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Here you go, Jes ... Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Bacon Ingredients: 10 small brussels sprouts 2-4 slices of bacon, chopped optional: 1 to 2 Tbl diced onion 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced some oil or other fat Salt and pepper Method: Peel off any bad leaves from the brussels sprouts, and trim stems if woody. Cut sprouts in half lengthwise. Cut again if they are big. Heat pan to medium-high. Add bacon (and optionally onion if you like it) and cook until bacon is about half cooked. Add Brussels sprouts and cover the pan to steam the sprouts for a few minutes. Remove cover and cook until sprouts start to brown around the edges and the bacon crisps. Add garlic slices and fry 1 minute until softened. (or just use garlic powder) Salt and pepper to taste, serve hot, eat 'em up!

Jes! Try mayonnaise in the blender. I always thought it would be terribly difficult, but apparently the key is having all ingredients at room temperature. I tried it, and it was fast and easy and no disasters.

Higs! CC! More familiar names... Yay! I made the spaghetti squash fritters from Well Fed 2 tonight because I was cold (temperature is in the teens here in North Carolina!) and tired and wanted something warm and savory and comforting, and I cooked a bunch of spaghetti squash last night. Almond meal, eggs, onions, and cooked spaghetti squash... baking soda, cream of tarter, salt and pepper, and I added red pepper flakes. Mix up the batter, heat up some fat (I used bacon grease from sugar-free Pedersen's bacon), and cook for about 3 minutes on a side until brown and crispy. I put 'em on a plate, drizzled on some clarified butter, and ate them up. YUMMM. Extremely satisfying. They kind of remind me of potato lattkes, and if I'd had some nice, chunky, sugar-free applesauce, I would have had a little on the side. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to make them again. Soon. ann

So I need to rant for just a moment... Bone broth. What a dreadful name! Who in the world started that? This isn't some new, paleo, Whole30 invention; IT'S JUST A GOOD, BROWN STOCK. That's all it is. Brown the veggies, brown the meat and bones, use meaty bones, cook the stock long and slow. Stock. Lovely, dark, nutritious, rich, flavorful, gelatinous STOCK. Every time I read "bone broth" it conjours up horrible cannibalistic images in my mind... Yuck. But maybe it's just me. Here's a great YouTube video of a guy making perfect beef stock: Classic French "Best Quality" Brown Beef Stock Ok. I'm done now.

Mik, I think maybe adding even more lemon and some garlic might be just what that mayo needs. Thanks for the ideas. I also want to try some sauces that start with mayo, like maybe the kickass ketchup from Well Fed 2. Sissy, I totally agree... I had no idea how much I missed all of you until I started reading this thread. Nanny ... Hello!! ann

Oh it is great to see so many familiar names, and all the new ones. Yay, Dave, for getting so many of us back in one place. (I'm not an original, but I joined last August.) I started another W30 on January 1, 2015, so I've got a week done already. I'll hang with you lot for the full 30 days anyway, if you don't mind. Tonight I cooked what has become my usual big-but-not-huge cookup: turned the oven on, and: broiled four chicken leg/thigh quarters; then baked a package of sugar-free bacon; then roasted a spaghetti squash; and in the meantime seasoned and browned two pounds of ground beef. I've got aspsragus, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and broccoli in the fridge, and spinach and kale in the freezer. Big box of clementines on the kitchen counter, and I'm good to go for another few days. Finally made mayo in the blender. I know this is somewhat heretical, but ... I don't really like it. Too lemony, I think. I like lemon, but this does not taste good to me. I think I'll look at a few more recipes (I used Well Fed 2), and maybe try it with half lemon juice and half vinegar next time. I'm using it for tuna salad and chicken salad, and it looks gorgeous, with perfect consistency... I'm just not crazy about the flavor. Off to bed now. Nice to be back with you all ann

Dave! Good god, man, I've missed your vice. Voice! I've missed your VOICE. Stupid autocorrect. Ann (she of the leopard snuggie)

MeadowLily, NannyD, LadyShanny, and all you lurkers out there: Happy 2015! I started a W30 on January 1. Didn't think I would experience many of the mood symptoms, but here it is day 4 and yesterday I was tired and irritable. This time around, I find that all super interesting rather than depressing... even the relatively small amount of detoxing I need to do is having its way with me, my brain, and my body. All of that confirms I'm doing the right thing. Back to work on Monday, January 5, after two entire weeks off. I'm almost ready, I guess. :-) Thinking about the discussions last year about choosing a word for the year, I'm sticking with "nourish." It still describes what I need and what I want to do: nourish my body and mind and sprit, and bring those same forms of nourishment to others when and how I am able. Happy New Year to you all. Ann

Hello, dear MeadowLily. I've been out there riding my own bike and eating healthy food. This last week or so, I made the conscious choice to eat some treats, and to reintro wheat. Not thrilled with the results (headaches, joint pain, and bloating), so I'm backing off wheat again, and sugar, of course. I think I'll do another W15 or W30 in January, in order to reset everything, and then reintro non-wheat grains like rice and oatmeal. Dairy holds no appeal, so I haven't bothered to reintro it (other than using regular butter instead of clarified butter). Hope all is well with you and yours....I see you've been posting your usual fabulous photos; I've enjoyed them. Thanks for keeping the fire burning here. Ann

Today's adventure... we have heat again, thanks to the wonderful team at Raleigh Heating & Air. So what happened? There is a pump under our house, attached to/associated with our furnace and a/c. The pump's job is to pump away the water produced by condensation from both the heat and the a/c. Because water is involved, the pump has to get its power from a GFI outlet (like the one you probably have in your bathroom), so if there is a problem the outlet trips and no power flows. That's all a pretty good idea. However, in this neighborhood we have a LOT of power surges, brief power outages, etc., and the GFI trips fairly often. Last year, when the furnace wouldn't come on, I crawled under the house to re-set the GFI outlet and discovered that even when I re-set it I didn't get any power to the outlet... the power surge had been enough to fry the whole GFI outlet, not just trip it. So, the nice guys came out and replaced the outlet. This year, I turned on the furnace and nothing happened. I could have gone under the house and re-set the outlet, but honestly... I'm feeling too old and creaky to do that, plus, we had a ton of electrical outages recently, and I figured the outlet was fried again. But no! The nice man went under the house, re-set the outlet, and BOOM! we have heat. Now he's pouring water into the pump to make sure it is all still working correctly. So, yes, next time I'll go under there and push the little re-set button, and if nothing happens, THEN I'll call the service guys. But, for only $59, I'm happy to have him go under there and check everything out. ann

Nanny, how's it going today? Hope your energy is coming back stronger than ever. A few months after my surgery, several of my friend commented on the fact that they had never noticed before, but that I had never really stood up straight before! I was always in so much abdominal pain that I was usually slightly hunched over my belly. Better now, I assure you. ann

Higs! Hope the Fancy Dentist can help you. If you want to hear any more details about ahem, *mature* women and braces, I can tell you all about my success (at age 53, second round of braces) and my partner's success (age 67, fourth or fifth round of braces as an adult... finally found the right orthodontist!). ann

Nanny, after my hysterectomy (20 years ago) because of severe endometriosis, the surgeon told me that all my organs had been adhered together ... bowel, bladder, everything, and that he had to peel them apart. I totally sympathize! Hang in there... you should feel a lot better eventually, but it can take a while. ann

Not to change this lovely toity topic but... I have pulled out my journal from my first W30, read through the whole thing, and have decided to record food choices and track blood sugar for one week. Just need a little more control, and MUST get myself together in terms of taking lunches to work... not sure what my problem is, but every day I get super hungry and realize I have no food with me ... duh... who would be in charge of making sure I have lunch with me? Ummm, that would ME. ann

This morning I had Brussels sprouts sauteed with bacon and ground beef. Yum!