2014 Whole 20 - Week of 1/20

[hellokitty]

I like Chai. I may try it with coconut milk to see if that will work.

Hmm, that sounds like a good combo! Let us know how that works out!

[Meatball Mommie]

From The Healthy Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson
Gingery Carrot Soup with Orange & Parsley
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
2 onions, chopped
2-3 Tbsp minced gingerroot
1 Tbsp cracked black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
6 cups thinly sliced peeled carrots (about 6 large carrots)
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1-1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup packed parsley leaves
Salt, to taste
Coconut milk, optional

Directions:
1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions & cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add gingerroot, orange zest, peppercorns & bay leaves and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Transfer to slow cooker. Add carrots and stock and stir well.
2. Cover & cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours, until carrots are tender. Add orange juice and parsley. Cover and cook on high for 20 minutes, until heated through. Discard bay leaves.
3. Puree soup in food processor in batches or with immersion blender. Season to taste with salt, if using. Ladle into serving bowls and drizzle with coconut milk, if using. Serve hot.
Note: I used the zest of one orange and then juiced that orange. I also used chicken stock and omitted the coconut milk.

eta: I keep hunks of peeled ginger in a ziploc in my freezer and just shave off as needed. I prefer this to trying to grate fresh ginger.

[firstbaby]

I made the Bora Bora Fireballs tonight and they were great. I halved the jalapeño and traded the cayenne pepper for chili powder. My kids thought they tasted like dumplings and I would make them again. I made the sunshine sauce last night to go with her Best Chicken so tonight I thinned out some mayo with rice wine vinegar for a "sauce". On the menu for the week is a few nom nom dishes including her eggs in purgatory, kahlua pork, and whole chicken with gravy. For me, the key is spending some time in the kitchen over the weekend to make my almond butter, mayo, guacamole and sautéing some peppers and onions so those are ready to go. I also made the kale and brussels sprouts salad from Epicurious someone had shared in the cooking forum. I leave off the cheese and it is perfectly compliant, keeps for several days and works great with fried eggs on top or as a side for lunch or dinner.

My friend shared the best tip for making mayo - she uses the small tube from her food processor inserted in to the lid of her blender to add oil. It adds it at the perfect rate and the mayo comes together so much faster than me adding it drip by drip!

Hellokitty, I work out 5 days a week doing whole30. The days I run (between 3 and 10 miles), I am diligent about a pre and post workout meal. The days I do pilates, I do fine without a pre-workout meal. When I first did whole30 it was a huge adjustment and my workouts were pretty low energy. But, over the last year I've run a personal best at every distance I've done, so I think it works out well over time

[essnce629]

Thanks for the carrot soup recipe Karen!

We'll have leftovers tonight probably, but I think I'll go ahead and make the chocolate chili recipe from Well Fed for tomorrow. Mondays are the one night DS1 doesn't have swimming so I have extra time to cook.
http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com...-chili-recipe/

Finally made the chocolate chili tonight! I only simmered it for about 50 minutes instead of 2 hours since we didn't have any more time, but it was still delicious and all of us loved it! I added a chopped red bell pepper as well. It starts out a little watery, but all the extra liquid cooks off.

I made the Bora Bora Fireballs tonight and they were great. I halved the jalapeño and traded the cayenne pepper for chili powder. My kids thought they tasted like dumplings and I would make them again.

My friend shared the best tip for making mayo - she uses the small tube from her food processor inserted in to the lid of her blender to add oil. It adds it at the perfect rate and the mayo comes together so much faster than me adding it drip by drip!

I'm really going to have to try out those Bora Bora Fireballs again. Mine were a complete disaster and no one in the family liked them!

Oh, and the absolute fastest way to make mayo is to just use an immersion/stick blender. Dump ALL the ingredients in (oil on top) and just blend it up for 30 seconds! Comes out perfect every time! You don't even have to use room temperature eggs. The whole process takes all of 1 minute tops. I will never buy mayo again it's so easy.

[Kindra178]

Dh has a bad cold so I wanted to make some poultry soup for him. I didn't have chicken so googled soup recipes for ground turkey. I made it a tad too salty (my fault, not the recipe's fault) but it was so good. I obviously skipped the rice and the parm. I didn't have shallots, so used onions instead. I also used thyme and garlic salt (from TJ's) instead of herbs de provence. Sauteing the onions, carrots, garlic cloves and red pepper for ten minutes gave the soup a rich taste.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/g...ipe/index.html

[jgenie]

I have steaks to make for dinner tonight. Any ideas on how to prepare? I don't have a grill so I need to cook in the oven or on the stovetop. TIA

[Meatball Mommie]

I would broil the steak if you can't grill it. I usually season our steaks with garlic pwdr, salt and pepper and broil for 4-6 min a side, depending on the thickness. Do you have a broiler pan?

I need recipes using ground beef. We raise cows as a family and I get tons if ground beef. I made chili tonight. I like stuffed peppers or cabbage but that calls for rice. I could do shepherd's pie with sweet potatoes instead... I can't save it all for bunless burgers or meatloaf!

[boolady]

I have steaks to make for dinner tonight. Any ideas on how to prepare? I don't have a grill so I need to cook in the oven or on the stovetop. TIA

I like to sear in a cast iron skillet, seasoned just with salt and pepper, then put the whole skillet into the oven to cook to desired degree of doneness. Searing both sides in the skillet seems to seal in lots of the juices.

[boolady]

I need recipes using ground beef. We raise cows as a family and I get tons if ground beef. I made chili tonight. I like stuffed peppers or cabbage but that calls for rice. I could do shepherd's pie with sweet potatoes instead... I can't save it all for bunless burgers or meatloaf!

Do you have the book It Starts with Food? When DH and I did a whole30, we made lots of their variations on ground beef garbage kind of dinners- the mets cooked with shredded cabbage or over salad, etcetera. Basically, bowl-type meals with lots of sautéed or stir fried veggies.

[SASM]

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/41781593...urried-cabbage

So, I am curious, how many of you are doing whole30 with exercise and how many are just focusing on the eating part and not doing the exercise part? If you are excercising, I'm curious as to what kind of exercises you've been doing and how often.

Last time I did whole30, I still had a very fresh knee injury and pretty much wasn't able to do much. In fact, that was one reason why I wanted to do whole30, to try to tweak my diet, since I wasn't able to exercise as much as I'd like (for wt loss). This time, I thought I'd do the same thing, but I've started doing some aqua aerobics. I know, it sounds totally old lady. However, I had friends (who are YOUNGER than me, lol), who wanted to go, and I've always wanted to try it, AND my knee is better, BUT I am so afraid to screw it all up again, I want to avoid anything with high impact (which is what I'm normally used to). So, aqua aerobics is it and it's been nice going with friends too. I've gone 3x in the past wk and really like it and am impressed with how great the resistance training is (with the foam weights), and that it doesn't bother my knee like other higher impact exercise. It's so much more fun, than working out on land. I'm also trying to get back into pilates, although I want to avoid any exercises where I am on my knees, so that rules out several moves.

That sounds YUMMY!! Going to try that one! I am still reading the book! LOVE Michelle Tam!!

Good for you for doing water aerobics!! When I train for my tri's, I would see a TON of younger ladies in the water aerobics classes with the older ladies. They LOVED it!! Low impact but it was quite a workout...but even more so, the older ladies were a HOOT!!! I sooooo wished that I could skip the laps and do a class with them. Instead I would just reap the benefits of chatting in the locker room. I bet it is FUN!!! Have a blast!! LOVE trying new stuff! DS's New Year's Resolution is to run as many 5K's as he can, I am trying to find a good C25K program for both of us to train together after school (or in the AM if we are motivated). Sooo...other than that, I am just walking the dogs. I miss tri training...just haven't umped back in since the move.