I decided that part of that cleansing this year would include 30 days following the Whole30 way of eating. Basically, this means I eat lots of vegetables, fruit, meat/seafood, eggs, and some nuts and seeds and specific fats. What I am choosing to abstain from for 30 days: added sugar of any kind (real or artificial), alcohol, grains (even the ones without gluten), legumes (including soy in all its forms), dairy, carrageenan, MSG, and added sulfites. This requires really reading labels and knowing my food. Most purchased chicken broth, for example, has sugar added and soy oil too. What I purchased tasted the same and cost about the same too, go figure. I've opted to use organic ingredients as much as I possibly can and favor local foods as well.
Now I don't plan to give up all of these things forever and I think some of the science behind their reasoning has not been conclusively proven. Different people can argue opposing ideas with the same study results. I'm also not doing this to deprive myself or lose weight. I do expect there will be some long-term changes. What? We'll have to see what October brings.
As I said, this is about renewal. About conscious consumption. About choosing. About focus. About preparation and anticipation. About challenge. About strength. About awareness.
Enough of all that; you want to know if what I'm eating is awful or awesome. Well, not everything has been awesome, but nothing has been awful. Here are some highlights:
Breakfast is mostly eggs, scrambled or poached, with various veggies added. But this egg baked in a tomato grown in a friend's garden was notable. Next time I would probably hollow out the tomato the night before and let it drain on paper towels as it gave off quite a bit of liquid that I had to drain off.
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| Egg baked in hollowed out tomato. Baked at 350 for about 25 min. |
For lunch I usually take dinner leftovers. However, I did make some crab cakes from Dungeness crab Rob and I caught the week before and I froze planning for this month. The binder in them is coconut flour and egg. Added chopped red peppers and green onions, a bit of regular mustard, and some seasoning - mix gently. I put them in silicone muffin cups and pressed lightly, then baked at 375 for about 20 min. or so. Once cooled a bit they popped right out and were easy to freeze for later. I put some in a tomato like the egg above and ate it right away. So good! Here are some crab cakes over wilted spinach and topped with salsa:
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| The lighting at work isn't great, but it tasted good. |
The soup ingredients and directions:
2-3 tsp coconut oil or avocado oil
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
4 C chopped tomatoes (I had a mix of types and colors from friend's garden and CSA)
1 chopped onion
4 C vegetable broth (no added vegetable oil, sugar, MSG, etc. weird stuff gets added where it isn't needed)
2 bay leaves
Season to taste with: salt, pepper, dill, red pepper flakes if you like
In a dutch oven or large soup pot, warm oil and add onion, sweet potatoes, and bay leaves to cook and caramelize a little - 5-10 min. Add tomatoes and a bit of salt and pepper and cook another 5 min. until bright. Add the broth. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for about 20 min. until sweet potatoes are soft. If using fresh dill, add now; if using dried add with broth. Remove from heat and remove bay leaves. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. (Or let cool a bit and blend in batches in a blender.) Taste and add seasonings as you like. I added chopped chicken-apple sausage, warmed in a pan, for some meals. It wasn't easy to find one without added sweeteners - or soy, cheese, etc., etc. Got mine at Costco. Soup alone is good warm or cold. I'll note that I didn't peel my tomatoes. I think the skins blend up fine, but if they bother you then by all means go through the hassle of removing them.
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| Soup with sausage added on top in my favorite soup mug. |
First, roast 4 cups of chopped tomatoes, 1 chopped red onion, 2 garlic cloves w/drizzle of avocado oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste at 400 for about 40 min. This part can be made a day or so in advance. I used about 1/3 of this in the braise and saved the rest to top eggs and hash browns a couple of mornings. If you are making more than 2 cod portions you'll need more of the roasted veggies.
Cod portions for # you are making
1.5 or so tsp avocado oil
Roasted veggies described above
Couple 2-3 big handfuls spinach (chopped if not using the baby leaf type)
Orange juice (100% juice - nothing added) to cover at least 1/2 way up the fish
Seasonings to taste
Warm oil in the pan and add fish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and quickly sear on each side over medium to medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and add roasted veggies around a bit on top of fish. Add orange juice so it is almost 1/2 way up the fish. Add handfuls of spinach. It cooks way down, I promise. Top with a bit more juice. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top of spinach. Cover and let cook until the fish is done. It only takes about 6 minutes depending upon thickness. I served over a half of a baked purple-skinned potato. (I needed the potato because I ate this after a run.)
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| I really enjoyed all the flavor layers in this dish. It felt like a treat. |
What is October whispering to you in this moment?
Here is the complete food log for week one, if anyone is interested. (Food nerds like me.)
Oct. 1
Breakfast:
2 cups of coffee w/light coconut milk
1 baked egg in a tomato ramekin w/salt & pepper and 1/2 tsp salsa
AM snack:
1 small apple
Lunch:
2 small crab cakes over wilted spinach with 1.5 tbsp salsa
small Banana
Dinner:
1.5 c Tomato-Sweet potato soup w/chicken apple sausage
2 plums
Oct. 2
Breakfast:
2 cups of coffee w/light coconut milk
1/2 chicken apple sausage
AM snack:
small banana
Lunch:
2 c Tomato-Sweet potato soup w/chicken apple sausage
2 plums
PM snack:
1/4 c cashews
Dinner:
Cod, spinach, and roasted tomatoes & red onions braised in orange juice
1/2 purple potato
Oct. 3
Breakfast:
2 cups of coffee w/light coconut milk
1/2 purple potato hashbrowns
2 scrambled eggs, topped with leftover spinach, and roasted tomatoes & red onions with some braising juices
Lunch:
2 c Tomato-Sweet potato soup
2 plums
Dinner:
2 c Tomato-Sweet potato soup w/chicken apple sausage
Oct. 4
Breakfast:
2 cups of coffee w/light coconut milk
1/2 purple potato hashbrowns
2 scrambled eggs, topped with leftover spinach, and roasted tomatoes & red onions with some braising juices
Lunch:
Spinach salad with broiled salmon (1/2), hardboiled egg, tomato, sliced almonds, and orange vinaigrette
half apple
Dinner:
Chicken roasted with apples, onions, fennel, purple potato, sweet potato (apple cores in chickens and 1/2 C each of apple cider vinegar and water added to pan) Served with pan juices thickened with coconut flour
1 C OJ
Oct. 5
Breakfast:
2 cups of coffee w/light coconut milk
Banana
Lunch:
Chicken roasted with apples, onions, fennel, purple potato, sweet potato (apple cores in chickens and 1/2 C each of apple cider vinegar and water added to pan)
Dinner:
Spinach salad with roasted chicken, apples, asian pears, carrots, red pepper, hardboiled egg, fennel, avocado, and sliced almonds with orange vinaigrette
Remaining 1/4 apple and asian pear sliced on the side
Oct. 6
Breakfast:
1 cup of coffee w/light coconut milk
2 eggs scrambled with 1/2 salmon filet and roasted tomatoes & red onions
Lunch:
Chicken roasted with apples, onions, fennel, purple potato, sweet potato
PM Snack:
Banana
Dinner:
Spinach salad with roasted chicken, apples, asian pears, carrots, red pepper, hardboiled egg, fennel, avocado, and sliced almonds with orange vinaigrette
Oct. 7
Breakfast:
2.5 c coffee with unsweetened hemp milk
2 poached eggs with tbsp salsa
1 purple plum
Lunch:
1 c Tomato-Sweet potato soup w/chicken apple sausage
Roasted chicken slices
PM snack:
Banana
Dinner:
Curry with roasted chicken, yellow squash, green cabbage, carrots, onion, garlic, and basil topped with avocado. With light coconut milk and chicken stock
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