difwiz Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Whew. Well I am glad the Christmas season is over. I loved seeing family, but there ended up being too many hurdles and too much time spent away from home for me to be able to handle my first W30 trial. But at least it was that - a trial - and not a real Whole30. I learned a lot about what I will need to do in January to make my January W30 a success, what pitfalls I am likely to encounter, and just how uncomfortable it is to fall face first off the wagon and into a pit of pasta and cake and cookies and Mexican food. So yesterday was the start of a new beginning. The first day of my first official Whole30 and I am so excited. I did some shopping yesterday at Whole Foods to stock my fridge with good stuff and I made some roasted veggies and the ground beef master recipe last night. The only thing I am lacking is my beloved pastured eggs. Whole Foods was out of them when I went and I will have to wait until Saturday until I can buy some from a local farmer at the farmer's market. I am looking forward to making a batch of the quick chili tonight and maybe using the last of my homemade mayo to make a creamy avocado dressing to drizzle on top. Looking ahead to the rest of the month, I can only imagine the culinary possibilities, but for the next week or two, I am going to keep it simple - I am going to rotate 3 or 4 (or 6) simple recipes that I already know I like from my trial period: Egg salad with homemade mayo, celery, mustard powder, sweet red pepper, and black olives W30 quick chili Salisbury Steak with roasted veggies and baked sweet potato Scrambled eggs with spinach, onion, green and red pepper, salsa, and maybe some of that creamy avocado dressing. Roasted carrots tossed with Beef master recipe and some homemade mayo W30 sweet potato hash All of these meals are so simple to make and I can't wait to make them all! I especially love the ones with the roasted veggies because I just love the flavor. I will be using coconut oil and homemade ghee in my cooking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORBren Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Wow you have some great ideas! I plan to try the homemade mayo within the next week. My first attempt was a failure but, I will try- try again. Have a great W30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difwiz Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Thanks ORBren! The mayo is pretty easy, as long as you drizzle the oil slowly. I made some last night and it didn't turn out well. My first batch a week ago was made in my Cuisinart. This batch was made in my Vitamix. I think the Vitamix heated it up too much or maybe I poured too fast. Either way, it is more of a liquidy substance than mayo. It still tastes good though. I used it in my tuna this morning (I found a can in the back of the cabinet and decided to use it for breakfast before my husband found it and ate it himself. I was really craving eggs, but as I used the last egg I had to make the mayo last night, I had to do something else...and I couldn't stomach a bowl of the master beef recipe first thing in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difwiz Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 So I have been drawn in to the Teavana cult. I love smelling the different teas, but since most of them have either sugar or "flavorings," they are off limits. However, I was introduced to the Monkey Picked Oolong yesterday by the tea chick at the store and I am loving it. I can use the leaves for 5 steeps, so a little goes a long way, and I got the PerfecTea maker. The only disappointment is the water. The water heater here at work will only heat the water up to a little over 175 degrees and the tea calls for 195 degrees. I also got the integrated thermometer/timer and you can only start the timer once the water has gotten to the set temperature, so there were a few times where I had to count the seconds in my head because I couldn't start the darn thing. I tried lowering the set temperature so I could start it once it reached 173 degrees, but the darn thing reset to 190 and I was never able to get the timer to start. I think I am going to return it and just use the timer on my phone. So today is totally stressful. I have a bit of a headache fading in and out and have been feeling chilly off and on this morning, even though I am usually on the warm side. The big thing that threw me this morning was the call from the Sherriff's Office telling me that I had Jury Duty in less than a week. I am in the tax preparation industry and I am gearing up for busy season. In the coming weeks, I am not only supposed to send out all my tax packages to my clients, but also go to another firm to help them out for a few weeks while my clients are gathering all their info. I am not sure how I am supposed to fit Jury Duty with an unknown duration into all of this. Add to this that I am feeling like I am crawling out of my skin today. I cannot seem to sit still. Sitting here, I am just restless. And I forgot a coat today, so I can't really go for a walk around the parking lot. UGH! On a bright note, my chili turned out really well last night. It made 5 servings and I brought some for lunch today. The avocado cream sauce (avocado blended with homemade mayo) was pretty good too. I need to add a little bit of salt to it next time to help bring out the flavors, but it was really good on top of the chili. Even my husband, who doesn't like peppers at all, liked the chili. He is reading Mark Sisson's book right now and he likes it. He is thinking of starting a 21-day paleo trial starting about halfway through my Whole30. It would be great to be able to make one dish for both of us instead of us each making our own meals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nila Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Day 3 for me too and I also woke with a headache. To make it worse, I spent a few hours in a situation where a little dog kept barking. Old headache is hanging on and getting a little worse. I may just break into the Tylenol so I can be productive today. What do you think? Grin and bear or it Tylenol it? Can you defer the jury duty? I think that the last time I received a notice that I took the option of deferring because I was in a busy work time. Different cities have different rules, though, I'm sure. I love tea! I find that for my tastes whites and greens perform fine at 170. Everyone has different rules on steeping temperatures and times. Just do a search on "tea temperatures" and you'll see a plethora of variation. While you sniff teas on the web, some other good sources of bulk tea are Adagio, Mountain Rose Herbs, and Mighty Leaf. Mountain Rose Herbs has great prices on organic teas. For a basic base for making your own blends, you can try white peony. Wait...you didn't ask. Sorry. I just started going. Like I said, I love tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORBren Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 "The avocado cream sauce (avocado blended with homemade mayo) was pretty good too. I need to add a little bit of salt to it next time to help bring out the flavors, but it was really good on top of the chili." [difwiz - I don't know how to pull out part of a quote yet...] This sounds fantastic - you just need something creamy sometimes - another reason to give mayo another whirl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difwiz Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 nsquared - I say grin & bear it. I usually don't take anything unless it has been going for more than a day or it is really really really really bad. I can't defer the jury duty. I had the ability to write in some dates during the 3 month window during which I could be called where I had conflicts or if the time period was during my heavy busy season, but the 3 month window actually expires at the end of next week, so they are nabbing me right at the end. I had hoped that since the window closed in the beginning-ish of January that it wouldn't be a problem with work, but I guess not. There is hope though. I actually just received an email from one of my service providers about a full day webinar discussing the deal that was made to avert the fiscal cliff (among other things) and forwarded the email to the Sheriff's Office to ask if I could be released so I could attend the class. The information that will be covered is relevant to my clients and they are only holding it on that day. ORBen - I just had some more of it and it was heavenly. I mixed in some salt this time and it really made a difference. (I don't know how to work the quote stuff yet either) I am thinking of trying my Kitchenaid Mixer when I make mayo next. I mean, all it is is a large whisk going round and round and round and round... I saw somewhere earlier (I think the comment section of one of the articles) that someone made paleo whipped cream and just ate it plain with a spoon. I think I am going to make it tonight. If I remember correctly, it is just a can of full-fat coconut milk, whipped until it is the consistency of whipped cream. I will post the results. Not sure what else I can think of to do with it other than eating with a spoon though. All my life, whipped cream has been associated with ice cream, pies, and the like. Maybe mix in some walnuts? Spoon on top of curried chicken? Hmmm...something to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difwiz Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 I made the coconut whipped cream last night and it was awesome. I ate a few spoonfuls of it before plopping a dollop on top of my reheated bone broth soup. It melted pretty quickly and I stirred it into my soup, making it a bit creamy, but even on its own, it was really good. It has just the right bit of sweetness to it. When I was making the whipped cream (which took forever, even on setting 8 on my KitchenAid Stand Mixer), I stopped to look at the can of coconut milk. Now, usually when I am cooking, I pour the contents out into my pot and toss the can in the trash. For some reason I didn't do that this time. I saw that there was a little bit of the thick fat layer still stuck to the inside of the can and I wondered if it tasted good. I swiped a little bit of it with my finger and tasted it. OH MY GOSH. That stuff is amazing!! I started swiping up the rest of it and then resorted to licking the lid of the can to get the rest of it off. I feel ashamed to confess this, but yes, I licked the lid of a can of coconut milk and I liked it. The coconut whipped cream is now residing in a container in my fridge and it retained its stiffness from last night - I think it got even more structure to it in the fridge overnight. I spooned about 1/4 cup into a small bowl to take to work today to either add to my W30 chili or eat plain or with some walnuts. I haven't decided what to do with it yet. I still have a little bit of a headache this morning, but it is nothing I can't handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORBren Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Hey difwiz... I made my first successful mayo this weekend. Heavenly!!! Hope things are going well with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difwiz Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 Yay! Good job! I am trying to find an immersion blender to make the process more foolproof (and less time consuming). Although, I am having a difficult time finding one where you can press a button and it goes without having to hold the button down the entire time. I donated my last immersion blender because it required me to hold the button down the whole time and I kept getting hand cramps. Have you seen the video for immersion blender mayo? I can't remember where I saw the video, but I am sure there are lots out there. Here is another Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difwiz Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 So it has been a few days since I posted and I don't remember everything that happened over the weekend, but I will say, that even thought I bought blue and gold M&M's for the Notre Dame game last night to take to my Dad's viewing party, I didn't have any. I also tried liver. Yes, liver. I made a chicken liver recipe from one of the other threads and it turned out ok I guess, but I am not sure I like it. I put it on celery and it was kind of ok, but I had to mix it in with other sauces to get it down any other way. But it is good for you, so I will try a few more recipes before I write it off completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORBren Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 I bought a Cuisinart Immersion blender (super sale at Costco) and did the reeeeaaaaallllly slow pour method, the videos you posted put all the ingrediants in at once! I will have to try that next time. Keep trying on the chicken liver - I like more then beef liver. I have some lamb liver in the freezer that I cannot build up the courage to try. Sorry for your Dad about the football game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difwiz Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 I just bought a Calphalon immersion blender last night at Bed Bath & Beyond (used a 20% off coupon). It has a chopper attachment, but I am just going to use it as a mayo stick I think. It was kind of expensive, but the other option there was the exact same model that I had before and I didn't like it. This one you still have to hold down the button, but it is an easier button to press. And the shaft is metal, not plastic like the other one. I tried making the immersion blender mayo last night and it REALLY IS as easy as it looks in the videos. My mayo turned out more mayo-y than all my other efforts combined. My stick blender didn't come with a cup, so I made the mayo in a 2-cup mason jar, which was okay, but difficult to remove the blender from once finished. There was just so much mayo on top of the blender base that I kept spilling the mayo over the side. Next time I think I will double the recipe and make it in a larger mason jar. I will definitely keep trying the liver. I keep reading about how good it is for you and because of that, I am now determined to find some sort of recipe where it doesn't make me want to gag. There are some other good looking ones on the Liverwurst thread that I am going to try next. Thanks re: football game. I went there too ('02) (so did my sister - '05), and we were all looking forward to winning another national championship (the last time we won one, I was in elementary school). The team that showed up to play Alabama just wasn't the same team that had been rocking it all season long. I don't know what went wrong, but Alabama played a really good game and we....just didn't. So, hats off to Alabama - they made some amazing plays. But in the end, it is just a game...and next season is a fresh start......so.....GO IRISH!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nila Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Off topic, but must ask... Notre Dame - alumni in the family, from the South Bend area, or simply fans of gold and leprechauns? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difwiz Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 Off topic, but must ask... Notre Dame - alumni in the family, from the South Bend area, or simply fans of gold and leprechauns? Hi nsquared - My Dad was class of '74, so he was the start of the ND legacy, but his mom is 100% Irish, so I am 25% Irish. My uncle (Dad's younger brother) spent 2 years there before he transferred to NYU (I can't remember the reason why). We are not from the South Bend area, but it feels like a second home. I grew up loving ND and wanted to go there since my first visit to the campus in 4th grade for the ND vs. USC game when Rocket Ismail was playing under Lou Holtz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nila Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Hi nsquared - My Dad was class of '74, so he was the start of the ND legacy, but his mom is 100% Irish, so I am 25% Irish. My uncle (Dad's younger brother) spent 2 years there before he transferred to NYU (I can't remember the reason why). We are not from the South Bend area, but it feels like a second home. I grew up loving ND and wanted to go there since my first visit to the campus in 4th grade for the ND vs. USC game when Rocket Ismail was playing under Lou Holtz. It does seem that Notre Dame has a fervent alumni base. I'm in Indiana, to explain my curiosity. Hope your Whole30 is grand! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nila Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Still with us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORBren Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Touching base... how's it going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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