Reluctant Convert

My friend had been complaining about her diet and since I've noticed that I've recently been indulging in "treats" I thought a mini-reset might be in order.  She did not want to make a huge commitment like the Whole 30, so I suggested a Whole 7 - now I wasn't sure that this would have the desired impacts but I thought it would certainly help us adjust our diets. We planned our menus and embarked on this challenge without an announcement to our families.

Initially, she panicked about the restrictions but I assured her that as long as everything was tasty, no one would be the wiser.  Apple cider has since become her cooking sweetener of choice and coconut milk her new best friend, as it is a spectacular replacement for creams and butter.  The only thing I was unable to sell her on was eliminating the stevia from her coffee.

The key thing that Whole 30 did for me was expand my cooking repertoire and it's having the same impact on her as well - you don't have to have rice five nights each week.  It's been a little tough fighting the cravings, but I'm doing ok, although I popped some kernels today.

Sunday I pressure cooked a pseudo Moroccan lamb stew - top round lamb, okra, tomatoes, onions, butternut squash, and cauliflower seasoned with nutmeg, ginger, paprika, pepper, et al.  I also made a sweet potato & banana breakfast bread pudding with coconut flour to get us through the beginning of the week.

For tonight, I have a delicious lamb "chili" that I plan to serve over cauliflower with a leafy green on the side.  I was missing a few of my staple chili ingredients so I went out on a limb adding cilantro (including stems) and mint to the onions, mixed peppers, garlic, and ginger I sauteed.  I'll probably do an escabeche fish later in the week since I'm just about out of beef & lamb.  I guess it's time for another share.

Creative CSA

This week I was determined to make dinner based solely on inspiration from the CSA, using only what was available in the fridge or freezer.  Monday I made a delicious split red lentil, butternut squash, and broccoli curry (15 mins in the pressure cooker) that we ate with roti. Tuesday was meatball sandwiches (I bought rolls) that were absolutely superb.  I even put the curly endive in our smoothies this morning. Tonight, well I'm just not sure what kind of person attempts a creative meal on a Friday night.

Cheese has become somewhat of a problem.  As much as I love cheese, I have not been able to keep up with all the raw milk cheese I've been getting each week...some of it was delicious and some of it was a bit too pungent for my tastes...I ended up with a few unopened cheeses (oldwyck shepherd, tewksbury, goat cheddar, millich kivel, and havilah) in the drawer in addition to the curds I received this week.  I'm no Little Miss Muffet, for sure.

What to do with curds...make poutine, obviously. It made so much sense in my head, especially since I had also received red potatoes. I cut up the potatoes, blanched, fried, and seasoned them, then topped them with the curds and gravy (the curds didn't quite melt as planned). Way too many steps for a Friday night meal, especially since I also made liver and onions...my only saving grace was frozen string beans (the mere thought of making a salad & dressing was overwhelming).

As if that weren't enough I sat around for 30 minutes or so then decided to make a drink out of the cantaloupe and honeydew that remained from the fruit flower basket I received yesterday - very refreshing. Finally I made macaroni and cheese (as a post meal "snack"), it was creamy with an interesting bite.

Normal people just order pizza.

Miss Manners

Not only does formal dining require lots of effort, it also requires lots of dishes.  My daughter attended an etiquette and leadership workshop and was told to practice for the next 21 days.  Of course I was eager to oblige and made a four course meal last night.

It wasn't easy because I only had a sirloin and a porterhouse marinating, and no actual plan for anything else.  Alhamdulilah for my CSA...I was able to do a salad with butterhead lettuce, spring mix, and tomatoes (I made an Italian style vinaigrette) for the first course, we had the grilled steak with purple potatoes tossed with carrots and garlic for the second course, and I pieced together some dessert remnants for the third course.

Tonight I was a bit more ambitious because I wanted to do a four course meal, again I had only planned to rotisserie the tri-tip so I had to turn to the fridge for the rest.  We stepped it up with the addition of a table cloth, napkins, and goblets:

First Course

Chilled Minted Watermelon Soup

Second Course

House Salad

Third Course

Rotisserie Tri-tip, Garlic Blue Potatoes, Balsamic Yellow Beans

Spaghetti Squash Puree, Baby Bella Mushrooms

Fourth Course

Mango Jell-O and Whipped Cream

The dessert was a reach but it was the best I could do.  One thing's for sure...I would not try this method with guests unless I had a kitchen staff plating and running food.  We thoroughly enjoyed our food but the one-hour meal was rather silent as we focused on minding our manners.  

Ode to Quebec

As soon I saw the 3 ears of corn in my share this week, I knew exactly what I was going to make...or attempt to make.  The cream of corn soup that we had in Vieux Montreal.  There was only one problem...I hadn't taken a picture of it.  It was the soup du jour and it was tasty...more like chicken soup with corn and the consistency of a cream soup.

I spent the past two days searching online for a recipe but couldn't find anything remotely similar so I decided to just go for it.  I sauteed onions and celery, then pureed with my stick blender...added stock, corn cobs, and chicken thighs, a bit of seasonings and let that simmer for about an hour.  It was so fabulously creamy and delicious that I decided to forgo adding cream and carrots for fear that it would alter the flavor.

I put a bunch of kale in the pressure cooker, preheated the oven for the baguette and dropped the corn kernels into the soup.  Dinner was fantastic...I only wish I had saved some of the carrot tops for garnish.

While the soup was simmering I made Herbs Salees - well, I'll know if I was successful in about two weeks.  I went basic... using the carrot tops, celery tops, an onion, a carrot, and some thyme that was lurking in the fridge.  I just hope I didn't overdo the salt.

Schoolyear smoothies

This summer we have been able to appreciate the seasonality of the harvest with our CSA because each week an assortment of veggies guides our menu. It also inspired me to drink more water.

One week mint appeared in the share so I decided to make mint water; this became a staple throughout the summer...citrus water, cucumber water, mint water...everything tastes good steeped in water. I even had to increase my water delivery during Ramadan, despite not drinking water for 14 hours each day. Several of my friends have been inspired and have been concocting their own brews at home.

One of my friends is participating in a September smoothie challenge. I gave her a few tips and was inspired to dig out the Magic Bullet I received as a gift 7 years ago (our blender is broken).  Everyone in my house loves kale smoothies...my husband got us hooked last year and then there were the Groothies at school.

As soon as my daughter saw the Magic Bullet she requested a green smoothie for breakfast. I picked up some basic supplies - power greens, pears, frozen fruit, and bananas...and started thinking about variations - celery tops, ginger, nuts, etc.

This morning they were a huge hit and my son wants this to be his daily breakfast.  My next step is to pull out that Jack LaLanne Power Juicer that I also received years ago because I'm totally looking forward to a carrot, beet, ginger combo.

If only I lived closer to Marche Jean-Talon...

Oh Canada!

One thing that's for certain is that I need to drastically improve my foreign language skills.  I attempted to function in Quebec on the French that I learned in high school 20 years ago and that was no easy feat, particularly because I was in areas not populated by tourists.

The first thing I noticed about the resort was the size of the dishes...saucers, bread & butter plates, salad plates, and 8 oz bowls.  A clear indicator that our dishes, hence our portion sizes are out of control. I went to IGA and picked up foie de boeuf (beef liver) for breakfast for around $2.50/lb and cotelettes d'agneau epaule (lamb shoulder chops) for around $7.00/lb along with some staple items and dairy products.  

On Thursday we went to Vieux Montreal to visit the steak house we fell in love with on our last visit (3 years ago) and it did not disappoint.  From there we went to Petite Mahgreb where I had a strained conversation with an older Algerian woman in a combination of broken Arabic and French because that's all I could dig out of the cobwebs in my brain.  We ended our day at Marche Jean-Talon...an open air produce market that I wish we had in Philadelphia.  Greensgrow's prices are good but a central place for produce is just unmatched...and reading terminal does not count because it's not in the neighborhood.  

I was so tempted to stockpile veggies...10 lb bags of beets and onions for around $3...it was just ridiculous.  I settled on a kilo of multicolored carrots ($1.50) and a basket of ratatouille that filled two bags for $10.  

I've been wanting to make a ratatouille since I saw the movie, the vendor explained that there were two ways to make it...cook each vegetable separately then combine, or cook it all together...the only spices needed was basil, thyme, and salt.  I explained that there were only 4 of us so he said that we would probably be eating it all week.  We decided to purchase a big container to freeze half of it o that we could transport it back home...clearly we forgot we were American and would refill those little bowls multiple times during the course of our meal.

We had three burners going...a big roasting pan to combine everything; a pot in which we separately cooked the garlic, onions, and pepper (of course I added an extra onion); and a cast iron skillet in which we cooked the zucchini and eggplant.  We decided to caramelize everything for optimal flavor and I went with herbs de provence and herbes salee (my new go-to seasoning...really just a "fresh" version of  Herbamare) and I cooked the tomatoes down a bit before adding them to the mix.  It was ridiculously good and filling...I almost stopped by marche jean-talon on our way home to pick up another batch.  

Operating from a position that agribusiness in Canada is more transparent than here in the USA, we stopped at McD before we left and my son was ecstatic... 

Simplicity

This week I've done a pretty good job at keeping it simple. We were home for one day so I made lamb chops and asparagus.  We have had some decent meals these past two days in Myrtle Beach and it hasn't taken much effort nor lots of money; I think we spent a total of $150 at the market...not bad for multiple meals for 6 people.

We were quite hungry when we arrived so we bought fried chicken...I made okra, my mom made an attractive salad, and I made a simple vinaigrette.  Shopping for meat at Food Lion proved to be a chore...beef was not an option and the chicken was questionable, particularly since most of the packs had up to 15% added solution (this is usually code for sodium nitrate or phosphate)...I finally settled on a pack of "natural" breasts that were surprisingly small. The tragedy is that "pink slime" in ground beef is not the only concern among the "value added" products in the meat department.

After about an hour in the market we headed to Berry's for shrimp. I had called several purveyors of "fresh" seafood but only one had local shrimp exclusively...I'm just not sure why a seafood shop in South Carolina would carry shrimp from Ecuador.

Of course we had shrimp and grits...the North Carolina white shrimp are good but they don't have anything on the brown shrimp. We were so stuffed we had to go on a 1.81 mile walk after dinner to help digest our food.

This morning I made veggie omelettes (onions, peppers, mushrooms, spinach) and we headed out to the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway; after our trip to the Little River Inlet we were famished so I made chicken "cacciatore" which we thoroughly enjoyed...the robust flavor came from simmering the sauce the tons of onions and garlic and adding "recipe inspirations."  We had the meat and sauce over "smart taste" thin spaghetti and zucchini and broccoli on the side...needless to say, another walk is in order.

Pocono apropro

Our mini break menu suited our locale well, until our departure breakfast of spinach, fried egg, and sauteed lump crab meat.  Everything else was quite comforting.  

Sunday night's chuck roast was delicious.  I marinated the roast for a few hours in the fridge with some bbq seasoning, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil...then cooked it for 2 hours at 350.  The meat was tender, aromatic, and flavorful, but the visual highlight was the purple potatoes.  We haven't had a "potato" in ages, when I saw the purple ones at WF, I felt certain we wouldn't be too carb indulgent because any natural purple food had to have significant health benefits.

I boiled the potatoes for 20 minutes or so, fork smashed them, then topped them with garlic sauteed in olive oil, chopped chives, and a twist of lemon juice (this made color more vivid).  They're much drier than white potatoes but they were quite delicious.

On Monday the temperature dropped significantly and we spent the majority of the day outdoors - the fellas golfed and the ladies checked out the Delaware Water Gap and a bit of the Appalachian Trail.  I also learned that PA has a canyon and a few falls that are worth seeing...so that's on my to do list when we visit Ithaca this summer.  

Dinner Monday hit the spot - turkey kielbasa and cabbage...a great one-pot dish!

Creperie

Taking my Girl Scouts to that crepe making class was clearly a mistake. My family is addicted to crepes. Savory creeps made with boneless chicken thighs for breakfast...yesterday with eggs, today with spinach. Dessert crepes in the middle of the day. For years I've been wanting a crepe pan but was intimidated, unfortunately making a crepe is as easy as making an omelet. I need to put the brakes on. I think once we get back home i'll try them with barley flour and coconut milk instead, and have them as a weekend treat every now and again.

Prior to leaving I took dinner suggestions and we stopped at WF on the way in. I gave the ok for the mac & cheese but said no to the lasagna...I also said no to ice cream and whipped cream because of the crepes.

We did a "bbq" chicken and kale with the mac Friday night, last night it was a Malaysian style shrimp (used some bottled sweet coconut chili dipping sauce from WF) with stir fried vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, garlic, and onions), and rice noodles. I went out on a limb with WF one day sale on farm raised shrimp and was pleasantly surprised.

This was supposed to be a ski weekend but unseasonably warm conditions have transformed this into a relaxing few days with a daily walk incorporated.

Crepes are over, for now...tonight a grass fed chuck roast is what's for dinner.

Meal planning

Its becoming clear and evident that i cannot properly function without a weekly menu plan and related shopping trip. I've been calling myself winging it with a mental plan and for the past two weeks I have failed miserably. I even had to resort to buying a rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods and making frozen vegetables at 8pm last Thursday.

Other than the lamb chops I grilled, last week was essentially Asian themed. Egg foo omelettes in the morning and stir fry at night. Saturday I took my Girl Scouts to a sweet and savory crepe making class and over indulged. Sunday and Monday I went with Indian vegetarian options but felt a little guilty because of the chick peas and bread. The family loved it and didnt seem to notice the lack of meat.

I started the day off right with the caveman custard and tonight I'm planning to make the wild caught cod I picked up from wegmans two weeks ago and I will try to make it through the week somehow. I'm certainly looking forward to spring break on Friday.

Carrot cake revival

It's been close to a decade since I've produced a cake for sale.  Today I reluctantly deiced to give it another go.

I planned to start small with a dozen loaves...I went with baby carrots for ease.  It took me awhile to get started because I couldn't remember my recipe.  I looked through my cookbooks for notes, searched online, but couldn't find what I was looking for. I finally said the heck with it and gave it a try.

The results were pretty good, I just need to make a few tweaks, but the good thing is that I actually wrote out a recipe.

Honey mustard chicken

Somehow I managed to get through the week without cooking everyday.  Tuesday I panicked around 2pm thinking that I didn't have dinner prepared.  I threw celery, onions, a frozen cut up whole chicken, seasoning, tomato paste, and a bottle of honey mustard dressing in the crock pot and went about my day.  It wasn't until dinner time that I realized we still had leftover lamb.

We ended up having it Wednesday night with brussel sprouts and Thursday night with yams and eggplant. It had a great aroma and everyone seemed to enjoy it, but for some reason, I didn't have one piece.  

Roasted lamb and veggies

I felt like I was consistently off-task all day.  Fortunately breakfast was easy because I had made the caveman custard (it was delicious - I increased the bananas at my daughter's request) AND I had the good sense to marinate the lamb (bizaara, garlic, olive oil, lime, s&p) before I left out this morning.  I didn't start dinner until after 5pm but I wasn't too worried because I was cooking lamb tops, a tender cut that requires minimal cooking time, especially on convection.  I started on 425 and dropped it to 325, it was done in just over an hour.  

Up until last week, my son had been complaining that we ate too many sweet potatoes...however I noticed that he gobbled them up in that turkey stew.  Tonight I thought I'd try something different.  

I halved brussel sprouts and cut sweet potatoes into cube...tossed with olive oil and sprinkled with seasoning...threw that in the oven while the lamb cooked and we ended up enjoying the robust caramelized flavor.  Tonight's dinner was truly a treat.  

Turkey thigh stew

The family made tremendous progress with the chores so I thought I would make a basic meal as an incentive to keep up the good work.  Unfortunately the meal turned out so delicious that the kids reverted to their old behavior.  

Around 930, I put onions, celery, stock, frozen turkey thigh, and seasoning in the crock pot and set it on low for 8 hours.  My grandmother insisted that I prepare a vegetable, so at 230 I added sliced yams, cabbage wedges, and more seasoning to the pot.  

When they came home from school, their faces lit up as they were met by the aroma that filled the air...when we sat down for dinner I was disappointed by the rich flavors (I was hoping for something less palatable), every bite was delicious.  They were ecstatic as they ate every drop and even had seconds.  But...

Instead of taking care of the kitchen and tidying up the living room, they went to their bedrooms...now the stakes have increased.

Ground nut stew

I haven't made anything since I slow cooked the turkey thighs last Thursday.  I was all set to make lamb today, until I returned home after 4 days in NYC and the house looked like it had been ransacked...stuff was strewn about the living room, laundry was spilling over, and there were dishes piled up in the kitchen...I immediately decided to go on strike for the rest of the week.

This morning peanut butter was "featured" on Good Day...first as a donation item for Philabundance and then as an ingredient for sandwiches beyond pb&j.  Since my kids' school is participating in The Great Food Fight, I figured I'd get some peanut butter in addition to the pasta and canned goods I was already planning to purchase.

I'm not a fan of peanuts so I didn't really miss them during our Whole 30 but I wanted to make the peanut butter soup that the nurse from Sierra Leone told me about last week.  I was inspired by all of the peanut butter talk on the news so there's no time like the present...I  figured it would get me through the next couple of days of my strike.

I sauteed onions, celery, and garlic then simmered in stock.  I pureed it with my stick blender then added a few frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs and a half of jar of natural peanut butter.  I added a bit more stock, celery tops, tomatoes, tomato paste. and diced yams.  I sprinkled in some seasoning and topped it off with some sliced leeks.  I reluctantly made a small pot of jasmine rice as a base for the soup and let the soup continue to simmer while the rice cooked.

I ate a small bowl and I'm stuffed (not sure if it's because it's so filling or because of the grain/legume combo)...it was absolutely delicious!

Culinary diversion

I was a little apprehensive about spending 5 days in NYC because I wasn't sure what I was going to eat. Firstly, I didn't want to spend a small fortune dining out, and secondly, I didn't want to stray from the progress I made with the Whole 30. Technically I could've cooked since I was staying in a cute apartment on the Lower East Side and was in walking distance from WF, but I didn't have time to meal plan, nor did I want to soil the neat little kitchen.

Thanks to my friend, yelp, and some pedestrian exploration I managed to do just fine in the food department (and I didn't break the bank).  Friday my friend and I stumbled across the NY Tofu House (korean)...it was delicious, and although I had a rice dish, I didn't feel like I had gone too far, perhaps because it was nicely balanced with vegetables.

My daily breakfast plan was yogurt parfait (yup, dairy)...plain Liberte yogurt with almonds and berries...

Saturday I had an udon noodle soup for lunch at Cafe Zaiya, once again I didn't feel bad but I knew I didn't want to make a habit out of it. Saturday night my husband and I tried Cafe Himalaya (Nepalese), I was careful not to do noodles or rice but nobody goes to a Nepalese restaurant without trying the mom (dumplings) and paratha bread.

Sunday was Bareburger, we shared a Roadhouse bison burger and a Mediterranean lamb burger and only ate half of the gluten-free roll, but did have a homemade soda because of the yelp check-in offer.  Sunday night we took it easy with a premade salad from WF to which I added almonds and robusto cheese. We had wonderful chocolate chip cookies from Tate's Bake Shop that we also picked up in WF.

I convinced myself that the grains and dairy were balanced by the miles of brisk walking I did throughout midtown. Today it was Gaia for lunch, an intimate Italian cafe with quality food and prices I haven't seen in a decade...not to mention authentically delicious paninis...we did some walking around LES to work off the thin bread and stopped at il laboratorio del gelato for desert (honey lavender, apple calvados & espresso, banana chocolate chip).

We are heading back to Philadelphia and will have to forego some of these indulgences if we settle back into our sedentary auto dependent lives...

Finding a balance

I have mixed feelings about my family's Whole 30 outcome - the seemingly insatiable hunger is beginning to be a little annoying.  I'm going to continue to press on by limiting simple carbs in the meals I prepare; frankly I no longer find them appealing.

Last night I "set it and forget it" - I pulled out my Showtime Rotisserie that had been collecting dust for at least 5 years.  I pressure cooked yams in cider (much sweeter than pineapple juice), and also had kale.  Everyone, including the unexpected dinner guests, enjoyed the meal.   

Since the entire family was home, lunch was our big meal today - I made lamb (be'geh) zigni.  I cut up a 2 pound top round (in hindsight I could have made the pieces bigger because lamb top is the most tender piece of the lamb leg) - I know a stew might not have been the best use of this cut but we enjoyed it anyway.  I sauteed eggplant and of course we had it with injera; I think ancient grains like teff and barley are fine in moderation.  I just need to figure out when I'll make the mac & cheese my son requested - maybe I'll compromise with a gluten-free pasta.  

I made a simple dinner - a refrigerator stir fry - made from onions, chicken, and tired veggies I found in the fridge, tossed with the lime, oyster sauce, fish sauce combo and served over the sweet potato starch noodles.  

I just need to find a way to balance my family.

Regrouping

There was a bit of binging this weekend.  Cupcakes from Sistah's and pizza from Bertucci's.  I am thankful that I developed a bit of willpower after being on the Whole 30.  I ate 1/4 cupcake with just a tad bit of icing and I stayed away from the rolls at Bertucci's - I called myself balancing the pizza with 2 orders of tuscan vegetables and 1 order of tuscan wings; I think I was successful because I didn't have the same aftereffects I did with Manakeesh.

I didn't formally plan a menu for this week so I asked if anyone had any requests - qulwa & escabeche.  I still have no cow and I refuse to pay retail for beef so I went to WF for chicken because my husband suggested rotisserie (yet another gadget that's been collecting dust for years) but time was ticking so that wasn't really an option for last night.  Fortunately wild salmon was on sale $10.99/lb so I bought a piece.  I seasoned it with zatar and kurkum; sauteed spinach and eggplant on the side.  Very delicious.

I am so excited about the lamb order I placed this morning - top round, shoulder chops, loin chops, and ground lamb.  This will buy me sometime until I can get a cow share and I'm looking forward to some old favorites and some new creations!

On parole

I'm not sure if ending the Whole 30 was a good choice...I think the kids have been celebrating by eating who knows what...I did inform them that I don't intend to purchase any cereal or milk, they can finish the cereal we have in the house with almond milk.  I also let the husband know so that he doesn't buy any simple carb breakfast items.

Last night was touch and go because I was simply out of energy, but I pulled it together to make a meal that my daughter referred to as "unplanned" - I pulled boneless, skinless thighs out of the freezer, put in a celery top, seasoning, stock, and apple cider and cooked under pressure for 10 minutes then seared for a nice finish.  Meanwhile I steamed brussel sprouts in stock and made a balsamic mustard sauce to give it a little pizazz.  It wasn't bad for a 15 minute meal but it wasn't spectacular either.

Breakfast went ok with sausage and brussel sprouts but I made a bad choice for lunch - I had a kafta flatbread at Manakeesh and I think I suffered a some sort of carb letdown.This is kind of disappointing because I've been thinking about Bertucci's all week - perhaps I can go with a whole wheat crust to limit the impacts. 

Tonight I was finally able to make the dinner I've been planning for ages...duck bacon and pan seared scallops...absolutely luscious.  I've been lusting after duck bacon since I first saw it in Wegman's back in September...I was apprehensive about the cost because I was unsure of the taste...however a friend mentioned sometime ago that she tried the duck bacon so I went for it and bought frozen New England scallops from TJs.  My husband said it was awesome. 

I fried the bacon, removed it from the pan, then seared the scallops - luscious. 

Craving crostata

Apple crostata is the only form of apple pie that I like...I prefer peach cobbler.  My daughter has been asking for dessert (largely because she's binged on refined dessert at least once per week during this Whole 30) and I finally obliged.  The only problem is that I didn't start making it until 815.

I sauteed sliced granny smith apples in coconut oil then tossed on apple pie spice and vanilla and let steam until they were soft.  I made coconut pancakes as my "crust".  The pancakes were a little dry but they worked with the topping.

I wonder if I could've made a sauce by cooking down some apple cider...

Today is the last day of our Whole 30, my 10 year old son was the only person that demonstrated will power (he's trying to get a $10 Target gift card).  I don't think tomorrow will look much different than today because we're not going to go crazy largely because we don't have a bunch of refined products in our house.  I can't imaging going over the edge with baked goods or dairy products because frankly, I'm not that interested.  Although we've had some bumps along the way I'm not sure that we will start another Whole 30 on Sunday.  I know we have consumed some hidden sugar because there were labels that it didn't dawn on me to check until after the fact, and there was the Super Bowl incident, but I'm feeling pretty good about where we are and I think the psychology of restriction might be a contributing factor to my husband and daughter's quest for cake.

I will keep experimenting with coconut flour but I will probably mix it with barley and add a little maple syrup for sweetness.  My multi grain chocolate chip cookies (oats, barley, whole wheat flour) will be the biggest challenge, but that'll be in moderation.

So we'll see what happens and if things get slippery, we'll jump back on the Whole 30...the main thing is that Whole 30 has helped me find a way back to the way we ate when I was growing up.  I feel good that my kids have developed sophisticated palates and have knowledge of whole eating; even if they slip at some point, they will have roots to which they can return.  I think my dad would be proud.

Stirring it up

Tonight's stir fry was absolutely delicious.  For lack of a better term I'm going to call it Indochinese because I essentially used oyster & fish sauce as seasoning.  I sauteed onions and garlic in chili oil & grapeseed, threw in the last bit of the chopped veggie mix, then added sliced cauliflower, sprinkled on a bit of kelp seasoning, then added the shrimp.

I made a space in the pan and mixed broth, oyster sauce, and fish sauce; then stir-fried the whole thing.  It was so simple that I forgot the celery and cilantro but it was absolutely delicious.  I considered making noodles but thought that the cauliflower had enough body.  In hindsight not only should I have made noodles, but I should have also doubled my quantity to two heads of cauliflower and two pounds of 16/20 shrimp.

Simple stir-fry

In order to maintain this way of eating, things must be as simple as possible.  I didn't make a menu for this week but I did go buy staples, including veggies & protein so I knew that I could at least get through Tuesday without a hitch.  

One thing's for certain is that I've used more celery and eggs during this Whole 30 than I have in my entire life.  We've been using a bunch and a half of celery and 2-3 dozen eggs per week, not to mention the nuts and other things we regularly consume.  

I made some adjustments to the caveman custard (additional banana, vanilla, and apple pie spice) and it was a hit, topped with berries, pistachios, and flax seed...needless to say I made another batch tonight because the morning flows so much better with a grab and go breakfast.  

Tonight I went basic - sesame oil, garlic, onions, chicken breast, ginger, broccoli slaw, celery tops, scallions, with a bit of broth and tamari over dangmyeon (sweet potato vermicelli noodles) - it could have been a japchae if I had stir fried the noodles as well.   

I'm loving simplicity.  

Essentially escabeche

Escabeche fish is a great example of cultural diffusion...the Arabs brought it to Spain, and the Spanish took it the parts of the world they colonized.  Versions of it can also be found in Asian cuisine.  For the most part fish is marinated in some sort of acid (vinegar or citrus) and then fried or poach.  Usually it's topped with colorful sliced veggies.  In some ways the Senegalese poisson could be interpreted as an escabeche.

Snapper was on the menu tonight and of course it tastes really good as escabeche.  I did a very basic marinade of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and pineapple juice.  I sprinkled onions, garlic, and peppers on it before I convection roasted.

The aroma created great anticipation and we subsequently devoured our fish, the cabbage paled in comparison.

Winding down

I'm stuffed.  I made two of the three dishes I was planning for tonight.

I did Indonesian style mussels (garlic, ginger, celery, scallions, cilantro) and steamed eggplant.  I had the best steamed eggplant a few weeks ago in South Philly.  We stopped in a Chinese restaurant and ordered duck and eggplant.  I explained that I didn't want any cornstarch or sugar in my garlic sauce so the guy decided to steam it and toss in some sort of garlic soy concoction.  It was delicious and the inspiration for our veggies tonight.

I sliced an Indian eggplant, steamed it, and sauteed garlic in sesame oil with a little tamari and broth...tossed the eggplant in and then we ate.

After dinner I ended up making another batch of pseudo bananas foster...I stepped it up today with a dash of vanilla and apple pie seasoning.

Other than snapper, I have no idea what's on the menu next week.

Snow day soup

We just finished lunch and now my daughter wants dessert.  I told her I'd do the pseudo bananas foster but she's online looking up coconut flour recipes...I have no plans to bake anything.

I've been wanting coconut milk soup (tom kaa gai) all week and today was just right for making it.  I'm so glad I had galangal root and kaffir leaves in the freezer.

I brought my chicken stock to a boil, then simmered the galangal, kaffir leaves, and lemon grass; next I added the "seasonings" - fish sauce, lime, pineapple juice (substituting for sugar), and a chili pepper; I let the frozen seafood mix and mushrooms steep a bit and finally added coconut milk and cilantro.

Unfortunately I have to leave the comfort of my home to take my son to basketball practice but I am certainly looking forward to the late afternoon snack I'm planning.

Egg Foo Omelet

On cold snowy days I like to stay home and cook.  Since Pacific Island is the theme of today's lunch, I thought it made sense to kick it off with a related breakfast.  This really worked out because I couldn't figure out what to make for breakfast since I was out of sausage and have once again grown to dislike eggs of any kind.

I thought a twist on a veggie omelet might hit the spot so that's what I did.  Sauteed celery, onions, and garlic in sesame oil; added cabbage, mushrooms, and chicken; sprinkled on kelp season; then added eggs beaten with tamari and allspice.  I think it was more like fu yung hai than egg fu yung, but it worked...the kids wanted gravy but I had no desire to fool around with that.

Looking forward to lunch.

Food

We have been eating food this week, nothing spectacular, just food.  I've been having a little difficulty bouncing back after Sunday's fiasco.  Although Monday would have been Day 21, if we would were to hold fast to Whole 30 rules, it would be Day 1.  My family can't handle that kind of setback so we will finish up as planned on February 15th and my husband and I will start a fresh Whole 30.

I am beginning to feel the impacts of our moment of weakness...it's becoming more difficult to feel satisfied...my daughter is back to being constantly "hungry,"  my husband rummages for food, and I always seem to have a "taste for something."

I totally deviated from the menu that I made for the week...breakfast has become any protein and veggie combo I can make in under 20 minutes (everyone enjoyed the liver on Tuesday).  I did a couple of stir -fries for dinner and finally stepped it up on Thursday.

I put a whole cut up chicken in the crockpot with my staple onion & celery, sprinkled on a little cayenne then smeared on a concoction of dijon, grated ginger, minced garlic, bizarra, cardamon pods, and allspice; I topped it with dried apricots.  I think it could have passed for a Moroccan dish.

I finally have a decent muffin.  After two attempts at adjusting this blueberry muffin  recipe I switched to bananas for awesome results (relatively speaking); for the most part I followed the recipe except I replaced the honey with applesauce, added  2 T of coconut milk, and a dash of apple pie spice.  When Whole 30 is over I'll see what I can do with chocolate chips.

Fiasco

We left home with a strategy but things took a terrible turn and seemingly went from bad to worse.

We made my husband's uncle's house our first stop because they generally have a variety of food. There was quite a selection but we went with fish, bbq chicken, and cabbage. I'm sure the sauce had sugar but it was the best we could do.  He held himself back from the beans by eating the smoked turkey neck.

My daughter desperately wanted a pepsi and her father tried to rationalize it because my son has been having mayo. I told him he was comparing apples & oranges and a cup of caramel colored chemicals was not an option. I reminded him that we were never going back to that...our soda would be something I make or a spritzer.

My daughter managed to restrain herself but someone walked in with three homemade cakes (lemon, rum, & carrot), which they immediately coveted. I suggested that we leave, particularly because I really wanted a slice and was beginning to have stomach pangs just thinking about it. My husband went into this entire spiel about how good we've been doing and how we should reward ourselves instead feeling deprived.  I couldn't imagine how anyone in this house could feel deprived since I've been cooking nonstop since we started.

I warned him that it was a slippery slope but he had a slice...finally I succumbed and had a sliver...before I knew it, he had consumed 3 additional slices.  Needless to say, I was appalled.

We left and went to his sister's. She offered us a seafood stew, it had spaghetti noodles so I declined. My daughter however had a bowl. When it was time to leave he sat down and ate a plate piled high with lamb ribs, greens, and string beans. I had an immediate flashback of the demise of the south beach he tossed out the window while on vacation some years ago.

It's this "treat yourself" mentality that causes me to avoid the "diets" that he often tells me about. I thought the Whole 30 would be a success because I didn't consider it to be a diet, I thought of it as a reset...but something has gone terribly wrong with the messaging to the family.

Compromises

My son has become addicted to mayonaise - of course mayo is not Whole 30, first of all the oil is not heart healthy and, like everything else, it contains sugar.  I've let him have mayo with his burgers though as an alternative to ketchup.  I've also been making tuna & chicken salad for the kid's lunch...

We're in our last week and my husband wants to continue the Whole 30 because he's feeling pretty good about our progress.  The kids have been counting down but I think I've come up with a compromise.  We'll keep "Whole 30" in the house but the kids will be able to have what they want at lunch & when we dine out or at friends, we'll allow ourselves to dabble in the occasional taboo items...I'm thinking that as long as I don't purchase those things, we should be good to go.

We did ok this weekend - largely because we stayed at home de-cluttering...it's as if the Whole 30 has had an impact on our whole life.

Friday night was our usual post-cookie-booth visit to Elevation; Saturday I made turkey bacon, leftover squash, and smoothies; lunch was burgers & kale; and dinner was slow cooked chicken sausage & cabbage.  This morning was chicken sausage and sweet potato homefries; lunch was the post-cookie-booth Elevation (I'm spending a small fortune on Elevation lettuce wraps); and tonight is going to be interesting.

We're going to several Superbowl parties and I planned to make dinner prior to our departure but that didn't happen so we'll be at the mercy of temptation.

Tasty tails

My friend is claiming that my Whole 30 experience has been hectic because I'm ridiculous...supposedly "normal" people don't cook breakfast every weekday morning.  I have begun to go with the flow a little better...this morning was chicken steak and spinach - quick and easy.

I'm loving this simple food thing.  Dinner was absolutely delicious and relatively easy because the crockpot is my best buddy.   This afternoon I put celery, onions, garlic, thyme, cilantro (on its last legs), and tomatoes in the crockpot - I seasoned that with a little jerk then added my oxtails and sprinkled on the brown meat seasoning, I topped it off with some leeks and let it cook in a little beef stock.

While waiting at ice hockey, I realized I had forgotten to cook the cabbage - my only solution was going to be the pressure cooker but was apprehensive that I'd end up with mushy cabbage.  I sauteed a half onion, cut up half a cabbage and threw it in, sprinkled on some seasoning and cooked under pressure for 5 minutes with a little chicken stock.

Dinner was lip smacking good, we didn't even miss the rice & pigeon peas - I only wish there were leftovers.  We topped it off with mango cream.

I'm nervous about next week - my cow share is just about finished, I am trying to get folks in on a new cow, but even so, it'll be at least 3 weeks before the cow is slaughtered and butchered - guess we'll be eating chicken (or lamb).

Slippery slope

I'm loving the crockpot and almost tempted to get another so that I can double up.  I took another stab at the Indian style curried chicken but omitted the yogurt - it didn't work well in the crockpot and I'm doing Whole 30.

I put tomatoes, celery and onions in the crockpot, frozen drumsticks, seasoning, and carrots and went about my afternoon.  When I tasted the sauce, I realized I needed something to absorb the spice but rice and/or potatoes were not an option.  The only thing I could think of was yuca, so I sent my husband for 2 and pressure cooked them for 10 minutes.

I'm having second thoughts about whether this was a good choice...this is a staple source of nutrition in many cultures but I don't know if it is too carby for Whole 30, particularly because I'm feeling a bit of 'carb let-down'.  Of course my son loved it because he said it was like eating potatoes.  He also liked the 'potato like things that taste like carrots' that I made for breakfast (parsnips & turnip homefries).

I'm beginning to worry that I'm on a slippery slope with these improvisations that I'm making...we seem to be doing a lot of pseudo carbs and sweets and it makes me nervous.

Simplifying

We are at the half-way point and I'm finally getting a handle on meal planning and grocery shopping; despite the citrus craze, I spent far less money this week and I'm really using what I have at home rather than stockpiling food in the fridge, freezer, and pantry.

I took out a "london broil" (although there is really no such cut of meat)...this was likely a top round roast that I intended to prepare as a beef london broil.  I'm down to the last few pieces of my cow share...we had liver again last night and will likely have the oxtail Thursday and then I have no idea what I'm going to do next week other than pay retail for grass fed beef, which will run my grocery bill back up.

This morning went smoothly because I made the caveman custard and was able to get lunches packed in a snap.  The first week I was messing around with salads and making dressing everyday; last week I moved to turkey and hardboiled eggs (I resurrected the egg cooker from deep in the closet); this week it's tuna, hardboiled eggs, & celery...plus their regular snacks of applesauce, green beans and nuts.  I'm starting to worry that we might be consuming too many nuts (we've been going through 2.5 pounds per week - rotating almonds, pistachios, and cashews - but maybe that's not too bad for 4 people) but I'm not going to sweat it.

In the midst of the morning spent with the plumber here AGAIN, I decided that I was going to have to put the london broil in the crockpot because I couldn't bare the thought of cooking.  I was a little nervous about slow cooking this cut of meat but part of me thought - who cares if it's not tender.  I didn't want a pot roast so I made an asianesque sauce - tamari, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and I squeezed in a blood orange for sweetness.  I put the meat in the pot with celery and onions, poured in a little stock, seasoned the meat, then poured in my sauce and cooked on high for 5 hours - 3.5 would've probably been sufficient but it came out good nonetheless.  We had string beans and pressure cooked butternut squash on the side; I didn't even bother to slice the meat.

It was a relatively simple yet tasty meal...I'm starting to think I've been over-thinking food and am loving Whole 30 for broadening my horizons.

Limited options

Eating whole 30 requires creativity and will power when eating out.  I've had several lunch meetings and have been ok with salads and fish; my family is running elevation burgers in the ground.  Elevation works because you can get a grass fed burger wrapped in lettuce while you're on the go.

Last night our refrigerator was relatively bare but I couldn't bring myself to cook anything anyway...this was problematic because there was no delivery option and it was getting late.  We finally decided on Le Bercail, it was going to cost us $30 but it was the best we could do and it was worth every penny.  I had poisson (despite it being tilapia), everyone else had dibi viande.  I made a beet & romaine salad on the side.  We ordered plantains because we had to forego the yassa because of the rice...next time we'll try the atieka - if we can eat yams, we certainly can eat cassava.

Today things quickly spiraled out of control.  We went to elevation for our regular Sunday lunch but I had waited too long to eat (ate breakfast at 830 and it was 230 by the time we sat down) and my blood sugar had dropped substantially.  My plan was to go to Wegman's and get the Boathouse green goodness drink but instead I had a sample of the fresh squeezed honey tangerine juice, then I tried a sample of the fresh squeezed blood orange juice.  We were hooked and the kids wanted to buy a container but it was far too expensive, so we had a few more samples.  Finally I decided to buy a bunch of oranges so that I could make some at home.  By the time I got into the car I felt like I had just went on a sugar binge and ruined my Whole 30.  I told the kids that we would have to eat the oranges for dessert instead of making empty calorie juice.

I'm heading to the kitchen to make dinner and prepare for tomorrow with the hope that this weak will be far less hectic than last week.

Pancakes!

Whole 30 has been a little hard on the kids, especially my daughter...the "restrictions" are causing her to lust after carbs - I can understand that she wants GS cookies, since we have hundreds of cookies in our house; but it's the nagging requests for cereal, ice cream, and other crap that's starting to wear me down.  This morning she announced that she wanted Belgian waffles.

I thought of a compromise - flourless banana pancakes - the only problem was that my son had eaten all of the ripe bananas so I searched online and found a recipe for coconut flour pancakes that I decided to give a try (I added a dash of apple pie spice & substituted vanilla bean paste for the extract).  I made topping from the one ripe banana...I was thinking that I could that some sort of almond milk glaze would have been nice but I didn't have the energy to figure it out.

When my son saw the plate he exclaimed, "I can have pancakes?!" Although he didn't notice the texture my daughter did but she enjoyed them anyway.

Gravy

I finally made a Whole 30 attempt at a family favorite - liver & onions, rice & gravy, and spinach.  At first I couldn't "think outside of the box" with liver because I couldn't imagine it without gravy...however my Ethiopian friend stopped when I was in the middle of cooking and told me that they eat it for breakfast sauteed with onions, pita, and tea.  

After more thought than was necessary, I finally had a plan and was able to successfully execute it tonight. The only problem was that the liver was frozen.  I placed the package in cold water, cut up onions and garlic for the kale, then more onions, then pressure cooked the cauliflower.  That's when the doorbell rang and the cauliflower ended up cooking under pressure for at least 15 minutes - needless to say, I didn't need my stick blender.  

I sauteed the onions in grapeseed oil, seared the liver, made gravy with coconut flour, then simmered for a few minutes.  I served the liver & onions atop the smashed cauliflower (my son thought it was mushy rice & my daughter thought it was strange mashed potatoes) and we had an enjoyable meal with no leftovers as usual.  

Hectic

In addition to running around like a lunatic as usual, I'm finding myself having to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday and it sucks.  My new procedure will be a quick dinner Sunday & Monday, Tuesday & Thursday crockpot, Wednesday leftover smorgasbord, and Friday & Saturday beats me.

I also have to develop a faster breakfast routine.  This morning was plantains, fried eggs, and sausage; then I packed the lunches....I also made a new dressing - balsamic dijon.  I was just catching my breath when I remembered dinner - I put some drumsticks, carrots, celery, and leeks in the crockpot and plan to add "noodles" when we return from sports this evening.

Now I'm getting ready to sink my teeth into a t-bone steak and sauteed spinach before I embark on the next task.

Pseudo pasta

So it seems that we are not authentically implementing Whole 30...largely because of the desserts...but the key is sustainability, and what we're doing seems sustainable for the family.  At the end of the 30 days, we probably won't do full blown Paleo, but we will continue to limit our intake of grains, sugars, and dairy.  We've been talking about doing that for years but could never quite make it happen...now we have the tools and creativity to maintain it.

Paleo's emphasis on "history" has been bothering me a bit; particularly because the idea of the "caveman" connotes someone of European descent, and that's not me.  Considering that mankind originated from present day Ethiopia, I feel that expands the potential for food choices.   Additionally, there has been archaeological proof of mortars and pestles being used in the paelolithic age.  So my version of paleo will likely incorporate "ancient" grains in moderation.

I have to cook everyday because there are never any leftovers.  As a result Tuesday & Wednesdays are crockpot days.  Last night I attempted a coconut crusted cod with pressure cooked beets and steamed brussel sprouts.  I say attempted because the fish coating did not come out as planned.  Today I was able to do a sausage and red sauce over noodles.

While I was searching for kelp noodles, I came across another Korean vermicelli noodle - made from sweet potato starch - I thought these would be a great substitute for pasta, and while they have a bit more body than the kelp, they are still glass noodles.

I sauteed onions, garlic, and peppers, dropped that in the crockpot with a jar of spaghetti sauce.  Then I put in browned turkey Italian sausages, topped that with diced tomatoes and a bit a seasoning, then added in turkey kielbasa for good measure.  It cooked on high for about 3 hours.  I served it over the noodles with a side of haricot verts.  My mom said it was delicious.

The pot might as well be empty.

This can't be right

Tonight's dessert was so spectacular that my daughter is certain that we're doing something wrong.  She said there's no way other Whole 30 people are having the desserts we've been having.  She said the bananas and apples made sense but pina colada can't possibly be right.

It is possible that we're making a huge mistake by having dessert several times per week, but I'm thinking that since we're rethinking dessert, we are actually doing good for the long term.

My husband is loving Whole 30 because the food is so delicious.  Once again tonight the food was demolished.  I literally threw together a pseudo pancit - I used the broccoli stems and cabbage core left over from the lunch salads, sauteed with onions and garlic - I added shrimp, a little veggie stock, tamari (I hope we're not supposed to avoid soy), and kelp noodles.  My son's teacher called as we were sitting down to eat and fortunately they made a bowl for me before they ate the entire pot.

30 minutes later they were asking for dessert.  I planned to make mango smoothies topped with almonds instead of flaxseed but after reading the ingredients on the coconut milk beverage, I'm a little turned off, not to mention I'm clearly addicted to extra creamy coconut milk.  After I blended everything together, it seemed as if I had made a mango cream but it was heavy on the coconut because I used the entire can.  I threw some pineapples into the blender along with pineapple juice and the result was pina colada.

My daughter reminded me that since we do not live in a tropical climate I had no business using coconut, mango, and pineapple this time of year.

Cold weather improv

We had the first "snowstorm" of the season.  Because my son's foot had grown 2 sizes since last winter, I had to venture out to get him a pair of snow boots.  While we were out, the kids started talking about the things we traditionally eat when it snows - my daughter requested chicken noodle soup (assuming eggs noodles have no wheat) and we all desperately wanted some hot chocolate.

At first I thought we could finagle the hot chocolate - I envisioned melting some chocolate chips into the coconut milk but of course I discovered that chocolate chips are not all chocolate - they can contain milk, butter, and of course sugar.  We thought about doing unsweetened cocoa powder but that seemed like a disaster waiting to happen.  We finally settled on lattes.  I made a pot of OVC decaf and topped it off with the extra creamy coconut milk.  It was absolutely delicious...there's no need to go back to cream and sugar.

We stopped by my friend's house on Thursday and her mother offered us some shiro, of course I had to turn her down because chickpeas are not Whole 30.  My daughter on the other hand gobbled it down like a fiend.  My friend reminded me that she used to eat qulwah with romaine lettuce when she was more carb conscious but it seemed like blasphemy not to have the food with the requisite injera.

Today I was thinking that nothing warms the soul like a spicy Eritrean dish so I made beef zigni.  I served it with okra, eggplant, and romaine.  I was a little mortified about how fast the food was consumed.  I had chopped onions, garlic, and vegetables and the food had simmered in the crockpot for 3 or 4 hours (the meat was frozen, so I had no choice) and within 25 minutes the dish had been refilled several times and the food had been devoured.

Trial and error

I've been trying out different things to keep the Whole 30 interesting,  My husband said that as long as the food keeps tasting good, we can have the same menu over and over.  Of course I like variety and am constantly trying to think of new things to cook.

Girl Scout cookie season began Thursday, not only did we have a cookie booth scheduled but my kids had dental appointments and my son had ice hockey.  I was nervously anticipating a hectic night so I took a couple of hours to be proactive.

I put a meatloaf in the crockpot - I mixed the beef with shredded cabbage, fried onions, dijon mustard, diced tomatoes, an egg, and seasonings.  I sat it on a few stalks of celery and cooked it on high for 4 hours. Once I had that set, I made a veggie quiche for breakfast.

I was very apprehensive about it being eggy, because my quiches, like my omelettes are full of vegetables and cheese with minimal egg.  But I stuck to the recipe (eggs, coconut milk, mustard) and tried to go heavy on the sauteed veggies (zucchini, mushrooms, leeks, spinach).  I poured all of that into a glass pie dish that I greased with coconut oil.  It was edible but I think the kids have grown accustomed to less of an egg taste so I will try it again but this time with 3 eggs instead of 4 particularly because it made the morning rush so much calmer.

New horizons

I may be a little too excited, but the Whole 30 is not only a diet restart, for me it's about resetting the way I think about food.  Not only have I reconsidered food combinations (especially for breakfast), but I'm also enjoying coffee with coconut milk (the canned is way better than the "beverage" in the tetrapak) - what's the point of buying good beans if your going to mask it with cream and sugar? I feel as if my taste buds are being awakened.

Additionally, because I have to plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner I can avoid making bad food choices when I'm hungry.  I just have to get better with having snacks in the car.  I'm also hoping we can stay the course during cookie season - which starts tomorrow - so there will be lots of cookies in the house and I'm hoping we will not yield into temptation.  As of now, I have no desire to thin mint and I hope it stays that way.

Out of desperation, I tried a new cooking "technique."  I was at the dentist when I realized that I forgot to take out the ground meat for the meatloaf.  The hygienist was talking about her crockpot and gave me lots of great ideas to make prepping and cooking easier.  She blew me away when she said she puts the meat in the crockpot straight from the freezer...perhaps I'm the only person in the world that thaws the meat, seasons, and then slow cooks.  Well I had no choice but to cook frozen meat today because I couldn't leave my family to fend for themselves and risk sabotaging our diet reset.

I returned and had 30 minutes before I had to walk out of the door.  I poured some diced tomatoes into the pot and mixed with garlic paste.  Then I lade down two stalks of celery to serve as a rack for the meat.  I sprinkled a few dashes of worcestershire sauce (and as I'm writing this I realize there's likely hidden sugar in that condiment), some seasonings, and topped with some sliced onions and more tomatoes.  I spread a half head of cabbage around the meat, seasoned that, then topped the whole thing with a bag of broccoli slaw, which I also seasoned.  Then I poured on a bit of chicken broth and walked out the door.

I was literally shocked when I spoke to my husband and he was raving about the flavor and tenderness.  I had a sample when I came home and it was indeed delicious.  I think this frozen meat idea might help me to streamline my cooking.

Unprepared

Yesterday went relatively smoothly.  We capped off Day One with a fantastic dessert of a pseudo bananas foster - I sauteed 1 banana in coconut oil (my new best friend) and topped with nuts - the kids loved it.  We had butternut squash and sausage hash for breakfast (I am so glad I bought the cubes instead of the whole squash) and I was able to get the lunches packed with relative ease - mixed greens, topped with TJ 8 chopped veggie mix, and grilled chicken thighs - I made the dressing the night before (raw acv, dijon mustard, oil oil, & kelp seasoning).

By midmorning I realized I had skimped on the breakfast portions and hadn't provided the kids with ample snacks - we are trying to limit fruit to twice daily but they need something to ward off the temptation at school.  I ended up stopping at Nutbox in Brooklyn to pick up a snack for the drive back home and went a little overboard - I bought Turkish pistachios (they melt in your mouth), dried plums (not prunes), dried guava (my favorite), a nut mix, and coconut chips.

Despite a hectic day, we managed to make it until dinner (leftovers) and I did another fruit dessert - I cut 2 granny smith apples in half, sprinkled apple pie seasoning, and pressure cooked with coconut milk; I topped that with coconut chips, flax seed, and nuts - very good.

That's when the panic set in.  I realized that I am completely over scheduled for today and tomorrow and wasn't sure how I was going to pull off dinner.  I had my daughter peel the sweet potatoes for breakfast and decided that I would attempt to make a crockpot meatloaf somehow between my dentist appointment and my midday meeting.

This morning I went downstairs and the kitchen was in disarray, that's no good when you're racing against the clock to get breakfast prepared and lunches packed.  I got downstairs at 618, 8 minutes too late.  I started grating the potatoes because I planned to make latkas but I realized how ludicrous that was considering that the school bus driver could only wait until 650 (10 minutes past our scheduled pick up time).   So I decided to attempt sweet potato home fries.  I think I'm going to need to get a mandoline, or pull out the attachments for my stand mixer.

I sliced the sweet potatoes into sticks, diced up half a small onion, sauteed, and topped with nutmeg.  I fried the beef bacon (grain fed but nitrate free), and then fried the eggs (too hard).  It was a very good combination - my daughter loved it.  I threw the lunch salads together and as I was telling them to get some sort of vinaigrette, I realized that the added sugar would undermine our efforts so I quickly mixed up my mustard vinaigrette and added a splash of pineapple juice.

By the time everyone walked out the door (late), I felt so scattered that my was heart was racing.  I planned to relax as I ate my breakfast before I embark on this whirlwind of a day, but foolishly chose to multitask and pay bills while I ate...needless to say, I'm far from relaxed.

Will power

We got off to a rough start but we managed to make it through Day 1, kind of.  I planned to make the hash for breakfast but the sausage was still frozen so that left me scrambling for ideas.  I was ready to delay the start until my daughter suggested mango smoothies - I poured some almond milk in the blender, added some frozen mango and topped with flaxseed; we had a handful of almonds on the side.  I knew this wasn't an ideal breakfast, but it was better than nothing.

When we arrived at the MLK Jr. Day of Service the kids went crazy gobbling up muffins and donuts like they were going out of style, promising that they would start tomorrow.  Since I hadn't prepped anything at home, we stayed for the luncheon, this proved to be a bit of a challenge.  The menu was essentially chicken, mac & cheese, salad, and lots of dessert.  I chose the baked chicken, the salad dressed in balsamic vinaigrette, and a spoonful of yams...as I ate, I could taste the hidden sugar in everything.

I came home and got to work prepping because I didn't want to have another day like today.  First, I cleaned out the refrigerator and did a quick overhaul of the cabinet.  Then I set up a snack station of nuts and fruit.  Finally it was time to tackle dinner.

I had planned to make the Paleo Chili, using green beans & carrots in lieu of beans...I made some slight adjustments by making the stock veggies more prominent - onions, garlic, green peppers, celery, ground beef, tomatoes and an array of seasonings - I rolled out the Bragg sea kelp delight and the TJ South African smoke for the first time, in addition to chili powder, etc.  I ended up dropping in an entire bag of baby carrots and had no room for the green beans so I sauteed a zucchini with garlic to use as a topping.

It turned out to be a cross between a chili and a stew, but it was very good and I managed to stop them from getting thirds, so there just might be enough leftover for tomorrow.  We topped off the meal with herbal tea.

Eager anticipation

I generally prefer to go grocery shopping alone...I can stick to my list and there's no one to ask "can we get this?" Today I took the kids with me and it worked out, they bought into "the new diet we're starting," the Whole 30.  Albeit, my son is disappointed about giving up grains because of his passion for carbs - pasta, snacks, cereal, etc.   However, my daughter was able to conceptualize ways to innovate her snacking - sugar snap peas, haricots verte, in addition to the nuts that I planned.

We bought chicken thighs, veggies, frozen fruit for coconut milk smoothies (I know we should limit fruit but I'm not sure we can do that), cashews, almonds, and pistachio meat (I plan to pull out the gumball machine and stock with nuts for a quick snack).  My husband was in a slight panic about the planned snacks - turkey jerky, veggies, and nuts...he insisted on getting apples, pears, and bananas, despite the plan to limit fruit.

My menu is planned for the week and we're stocked on food, to the tune of $150 and I still need to pick up a few items - coconut creamer, beef bacon from WF, maybe some almond yogurt, kelp noodles, coconut oil, and a new gallon of Braggs.

I'm excited!

Diet reset

I've been complaining to my friend that I'm gaining inches & pounds; she suggested that we start the Whole 30 after our birthday...this means Thursday is showtime.  Today I'm all over Paleo sites trying to put together a menu.  I'm avoiding grains, legumes, dairy, and sweeteners; I think this should be relatively easy for dinner but I'm worried about breakfast, lunch, and snacks - particularly since I'm not a huge fan of eggs.  My husband wants to implement this as well but I think the kids will likely have a forbidden item or two during lunch.

Fortunately, Every Day Paleo, offers a great starting point and I was able to develop a skeleton menu plan for Thursday - Sunday and will make a plan for the following week on Sunday when I go to the market.  I'm also going to need another cow share or some lamb - we have only a few pieces remaining (london broil, cubes, tri-tip, t-bone & filet mignon, ground, and of course liver).  I have a standing Thai lunch date scheduled in the midst of this but fortunately my friend is accommodating and willing to deviate from our quest.

So here it goes, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated:

Thursday - sweet potato latkes;  broccoli, cabbage, & chicken salad; chili w/ carrots & green beans
Friday - sweet potato & sausage hash; salad; t-bone & artichokes
Saturday - veggie quiche; salad; tri-tip
Sunday - veggie quiche; lettuce wrapped burger; cod & beets