Whole30 Day 30 — Sloppy Joes

For my last Whole30 recipe of the month, I would like to share a quick and easy version  of one of my favorite foods, Sloppy Joes.   If you have access to fresh dates you don’t have to boil them just toss them in the blender with the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Just add two tablespoons of plain water when called for.  Although this is a good recipe as is, I am going to experiment with the amount of dates and the amount of mustard in the recipe as I like my sloppy joes a little more tangy.  If you can’t find Dijon style mustard use yellow mustard and it will  be fine.

Sloppy Joe

• Difficulty: Easy
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1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup chopped green pepper

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1  TBS tomato paste

1 1/2 TBS apple cider vinegar

1 TBS yellow mustard

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp salt

5 Medjool dates, pitted

1 russet Potato per person

In a medium frying pan over medium high heat, brown the ground beef and onion until no longer pink; drain the grease.  Reduce the heat an add the green pepper, vinegar, mustard, garlic and salt.  Meanwhile, in a small pot bring the water to a boil.  add the dates and boil for one minute.   Remove the dates and save the water.  Place the dates into a blender with the tomato sauce and tomato paste.  Blend well.  Add the tomato mixture to the beef mixture with 2 tablespoons water.  Heat through.  Serve over baked russet potatoes.  

 

 

 

Whole30 Day 29 — Homemade Taco Salad

If you hang around the Whole30 community for a while, you are bound to hear the phrase “put an egg on it.”  This refers to the idea that any leftover can be made in to a breakfast if you put an egg on top.  In my Whole30 I adapted the saying to be “put it on a salad, referring to the idea that any leftover can be made into a meal if you put it on top of a salad.

I learned many things about myself during my Whole30.  One of the most surprising things I learned about myself is I actually like salads.  I just don’t like salads with big chunks of lettuce or boring salads.  To keep the salads from getting boring, I have experimented with a lot of different types of salad, dressings and toppings.  My favorite salad so far has been a simple taco salad with homemade salsa and guacamole.  Don’t punk out and buy compliant salsa and guacamole.  The meat takes longer to cook than it does to make the salsa and guacamole combined.

Fire Roasted Salsa

• Difficulty: Easy
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1 small onion, peeled and quartered

1 jalapeno, halved, and membranes removed

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 TBS lime juice

1/4 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

In a blender, add the onion, jalapeno and garlic.  Process until finely chopped. Add the tomatoes, lime juice, cumin,salt, pepper and cilantro.  Process until throughly combined. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste.

Guacmole

• Difficulty: Easy
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3 ripe avocados

1 firm tomato. chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 TBS lemon or lime juice

salt and pepper, to taste

Halve the avocados and remove the pits.  In a medium sized bowl, scoop out the avocados and mash with a fork until smooth .  Add the tomato, onion, lime juice and cilantro.  Mix well.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  

Whole30 Day 26 — Quick Pickled Carrot Strings

Only 4 more days until I am done with my first Whole30.  I can’t believe I made it this far.  In many ways the last few days have been harder than the first few days.  I am sorta loosing my motivation to keep going.  Its  also been harder because I am starting to think about all the things I can have on Monday that I can’t have today.  The literature says that this happens so i am just trying my darnedest to keep going.  i am do close.  I can do this.  I CAN DO THIS!

Quick Carrot Pickled Carrot Strings

• Difficulty: Easy
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1/4 cup apple juice

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

3 carrots, julienned

In a medium, non reactive bowl, combine the apple juice, apple cider vinegar and salt; mix well .  Mix the carrot shreds with the vinegar mixture until the carrot shreds are submerged in the brine.  Cover and refrigerate for atleast 30 minutes.

I used my handy Spiralizer for this recipe but you could just cut the carrots into thin coins.  This recipe would be good for any number of vegetables just use your imagination.

Recipe adapted from Nom Nom Paleo

Whole30 Day 23 — Pineapple Salsa

Have you ever tried a recipe that everyone is raving about and when you try it you think, nope, not going to try that one again? That has been almost every recipe I have tried the last couple of days. It is frustrating.  The worst was some chicken burgers I tried.  The picture was so pretty and I wanted like them so much. The burgers were quick and easy but they were sooooooo bland.  I had to save them because I made them for lunch at work and I didn’t have time to make anything else.

Since there was pineapple in the chicken, I decided to make a pineapple salsa.  I know it sounds strange but the sweet of the pineapple and mint goes really well with the savory flavor of garlic and cumin.  This recipes makes a lot but it really goes with everything.  It’s good on chicken, fish, mixed with rice, not whole30 but I have done it before and I am sure it would be good on things I haven’t even thought of yet.  The salsa lasts a long time so you can experiment.

Pineapple Salsa

• Difficulty: Easy
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1  20 oz can crushed pineapple

2 cloves garlic — minced

2 tablespoons fresh mint — minced

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cumin

cayenne pepper — to taste

Mix all ingredients together and keep in covered bowl in the fridge. Keeps for several weeks.

 

Whole30 Day 19 — The Day That Almost Wasn’t

For the last 18 days I have shared my Whole30 journey with you telling all about the things I have learned, my non scale victories, and, of course, sharing my favorite Whole30 recipes.  So I guess it is only fair to share some of the difficult things that happened too.  Yesterday, I almost ended my Whole30, with full knowledge of what I was doing.

Yesterday was just flat out an awfull day, from the moment my feet hit the floor to the time I turned out the lights for the day.  The tipping point came for me when, after a spending a half hour trying to help him, a customer called me a moron when his card wouldn’t go through, because, of course, he was sure he had enough money on his card to cover everything. I just didn’t know how to do the job I have had for the last 8 years.  Yeah. I just had it.  When I get really stressed out and/or frustrated, I tend to self medicate with sweet food.  Sure enough, by the time I left work for the day I wanted a candy bar sooooo bad. I even convinced myself that 18 days was way farther then I ever thought I would get, it was good enough.  I could try  up again later and make it to day 30 then.  I walked up to the self check out and picked up a snicker bar. But not just any snicker bar, that’s right, it was a king size snicker bar.  I opened it and had the candy bar right up to my lips ready to be eaten when  I had two thoughts.  1. I worked damn hard to get this far.  2.  If I bit into this candy bar, I would have to get on this blog and tell you all, I fucked up my Whole30 over a bad day and a snicker bar. I turned around and threw the candy bar away.  I just couldn’t do it.  What seemed worth a minute ago, now seemed the worst choice I could make.  Thank you for helping me deal with my moment of I am so over the Whole 30.