So, I am a few days behind, forgive me. Or rather, blame my alcohol reintroduction!!

We decided to have a couple of friends over for dinner on alcohol reintroduction night. That way we could keep the diet fully Whole30 aside from the booze, and still enjoy ourselves with friends. Also, just in case we got a little loopy (it HAS been 60 days), we wouldn’t have to travel and could just be home.

I also chose a nice, hearty meal to absorb the booze: I went with a Curried Shepard’s Pie with Sweet Potato Mash.

It was a big hit. It was also delicious, and probably helped a lot. Scroll to the bottom for the recipe.

Now. You see the tequila at the top. They are airplane sized bottles. We each had one. The rest of the evening I only had wine. My honey was not so wise…he kept popping into the local bar for celebratory shots. I’m so, so glad I didn’t join him.

Between 3 of us, (one was drinking white wine, the rest red) we probably drank about 3 bottles of wine. Normally, not so bad. And, we felt great all night long. We were both worried that we’d fall asleep early, or be way drunk and slur our words, or something…but no! We were fine.

The next morning, however: not so fine. I woke up feeling bad, but not terrible. I went for a run, and forced myself through it…I made it through the whole thing, feeling alternately fine, and like I might puke. But I made it. Then, I had a nice breakfast of greens, eggs, and bacon, and then I felt pretty much fine for the rest of the day. Not 100%, but not bad, either. My partner didn’t fare so well.

He had sort of the opposite effect: woke up feeling okay (still drunk, maybe?), and went for a run. He only made it halfway through his normal run, and then came home. We ate, and he felt no better. Then he spent the entire day feeling progressively worse and worse. Really I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him that hungover in my life.

Bottom line: we both way overdid it. We’re gonna have to be a lot more careful next time we drink. I think, 1 or 2 will have to do it until we can build back up some sort of tolerance. Wow!!

Curried Shepard’s Pie with Sweet Potato Mash

Ingredients:

• 5 sweet potatoes
• ghee
• pinch of cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 lb of grass-fed ground beef
• 1 tbs curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• salt, pepper, granulated garlic (to taste)
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 cup full fat coconut milk
• 2 cups peas (fresh or frozen)

Preparation:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Score each sweet potato, and roast in the oven for about an hour
3. While the potatoes are roasting, heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pot.
4. Once heated, add onions and garlic. Once the onions have become translucent and softened, add ground beef and seasonings. Brown the beef and break up well.
5. Add celery and carrots and cook a few minutes more, stirring occassionally.
6. Add broth and coconut milk. Stir. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until liquid has cooked down substantially, to about 1/3 of the original amount.
7. Add the peas and simmer for a couple more minutes.
8. Once potatoes are fully cooked, remove them from the oven and cool to the touch. Peel, and put the meat into a mixing bowl. Add 2 heaping tablespoons of ghee and salt to taste. Blend the potatoes together until they are completely smooth
9. Grease a baking dish and fill it with your meat mixture. Top that with the sweet potatoes and smooth to cover.
10. Bake for 35-45 minutes in the oven.
11. Remove and allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.