Whole30 – Page 13 – Gastography

Whole30 #3 – Day 2

January 2, 2015January 2, 2015Whole30Leave a Comment

Today felt fairly easy because it was a weekday. We thought about eating out for dinner since we normally do on Fridays, but opted to stay in because it was easier to stick to what I need to be eating.

Breakfast

Breakfast was pretty normal today – my DH’s green smoothie (avocado, apple, kale & spinach with ginger, coconut water, a splash of orange juice, and hemp protein powder) and coffee with homemade almond milk.

Lunch

One of my favorite Whole30/I’m feeling lazy meals: leftover roasted turkey breast with guacamole and roasted garlic Choula hot sauce.

Dinner

One of our quick and easy go-to meals: aged beef burger with sautéed broccolini.

Snacks

Raw cashews.

More Whole30 goodness.

Whole30 #3 – Day 1

January 1, 2015January 1, 2015Whole30Leave a Comment

Today started off rough. My DH and I were up half the night cleaning up after our sick pup, I’m deep into battling some intense leg DOMs, and I woke up with a possible baby hangover. We also didn’t get up for real until Noon – hours after my stomach first made it known that it was empty. This is generally a recipe for hangry disaster.

Breakfast

Black coffee from Starbucks with home made almond milk – drank but not enjoyed overmuch (I forgot how gross Starbucks without soy is) while snuggling the pup and whimpering in pain every time he shifted his weight on my thigh.

Lunch

Was nearly calamitous. We researched 2 places before leaving the house. Both were almost a mile walk. In the driving wind and cold temperatures.

The W30 safe options at place #1, it turned out, we’re not as protein-heavy as my foggy brain and aching muscles needed. Place #2 inexplicably had a live band – that was so loud at the door my ears hurt.

We walked past some old favorites – none with anything I could eat.

Luckily, a diner we don’t hate was on the same street. Steak & eggs FTW.

This is a familiar W30 sight – coffee with my own milk. During W30, I bring a container of almond or coconut milk out with me to avoid drinking gross black coffee.

Steak & eggs is also a familiar sight. This rendition was decent, if cooked a bit aggressively. The cooking oil was definitely non-compliant, but according to the official rules, while eating out every once in awhile non-compliant oil isn’t the end of the world if it’s between that and driving yourself crazy. Given this morning’s crappy start, the need for immediate protein outweighed my need for no cooking oil. I could taste the difference, but the protein cleared my foggy head at least. I was hoping it would settle my stomach, but between the being so hungry I was getting dizzy, a sunny and warm room, and writing this post on my phone, I managed to make myself carsick. In a stationary building. Blargh.

Dinner

After snuggling the dog for the rest of the afternoon, no one in my house had enough motivation to either cook or re-bundle to face the cold. So: delivery. Indian & Mexican are our faves and are pretty much out on W30.

We opted to go for Chinese and I ordered off the “diet” menu – no oil, corn starch or added crap with sauce on the side. I ordered Shrimp with Chinese Vegetables, didn’t eat the sauce (instead sprinkling some coconut aminos and Choula hot sauce for flavor), picked out the baby corn, and gave the brown rice to my hubby. I resisted dumplings.

Snack

Raw cashews.

More Whole30 goodness.

Buckle Up, January Is Going To Be A Bumpy? Ride

December 31, 2014January 2, 2015Life, Whole30Leave a Comment

It’s almost the new year and I feel myself itching for some change.

January 1 is a fantastic jumping off point to enact some habit building and direction correcting to focus on this upcoming year, and I’m going to be taking full advantage of the seemingly universal hive mind urging me to start something new and redouble my efforts on goals that have fallen by the wayside.

Over the past month or so, I’ve been in a rut. I haven’t had clear fitness goals, so workouts have been directionless – and I haven’t really felt like making anything too complicated, so my meals have been kind of boring. And then came the holidays. This past few weeks, I’ve let my food intake go off the freaking rails and my body is telling me very loudly and clearly that I need a reset. I need to get back on track both food and fitness-wise and I need to find inspiration again. These things keep me happy and I’ve really let myself get away from them; that changes now.

In that vein, I’ll be doing my third Whole 30 in January and will be changing the way I do things a bit. Normally, I post my daily food and a recipe a week with a wrap-up at the end. I’ll still be doing all that this time, but I thought it might be neat to see what my partners in crime are up to as well. I will be completing this challenge alongside at least one person (*waves*) in my fitness support group – Nerd Fitness. We will be messaging each other with pictures of each meal and, if this challenge is anything like last time, for support and guidance when things get rough/we are unclear of what is actually ‘in’. Having a W30 buddy is invaluable – not only do I have someone I can nerd out with about recipes and ingredients, I have built-in accountability from someone I can trust to kick my virtual ass up one side and down the other if I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing. Internet side-eye is a powerful tool.

What Is Whole30?

Whole30 is a month-long hard reset for the body. Kind of like paleo on steriods. No sugar (even honey or stevia), grains, dairy or legumes. Just whole, natural foods – like meats, veggies and fruits. Nothing in a package. No soy. No extra crap. Read all labels.

This program is designed to break the back of sugar and carb cravings and give your body a balanced place from which to build healthy habits. It seeks to reset your metabolism, knock out systemic inflammation (that you may not even know you have) and zero out other gut health issues. Have random stomach pain like I used to? This may help balance that. Irregular? IBS? Feel like crap all the time? Can’t lose weight? Well .. this crazybananas plan might work for you.

My favorite part of the plan, aside from the reset, is the tough love.

From the W30 site: This is not hard – not like quitting heroin or beating cancer. Don’t even think about slipping – what you put into your mouth is always a choice. You don’t have to eat anything you don’t want to eat – learn to stick up for yourself, peer pressure is for elementary school students. This will take effort but you will be better for it – especially if you’re a first-timer to cutting out grains and legumes. But … you can do this.

You know what? They’re right. In the grand scheme of things, 30 days is a small amount of time to deal with a little inconvenience. Unless there are roving bands of rapist donuts in your neighborhood; in that case, maybe stay inside and eat what you’re supposed to anyways. Rapist donuts are the worst.

You’ve Done This Twice Before … Why Are You Torturing Yourself Again?

I don’t look at Whole30 as torture, I look at it more as a chance to re-set my mealtime thinking away from whatever bad-for-me thing has clawed its way back into my diet (helllooooo, Holiday Season Indulgences – and that dream about a freaking sandwich I had last night) and a great way to kick-start my motivation to keep on track. A reminder, if you will, of how much better my body feels when I’m eating like I should be. As an added bonus, Whole30 is the best way I’ve found to light a fire under my butt and re-ignite my passion for food. W30 sparks my creativity and reminds me that by eating right, I’m not actually missing out on anything – I’m making conscious choices that will amount to a whole lot of good down the road. And you know what? I need that right now. These past few months have been less than stellar and I have big goals in 2015 – like huge, looming 12-mile OCR goals. I need to be at peak performance to be able to accomplish my goals and fueling my body mindlessly with crap is not how I’m going to get there.

Crispy Lemon-Thyme Brussels Sprouts

December 22, 2014December 29, 2014RecipesLeave a Comment

Mmmmmmm…… lil baby cabbages. If you haven’t noticed, I love brussels sprouts. Luckily, so does my DH – so we have them quite often around here; generally just cooked simply with a little bacon grease or ghee and tossed with mustard. And they’re delicious.

But this time I wanted to go French-ish and wanted some crunchy bits to serve as a contrast for the wine-braised short ribs I made.

This recipe was intended to serve as a side for two, but as providence would have it the hubbs was called away at the last minute, and I got to eat the whole damn thing myself. And eat it all I did. With delight.

Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free, Paleo, Whole30

Crispy Lemon-Thyme Brussels Sprouts

1 bunch brussels sprouts (I had about 2c)
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
Kosher salt & pepper
1/4 a preserved lemon
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Rinse the brussels and quarter or halve so you end up with roughly half inch portions. Toss in the coconut oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange on your baking sheet – making sure not to crowd – so that you have room for air to circulate between each piece. Bake 10 mins, stir and bake another 10 minutes. Check. If they’re crispy now, great, take them out. If not, let go a couple more minutes until they’re crispy but not incinerated.

While the brussels are working, mince your preserved lemon (you want 2 Tbsp.) and chop the thyme (1-2 Tbsp.).

When the brussels are ready, toss with the lemon and thyme and serve.

Allegedly serves 2

Paleo Almond Coffee Creamer

September 27, 2014RecipesLeave a Comment

It seems like homemade almond milk has been everywhere on the blogosphere this summer, and I spent almost the whole season holding out – running from its charms – denying that it’s not only crazy simple to make, but cheaper than buying the good stuff – and puts my mind more at ease than buying a carton of milk with added chemicals. Turns out, it’s cheaper even than my beloved coconut milk.

Here’s the cost breakout for home almond milk vs. store almond milk vs. coconut milk in my area (NYC):

“Regular” Storebought Almond Milk
Blue Diamond – the best of the readily commercially available options, IMHO

Cost: $3.29 for 64 ounces
Servings: 32 (2-ounce servings)
Cost Per Serving: $0.10

Fancy Storebought Almond Milk
Califa Farms – a brand with no added crap

Cost: $3.79 for 48 ounces
Servings: 24 (2-ounce servings)
Cost Per Serving: $0.16

Homemade Almond Milk
Made by me with whatever flavorings I want to add and no added crap

Cost: $5.99 for a 16-ounce bag of almonds from Trader Joe’s, which yields just at 5 cups of nuts – with 2.5 cups of water per batch, we’re looking at about 100 ounces of milk.
Servings: 50 (2-ounce servings)
Cost Per Serving: $0.12

Canned Coconut Milk
My favorite is from Trader Joe’s and it has no added crap.

Cost: $0.99 for 14 ounces
Servings: 7
Cost Per Serving: $0.14

The cheapest alternative for my morning coffee looks to be “regular” almond milk – but for pennies more, I can make my own and avoid unnecessary added chemicals. I think that’s a good trade-off. Plus, it’s fun to make.

All you need to make almond milk is a high-speed blender (I have a Vitamix), a mesh bag of some sort (I use one I got for free at the botanical garden a few years ago), some water and time.

Almond Milk

1 cup almonds
2.5 cups water
Pinch salt

Soak 1 cup almonds in water 12 – 24 hours. Drain and rinse.

Add the drained almonds to a blender with 2.5 cups water (I prefer lukewarm to warm). Blend. Add a pinch of salt and blend some more.

Fit a mesh bag over a bowl. Pour the almond milk into the bag. Lift and squeeze until you can’t get any more liquid out.

Funnel the liquid into containers – I’ve found that splitting the batch between 3 small re-sealable pop bottles works the best for clean retrieval + optimal flavor selection.

My Favorite Coffee Creamer Flavorings

Whiskey Cinnamon (1 tsp. Honey Jack + 1 tsp. ground cinnamon in 1/3 of a batch)

Maple Vanilla (1 tsp. maple syrup + 1 tsp. vanilla extract in 1/3 of a batch)

Pumpkin Spice (1.5 tsp. pumpkin pie spice in 1/3 of a batch)

Keeps about a week in the fridge

What do I do with all that leftover pulp? Make cookies! These are pretty great. I’m also dying to try these crackers.

Indiany Beef Bowl with Zucchini, Eggplant and Leeks

August 30, 2014December 29, 2014Recipes1 Comment

I’ve gotten stuck on vaguely Indian-spiced bowls of beef + tons of CSA veggies lately. I partially blame this place and it’s Chipotle-like bowls of meat + lettuce + toppings awesomeness.

This dish started out as a semi-sincere rip of their beef keema salad bowl, which is enchanting. And then I got to tinkering/looking into the fridge to see what CSA veggies needed eating immediately before I went to pick up the new batch.

And a new franken-bowl was born.

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30 compliant

Indiany Beef Bowl with Zucchini, Eggplant and Leeks

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 large onion (about 1 cup diced)
1 green bell pepper
1 bunch leeks (about 2 cups sliced)
Roasted eggplant (about 1 cup “guts”)
1 medium zucchini
2 cloves garlic
6 cloves
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. turmeric
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 Tbsp. garam masala
Fat Of Choice
Salt & pepper
Juice of half a lime

First, prep your aromatics. Clean your leeks, halve length-wise and slice into thin moons. dice your onion. Chop the garlic.

Heat 2 Tbsp. Fat Of Choice (I used ghee) in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the aromatics and cook, stirring frequently, until the leeks have softened and the onions are translucent.

While that is cooking, grab your spices and beef.

When the aromatics are ready, add your spices + liberal pinches of salt and black pepper and stir to combine. Let cook until fragrant (about a minute).

Add the beef and cook until just browned, breaking up and stirring frequently as you go.

While the beef is working, chop the pepper, zucchini, and eggplant.

When the beef is just browned, add the veggies and stir to combine. Let cook, stirring frequently, 10 minutes or until the veggies are soft. Taste for salt & pepper and adjust as necessary. Turn the heat off and hit with the lime juice.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch.

To make roasted eggplant: Place a large foil-lined sheet about 6 inches under your broiler. Poke your eggplant (I used skinny purple Japanese and streaky purple & white varieties) with a fork a few times and broil until blackened (5 or so minutes, depending upon the size of your eggplant). Flip and blacken until the whole thing is black and yields to a poke – you want no resistance left but not a fiery mess. Let cool and peel the burnt skin. Save for a bunch of applications.

Sausage, Chard & Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Peppers

August 23, 2014December 29, 2014Recipes1 Comment

Mmmmm…. stuffed peppers. When the CSA gives you pepper abundance, I can’t think of a better use of one or three than as a little bowl for some meaty goodness. Yum.

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30 (if you use compliant sausage)

Sausage, Chard & Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Peppers

1 lb. Italian sausage
1 bunch swiss chard
1 (14 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 onion (about 1 c. chopped)
Sun-dried tomatoes (about 1/4 c. chopped)
3 bell peppers
Coconut oil
Salt & pepper
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano

Preheat your oven to 450 F. Chop your onions and garlic.

In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. coconut oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent.

Add the sausage, slipping them out of their skins, and cook, stirring and breaking up the links, until browned.

While the sausage is browning, slice the chard into ribbons and chop the sun-dried tomatoes. Halve your bell peppers lengthwise and pull out the seeds.

When the sausage is ready, add the chard, hit the mixture with a liberal pinch of salt and pepper, and add the basil and oregano. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chard is wilted.

Add the canned diced tomatoes and stir to combine. Let cook 3-4 minutes.

Add the sun-dried tomatoes and stir to combine. Taste for salt and add if needed. Sautee an additional 5 minutes.

Stuff the mixture into your pepper halves and bake 20 minutes or until the peppers are soft.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch.

Unstuffed Indian-Spiced Eggplant

August 16, 2014December 29, 2014CSA Shares, RecipesLeave a Comment

This past week, I was ~~plagued~~ blessed with a ginormous eggplant. How ginormous? Bigger than my freaking head. I happen to like eggplant, but my DH? Not so much. The last time I made him eggplant that wasn’t blended to obliteration or diced and fried, the poor guy put a bite into his mouth and it tumbled out toddler-style. The texture of any type of summer squash is tricky for him – eggplants quadruply so. But, we love CSAs. So I have to get tricky. This dish circumvents the eggplant sponginess by first baking it (like you would if you were making baba ganoush) and mixing it into the finished dish until it is almost indistinguishable from the rest of the ingredients. Win!

This is not a quick meal. If you are looking for a quick dinner, make the eggplant a day ahead. Bonus: if you have a bunch of eggplant, cook up a whole tray – eggplant “guts” can be used in a bunch of different dishes – like, say, this pasta sauce or Strange Flavor Eggplant dip).

Gluten-free, Paleo, and Whole30-compliant

Unstuffed Indian-Spiced Eggplant

1 Italian eggplant (the blackish purple kind)
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 an onion (about 1/2 a cup chopped)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. granulated garlic
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. ground cumin
Salt & black pepper
1/2 cup cashews
1 bunch kale
1/2 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
Citrus

Cut the eggplant in half length-wise and salt. Let hang out in a colander 1 hour to release a bit of juice and kill the bitterness. Preheat your oven to 350 and prep a baking sheet with tinfoil.

Bake, face up, until soft and slumpy (about 20 mins – 1 hour, depending upon how large your eggplant is).

While your eggplant is working, tackle the stuffing. In a large pan, heat the coconut oil. Add the onions and sautee, stirring, 1-2 minutes or until they just start to go translucent. Add the beef and cook, breaking up into smaller and smaller bits, until mostly broken up. Add the spices, along with a few cracks black pepper and generous pinches salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned.

While the beef is going, crunch your cashews up and slice your kale into ribbons.

Now would be a great time for your eggplant to be done. When it is slumpy and soft, scoop the “guts” out.

Add the eggplant guts, cashews and kale to the pan with the beef and stir to combine until the kale starts to wilt and everything fits into the pan without spilling all over the stove.

Add the coconut milk, stir to combine and taste. Add more salt/spice if needed. Cook 5-7 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Finish with a sprinkle of citrus (I used the juice of 1/2 a lime). Serve.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch.

Chicken & Kale Zucchini Skillet with Harissa

August 9, 2014December 29, 2014CSA Shares, RecipesLeave a Comment

Yay for recipes that use up a chunk of my weekly CSA haul + contain protein. This recipe came about from a Google search for zucchini + kale. I stumbled upon this great looking zoodle/chickpea/harissa/egg combo and altered it to fit my non-chickpea-eating, protein-desiring dinner needs.

Gluten-free, paleo, whole 30 (check your labels!), easily made ovo vegetarian (just omit the chicken)

Chicken & Kale Zucchini Skillet with Harissa

1 lb. chicken thighs
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
4 cloves garlic
1/4 c. red onion
1 (14 ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
3 Tbsp. harissa (I used spicy Mina brand, which is W30-compliant)
1 Tbsp. cumin
pinch saffron (optional)
1 bunch kale
Zucchini (I used 1 huge pattypan squash – about 4 c. shredded)
1 egg per person
Salt & pepper

Chop your chicken into bite-sized pieces. Season liberally with salt & pepper and sautee on medium-high heat in the coconut oil until browned and cooked through.

While the chicken is working, prep the veggies. Shred the zucchini (I used the shredding blade on my food processor, but zoodles would be great here), dice the garlic and onion, and chop the kale into thin ribbons.

When the chicken is done, remove with a spoon and set aside. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and let sautee until just softened. Add the tomatoes, harissa, cumin, saffron, and a pinch of salt and pepper and let cook a few minutes.

Add the kale, stir, and let cook until the kale gets nice and wilted.

Add the zucchini and toss well to combine. Add the chicken back and let cook 3-5 minutes, or until the zucchini has softened a bit. Taste. Season with salt & pepper if needed.

Create little pockets for your eggs – 1 per person. Crack the eggs into the wells, cover the pan, and cook until the whites are just set (4-5 minutes).

Serve.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch (with 3 eggs).

Roasted Beet & Chard Greens aka “CSA Cleanup”

July 26, 2014December 29, 2014CSA Shares, Recipes1 Comment

Did you get a mess of beets in your CSA box this week? Want to know what to do with all those random greens? Roast them! This recipe saves beautifully and leftovers can be re-worked a million different ways. Just think of them like spinach. Would spinach be good here? Like, say, tucked into an omelette or as a nice burger topper? Yes? Use a hand full of these greens instead!

Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Paleo, Whole30

Roasted Beet & Chard Greens aka “CSA Cleanup”

A boatload of greens – I used the tops of 1 large bunch of beets + 1 bunch of rainbow chard (8 cups or so total)
Garlic – I used 10 cloves
Fat – I used a drizzle of olive oil because that’s what I had. Bacon fat would be luurvely here.
Salt & pepper
Optional: citrus juice or preserved lemon

Set your oven to 375. Prep your largest baking sheet with a foil liner.

Wash your greens and slice into inch or so thick ribbons. Arrange on the prepped baking sheet as evenly as possible.

Chop your garlic roughly and sprinkle over the greens.

Drizzle with fat.

Salt and pepper liberally.

Roast 20-30 minutes, or until the greens are slumpy and the garlic is beginning to brown.

Serve. These greens are fantastic with a shot of citrus juice or some preserved lemon.

Makes 2 huge dinner servings if you’re using these greens as the “bulk” of your meal or a bunch of little additions for other meals.

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