Pork Fried "Rice"

This is a great way to use up left-over pork. It's also a great way to get your family to eat LOTS and LOTS of veggies. 

Ingredients:

8-12 oz. pork, diced

1 can sliced water chestnuts

1 head bok choy, roughly chopped

2 carrots, quartered length-wise and sliced 

1/2 zucchini, chopped

1/2 c. green onions or regular onion

olive oil

2 eggs

coconut aminos

fish sauce

garlic (fresh or powder)

ginger (fresh or powder)

salt

pepper

"riced" cauliflower

sesame oil

Chop up your veggies and your pork. 

Cook your pork (or warm up leftover pork--which is what I did).  Cook in some olive oil, fish sauce, and coconut aminos.  I just drizzled some of each over the top of the pork in the pan. Remove from pan and set aside. 

Saute your veggies in 2 batches.  In the first one, cook the carrots, zucchini and onions together.  The second batch will include the bok choy and water chestnuts.  The first batch will take a little bit longer to cook until tender.  (Thinking back on it, I would probably cook the zucchini with the bok choy rather than the carrots.)  Set the veggies aside.

In a bowl, whisk eggs, a dash of coconut aminos, some salt, pepper, garlic and ginger all together.  Scramble in the same pan used to cook everything else.  Set aside and make sure it's cut up pretty small. 

Add your "riced" cauliflower to the pan.  Pour a little more coconut aminos on here, and some of the other spices if you think it's required.  Mix all the veggies and meat in.  Cook for a couple minutes until the cauliflower is tender and everything is heated back through.  Drizzle with sesame oil. 

Enjoy!  What veggies and meat do you like to throw in your fried rice?

Pumpkin Bake

I love Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving, and LUCKILY my whole30 will be over in time for me to get some sweetened, creamy pumpkin pie.  I'm so excited to try this Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie!  Not only is my whole30 over, but Thanksgiving is my dairy reintroduction day!

However, as soon as Fall hit, I was sure in the mood for some pumpkin something.  This was a delicious snack and breakfast.  Oh my!  It hit the spot.  So, if you are trying to figure out something to make in place of a pumpkin pie, this is just the thing for you!  Oh, and P.S. My 1-year-old little girl just gobbled this up!

1-15 oz can pumpkin puree

1 c. coconut milk

2 eggs

2 T. pumpkin pie spice

2 t. cinnamon
2 T. honey (optional-omit for Whole30)

Preheat oven to 350*.  Blend all of the ingredients together until fulling incorporated.  Pour into 6- 1/2 cup ramekins.  Bake for 30 minutes or until set and an inserted knife comes out clean. 

DAY 30! November 20, 2012

I enjoyed today.  Went to MOPS today at a local church.  Met a bunch of wonderful moms.  Spent the afternoon in a quiet house with my little girl sleeping away. Went over and spent the evening with my in-laws.  And that is a real treat.  Not even joking.  We get along great.  Love them!

Menu

Breakfast: 
slice of Apple Cinnamon Bread (recipe to come on Friday!!)
eggs

Rooibos Tea

Snack:
None

Lunch: 

Squasage Casserole
Pepitas

Snack: 

Apple Cinnamon Bread (I really need to be careful)

Dinner:  

Rack of Lamb (AKA Lamb Lollipops)
Potato with Ghee, salt and pepper
Broccoli
Salad with Oil/Vinegar Dressing

Snack: 

[Note: unless otherwise specified, I drink water at every meal and throughout the day.  I don't drink much else.]

How I Felt

Still going strong!  YAY!

Sausage Stuffed Squash/ "Squasage" Casserole

The ingredients for these 2 recipes are identical.  It's really just a matter of preference in how you'd like to serve them.  Is it going to be a main dish, or a side?  Just for 4, or a group?  These are both "hurry it up" type meal.  You can revise it to just the ol' cook in the oven method if you'd like to, but I rarely allow myself enough time for that unless I'm really on top of the ball.

2 acorn or 2 butternut squash
1 lb Italian Sausage (store-bought or homemade)
1 carrot, chopped finely
1 stalk celery, chopped finely
1/2 red onion, chopped finely
2 T. Italian seasoning
Salt
Pepper
1 egg
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped finely
Olive Oil

Sausage Stuffed Squash 

Cut, seed, and peal the butternut or acorn squash.
(Save the seeds for pepitas!) I used a butternut squash and sliced the top solid part and set those aside. Place the two squash "bowls" into a microwavable glass dish (such as pyrex) with a 1/2" of water.  Microwave for about 5 minutes, or until tender, but not too tender.

In a frying pan, mix the sausage, carrot, celery, onion, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.  Cook until sausage is done. Add 1 egg and scramble the mix (it should not be very egg-y).  Add the parsley and drizzle with a little more olive oil.  Scoop into squash bowls and broil in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until nice and hot and the meat is slightly browned.

With the slices of squash, you should microwave those on a microwavable, oven-safe plate or tray (I used my small stone). Make sure they are covered  Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and broil along with the sausage bowl.

Serves 4 as a main dish this way.

"Squasage Casserole"

Prepare your butternut or acorn squash, by cutting in half, seeding, and peeling.  Cube the squash, place in a dish, and microwave, covered, for about 5 minutes, or until slightly tender.  (This can be shorter or longer depending on how much time you have.

Prepare the sausage the same way as above.  Mix with the squash cubes, place in a casserole dish, and bake until heated through, squash is completely tender, and ready to serve.

This way is great as a side!

Enjoy your Squasage! 


What other sweet or savory squash sides do you enjoy for the holidays?

Day 29, November 19, 2012

Is it really already Day 29?  Time flies when you cook creatively. :)

Menu

Breakfast: 
Grain-Free Pumpkin Pancakes with Maple Pecan Glaze
Eggs

Snack:
None

Lunch: 

"Squasage Casserole" 

Snack: 

Rooibos Tea

Dinner:  

Pad Thai  (The only change I made was using "Zucchini" Pasta instead of Spaghetti Squash)

Snack: 

[Note: unless otherwise specified, I drink water at every meal and throughout the day.  I don't drink much else.]

How I Felt

As I was talking to my sister today, she asked me if I felt like I was 70% better, 80% better...  I answered that I feel like a week or two ago, I would have answered that I feel 75% better.  In the last few days though, I feel like I've seen a 90%-95% improvement from before I started eating this way.  I am SO encouraged.  I love that I enjoy almost every moment of every day now.  Sure, I have moments of annoyances, but so do "normal" people.  I'm not dreading my little girl's babbling anymore, feeling like it's making my headache worse.  I enjoy having my hubby help/comment in the kitchen while I'm cooking instead of feeling like he's getting in the way.  I love how I feel!  I can't believe how much food really can help you feel so much better!  

Day 28, November 18, 2012

Today I still felt great.  We had LIFE Group (our Church Small Group) Thanksgiving Dinner this afternoon.  The host family had the meat, and, although other families brought sides, I wanted to make sure I could eat something, so I took a couple of things too.  Last night I made a couple of small loaves of Cranberry Orange Nut Coconut Bread, so I took that today.  This afternoon, my hubby juiced apples to make homemade wassail...that was a treat.  I also made Spiced Cranberry Jelly Sauce that I took.  Then, for a side, I made (what my husband has officially dubbed) "Squasage Casserole". This is a yummy casserole of sausage, veggies, and squash.  Good.  Since I was cooking the squash, I saved out the seeds and made Roasted Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper Pepitas. We had a great time eating and fellowshipping, and what better way to end the night than to play "The Newly-Wed Game".  Guess who won!  WE DID! THAT'S RIGHT!  I love being able to actually enjoy the time at places without headaches and joint pain.  It really does make the evening (the whole day, really) much more enjoyable.

Menu

Breakfast: 
Grain-Free Pumpkin Pancakes with Maple Pecan Glaze
Eggs
Tea

Snack:
None

Lunch: 

Nice Big Ol' Salad

Snack: 

I munched on a few Pepitas as they came out of the oven.

Dinner:  

Turkey
Ham (a bit)
Squasage Casserole :)
Spiced Cranberry Sauce
Pepitas
Cranberry Orange Nut Coconut Bread
Wassail

Snack: 

[Note: unless otherwise specified, I drink water at every meal and throughout the day.  I don't drink much else.]

How I Felt

Slight SLIGHT headache tonight.  I think I overdid it with the sweet treats... mainly the wassail.  Even though I only had 2 glasses of it, that is still a LOT of sugar in apple juice.  At least it was FRESH JUICED so there was NO added sugar, but still.  I'll have to be careful about that over the next few weeks. 

Day 27, November 17, 2012

I love my family. It is so stinkin' cute when my little girl just snuggles up to my hubby.  Like Oh My Goodness cute.  He worked so hard and long this week, so she didn't really get to see him a ton.  I could tell she really missed him, and this morning it was snuggles with daddy on the couch, or floor, or while he was holding her. LOVE.

Menu

Breakfast: 
Grain-Free Pumpkin Pancakes with Maple Pecan Glaze
Tea... guess what kind??? Of course. Rooibos. 

Snack:

Lunch: 

Cucumber Boat Sandwich similar to this one

Nuts
Almond Milk

Snack: 

Dinner:  

Guero Canelo Carne Asada Steak with cabbage, fermented red onions, cucumbers, pico de gallo, salsa verde, and lime juice
Paleo Samoa Cookie

Snack: 

[Note: unless otherwise specified, I drink water at every meal and throughout the day.  I don't drink much else.]

How I Felt

I felt REALLY good today.  : )

Day 26, November 16, 2012

Well, it doesn't seem like the small amount of added sugar affected me to this point.  Woohoo!  That doesn't mean I'm going to go all sugar crazy and stuff now, but it does make me feel like there is hope that I won't have to be a Paleo Natzi my whole life.

Menu

Breakfast: 
Eggs

Snack:
None

Lunch: 

Sausage Stuffed Butternut Squash (YUM!)

Snack: 

Rooibos Tea

Dinner:  

Cucumber Tomato Salad
Wings (6 Honey BBQ, 1 Hot, 1 Spicy Garlic) From BDubs (AKA Buffalo Wild Wings)
Samoa Cookie

Snack: 

Cashews
Rooibos Tea

[Note: unless otherwise specified, I drink water at every meal and throughout the day.  I don't drink much else.]

How I Felt

I felt good, good, good all day long. 

Day 25, November 15, 2012

I may be making a terrible decision here.  If I am, please don't judge me.  I'm trying to do the best thing for MY body that I can.  Let me explain.

First, to give you a little bit of a background on this before reading on, please read MY Paleo Philosophy.

November 22, 2012 is Thanksgiving Day.  I LOVE Thanksgiving.  (I think it is often far too overlooked, but that's another story.)  I also LOVE enjoying SAD "Thanksgiving foods" like pumpkin pie and pecan pie, mashed potatoes, Honey Baked Ham, etc.  This Thanksgiving will land on Day 32 of my Whole30 challenge.  Let me say, heading into this time of the year Whole30 has definitely been a challenge.  It is seriously the ONE time all year long that I actually want to eat sweets more than a couple of times a week.  The main reason for that is that I love baking those said treats.  However, I haven't baked so far up to this point.  (Segway... let's get back on track.)  I am going to wait until Day 32 to start my reintroduction phase, starting with dairy.  I know that a lot of times with the reintroduction foods, sugar (whether in the form of sugar, maple or honey) is also reintroduced at the same time.  What if SUGAR is my trigger food?  How would I know if, on Thanksgiving, dairy or sugar caused my headaches the next day.  So... here comes my decision.  I'm giving leeway on my Whole30 journey.  I'm having a bit of "concentrated" sugar (more than just fruits) each day for the next few days to see how I react... everything else in check.  Then day 30 and 31 will be clean.  Very clean. Then Day 32 comes and I can evaluate dairy more fairly.  DO I KNOW that I get migraines with sugar?  Then perhaps I'll have to skip the pumpkin pie (sad day) this year and have my dairy in the form of cheese and/or a glass of milk instead.  That way I will KNOW if dairy is the cause or not instead of wondering whether it really was the dairy or was it the sugar? It makes sense to me.  It makes sense to my husband (or at least he gave the "right" answer and said it did.)  So that's what I'm going to try.  Is it a terrible idea?  Perhaps.  But that's what I'm going to do.  So I'm not REALLY asking your opinion. : ) 

Menu

Breakfast: 
Huevos

Snack:
none

Lunch: 

Meatloaf Skillet-- and it's GONE!  (It was tasty, but I was pretty over it after having it so much)

Snack: 

a Paleo Samoa (the size of a quarter, but 1/4" thick)

Dinner:  

Balsamic Tomato Chicken Bake.  This was really good.  The ONLY problem I had with it was that my 1-year-old, who usually will not eat chicken unless it's falling apart shredded in soup, ate an entire chicken tender, probably more.  I made 4 (2 for each of us).  So my hubby and I were both kind of hungry still after dinner.  However, we went for a walk right after dinner, so it was probably good.

Snack: 

I didn't have any meat thawed, so I had to figure out another snack and I didn't want an egg.  I had nuts, olives, a pickle and Rooibos Tea (homemade blend of spices added).

[Note: unless otherwise specified, I drink water at every meal and throughout the day.  I don't drink much else.]

How I Felt

It was SUCH a good day.  I'll leave it at that.  No need to say more. 

Day 24, November 14, 2012

Menu

Breakfast: 
Sausage, Green Beans, and Sweet Potatoes
Eggs

Part of 1/2 a Grapefruit (so like 1/4)

Snack:
Rooibos Tea

Lunch: 

Meatloaf Skillet.  Only one more day of this until it is gone and I won't have wasted food!

Blackberries
The rest of my 1/2 of grapefruit

Snack: 

None

Dinner:  

Char-broiled Burgers
Plantain and Sweet Potato Fries
Sauteed--Green Peppers and Onions

Snack: 

[Note: unless otherwise specified, I drink water at every meal and throughout the day.  I don't drink much else.]

How I Felt

Nothing to report, so I guess that means I'm good, good, good!

Day 23, November 13, 2012

Today I went to get my blood work done.  I know it will probably take a couple of weeks to get the results back, but I'm sure curious to see if there is anything "wrong" with me that would actually show up in these tests.  I sure hope not, but I'm curious nonetheless.

Menu

Breakfast: 
eggs

Snack:
I had a small taste of cranberry sauce that I made. I'm experimenting with recipes for the holidays.  I was curious more than hungry because I made it yesterday and it needed some time to chill overnight.  

Lunch: 

Meatloaf Skillet... yes still pluggin away at the meatloaf.  I like the meatloaf skillet, but I'm not sharing the actual meatloaf with you because it was subpar.

Rooibos Tea

Snack: 
none

Dinner:  

Sausage, Green Beans, and Sweet Potatoes

Snack: 

None

[Note: unless otherwise specified, I drink water at every meal and throughout the day.  I don't drink much else.]

How I Felt

It was a good morning!  All day went by really well.  I had a meeting tonight and had a slight headache as I left, but we also covered A LOT while there, so I think it was more just lots of thoughts going through my head really quickly.  It was a good day and evening and very productive. 

10 uses for Leftover Sweet Potatoes + Pan Fried Sweet Potato Dollars

Leftover baked sweet potatoes are wonderful.  They are so versatile. Here are just a few ways that you can use leftover sweet potatoes. (I'm sure these ideas would work for regular baked potatoes as well.)

1)  Eat them as a baked sweet potato again This one seems kind of boring... so let's make the rest of them a little more fun.

2)  Twice baked sweet potatoes  (check out this yummy recipe!)

3)  Make crispy baked potato bites  Simply cut them into bite-sized pieces, smash them down, drizzle with olive oil and either sweet or savory spice/herb blends and make something similar to these wonderful bites.

4)  Mashed Sweet potatoes Scoop the potato out of the peel and add a sweet or savory twist.

5)  Use them as a topping for Shepherd's Pie  A good fix for some much wanted and needed comfort food on a brisk day

6)  Omlet filler Chop it up and throw it inside an omelet along with any other leftover veggies you have.

7)  Sweet potato empanadas (Paleo Empanada Pastry Recipe, Filling Recipe which is easily adaptable for Paleo)

8)  Add to an already cooked up beef stew or soup  Adds another flavor to the soup.  Leave them as chunks, or mash 'em up to use as a soup thickener.

9)  Sweet potato pancakes like these!

10)  Pan Fried Sweet Potato Dollars:

Ingredients
cooked sweet potatoes
olive oil or coconut oil
salt/pepper  or cinnamon and nutmeg
cayenne pepper (optional)

Cut the leftover baked sweet potatoes into 1/8" to 1/4" slices.  Take off peel if you wish, but it's not necessary.

Heat a pan with oil (just coating the bottom evenly) to med. to med-high heat.  Place potatoes in a single layer in the pan.  Sprinkle with either salt and pepper or cinnamon and nutmeg (just SPRINKLE) depending on whether you would like more of a savory sweet potato or sweet sweet potato in the end.  Add a TINY dash or cayenne pepper over the potatoes if you would like a little kick.  YES! Even with the sweet ones.

Once the potatoes are golden brown on the bottom, flip each one and let it cook to perfection.

YUM!  This makes a great side to go along with your eggs in the morning.  It also would be great paired with pork medallions or a chicken dish!  I suppose you could eat these alongside pretty much any meat and veggie!  SO TASTY!

Day 22, November 12, 2012

So far, it's been a very productive morning.  Little girl was up pretty late last night so she slept in.  We got up at 6 and Z headed off for work.  I cleaned up the kitchen and started the dishwasher.  I also refilled all the nut containers, which, although it's a very easy task, it still took a few minutes because I had to make some switches in sizes of containers for which type of nuts in order to incorporate them well.  Got a chicken carcass in the crockpot to make some chicken stock.  Fed the girl when she got up.  Started laundry.

Menu

Breakfast: 
Eggs cooked in coconut oil
Rooibos Tea
Some nuts (while I was refilling containers--same time period as breakfast, so I'm including it here.)

Snack:
none

Lunch: 

(I was terrible...no protein and little fat!)
Sweet Potato Dollars
Veggie Sticks (Carrots and Celery)
Apple sauce

Snack: 

chicken broth (homemade that I was straining and getting ready for dinner!)

Dinner:  

Creamed Chicken and Vegetable Soup (or Gravy)
Small -SMALL- amount of mashed potatoes (I made them for my husband and didn't feel like eating a sweet potato, so I had a taste of his.)

Snack: 

1/4 c. Mixed nuts (nuts that I mixed):  cashews, almonds, macadamias, pecans, walnuts

[Note: unless otherwise specified, I drink water at every meal and throughout the day.  I don't drink much else.]

How I Felt

Sciatica, will you please leave me alone?  Thanks. Much appreciated.  And then around 10:30 a.m. the joint pain moved in.  No headache at all.  I didn't take any acetaminophen or anything and by 3 p.m. I was completely fine.  No ills to speak of at all.  

Day 21, November 11, 2012

Oh, Sunday, Sunday.  I love Sundays!  Today we got up and enjoyed breakfast as a family, realized that if we hurried, we could indeed make it to Sunday School.  So, we all got dressed, ready to go,  and loaded in the car within 15 minutes.  Got to church a little bit late, but not too bad.  This afternoon I enjoyed a Jesse Tree Ornament Exchange.  I can't believe it's only a little over 2 1/2 weeks until December and the start of Advent!   After the Ornament Exchange, the family loaded up and went to church for our evening service.  We enjoyed some prayer and fellowship time afterwards.  Then my little family of three enjoyed some breakfast for dinner.  What a good day.  And what's icing on the cake but that I didn't have any hint of joint pain or headache all day long! What a huge blessing that is.

Menu

Breakfast: 
Eggs and Rooibos Tea

Snack:
None

Lunch: 

Fajitas with pico de gallo and guacamole
Apple with almond butter

Snack: 

None

Dinner:  

Bacon wrapped sirloin steak
eggs
hashbrowns
Chamomile Tea

Snack: 

None

[Note: unless otherwise specified, I drink water at every meal and throughout the day.  I don't drink much else.]

How I Felt

All day long I had NO headache and NO joint pain.  At all. Not even sciatica or lower back pain. 

Day 20, November 10, 2012

Menu

Breakfast: 
Zucchini, Steak, and Eggs
Rooibos Tea

Snack:
none

Lunch: 

Hotdog
Apple with almond butter

So my husband participated in a "Corn Hole" Tournament.  We decided very last minute that K and I would go along with him.  Luckily I grabbed an apple and almond butter.  At the event they had a snack bar, but it was very limited.  I ate the only "safe-ish" thing there was.  A hotdog. No bun.  Planning ahead sure would have been nice. Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.

Snack: 

Hard boiled egg with salt and pepper sprinkled on it.
Walnuts and Macadamia Nuts

Dinner:  

5 or 6 babyback pork ribs served with Sweet and Zesty BBQ Sauce
1 small chicken breast
Broccoli and Carrots
Parsnips
Fruit Salad
Salad
Just a couple fries

Snack: 

No snack needed. At all.  I'm stuffed.

[Note: unless otherwise specified, I drink water at every meal and throughout the day.  I don't drink much else.]

How I Felt

I felt pretty decent all day.  Slight headache just in the early afternoon.  Otherwise I was good.  I'm going to try to be extra diligent about getting a LOT of water tomorrow.  Goodnight, world. 

Sweet and Zingy BBQ Sauce

Today I had the privilege of helping my dad celebrate his birthday!  I love family gatherings because no matter what stage in life you're in, you always come together and have a good time.  Doesn't it seem like with certain friends it's hard to get together if your life stages to line up?  Yes, with true friends some things never change and it doesn't seem to matter.  But with "convenient" friends, a change in the friendship is bound to happen.  Once you're married, dynamics often change around friends that aren't married.  Once you have kids dynamics usually change around friends around friends without kids.  It's just a part of life.  With my family, on the other hand, this NEVER happens.  They are always absolutely thrilled for each new stage of life that I enter, and I them.

Then there's the food.  I absolutely love food, and it makes it even better to eat it with those I love.  So, tonight, we did exactly that.  We all loaded up to my mom and dad's house, where my mom had prepared an amazing meal.  It was really much more of a feast.  Oh the bountiful goodness of all the food and fun that surrounded us.   

On the menu:

Fruit Salad- cantaloup, honey dew, strawberries, pineapple, grapes

Salad- lettuce, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes with a variety of dressings (I chose olive oil/vinegar)

Broccoli and Carrots- boiled and lightly salted

Parsnips- boiled, cooled, then sauteed with olive oil, salt, and pepper

Coleslaw (Not legal for me, but looked good)

Bread (Again, looked good, but not on my plate)

French Fries (I had just a few)

Chicken- marinated in olive oil/vinegar, garlic and herb seasonings

Baby Back Pork Ribs- cooked to melt-in-your-mouth status in the crockpot, sitting in an this amazing

                Sweet and Zingy BBQ Sauce, with extra on the side to smoother the ribs in.  

Brownies and Ice Cream for dessert (I graciously passed, although they smelled incredible!)

I, perhaps, ate a little too much as we started eating before 6 p.m. and it is now 9:03 and I am sitting her still full to the brim.  But oh goodness.  The sauce was great on the ribs and on the chicken.  It was one of those sauces where it would have been a very sad thing to see even the smallest amount left on the plate.  Every drip really needed to be eaten.  So, I did my duty and soaked up the last of it with some more broccoli, carrots, and parsnips.  What is the recipe for this sauce?  Well, let me first say that my mom is the genius behind this one.  She knows that I love ribs.  She also knows that my hubby doesn't love them as much as I do, so I don't cook them very often.  Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce, although very tasty, is not a good choice of sauces for me to eat.  So, she decided to be amazing and make one up that I could have--on Whole30--and it tasted IN.CRED.I.BLE.  

Without further ado, Mama J's amazing recipe:

Sweet and Zingy BBQ Sauce

1-15 oz. can tomatoes

1-8 oz. can tomato sauce

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 c. onion, diced

3/4 t. paprika

3/4 t. cayenne pepper

2 T. olive oil

2 T. vinegar

1/2 c. diced pineapple

1/2 c. diced apple

Combine all the ingredients and simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes.  Blend, in a blender or with a handheld immersion blender, until smooth.  Serve over ribs, pulled pork, chicken breasts, chicken wings, or any other meat you would pair with BBQ sauce. Oh, and make sure to enjoy and lick those fingers clean.

Zucchini "Pasta" (Without Any Fancy Tools)

To make Zucchini "Pasta", all you really need is a zucchini (actually, I had a Mexican squash, which is pretty much equivalent to a zucchini), a knife, and a cutting board.

Wash your squash.  Slice them thinly.  Stack the slices.  Slice thinly again.  What you should have are nice julienned squash without having a nice dent in your wallet.  No need to spend money on or find a place to store one of those spiffy spiralizers.


To make the "pasta", I put it in the skillet with a nice drizzle of olive oil, a generous portion or garlic, as well as some salt and pepper to taste.  Saute on low until tender and heated through, but not over done.
No one likes over done "pasta".  : )

Serving Suggestion:

Serve under Karissa's Meatballs, smothered in Karissa's Zesty Coconut Sauce.  Enjoy!

Karissa's Meatballs

The other day my friend Karissa posted her tantalizing meatball dinner on facebook.  It sounded so delish that I just had to have the recipe.  After I made up a batch and tried a few of them for lunch, I asked her if I could post the recipe--she was gracious enough to allow me to share it here!

Karissa's Meatballs

2 lb. lean ground beef
1 lb. sausage
2 eggs
1 minced onion (mine was kind of small)
1 minced bell pepper (I used 1/2 of a pepper)
6 minced baby bella mushrooms
2 T. dried basil or 1/2 c. fresh (approx. measurement before mincing)
4 cloves minced garlic
salt
pepper

Combine all of the ingredients well and form into meatballs, either the size of golf balls or slightly larger similar to that of a racquetball.   It makes about 4 dozen golf balls and 2 dozen racquetballs.  Bake at 400* for 15 or 25 minutes, relative to the size you formed your meatballs, flipping once half-way through baking.  Pour off undesired grease and broil for up to an additional 5 minutes making sure they don't burn.



(Note: If frozen, place in the oven at the beginning of the preheating cycle or let thaw for about an hour before ready to bake them.)

I'm so excited to now have 4 dozen of these little suckers stocked up in my freezer to make an amazing meal for my family on those nights that I haven't planned well for dinner, time gets away from me, or I simply want an easy dinner.

Update: I no longer have 4 dozen in my freezer due to the fact that we devoured several for dinner tonight.  They were excellent.

I suggest pairing them with Karissa's Zesty Coconut Sauce over Zucchini "Pasta".  You won't regret it.

Karissa's Zesty Tomato Coconut Sauce

This is an easy sauce to put together with very few ingredients.  I suggest that you enjoy sooner rather than later.

Karissa's Zesty Tomato Coconut Sauce

1 lb. tomatoes, blanched to remove skin
1 can coconut milk
1 can Rotel
1 can tomato sauce
1 T. Italian seasoning
1 t. garlic powder
salt
pepper
dash of cayenne pepper

(Italics not in Karissa's original recipe.  I added them to the batch I made.)

Combine all ingredients and blend well until smooth.  Bring to a gentle simmer and thoroughly heat through.  If you would like, let reduce until desired consistency is reached.

Serve over Spaghetti Squash or Zucchini "Pasta", along with Karissa's Meatballs, and enjoy!

Go ahead and make a large batch and put some in the freezer to go along with the extra meatballs you have!  Or you could enjoy a week of easy lunches for work.  

Day 19, November 9, 2012

Today has been quite the morning.  Poor little girl has an ear infection.  We had her 1-year-well-visit set up for today already, so I didn't take her yesterday afternoon when I suspected the infection.  That explains her clinginess and weird sleep patterns.

I saw my mom briefly today.  It's my dad's birthday today and that family is getting together to celebrate tomorrow.  She told my dad that she would have to wait for after my whole 30 to make the German Chocolate Cake for him.  How sweet of her, but totally unnecessary since I may or may not ever eat a regular piece of German Chocolate cake again.  Who am I kidding--I'll probably eat a small piece SOMETIME since it was the cake I always had for my birthday growing up.  But, I'm not ready for that kind of indulgence yet.   I feel like that's a good sign because it means that I'd rather be at the party and not eat dessert than not go to the party at all.  That's a good thing, right?   Anyways... on to the food for today.

Menu

Breakfast: 
Eggs
Pumpkin Bake

Snack:
None

Lunch: 

Meatloaf skillet.

When you have leftover meatloaf, or maybe I should say, when I have leftover meatloaf, I get tired of eating it as meatloaf all the time.  I used to eat it as a meatloaf sandwich, or over a big scoop of mashed potatoes.  I still have meatloaf in the fridge and I can't waste food, so I decided to whip up a skillet lunch with it.  A crumbled up piece of meatloaf, 1 carrot, 1 stalk of celery, a few mushrooms, some purple cabbage, garlic, onion, salt/pepper, mustard powder, and a big drizzle of oil later, I'm sitting down to eat a wonderful, colorful lunch.  

Snack: 

Dinner:  

Karissa's Meatballs and Zesty Tomato Sauce over Julienned Zucchini "Pasta"

Snack: 

Rooibos Tea

[Note: unless otherwise specified, I drink water at every meal and throughout the day.  I don't drink much else.]

How I Felt

Honestly, today was the worst day out of the last 19 days that I've had yet.  I had a headache and joint pain.   This morning I woke up feeling fine, but by about 11am I felt awful.  Tylenol kicked it, but it's still not fun.  It's actually very very frustrating.  Is it simply the food I'm eating?  Is it hormones from pregnancy?  Is it a change in weather and barometric pressure?  Is there something seriously wrong with me?  So many questions.