Day 4 of my Whole30

Thursday, January 05, 2012

I am really craving some hot chocolate.

That's my sole complaint. I'm cool without cheese, I'm cool without milk, and I'm cool without bread. I'm really missing a big steaming mug of hot chocolate, snuggled up to my honey while it's cold outside. This makes me a sad panda.

On the other hand, breakfast today is poached eggs on spinach with half an avocado:



I love me some avocados.

I'm thinking today of a way to make myself a good hearty breakfast that I can take to school with me next week. Perhaps a quiche, or some mini egg "muffins." I'll be swimming in the mornings, so I don't want to have to cook a heavy breakfast, eat it, and then feel like a slug when I get to the gym. I'm hoping for some more promising recipes out of Paleo Comfort Foods. I made baba ghanoush out of it the other day and ruined it with too much tahini (who actually measures stuff these days?), but that was my own goof. I really, really like the other recipes in it and I'm DYING to try more of them.

I'm also trying to think of a way to get rid of this kale I bought. Maybe kale chips. I'll give it a go.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

KWRIGHT26 1/6/2012 5:33PM

If you're going to poach eggs, I find that if you stir the water up with a spoon so that it's whirlpooling in the center of the pan and drop the egg into THAT, it keeps the white from spreading out all over the place. Report Inappropriate Comment

GINAV2 1/5/2012 9:39PM

I've never had kale chips so I can't comment there, but kale also seems like something that would be yummy in a quiche/frittata. Maybe with crumbled bacon (is bacon ok in the Whole30?) Report Inappropriate Comment

BROCOLIJOLI 1/5/2012 3:38PM

Kale chips are addicting! Definitely give them a try! I need to try and make poached eggs at home. They are my fave! Report Inappropriate Comment

CHAOSTHEORY635 1/5/2012 1:15PM

This. http://www.gypsytea.com/Chocolate-C hai-P61.aspx With a little coconut milk and just a drop of honey. Report Inappropriate Comment

Day 3 of Whole30: Paleo Pancakes

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Okay, I get it. I know I'm not supposed to paleo-fy any of my favorite carby foods because that defeats the whole point of the Whole30. But typically, I hate pancakes.

That's right, I said it. I don't like pancakes.

I grew up having them once in a very great while, and of course we used "pancake syrup," which has no relationship whatever to the maple syrup we misnamed it. It's not even the same color. After the first couple batches, the butter would burn on the bottom of the pan and lend a rank odor to the entire house. Also, since I was a carb-holic even as a child, I expected pancakes to taste like, well, CAKE. I was extremely disappointed with the lack of sugary sweetness in a naked pancake. So, as an adult, I just never got into them.

I figured, since I'm not really paleo-fying an existing non-paleo craving, it's not really cheating because I'm going straight for the throat of a paleo friendly meal. Make sense? Made sense to me. Onward:

Well, I attempted a recipe in Paleo Comfort Foods for Pumpkin Pancakes. They sounded delicious at first review. Lots of eggs, egg whites, pumpkin, and spices, with a little coconut milk for texture (I assume). The base was a small amount of almond flour. Sweetness, if desired, was to come from finely chopped apples. I whipped up the batter, melted my butter, and poured in my first batch.

They. Were. Nasty.

My heart is broken. They looked so delicious and fluffy in the picture, topped with a sprig of fresh greenery and some blackberries, but the texture was closer to a slightly undercooked omelette that just happened to have pumpkin and cinnamon in it, except that it fell apart. Like, really, really apart.

I made four more batches. I added grated apples per a suggestion in the cookbook. I added coconut flour and coconut milk. I added applesauce. I added more grated apples.

Nothing could save these pseudopancakes.

When the last batch broke apart into a billion burning pieces I gave up and chucked my experiment.

It's now almost lunchtime in my timezone, so out of spite I'm skipping breakfast and going straight for lunch. I'm going to make tuna salad with an avocado (if I have a ripe one yet... the ones I bought are still harder than most concrete materials) and eat it on some spinach or romaine lettuce. Toss some chopped cucumbers in there... make something edible.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

BUBBLEJ1 1/6/2012 3:32AM

Pancakes and bacon and REAL maple syrup are amazing. There, I said it. LOL I hate bland pancakes though. The cafe I go to occasionally makes them sweet and fluffy, so they kinda taste like cake. My mum and MIL make aweful pancakes. Shhhhh, don't tell then. Sorry your pancakes didn't work out. You have more willpower then me, I would have given up right away! Report Inappropriate Comment

KWRIGHT26 1/5/2012 8:43AM

There absolutely are others. The authors of Make It Paleo have one, and MDA has one. I'm sure there are tons out there to try, but this one just wasn't any good. It was like really soggy, undercooked french toast. Report Inappropriate Comment

GINAV2 1/4/2012 5:20PM

This makes me sad, as I love pancakes (and pumpkin) and had planned to try that recipe one of these weekends. Alas, they can't all be keepers... Report Inappropriate Comment

CHAOSTHEORY635 1/4/2012 12:50PM

my GF pancakes tend to use rice flour and xanthan gum...there's also a recipe with almond flour on marks daily apple that's legit good. Report Inappropriate Comment

Day 2 of my Whole30

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

I probably won't be posting a blog every day detailing my Whole30, but since it's the week before classes and I prefer blogging to cleaning, I will blog again today.

Last night I made dinner. Basic roasted chicken breasts, steamed broccoli/carrots/cauliflower, and my first experience cooking kale. I sauteed it with onions, butter, and chicken broth. I decided I didn't particularly care for the bitter aftertaste, but I do like the denser texture. It was much improved by adding a squirt of lemon juice.

This morning I took half of the leftover kale and onions and scrambled my eggs with them, adding a handful of cherry tomatoes.

More food porn:

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

CHAOSTHEORY635 1/3/2012 4:06PM

if you can find chidori kale, eat that instead! it's much sweeter--no bitterness--so you can eat it raw. it's awesome in salads! it's also a beautiful fuschia color :) Report Inappropriate Comment

Today I'm starting my Whole30.

Monday, January 02, 2012

Yeah, that's right.

And I will defeat the New Year's Resolution thinking by starting on January 2.

Take that, 2012.

If you want to make a start on something sometime soon, here's the website for the Whole30:
whole9life.com/2012/01/whole-30-v201
2/

Also, food porn, because I want to tempt everyone I know while I'm still out of school and have time to photograph my meals:



This is my own creation, and some version of this has been eaten for many breakfasts since I started Sparking in 2009. When I thought fat was evil I started using two whites for one of the eggs. When I started Eating Clean and fat became even more of a devil's spawn, I started using all egg whites and only periodically adding a yolk. More recently I put the yolks back in and accepted butter into my life legally (I still used it while Eating Clean because I will NOT use margarine). The final transformation of this meal happened yesterday and this morning, when I removed the splash of milk I used to scramble with the eggs and the cheese I would sprinkle over the top for an extra punch of flavor.

So here's my favorite breakfast, dairy-free, grain-free, and delicious. If you're hungrier than I am, make it bigger!

Green Eggs and Onions
3 eggs
1/2 a small cooking onion
lots of spinach (frozen I use half the package, well-drained or the eggs will be swimming in the water. Fresh, I take two really big handfuls, chop them roughly, and wilt them with the onions)
1/2 zucchini (I used half of a long, skinny one)
1 T clarified butter (It's legal if you remove the milk solids, a.k.a. clarify it)

Chop your zucchini and place it in a microwave-safe bowl or mug. Steam in the microwave... for me, a generous cup of chopped vegetables takes two minutes. Melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and saute until you're pleased with them (I like mine softened slightly but not caramelized). If you're using fresh spinach, add it to the onions and put a lid on your pan so that it will steam slightly and wilt. Drain your microwave-steamed veggies (aren't you glad I taught you that cheat?) on paper towels and add to the onions with the drained spinach if you didn't use fresh. Whisk your eggs together until well-scrambled and pour over the vegetables. Cook to your preferred doneness, stirring often.
Season with salt and pepper. Eat.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

GINAV2 1/2/2012 4:46PM

Yummmmm, eggs and green veggies is my favoritest breakfast! Good luck with your Whole30 - and keep bringing the food porn. :) Report Inappropriate Comment

KWRIGHT26 1/2/2012 4:26PM

Yeah... I'm doing the remainder of my shopping today and already the plan has been ridiculed by my fiance ("You can't tell me that milk, peanut butter, and oats are bad for you. Blah blah blah, another silly diet, blah blah blah, why don't you just do what worked before, blah blah blah, why didn't you just say it's what you did before but without the dairy, blah.") and I'm not even going to approach my mother about it. I'm just going to tackle it without saying anything since we're already doing separate meals... I just don't know how to get around the times when it's down to "eat what you're served," which at some point will include chili (she's on Team Beans for chili) and baked ziti. I don't want to compromise after all my fantastic self-motivating talk, but I'm being hit with the "We don't have a lot of money for the month" talk and the "that's your money, you shouldn't have to buy all the groceries with it" talk, so I'm anticipating that if I can go 30 days without any added sugar, grains, or cheese, I'll still be better off than if I give up on it completely. Now I have to go be supervised on how to purchase meat on sale, at which my mother is a master. Report Inappropriate Comment

CHAOSTHEORY635 1/2/2012 2:16PM

woohoo Whole30! here's wishing us both luck with it :) Report Inappropriate Comment

Happy New Year, everyone!

Saturday, December 31, 2011

I'm ready to start the new year!

I'm going back to dance class on January 9. I'm down to once-a-week adjustments for my SI joint, and my chiropractor is confident that we can cut back to one every ten days and finally to once a month, then as-needed. This is so exciting!

I'm ready to cut the sugar beast out of my life, and I'm ready to start a Whole30 tomorrow. I even bought the success guide e-book since I'm serious about it. In fact, I'm wedding serious about it (my sister is getting married March 23). At least I'm trying to be ready... I'll defrost some chicken for tomorrow since my favorite store will be closed for the New Year, and then Monday I can forage for meat sales and plan some meals ahead. My mom bought me Paleo Comfort Foods for Christmas, which I was unbelievably thrilled about, because I couldn't decide whether or not to buy myself a paleo cookbook and she's on Team Everything-in-Moderation-but-I-Stayed-Thin
-in-my-Twenties-by-Not-Eating-Bread.

I'm even more ready to do this because not only am I tired of these ten pounds I gained back after six weeks of almost-paleo awesomeness, I'm also feeling like $*!%. For some reason, knowing that bad eating and living habits are making you sick isn't enough to stop them. You have to really FEEL sick, and on top of that you have to really FEEL and know down to your bones that this sickness, although it might be an everyday experience, isn't normal and isn't your fate for life. Well, thanks to sugar, bread of all kinds, ice cream, and lots of sangria (lunch yesterday with the ladies from dance class) I've taken about half a bottle of ibuprofen in the last tow days (a small bottle...), I'm about to pop a couple more, and I'm feeling pretty cranky. It's time to stop poisoning myself.

On the other hand, 3 of the 5 glasses of sangria I had yesterday afternoon were totally worth the headache later, and I was exceptionally relaxed for my chiropractic adjustment. I guess that was me going into a period of prohibition with a bang. A delicious, fruity bang.

I'm ready to get solid. I have all my favorite exercises in mind, and I'm ready to embrace my PT exercises (which I've stuck to fairly consistently) and add my progressions to push-ups, pull-ups, and planks. I miss being able to do "man push-ups." I was pretty darn proud of my man push-ups, and being able to plank for more than two minutes. I'm going to do that again.

Most importantly, I'm tired of making excuses. My fiancee pointed out to me the other day that even though I know exactly what to do to fix things I don't like (being fat, being disorganized, being weak, struggling in my classes) I also have about a hundred excuses why I can't do those things NOW. I think that making excuses is at the root of many a failed resolution, no matter what time of year we make those resolutions. So really, a solid choice for a New Year's Resolution would be to stop making excuses for ourselves and our mistakes and step up to our own plates.

I'm going to step up to my own plate, and I'm stepping up to it now.

Happy New Year, everyone!