The Hartwig's Whole30

Dallas and Melissa Hartwig (the people who wrote the Whole30) always do a challenge in August. I'm going to try to do it along with them this year. Anne is going to do it with me, but she wants to start next Monday and I have a friend that wants to start on August 12, so I have a couple of options in August. I may start with Anne on Monday because Ben has culinary camp this week and a great Mediterranean appetizer buffet on Friday. This time, I'm going to try really hard to stay on track and follow their advice more closely. They say you should not substitute regular foods with paleo alternatives. I'm really bad about doing that, especially with muffins etc. I know I need to drink more water and eat more protein. Let's hope I can do as well as I did the first time I did this....

Halfway Through Leeny's Challenge

Yeah, I think I have completely blown the challenge.  I'm not necessarily surprised because I don't do well when I'm allowed to cheat a little bit.  I really need to do the Whole30 again and I think I'm going to try again in August.  The Hartwigs always do a challenge in August, so I think I'll do it along with them.....

Chocolate zucchini bread

Someone at work gave me some zucchini so I thought I would try making some paleo zucchini bread.  I tried this recipe from Elana's pantry.  I had to double the amount for the size of loaf pan I had to use and I cooked it for an hour, but it still came out fine.  Tonight, I made it as 12 muffins-even better!!!  This is going to be my new favourite recipe for a while....

 

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour/meal
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups zucchini, grated

• In a food processor, combine almond flour and cacao powder. Pulse in salt and baking soda.  Pulse in eggs, coconut oil and honey, then zucchini.  Aliquot into muffin pan (makes 12).  Bake at 350° for 25 mins

Really?????

I went to Dierbergs on my own last weekend.  I bought a bunch of food to pack for the kids' lunches this week (until I realized they are doing a camp where they make their own lunch!).  On my way to the checkout, I looked at the cart and thought "no one would know we were trying to eat paleo in our house"!!!!

Chicken tikka masala

6-8 boneless/skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped (bottom stems cut off)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 can coconut milk

4 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

4 tablespoons finely chopped or grated fresh ginger

Small pinch cayenne pepper (or more, for a spicier dish)

Generous pinch of salt (you can add more to the sauce later, if needed)

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon turmeric

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients and bake at 400 for 1 hour

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2 yellow onions, sliced thinly

6-ounces tomato paste (or less, for a less tomato-y sauce)

1 can coconut milk

28-ounces canned/boxed crushed tomatoes in their juice

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon garam masala (an Indian spice blend)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Saute onions in olive and coconut oils
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 mins
Add chicken to sauce and cook for 20 mins

First week with Leeny

Well, I'm on day 7 and almost finished my first week.  Definitely NOT Whole30 because I ate pizza last night!!!!  Still, I have done much better than I usually do.  I've cut down from 2 Starbucks runs a day to 1 small latte in the past week.  Sam took the kids to Cici's on Friday night and I didn't even feel a temptation to go with them.  I was reading the Whole30 message for Day 7 and they said "don't paleo regular foods", unfortunately, we do that a lot.  I made honey muffins, chocolate pudding and peach cobbler yesterday-all dishes that have substitutes that technically make it paleo, but are regular dishes.  Still, as Sam says, you have to get to a stage where you can live with it permanently....

Leeny's challenge, Day 2

Not too bad a day, no-oat oatmeal for breakfast, chicken salad for lunch and a Scotch egg for dinner. Definitely missing my usual copious amount of coffee more than anything