Week 3: The Business of Food (then my recipes)

The question that I got most this week after explaining Whole30 was, "So...what do you eat?" It fascinates me that as a society, we are so accustomed to processed, easy, and conventional foods that we forget that good "real" food exists. You know...fruits, veggies, meats, and nuts! I am going to step on my soapbox here, so if you want to bypass that, head on down a few paragraphs! I have often thought about food as it relates to politics, the economy and "business," but increasingly (and in conversations with others), I find myself frustrated at the "healthy" items that are forced on us, and why? It is all about money. Not about our health. Take yogurt for example. We have been advised to eat at least three servings of dairy a day, with yogurt being a "health" and optimal choice for optimal calcium consumption. What most of us don't realize is that one serving of regular yogurt (Greek is a bit different) has MORE sugar than a candy bar! Dairy is yummy, yes, but you can also get your daily calcium from leafy greens, seafood, fruit, and beans - without the added sugar and other processed yuckiness.

Check out this excerpt from Food Politics (Website link), written by Marion Nestle:

Like manufacturing cigarettes or building weapons, making food is very big business. Food companies in 2000 generated nearly $900 billion in sales. They have stakeholders to please, shareholders to satisfy, and government regulations to deal with. It is nevertheless shocking to learn precisely how food companies lobby officials, co-opt experts, and expand sales by marketing to children, members of minority groups, and people in developing countries. We learn that the food industry plays politics as well as or better than other industries, not least because so much of its activity takes place outside the public view.

My goal is not to scare you, but to make you stop and think for a minute about why certain foods are promoted, marketed, distributed and packaged in the way they are. It is big business at your health's expense.

Getting back on track, this was a fun week. I have a few recipes to share and a few tips for eating out.

Sunday - Eric and I celebrated Valentine's Day due to our crazy work schedules. I have discovered that eating out brunch or breakfast seem to be the easiest way to remain Whole30 compliant. I had a poached egg, filet mignon, potatoes (sauteed in olive oil) and fruit. I don't usually eat beef, but it was amazing! Don't feel scared to tell the wait staff what you need. Most restaurants will accommodate you - just try it!

Breakfast all week - One of the easiest things to do it is make a breakfast casserole, ensuring that you will have a yummy breakfast every morning (instead of running around like a chicken with your head cut off and forgetting everything). You can add anything you want, but my favorites are eggs, spinach, turkey sausage, peppers and onions. Mix it up and bake it at 350 for about 30 minutes (or until eggs are cooked through).

And when you run out of that, there are always eggs and potatoes! Can you tell I love breakfast?

Copycats - I tried a few Whole30 recipes discovered on Pinterest this week and was not disappointed!
Almond Crusted Chicken tenders from Red Sky Foods (Recipe Link)
"Creamy" Chicken and Tomato Crockpot Soup from Everyday Paleo (Recipe Link)
Homemade Guacamole from Lexi's Clean Kitchen (Recipe Link)

My Recipes Tweaked a Bit
Turkey Pesto Meatballs (minus the breadcrumbs), but instead of pasta, we served the meatballs over steamed broccoli with a side salad. No pictures here, we were too hungry.

Grilled Buffalo Wings - The sauce was the tricky part, but a breeze in the end. I swapped out our usual Texas Pete with Frank's hot sauce and the butter with coconut oil. No complaints!

And now my favorite, the recipe that made me the envy of the office (at least for one day). I had a craving for Thai food, the only serious craving I have had throughout this process. After about 45 minutes in the kitchen, I had concocted what I thought was a pretty bomb version of Whole 30 approved Thai Basil Chicken Wraps.

Week 2: I'll admit, I am lazy and a cheater, but did manage 3 original recipes.

This week was a roller coaster filled with some amazing highs and some really low lows, including my first Whole30 Valentine's Day. It makes me think of the chorus from my favorite String Cheese Incident song, "Sometimes it seems like such a hard life; But there's good times around the bend; The roller-coaster's got to roll to the bottom; If you want to climb to the top again. It was that kinda week. But, according to all the research, I am over the hump and it should be smooth sailing from here! 

I will save you from the monotony of listing my every meal like in my last post, but want to give you the highlights - my favorite recipes, goofs, and little pearls of wisdom I learned along the way. 

Sunday - Remember I said I was lazy? My schedule was jam packed this week - with me not getting home before 8:00 most nights. Who wants to cook then? So, my crock-pot became my BFF this week (sorry to my real BFFs for the demotion). Sunday night before going to bed, Eric and I put the ingredients for our Hearty Turkey Vegetable Soup into the crock-pot, cranked it up and went to bed. We ate on this all week. Here is the recipe:

Monday - I cheated. I weighed in, a HUGE no-no according to the Challenge (the intent is to focus on your relationship and food choices not weight loss). Regardless, I was ecstatic - I think I even jumped off the scale, catching at least a good few inches in air in the process. I also woke Eric from his slumber to give him the news, from which he mumbled, "Good job, baby," while rolling back over. Granted, I get up almost 2 hours before his alarm goes off. Sorry honey. I will not tell you the weight loss until the end, suspenseful, huh?

Tuesday - Knowing my Tuesday was another late work night, Monday before going to bed we created another crock-pot keeper recipe, Salsa Chicken Salad, for me to take for a healthy but quick dinner.

Wednesday - This was Day 10, characterized by many as the worst. And they were right. It was like I had a hang-over all day. To use an appropriate (yet indelicate) southern saying, getting through the day was "harder than a bear wearing boxing gloves trying to play with his pecker." Alas, I made it and was even able to refrain from all the goodies at a work event, treating myself to a grilled turkey burger (no bun), baked potato wedges and a concoction that was a mix somewhere between ketchup and cocktail sauce. For lack of a better name, let's call it Dawn's Kicked-up Ketchup.

Thursday - Cruising right along! I was tempted by the 30 pounds (I am not exaggerating) of Hershey Kisses in our office, but fended it off by telling myself they were mini silver daggers just waiting to puncture my spirit and thwart my progress. It also helps that my co-workers are supportive and many have cut sugar out as well. We are a fun office right now, I can tell you. Can you read sarcasm? I did manage to pull together a meal, copy-cat from Health-Bent, that got raves from me and rants from Eric. I am not a fan of chicken thighs, but substituted boneless chicken breasts. Paleo Orange Chicken (Recipe Link). I took leftovers for lunch on Friday, adding raw cashews and steamed carrots (because we had eaten all the broccoli the night before, yummy!).

Friday - Eric was skeptical, but I convinced him a meat-free dinner was in order. My inner vegetarian was screaming with delight! We had a huge salad and a roasted red pepper soup that I found over at Once A Month Meals. It is listed under the Whole30 Freezer meals, but we didn't have enough left to freeze it was that good! Plus, I love the smell of peppers roasting! Veggie Packed Roasted Red Pepper Soup (Recipe Link).

Saturday - Happy Valentine's Day! Until you realize the whole world is eating chocolate and YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY! Even Eric managed to sneak in a few Reese Cups. How rude! I don't have pictures (that is how POed I was, but I think I succeeded in making a healthy and romantic dinner. Here was our menu:

Prosciutto Wrapped Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Chicken (Recipe Link)
Green Beans with orange and yellow peppers
Caramelized cabbage wedges
Apple Crisp (I know it is cheating to pull together a dessert, but...) (Recipe Link)

A question to readers, is this format better? Just highlighting a few, or do you like to see the full plan? Comment below and stay tuned until next week.

My Whole 30 Journey: Week 1

For those of you who know me, I LOVE my coffee. And, negotiating life without coffee creamer has by far, been one of my biggest challenges over the past few days. First world problems, right?

Let me back up a little bit. Over the past three or four weeks, I have seriously been contemplating a shift in my eating to a more whole foods, natural lifestyle. We all know that eating healthier is important (mom didn't make you eat your vegetables for nothing!), but actually doing it and sustaining the motivation to do it is often where our life-long behaviors seem unmodifiable. Seem being the perception rather than reality here.

If you know me, I am not one of those people who fad diets or is overly concerned about my weight. I work out 4-5 times a week and (thought) I ate moderately healthy.  I love my body, but internally, I could hear my body screaming at me through numerous ailments that many of us experience - sugar highs/lows, cravings, heartburn, digestive ailments, nausea, headaches, join paint, insomnia, and the list can go on.  So, I dug in and began researching about food - our relationship to it, how our bodies and minds react to it, and what I could do to create change.

On Super Bowl Sunday, I was still teetering on the fence of what I wanted to do. But then - BAM! - it hit me. Standing in a sea of food that ran the gamut from chicken wings, to crab dip, to double chocolate brownies, I knew I had to make a change. I didn't start that night (that would have been a holy disaster!), but I did discretely throw away the Oreo Cheesecake bite I was holding and draw my line in the sand - my Whole 30 journey would start the next day. I think I even said this to someone at the party.

If had not crossed my mind to blog about this experience, but after numerous people encouraged me to put the information out there, I agreed. The will not all be this long (sorry) and I did my best to include photos and recipe links. I also want to throw in a shout out to my mother-in-law, Lori, who is taking this journey with me. Hopefully she will post picks and recipes in the comments as well. Maybe this will help you, motivate you, or perhaps you are reading just for the humor  - I am good with that. Whatever it is, know that you must be the change you want to see in yourself and remember that only a lunatic continues to do the same things over and over and over, expecting change but getting the same result.

Monday (Day from Hell)
My Seahawks lost and Eric was out of town, so my mental stability was already wonky. But, I had made a commitment and thus, the ride began.

Thought of the day - "Put cinnamon in your coffee, they say. It is great, they say." That was bullshit. I honestly thought about quitting and it was only 7:30 am. I can't believe I was that reliant on hazelnut creamer. Thank you to the friends who came to my rescue on Facebook - the motivation and encouragement was invaluable.

Breakfast - Lara Bar, apple and coffee

Lunch: Rotisserie chicken over romaine lettuce with olives, carrots, and tomatoes. Vinegar dressing. 

Dinner: It was my first time cooking with coconut oil so I had "blackened" salmon with roasted root veggies (parsnips, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower).

Snacks (and lots of them) - Apple, tangerine, pistachios, and I discovered a new "fruit salad"

Banana, raw unsweetened coconut, raisins and raw pecan "fruit salad"

Tuesday (Still in the INFERNO)

The entire day, I felt like I was being hit by a truck over and over and over. It was bad. And I remember thinking, "My body hates me." What saved me was that I had read so much information and knew to expect sugar withdrawals and the impact of all the other unnatural crap filtering out of my body. I sat down and read the Whole 30 manifesto again, and this helped to dig me out of my pity party:

It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Birthing a baby is hard. Losing a parent is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You’ve done harder things than this, and you have no excuse not to complete the program as written. It’s only thirty days, and it’s for the most important health cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime. - See more at: http://whole30.com/step-two/#sthash.HPGDJ4JH.dpuf 

Pretty powerful stuff, huh?

Breakfast: Egg, homemade turkey sausage and kale bake (Recipe link), banana, coffee with unsweetened almond milk (worse than black coffee). 

Lunch: Rotisserie chicken and leftover veggies with arugula. All this despite the devil conspiring against me as I loaded 5 of the best smelling pizzas in my car and took them to the college for a presentation. I have to admit, the smell was a little intoxicating! 
Dinner: Mexican soup with avocado, cilantro and green onions. I did not add the tomatoes per the recipe only because I did not have them on hand. (Recipe link)

Snack: Pistachios, apple, celery sticks, freeze dried strawberries. 
9:00 pm meltdown - Almond butter, 100% cocoa and coconut chips. 

Wednesday (Good, but not great) 

I had a CRAZY work day and that left me so busy that I didn't focus on my cravings - I just ate what I brought and dealt with it. I wasn't in great spirits, but I did apologize to my officemates for my bitchiness the two days prior. Progress, right? 

Breakfast: Egg bake (I made a huge pan on Tuesday), but added chopped sweet red peppers, a banana, and coffee with the right combo of cinnamon and almond milk (it is growing on me). 
Lunch: Repeat - Mexican soup with avocado, lime, cilantro and green onions.
Dinner (at a presentation): Lara bar, two tangerines and a handful of mini sweet peppers.
Snacks: Raisins, applies, almonds, coconut chips.

Thursday (I can see the light!)
I knew Eric was soon returning from his Seattle visit, so I was anxious to see my love, but also nervous that I had started this without him and how he would feel about the drastic change. 

Breakfast: Repeat - Egg bake, banana, coffee. 
Lunch: Repeat - Mexican soup with avocado, lime, cilantro and green onions.
Dinner: Basil lemon chicken sauteed in coconut oil rather than olive oil (Recipe link), Sauteed broccoli and mushrooms, roasted veggies

Snacks: Coconut chips, pumpkin seeds, raisins, apple, tangerines.

Friday (Oh Boy, This is Good)
This was the first day in the history of my memory that I did not have food cravings. I was hungry, but did not crave a particular item (sweets, pasta, cheese, insert your addition here ________).

Breakfast: Egg bake, banana, black coffee. 
Lunch: Grilled chicken salad with walnuts,  olive oil and vinegar. 
Dinner: I worked super late, so Eric was in charge of dinner. He kept it simple (but amazing) with organic sausage, steamed broccoli and 1/2 apple. *Store-bought sausage is not encouraged but Bilinski's makes an Organic Italian Chicken Sausage with only four ingredients - chicken, water, sea salt, herbs and seasoning (green pepper, paprika, fennel seed, and onions). 
Snacks: all repeats - I am a creature of habit, and well, I haven't had time to shop.

Saturday (Working at 5:00 am - Whew!)
There are a lot of repeats during the day, but dinner was Green Chili Chicken (Recipe Link), green beans, a baked potato with salt and pepper and frozen organic strawberries for dessert. 

Sunday (Pumped and Ready)
I really wanted to weigh in or take my measurements today, but that is a BIG no-no with the Whole 30 challenge. I do feel "lighter," which is hard to explain and my skin feels different. Who knew? 
We still have to head to the store, but breakfast consisted of everything left in the refrigerator that was Whole 30 approved, topped with an over-easy egg. I guess you would call it a sausage-kale-pepper-onion-mushroom-potato hash. And two cups of black coffee - my nearest and dearest friend. *Note, Eric's coffee is the one shown in the picture, so no comments haggling me that it looks like there is coffee in my creamer. I know some of you too well...

Next week I am going to try and be a bit more adventurous, so stay tuned!

Sweet tooth relief (on a budget)

It is the week after Christmas, the leftovers are long gone, our wallets are paper thin, there are no sweet treats in the house, which is a HUGE problem. We do this purposefully, as Eric and I both lose all sense of self-control over anything resembling chocolate or cookies. 

Standing at the fridge in my pajamas that I pretty much wore all day, my brain had to work overtime to concoct a quick remedy to ease the sugar cravings with a very short ingredients list. 

Twenty minutes later, we have Apple Cinnamon Biscuit Bombs, which were AMAZING! What am I talking about, they still are amazing, as I eat a few and type with sugar-covered fingers. 

For any of you on a budget and needing a quick fix, here you go! 

Ingredients

1 cup of apple, peeled and chopped

Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to taste

1 can of biscuits (I used Grands)

1/4 bar of cream cheese

Cooking spray

Cinnamon and sugar mix

Directions

1. Over medium heat, sauté apples until softened. About 10 minutes. 

2. Add spices to the apples, making sure to stir thoroughly. I used a dash of each, but season to your taste. Set aside. 

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a round 9 inch pie pan with the cooking spray. 

4. Cut biscuits in half and flatten into rounds. 

5. Add 1-2 teaspoons of cream cheese and 1 tablespoon of the apple mix to the middle of the flattened biscuit. 

6. Pinch the outsides of the biscuit together, forming a ball, sealing the yummy goodness inside. 

7. Spray the top of the ball with the cooking spray (or dip in butter) and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. 

8. Place all biscuits rolls in the dish. I do one outer circle and then the rest in the middle. The biscuits should touch. 

9. Sprinkle additional cinnamon and sugar on the top. 

10. Bake 13-18 minutes until biscuits are cooked and golden. 

11. Enjoy!

I know this won't be a gourmet classic, but it worked in a pinch! 

Homemade Holiday: 3 Days 'til Christmas

Today has been a busy day and there are still snowman cookies, quiche and dinner to be made! 

The day started EARLY finalizing a knitting project for a good friend. It was a doozy, but fun! I may have to make one for myself.

Then I picked up a few sidekicks, my niece Berkley and her Elf on the Shelf, Lilly. I didn't realize there were so many rules with the elf?! But I got schooled on that during our entire 45 minute drive. Who knows how much mischief she will get into tonight! 

We created one of a kind personalized wrapping paper...

Made salted caramel Nutella bars...

Created a fun card wreath...

And are now trying out a new recipe for dinner. This could go either way - fantastic or terrible. Or a little of both. 

There are a few more agenda items for today, but boy these puppies are barking and somehow Daddy Day Care has captured the full attention of everyone in the house. Even Pasha is staring at the tv. 

So, who knows, but enjoy this Christmas' Eve Eve Eve. 

Homemade Holiday: 4 days 'til Christmas

I feel like I haven't posted in a while and wanted to take a break from my gift wrapping marathon (seriously, I have been wrapping for hours) to share with you my newest and quite possibly best and cheapest holiday purchase.

Can you guess what it is? It is a 1970s-era 3M Sasheen Bow Maker Model S-72 of course! I was not searching for this beauty - it found me. I had gone into a Reidsville hardware store that was going out of business looking for a cake plate (a suggestion from the post master at the post office, since no other store in Reidsville sells cake plates). And you know me, always searching for a deal! I was browsing the bulk rolls of wrapping paper ($2.00 each, I got enough for life) and looked up to see my soon to be new friend, although at the time I didn't have a darn clue what it actually was. At checkout, I asked about it and the guy gave a 10 minute demo, which began to attract other customers. Another lady seemed very interested, and I didn't push it, so I purchased my paper and left before things got nasty. 

A coworker and I went back in a few days later. It was still there on the shelf, looking industrial and used, the opposite of shiny and new. I asked about it a second time and the owner said if I purchased the ribbon, which totaled about $9.00, I could have the machine. So, I packed up the ribbon, bow maker and about 300 premade bows and headed on my merry way! 

The bows were given away to our clients and I was left to figure out the machine. Several You-tube videos later, I realized I was missing an essential piece, so to eBay Eric went! And he scored me these.

They are the little pointy pieces that go in the middle of the bow. 

So, after several now making mishaps and at least a dozen curse words, I feel like I have a good grasp on the machine now. Every once in a while a spring pops out and Pasha and I have to duck and cover. I will watch more You-tube videos later, but there is no time before Christmas for frivolous things like that! 

Here are a few of my creations. Enjoy! 

The traditional.

My favorite. 

Hello Kitty. 

Alphabet soup. 

Now back to the grind! Check out my two "helpers" working hard. 

Homemade Holiday: 10 Days 'til Christmas

If any of my family members are reading this and haven't purchased my gift, I would love love LOVE an electric stand mixer. And if you know me, not the cheap kind. My last K-Mart special mixer caught fire last year when I was attempting to make homemade focaccia bread. I almost lost an eyebrow. 

But tonight, I have been in the kitchen a few hours cranking out sweet piroshkis by hand Puritan style. My firearms feel like they have just competed in the Crossfit games, my entire kitchen is covered in a light dusting of self rising flour, and I am only halfway through, taking a short break while the dough rises for the third time. I may have misjudged the time disparity between baking with the use of modern technology and without. Eric may have fresh out of the oven pastries when he wakes up in the morning! 

The house smells wonderful with the aromas of chicken pot pie and apple filling for the pastries, all for tomorrow's potluck. But, here is the current state of my kitchen...

The picture doesn't do the flour cloud justice. In a few hours, they will hopefully look like this...

Filled with yummy apple gooeyness. We will see. I am not yet convinced!