Whole 60

Whole 30 Sheet Pan Supper

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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This is super simple, and super delicious. In fact, I loved this and will make it over and over again. I mostly took the recipe directly from the NY Times, you can find the original there, but I Whole 30’d that sh*t UP and twerked a couple other things and now it’s here.

YUM!

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes (2 medium potatoes)
  • 2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves, plus a small bunch of thyme sprigs
  • ¼ cup whole-grain mustard
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon ghee
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks (or a mixture), patted dry
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • ⅔ cup coarse almond flour
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound broccolini
  • Pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1/3 cup coconut yogurt
  • coconut oil, for drizzling

Preparation:

  1. Prepare the sweet potatoes: Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch-thick slices. Reassemble the slices so they look like intact potatoes. Insert a sprig of thyme between each of the slices. Wrap each potato in 2 layers of foil and place on a pie tin or directly on oven rack (seam side up). Bake until very tender, 60 to 75 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, make the mustard ghee for the chicken: In a small bowl, combine the whole-grain mustard and chopped thyme leaves. Mince 2 garlic cloves and stir into the bowl. Take out 1 tablespoon of the mixture; reserve. Add ghee and Dijon to remaining mixture in bowl and stir to combine.
  3. Prepare the chicken: Season chicken with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Rub mustard ghee all over chicken. Place almond flour in a wide, shallow bowl. Coat the chicken evenly with almond flour. Transfer to a baking sheet and drizzle with coconut oil.
  4. Once the sweet potatoes have baked for a half-hour, add the pan with chicken to the oven and bake until chicken is golden and no longer pink, 35 to 40 minutes. At the same time, undo the tin foil on the sweet potatoes and lay them out evenly so they can roast up a little.
  5. As the chicken cooks, prepare the broccolini: Toss with olive oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes. Smash remaining 2 garlic cloves and toss into broccolini. Spread on another sheet pan. Add to the oven with potatoes and chicken for the last 10 minutes of cooking time. (The chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli rabe should all come out of the oven at more or less the same time.)
  6. To serve, combine the reserved 1 tablespoon of mustard mixture with coconut yogurt in a small bowl. Serve chicken with broccolini and sweet potatoes on the side, dolloping the potatoes with the yogurt-mustard sauce.

** If you can’t find coconut yogurt ** Don’t worry, this will still be delicious without the sauce.

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Shrimp and Cauliflower “Grits”

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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This is so easy, and also, so delicious!!! Also, I’ll give a basic recipe for the cauliflower grits but think of it more as a cauliflower puree, and therefore you can change up herbs, etc., and eat with anything.

Ingredients: 

  • 1 lb wild shrimp, unpeeled
  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 4 slices bacon, chopped into slivers
  • 3 tbls. ghee
  • pinch of red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

Preparation:

  1. Heat broth in a large covered pot until it boils.
  2. While it’s heating, chop cauliflower into small pieces. Don’t worry about appearance.
  3. Add cauliflower pieces to pot and re-cover. Turn heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is very tender.
  4. Add bacon to a skillet and fry until cooked to your liking. Transfer to paper towels. Do not discard bacon fat from skillet.
  5. Transfer cauliflower and broth to a food processor. Add 2 tbls. ghee, rosemary, salt and pepper and blend until smooth.
  6. Meanwhile, de-shell shrimp (and set shells aside to make stock.)
  7. Add a tablespoon of ghee to the bacon skillet and heat along with excess bacon fat.
  8. Once heated, add shrimp to skillet, sprinkle with red pepper flakes, and cook until done, about 2 – 3 minutes a side.
  9. Portion the cauliflower mash into bowls and top with bacon and shrimp. Eat immediately.
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Whole30 Fish ‘n’ Chips

~ tracyshar ~ 1 Comment

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Really, can you Whole30 anything? I think, more or less. Well, maybe not bread related things. But certainly many things. And fish and chips, for sure. This was simple and delicious.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb Haddock or other white, flaky fish
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 2 tablespoons ghee
  • 4 large russet potatoes
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • a few sprigs of thyme and oregano, removed from the sprigs and chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 F.
  2. Cut potatoes into fries, by hand, making them as thin or thick as you like them
  3. Toss with olive oil and spread on baking sheet
  4. Sprinkle herbs, salt and pepper on top and place in the pre-heated oven.
  5. Spread almond flour onto a plate, placed next to a large bowl with the beaten eggs.
  6. Dip each fillet into the eggs, and then into the almond flour.
  7. Heat ghee in skillet over medium heat
  8. When melted, add fillets to skillet, giving each one plenty of room. You can make them in batches if need be.
  9. Cook about 2 – 3 minutes on one side; flip and 2 – 3 minutes more on the other side.
  10. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fries, salad, Whole30 ketchup and Whole30 mayo.

Just realized I haven’t posted Whole30 ketchup and mayo recipes!! I will redeem myself and link to them.

 

Mint Chip Homemade Larabars

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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Well, I’m a convert and I’ll never go back to store bought. I mean, that’s pretty much always the case, right? But in this case for sure. First off, I’m only sort of a larabar fan. Some flavors, sort of. But, I had this bar at Juice Press that was the same sort of ingredients as a larabar, but delicious. It was a mint chip bar. But, I think it was $4? So, I looked up what it was made of and made up a version. They are delicious. And all those bars cost about the same as 1 in the store, plus it took approximately 5 minutes to make and wrap the bars.

Also keep in mind that these are totally adaptable — swap out the cashews for almonds, swap nuts for oats, swap flavors, etc. For example, I’ll give you the recipe of what I did, but I think next time I would experiment with a higher date:cashew ratio. But here’s the gist:

Ingredients: 

  • 1 cup dates
  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
  • 1/2 cup cacau nibs

Preparation:

  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and mix until it forms a ball.
  2. Press mixture onto a parchment covered baking sheet, and press down with hands to about 1/4″ – 1/2″ thickness throughout.
  3. Slice bars.
  4. Individually wrap.

Mine are doing really well in the fridge, it adds a little sturdiness to the bars. I’m way into them. Make them!

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Whole3o Beef Stew

~ tracyshar ~ 1 Comment

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Stews are so perfect this time of year. This stew is no exception. It can be done in a slow cooker, but really if you’re geeky like me and have the time, I recommend just stewing it old school slow and steady style. Also, you can easily double or triple this recipe if you want some leftovers to bring in to work (excellent idea).

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup almond flour
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1 pound beef stewing meat, trimmed and cut into inch cubes
  • 5 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 4 ½ cups beef broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
  • 5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
  • 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • herbs to taste

Preparation:

  1. Combine the almond flour and pepper in a bowl, add the beef and toss to coat well. Heat 3 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot. Add the beef a few pieces at a time. Cook, turning the pieces until beef is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch.
  2. Remove the beef from the pot and add the vinegar. Cook over medium-high heat, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the beef, beef broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.
  3. Cover and cook until the beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add the onions and carrots and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Season with salt, pepper, and herbs. Ladle among 4 bowls and serve.

Reintroduction: Gluten containing grains

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

This went unexpected well! Also, I was really excited for it.

I kept it fairly mellow as I didn’t want to freak my whole system out, but I had a breakfast wrap (!) with scrambled eggs, ham and avocado; then I had an everything bagel for lunch; made my own tuna fish salad to top it. I was hoping that my body would reject the bagel, but it didn’t. It accepted it and was thrilled about it. It may have been the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten.

For dinner I had the remainder of the bagel (come on, they’re huge and I’ve been on Whole 30 for 72 days at this point), and some pretzels; otherwise went gluten free with a chicken curry.

My body pretty much accepted all this no problem. I’ll keep this post short and to the point; a summation and final thoughts to be forthcoming.

Reintroductions: Non-gluten grains and dairy

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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Okay, I’m a bit behind. Please forgive me…the holidays are suddenly upon us, I’m trying to close on an apartment, I was in these neighborhood kids shows last weekend, and I’ve been cooking for Umi Kitchen, which is new and a lot of work for the moment! So, I’m a little slower than usual on the blog. But you watch, they’ll keep coming!! Just let me do some holiday shopping and buy this apartment, too.

So, non-gluten grains! We did great with them. I felt a-okay with everything, oats, brown rice, even white rice. It was really, really nice to have a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, it’s the right season for it and I’ve missed it. Although I do admit to really wanting a spoonful of brown sugar in there, as well. Next week!!! Also it was great to be able to buy something for lunch instead of bringing everything:

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This was my delicious lunch from Dill & Parsley. The sauce is just chili peppers and olive oil, so calm down. I think not having to prepare this made it more yummy.

Dairy, on the other hand, was not as successful!! I was so, so excited to have half and half in my coffee…I even went out and bought the good stuff, the farm half and half that’s not homogenized, and I couldn’t wait. And, it made me feel really gross, right away. I also cooked up an omelet with cheese, in butter:

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…and I could actually smell the butter as I was cooking, and my stomach was turning a little. It was okay, but I only ate about half my breakfast, and then I had a salad for lunch, in hopes of feeling a little better.

I did have some success later in the day with a wheel of camembert and slices of apples. But I’ll tell you, I think it was the apple that made the cheese more delicious, and not the other way around.

Maybe just my tastes have changed.

Anyway, I think dairy will take some more experimenting. It’s possible we’ll be fine with some things and not with others. It’s impossible to try every type of dairy in one day.

For now, I think I’ll stick with almond milk.

 

Reintroduction: Legumes

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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So, SO happy to eat some legumes. Firstly, I am madly in love with soy sauce, and happened to luck into some albacore tuna for this week’s fish share. That was a no brainer! I was also thrilled to discover that the soy sauce I had at home was tamari, and therefore gluten free, and THEREFORE good to go on legume day. Woot!!

Even looking at that picture now is making me drool.

Was also jonesing for some lentils, and we had a few leftover in the part of the cupboard that I shoved everything non-whole30 compliant before we started. So I whipped up some red lentil soup, yum yum yum!

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Oh, legumes! How I’ve missed you.

Lastly, I’ve been cooking for a service called Umi.Kitchen. I knew this was legume night, so I scheduled one of my favorite meals that I haven’t been able to eat: Sweet and Sour Eggplant with Tomatoes and Chickpeas. You can get the recipe from an old post of mine.

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It’s way, way good. I was so psyched to eat it.

All in all, I viewed legume day as a success. I maybe was a little gassy at the end of the night, but otherwise felt just fine, and today am fine as well. Also, I generally don’t eat so many legumes all at the same time…and also I’ve definitely been gassy while on the Whole30, so who knows really if it was the legumes. Further testing, necessary. Got up this morning and felt strong and good, did my run, back on the plan. What a delicious day!! Next up: non-gluten grains. (!!!) Coming Thursday.

Reintroduction: Alcohol!

~ tracyshar ~ 2 Comments

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

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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.

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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.

Whole30 Thanksgiving

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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So. Before I even start with this post, let me just say: I totally failed at taking pictures on Thanksgiving. And I have very, very few.

So, you may actually have to read on this one. I understand if you skip this post. 😀

We went to a friend’s house up the road. We only agreed to this cause said friend agreed to brine turkey with no sugar and make Whole30 friendly variations of mashed potatoes and gravy. They also made killer sweet potatoes and amazing beautiful green beans. In short, they are the best friend’s ever. They had a few things we couldn’t eat, but very few, and only about half the people were drinking, so it wasn’t as hard as it could have been.

It just seemed crazy with less than a week to go with Whole60 that we would abandon it just for some bread and booze.

I brought a jug of kombucha, just to have something special to drink. Also, I super love stuffing so I found a paleo version and made that. Here’s a link to the recipe. It was delicious. But. I have no photos of it.  The good news? If you click that link you’ll see lots of someone else’s images. Suffice it to say, it was really pretty and very tasty and totally fulfilled my stuffing needs. I also brought a huge salad (and I knew everything in it!). And here ya go, I DID get photos of my desserts.

Now, I already said this in a prior post, but before any of you Whole30 rules finger pointers start freaking out, this was the one thing I decided to do that was technically cheating. But! There is no added sugar in these except for fruit, and all the ingredients are Whole30 approved. Um. Not only were they both delicious, but the dish I was describing as “somewhere between a trifle and a parfait” was a huge hit. People were telling me it’s the kind of thing they just can’t stop eating, and I was getting texts about it the next day.

I think the same might have been true of my cashew cheesecake, but for one vital error…I froze it too long, and it never defrosted enough to really taste. I actually had written it off, but the next morning it called to me in my fridge and I tried it again…and it was fantastic!! Who knew. Here’s some pictures of my trifle/parfait (made with coconut yogurt) and cashew cheesecake. The cheesecake also didn’t get any photos until almost too late…but you get the gist.

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I’m not posting recipes. All I did for the trifle was cook down some blueberries and then some blackberries and layer those compotes with coconut yogurt and banana slices; raspberries on top. Then I whipped up some coconut cream and plopped it on top.

The cashew cheesecake recipe is readily available online, although I used the Douglas McNish version in the cookbook, Eat Raw, Eat Well. I subbed monkfruit extract for agave or honey.

Whole30 Thanksgiving: successful. Boom.