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Valentine's Day- What CAN we have?


LancerLott

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So I am hard pressed to figure out Valentine's Day. That and Halloween, I usually buy some dark chocolates, but we cannot have treats or sugar. A friend mentioned why not have a steak? Except, steak isn't special on the Whole30, as my husband and I have steak once a week now. We could make the mocha-rubbed steak from the recipe in the book, but seriously, I will miss having some chocolates. Anyone else struggling with this?

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Honestly, I've been at this so long I don't really sweat holiday "treats" anymore. Wine and chocolate are things I once loved but now understand deeply that they don't love me back. That's not the kind of valentine I'm interested in.

 

The mocha-rubbed steak is delicious. I've also made duck breast for special occasions with the chez panisse red cabbage recipe. That feels truly special to me and I love it. 

 

Isn't spending time with a cherished beloved, enjoying each other's company, preparing and eating delicious and nourishing food together, and whatever else that may lead to, enough? Sounds pretty wonderful to me.

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I think so; it's just another hump to get over! I haven't tried that steak yet; I am saving it for V-Day. Duck breast- I'd never thought to make that. Idk if I can even get it at a grocery store. Where do you get yours? That red cabbage recipe sounds great- I will have to find that one!

 

Can I ask you, do you do the Whole30 365 days a year? Did you add anything back to your diet after the Whole30? 

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Sometimes we do wings and bacon wrapped scallops, that's always something to look forward to.  Because I cook every meal we eat and we prefer not to eat out (mostly me, I prefer not to eat out), I don't find a lot of celebration in eating anymore.  That's not meant to sound sad, it's totally not.  But we eat so well and the food is so delicious nearly all the time that it's pretty hard to make something even MORE delicious. Plus I still have to cook it and then we have to clean it up, so.....  ;)

 

Most of the time when the hubby and I need some time together we turn our phones/computers/tablets off, snuggle up on the couch and enjoy a movie together or turn on some music and chat or take the dog for a long walk.  Our "together" stuff has nearly nothing to do with food any more and that is totally fine by me. :)

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I get it, ladyshanny. We never ate out much to begin with, and when we did/do, it's because we are really busy and cooking every meal gets to be too much sometimes. We go to restaurants that use fresh, local, good meats, vegetables, though it's hard to get enough vegetables so we usually split a big salad and another dinner entree'. This week I cooked in batches, and that worked very well! One night we will have Applegate Farms hot dogs in sweet potato buns because they taste so good with homemade condiments and they're a time saver for sure. :D

You are right though, about the food we make at home being better! But in Seattle, there are lots of good restaurants around; we have to make sure that we don't get any salad dressings with sugar in them though- we ask for oil and vinegar on the side now.

When my hubby and I need time together we do a similar thing. Since we don't have cable or a couch, we watch an episode on Netflix in bed (which we know we aren't supposed to read or watch TV in bed, but we have little choice). I am tyring to get him to the point of taking walks together also, because watching an episode nearly every night isn't optimal. :)

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I think so; it's just another hump to get over! I haven't tried that steak yet; I am saving it for V-Day. Duck breast- I'd never thought to make that. Idk if I can even get it at a grocery store. Where do you get yours? That red cabbage recipe sounds great- I will have to find that one!

 

Can I ask you, do you do the Whole30 365 days a year? Did you add anything back to your diet after the Whole30? 

I ordered duck breasts from US Wellness Meats and they're worth every penny, imho! And here's the cabbage recipe: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/4626288075/chez-panisse-braised-red-cabbage

 

No, I don't Whole 30 365, and I'm amid my fourth extended Whole 30. In between, though, I don't deliberately add a whole lot back in. I pretty much stick to the template, three times a day, plus a post workout meal when merited. I will have the occasional drink, relax certain rules for a worth-it special meal out (and suffer the consequences), and not worry as much about added sugar in things like ketchup or wine in dijon mustard. I've learned through reintroductions that dairy, soy, gluten grains are out; rice is OK, and some legumes are OK, but I know they're not optimal, so I don't eat them on the regular. I just feel so much better the closer I stick to Whole 30.

 

When the time comes, I recommend you do a proper reintroduction to figure out for certain what your problem foods are. Then you can decide how you want to ride your own bike for the long haul.

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I ordered duck breasts from US Wellness Meats and they're worth every penny, imho! And here's the cabbage recipe: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/4626288075/chez-panisse-braised-red-cabbage

 

No, I don't Whole 30 365, and I'm amid my fourth extended Whole 30. In between, though, I don't deliberately add a whole lot back in. I pretty much stick to the template, three times a day, plus a post workout meal when merited. I will have the occasional drink, relax certain rules for a worth-it special meal out (and suffer the consequences), and not worry as much about added sugar in things like ketchup or wine in dijon mustard. I've learned through reintroductions that dairy, soy, gluten grains are out; rice is OK, and some legumes are OK, but I know they're not optimal, so I don't eat them on the regular. I just feel so much better the closer I stick to Whole 30.

 

When the time comes, I recommend you do a proper reintroduction to figure out for certain what your problem foods are. Then you can decide how you want to ride your own bike for the long haul.

 

Thanks! I had already found the cabbage recipe, but good to have the link here in case I lose it. I haven't checked out the US Wellness Meats site yet. Thanks for sharing what you are doing, and how to continue with just adding a few things back in.

 

I once did a regular "elimination diet" and when I re-introduced foods back in, I didn't notice any change with any foods. Perhaps I will this time, since this is longer and more strict. How to know what my problem foods are if I don't notice anything? This is why I think that perhaps I need to do a Whole45 or a Whole60. 

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I finished my whole30 and decided to extend to a whole45.  I almost didn't do it because of Valentine's Day. Every year I cook my husband a decadent meal replete with a special cocktail and a lovely bottle of wine. It is one of the few times during the year that we pull out all the stops.  I am trying to talk myself out of having SWYPO. :)

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My husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary during our Whole30. I made soup, pan-fried sardines, a mixed green salad, and egg foo yong because we're weird like that. We also had a second anniversary dinner with friends and I fixed a pork loin in the crockpot, potato and tomato salad (think caprese with sliced roasted potatoes instead of cheese), compliant sriracha, and seafood curry made by friends.

 

Other things we've made for special dinners: butternut and crab bisque with crispy prosciutto, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed pork loin or stuffed beef roast, salad nicoise, and roasted brussels sprouts with balsamic.

 

I think anything can be special if you put the time and thought into making it special. A lot of the things I listed above are similar to things we have on a standard weeknight, but when they become part of a bigger menu or get a few extra touches, they can still be really special. Or get creative and draw some inspiration from one of your early dates, your first Valentine's together, or what you ate on the day you got married. That was why I made the potato/tomato salad for our anniversary--we had a huge caprese salad as one of the foods at our wedding reception.

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After 30 days, we don't have to embrace the concept of NEVER.  The entirety of life is just too huge to contemplate without our favorite foods.   

 

Dried fruits and nuts....Espressos, too. 

 

Kombucha.   Some say it tastes/looks like alcohol in a wine glass.   I'm sure your dinner will be wonderful, whatever you decide.

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I'm looking forward to making scallops (bacon wrapped?) and filet mignon for Valentine's Day. In my experience it's a terrible night to go out to dinner anyways (I don't even like going out on a non-holiday Saturday night!). I think beef carpaccio or tuna tartare would be an amazing appetizer. I enjoy cooking and love being able to splurge on fancy ingredients. Will definitely try to eat after we put our baby to bed so it feels more date-y.

 

I CAN'T BELIEVE NO ONE HAS MADE A SWYPOFF JOKE ON THIS THREAD YET. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

We ended up having the mocha rubbed steak with beets and raw broccoli w/avocado dip (It Starts With Food book recipes) on the side, and organic strawberries with coconut milk with a few sliced almonds stirred in. It was great! (The main thing was having the fresh fruit and veggies as a "treat" with the meal), and feeling good and connecting over that good meal. 

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Getting away from what we've been programed to accept as normall is hard..   It can be done though..  The best one I like is TOM whats his names take on BIRTHDAY CAKE.. it became popular with the invention of Boxed mix's came along…    The halloween and Valentines and everything else in-betwween are just marketing

stepping stones to sell sugar.. With the Whole thirty theres a new revolution..  We keep more dollars in our pocket and less sugar down our gullet..

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  • 6 months later...

I finished my whole30 and decided to extend to a whole45.  I almost didn't do it because of Valentine's Day. Every year I cook my husband a decadent meal replete with a special cocktail and a lovely bottle of wine. It is one of the few times during the year that we pull out all the stops.  I am trying to talk myself out of having SWYPO. :)

 

Hi cookin' - what is "SWYPO", please? :)

Btw, I ended up making the steak from the book "It Starts With Food", strawberries with coconut cream on top, and broccoli with avocado oil on it. It was a fantastic meal, and fully compliant (I use coconut cream from cans only with no added ingredients besides coconut cream/milk and water). 

 

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Getting away from what we've been programed to accept as normall is hard..   It can be done though.. 

 

So true- my husband and I started our second Whole30 yesterday, because there's still some things we need to learn and integrate later- like thinking of things other than food, as treats, and as celebratory/holiday-esque. 

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Hi cookin' - what is "SWYPO", please? :)

Btw, I ended up making the steak from the book "It Starts With Food", strawberries with coconut cream on top, and broccoli with avocado oil on it. It was a fantastic meal, and fully compliant (I use coconut cream from cans only with no added ingredients besides coconut cream/milk and water). 

Ah, boy. It's Sex With Your Pants On. If you google it, there's an article.

Also, if you are talking about the mocha steak rub recipe -- LOVE. One of my very favorite things, and a treat to have steak, for sure.

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Why do you think the only way to celebrate a holiday is with food? Come up with some original ideas for spending time together. Part of the reason this nation is so overweight is we equate every occasion with food.

 

'Zackly! It's because Americans have been culturally trained to do this.

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