A Little Break

Hey Guys, just a little note to let you I am taking the next 7 days off.  My work scedule has recently changed from 9am -6pm to mostly 11:30am to 8:30 pm and it’s killing me.   I feel like all I do is work and sleep and sleeping like crap when I sleep..  Add to that, trying to prepare for my second round of Whole 30 starting  November 1, and keeping up with my blog, i am starting to feel a little stressed out about things.. I cant do anything about my work schedule so I have decided to take the next few days and get ready for my  Whole 30 and spend some time working on things outside my blog for a while,  like finishing my new scarf because it is  getting damn cold out. My goal is to come back November first with new a new out look and many more new recipes.  My to try calendar is packed.  Have a Happy Holloween and be safe.

 

 

 

 

 

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Quick Pickled Vegetables (Whole 30)

Hey Guys, just a quick post today.  Some of you have commented on my lack of pictures this week.  The problem is we are in that time of year, here in North Dakota, were it dosen’t get light until 7:30 in the morning and it gets dark by 5:30 at night so  I have no time during the week to cook and take pictures.   During this time of year I usually cook and photoraph all my recipes on my days off.  This week, however, I just didn’t get to it.  I plan on doing better this week.  In the meantime, enjoy this recipe for pickled vegetables.  I used shredded cabbage but you really could use anything, carrots, radishes, celery, bell pepper slices, or cauliflower. You could try different kinds of vinegars or change spices.

• Difficulty: Easy
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From The Faux Martha
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
2 tsp sugar, omit if Whole 30
1 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp peppercorns
1/8 tsp mustard seed
3/4 cup vegetables, chopped or sliced
Bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, sugar,salt, peppercorns and mustard seeds in a medium bowl. Add the boiling water to the bowl and stir to completely dissolve the sugar and salt. Add the vegetables and completly submerge them in the brine. Let sit for 30 minutes to pickle. Store in a jar in the refridgerator for up to two weeks.

Nom Nom Salmon Patties (Whole 30)

This post should be titled how NOT to win friends and influence people.  After work  I went to the store to pick up some junk food.  I am tired and sick.   My kitchen is a mess and I don’t feel like cleaning it up just to mess it up again. I just wanted a box of Hot Pockets and a soda.  This lady, who doesn’t know me from Adam,  starts telling me how I shouldn’t eat Hot Pockets.  She went on and on about how they aren’t food and if I would just turn the box over and read the ingredients I would never let that stuff pass my lips.  The lady then went on about how she lost all this weight on a very strict diet but she never gets bored. Honestly, at this point I was just thinking like I give a shit.  I just told her I am aware that Hot pockets aren’t good for you that is why they are just an occasional treat.  I just walked away.

We all have strong opinions about things.  If you want to know one of my strong opinions, just ask me what I think this lady’s chances are of keeping off the weight she lost on this very restrictive diet.  We don’t need to preach to people about them or be judgemental when people have opinions that differ from ours.

The sad part is if this lady hadn’t pissed me off so bad by being so judgemental about the food I was eating and would have taken one breath and let me talk instead of insulting me she would have found our ideas about food aren’t all that different. I think this is generally true through out all areas of our lives.  If you have a passion about anything, go a head and share it but don’t tell me all the reasons I am wrong if I don’t agree with you.  I respect your right to tell me about your passion but please respect me when I tell you that your passion isn’t mine.

I love the Whole 30 program.  I had such a positive experience I want to share it with everyone and think everyone could benefit from it. One person I think could benefit from a Whole 30 is my friend, Steph. For as long as I have known her, she has had digestive issues that make her absolutely miserable. I think a doing a Whole 30 would give her belly time heal. At the very least, I think doing  Whole 30 would tell Steph what foods trigger her issues.  I asked her about it.  She said she wasn’t interested. If I would have been preachy  and judgemental and  proceeded to tell her how stupid she was being, how she  was screwing herself, which I never believed, and proceeded to further insult her I would have turned her off to the idea of a Whole 30 for ever.  I also would have lost her as a support and cheerleader on my next Whole 30.  Instead, Steph will be willing to listen to me talk about my Whole 30 experiences and maybe when she sees the results I get she will want to do her own round of Whole 30.

Nom Nom Salmon Patties

• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted from Nom Nom Paleo Food For Humans
1 (14.75 oz) can salmon
2 TBS compliant Mayonnaise
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 TBS onion, minced
2 TBS almond flour, substitute all purpose flour if not Whole 30
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 TBS ghee or fat of choice
In a small bowl, combine the salmon, mayonnaise, scallions, egg, onion, 1 tablespoon of almond flour, paprika, dill, salt, mustard powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Form the mixture into 4 equal patties. Place the patties on a parchment lined plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes to help the patties stay together. Spread the remaining flour on a plate. Lightly dredge the patties in the flour, shaking off any of the excess flour. Heat the oil oer medium heat until it shimmers. Fry the patties for 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Transfer to a rack to drain off any oil.

Pumpkin Vinaigrette (Whole 30)

I can never use a recipe without chaging it up.  I just can’t.  It doesn’t matter how much I like the original recipe.  I have got to play with it and make it mine.  I am obsessed wih Culver’s Cranberry Bacon Bleu salad. I love it as it is but I have to play with it.  I wanted to make it Whole 30 compliant so I can eat it on my November Whole 30.  I found compliant bacon and juice sweetened cranberries at Natural Grocers.  I pumpkin spiced some nuts for a little compliant crunch.  Now I need a new salad dressing.  I chose a  pumpkin vinaigrette because, apparently I have jumped on the all things pumpkin this year.  Don’t worry.  I have some cranberry recipes in the future.

Pumpkin Vinaigrette

• Difficulty: Easy
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1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp honey, (omit if Whole 30)

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

2 TBS pumpkin puree

1 1/2 TBS rice vinegar

4 1/2 TBS olive oil

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp ground cloves or all spice

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients.  Mix well. 

Roasted Nuts (Whole 30)

Lately , I find myself obsessed with Culver’s Cranberry Bacon Bleu salad.  I want it for every meal.  It’s just iceberg lettuce, bacon, chicken, cucumbers, tomatoes, cranberries and ranch dressing. I am embarrassed to say I pay someone 7 dollars a salad to make it for me.   I know I could make this cheaper, better and Whole 30 compliant by making it myself.   Of course, I could change it up any way I want to.

The first thing I want to add to the salad with a textural element so I decided I wanted to add some nuts.  Being fall, I decided to try my hand at pumpkin spice roasted nuts.   Whenever, I decided to adapt a recipe, I google it and look at a bunch of similar recipes for ideas on how to proceed with mine.   I have had a major problem doing this since doing my first Whole 30.  When I google sugar-free or no sugar added, I get recipes with no cane or beet sugar but added sugars like honey, maple syrup, stevia, Splenda or other natural or artificial sugars.  It is so frustrating!!!  It’s a problem with canned goods, as well as recipes.

I guess I have to do what I have always done and find away to make it myself .  Well, actually,  Mark Bittman found a way to make sugar-free, roasted nuts.  You can use any blend of spices you like.  I used my pumpkin spice blend found here.

• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted from a recipe by Mark Bittman

Note:  I make these in 1 cup batches because they could be a food with no breaks for me.

1 cup (about 8 ounces,)  raw, unsalted, shelled nuts of your choice

1 TBS melted Ghee

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 450°F. In a small bowl, combine ghee, salt and pepper.  Add the nuts and toss to coat. . Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and add the nuts in a single layer.  Roast the nuts, shaking occasionally, until they are lightly browned, about 10 minutes.  Let the nuts cool before serving.  The nuts will crisp up as they cool.

Roasted Spiced Nuts:  Add 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of any spice mixture, like chili or curry powder, to the mix.  Toss the  nuts with the spice at the beginning.