to do
when I'm eating a little bit lighter is use chopsticks.
It makes me slow down, savor each bite,
and it's also just fun to eat with chopsticks.
Mmm.
So good.
And so good for you.
Come on, dogs. Let's go.
I'm gonna beat you.
[ Chuckles ] My goodness.
What do you think, boys?
One more time for luck?
Let's do this thing.
Up next... a delicious reward --
an incredible orange resolution smoothie,
the perfect ending to a perfectly lightened-up day.
For recipes from this episode, go to...
Come on, guys.
You got to keep up.
Well, I've been home alone.
My family's gonna be back tonight,
so the dogs and I decided to take one nice, long walk
before they get back.
You know, after all this exercise,
my mind is suddenly turning to treats.
I'm thinking a root beer float
would taste pretty good right about now,
or an ice-cream sundae piled high with ice cream,
cookies, caramel sauce, and sprinkles.
Now, I am gonna let myself have a treat,
but I am determined to keep it light.
But before that, I'm in the mood for some friendly competition.
Charlie, Walter, what do you say we race to the top?
Come on.
Go!
[ Breathes deeply ]
Yes! I won!
I'm exhausted.
I definitely deserve a treat after that.
I'm gonna make myself a resolution smoothie.
It's got fruit and yogurt -- all the good things in life.
Most of all, it's delicious.
You know, that's the thing about exercise --
It makes you hungry.
All right. I've got everything I need.
Now, I'll start by adding 2 cups of plain yogurt to the blender,
and, of course, you can use any kind of yogurt you want.
Okay. And now for the fruit.
Now, I just added 2 cups of frozen mango
and then 2 cups of frozen peaches.
Some fresh pineapple chunks.
Now, while I would never pick up a banana, peel it, and eat it,
I have learned to appreciate them in smoothies.
If I add a bunch of other stuff, I don't taste the banana.
And then this is an interesting ingredient for this smoothie.
I like to add miniature carrots.
It just adds a really bright-orange color.
Okay. I like to add about 1/4 cup of honey.
Okay. And then for the liquid,
so that the smoothie mixes together,
I'll add some orange juice.
I call this a resolution smoothie
because I first started eating them on New Year's Day
when everybody makes a resolution
to eat a little healthier.
Okay. That should be enough orange juice.
Now I'll just pop the lid on and let the blender do the work.
Oh, that looks perfect.
Pour myself a big glass.
And I'm gonna go enjoy this.
Charlie, Walter, come on.
Oh, good boy. Come on, Walter.
I have had so much fun hanging out with you two fellas.
What do you say we just enjoy one more quiet moment
before the gang gets back, okay?
Want to go run up and down the stairs one last time?
I'll take that as a "no."