Psyching up for a December W30!

[kirbz]

@LadyLisbette With regards to your duck question, I turned to Mel Joulwan for help! On a post I found on her wbsite, she states that she uses the roast duck recipe from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking each year. Not sure if you own or want to buy that book. Alternatively, she links to this recipe: https://www.marksdailyapple.com/crispy-roasted-duck-with-holiday-seasonings-and-sauces/. Most recipes there wouldn't work for Whole30 but a couple of them would!

Let us know how it turns out! 

[kirbz]

@Jim4884 You're welcome on the lasagna recipe! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! With regards to the changes you're thinking about, perhaps consider just doing one or the other (i.e., slicing the zucchini thinner or pre-cooking the zucchini). I think if you do both, you might just have a mushy mess! The zucchini was actually cooked well. I just don't really love zucchini and the flavor is definitely there.

[LadyLisbette]

Thanks for that link @hollysmokes, I've not spent time on that site, and it looks like one to go back to! My trip to town was productive, and my energy level and mood was great. I couldn't find the duck breast at my good meat place, so I brought home an entire frozen, organic duck.   So when I got home and read your post, I studied the breast recipe, then wandered over here, too: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/02/roast-duck-with-honey-ginger-glaze.html

Now I'm looking forward to exploring both of these recipes, and finding the "duck zone" on my stovetop! For the oven roasted version, I thought in place of honey, maybe stewing some organic cherries with the ginger, what do you think?

I looked for a coffee bean roaster at BB&B but didn't like what I saw, and decided to wait to make the purchase until after the move - very sensible, eh? Meanwhile I thought the Indian market might be my last hope of finding ground caraway. It was a comedy of errors, though a charming one. Me, to the proprietor: Do you have ground caraway? Him: What's the Indian name for that? Me: Um, good question. Him: Did you ask Mr. Google? Me: Let me go to my car. Him: No I have a phone right here. Then after a short time with English to Hindi translations, he says, cumin! When I got to the car I spent some more time with Mr. Google, and I can see where the confusion lies. It looks like actual ground caraway is not as hot/spicy as cumin...more like the rye flavor as in rye bread? My husband loves rye whiskey, but I can't think about that yumminess for a while! Meanwhile, I figure the locally grown organic carrots I have in my bin really don't need me to be fooling around too much longer, so I think I'll settle on curry for now! And coconut milk. This weekend.

Also found some conveniently bagged slaw that I'll use for the sausage eggroll bowls. I'm looking forward to making up a spice blend for the ground chicken "breakfast sausage". My refrigerator is completely stuffed with fresh food! That bagged slaw could make this a really easy dish to prepare, can't wait!

@kirbz what are you dreaming and scheming of eating on your camp out?

I'm editing this because....When I posted I hadn't noticed we had "turned to a new page", so I didn't see your posts, @kirbz, thank you so much for the great information. I can see I have a lot to learn here! I'll keep you posted on my progress!

[hollysmokes]

I want a duck zone, too! I think stewing cherries and ginger sounds absolutely delicious, @LadyLisbette. Your husband's a lucky man! You're going to start roasting your own coffee beans?? That's so cool! I get our coffee from a local guy that does his own roasting and blending (Drew's Brews) and, I have to say, we're really spoiled; his coffee is so good. I had to laugh at your spice language barrier. I got lucky the last time I was looking for something unusual at the Indian market. I was able to go in with the Indian name for fenugreek leaves (for Butter Chicken-YUM) but still couldn't find them. The proprietor knew exactly what it was and where he had hidden them way up on a high shelf. The caraway (either whole or ground) has that distinctive caraway flavor that I don't think could be replicated with cumin but cumin carrot soup sounds delicious also. It sounds like you're all set for some good cookin'!

I forgot to mention that I made the garlic lemon chicken and it was really good. I got to eat the leftovers last night so I got a no-cooking bonus night out of it, too. I made a little extra sauce and dumped steamed broccoli into it. The sauce got trapped in the broccoli florets and was a great way to sop it all up. I bet it would be pretty awesome with shrimp instead of chicken. I'm definitely winging it this week for dinners and I just realized I didn't even take anything out of the freezer this morning. My fall-back emergency meal is a pan grilled sirloin and veggies so that is probably going to be it.

It's supposed to get up to 60 today before going to raining and cold again so I'm going to try to get outside and enjoy it for a little while. 

Have a marvelous day everybody!

[MeadowLily]

On 11/29/2018 at 5:54 AM, hollysmokes said:

She believed she could so she did.  It's been 5 years now.  I still believe, more than ever. 

 

[hollysmokes]

@MeadowLily! Thank you for your many encouraging words through the years. I hope you and your family are doing well and have a very Merry Christmas

[LadyLisbette]

Oh my Heavens! That eggroll bowl @hollysmokes is so. so. good! I was so confident in the recipe, I doubled it and used a big soup pot. I used ground chicken instead of pork, and Mel Joulwan's breakfast pork sausage spice blend from Well Fed 2. Otherwise I stayed very close to the recipe, except for putting a heavy hand to the ginger and garlic because, why not, right? Wow. This will go into the rotation - thanks!I

I was up 90 minutes early, and a busy bee all morning, hello Tigerblood! You guys, too?

Oh, I meant to write coffee bean grinder, not roaster!

That's funny, I gave the leftover mustard chicken the same treatment with broccoli. The new bread! Yeah, as for the mustard chicken, it's more my habit to brown the thighs and set them aside than cook them through the way the recipe called for, so when it was time, I added a lot more broth and dijon in order to simmer the chicken to completion. It's gone now but I'm saving the last of the gravy for eggs and veg as a breakfast another day. If I can keep myself from the eggroll bowl.

Happy Solstice Eve, everyone! And good to see you here, @MeadowLily, your words of wisdom are always notable!

 

[hollysmokes]

Yeah! Eggroll bowl is on the menu and I even have ground chicken in the freezer! I'm getting ready to head out in the rain (rain and more rain) to pick up my mother at the airport and then I'm off of work until Wednesday morning after I drop her back off. 

I've been pretty Tigerblood-ish most mornings but the last couple of days I've been dragging a bit.  I'm trying to do some troubleshooting and figure out why I get so congested at night. I tried sleeping on the guest bed last night and that didn't help. I was still congested plus, for some reason, I was a peeing machine and I just couldn't get comfortable in there by myself. My husband suggested it because he's got some kind of cold/upper respiratory thing going on and figured he'd be keeping me awake anyway. (NSV- he's been sick three (!!) times this year and I haven't. I really think it's what I do and don't eat vs what he eats now that he eats in the cafeteria at work most days.) So I just ordered a new mattress cover that is free of PVC, phthalates and vinyl so maybe that will help. Antihistamines don't help so I've quit taking them and can't tell the difference. Like everything else, it's a process!

See you later alligator!

 

 

[Jim4884]

On 12/18/2018 at 7:52 PM, LadyLisbette said:

Meanwhile I thought the Indian market might be my last hope of finding ground caraway. It was a comedy of errors, though a charming one. Me, to the proprietor: Do you have ground caraway? Him: What's the Indian name for that? Me: Um, good question. Him: Did you ask Mr. Google? Me: Let me go to my car. Him: No I have a phone right here. Then after a short time with English to Hindi translations, he says, cumin! When I got to the car I spent some more time with Mr. Google, and I can see where the confusion lies. It looks like actual ground caraway is not as hot/spicy as cumin...more like the rye flavor as in rye bread? My husband loves rye whiskey, but I can't think about that yumminess for a while!

Dang, meant to reply to this earlier.  Ground caraway seeds and cumin are very different flavor profiles, and I would never substitute one for the other.  Caraway seeds ARE the predominate flavor in rye bread, but that also is not similar to the flavor of rye whiskey.  No idea why they share a name.  Further, cumin and caraway are not from the same genus of plant.  I grow many of my own herbs so I am a bit anal about this, haha!  Let me know if you have any further questions!

 

[LadyLisbette]

@hollysmokes Have a great time with your mom, and glorious time off! Will she enjoy the solstice bluegrass concert with you?

Ooh, dreadful to get your sleep messed with on top of the ordinary struggles with shut eye. I did a quick search on night time congestion, and offer this link in case it might be helpful: https://www.verywellhealth.com/why-do-i-get-congested-at-night-1192188

Have you added anything new in particular to your cooking since starting this W30?

Here's another link, but more on the subject of allergies:

http://www.vanquishheadacherelief.com/why-do-allergies-act-up-at-night-how-to-soothe-nighttime-allergies/

Whatever this new unwelcome thing is, I agree that it is such a strong indicator of food impacting your health that you haven't been sick this year!

Our work xmas party today was loads of fun. There were cookies and Sees candy getting passed around. I took a long luxurious whiff of the chocolate and savored that without further temptation, and ate a large quantity of eggroll filling, which amuses and delights me. A [windy] lot more cabbage than my gut is used to, but worth it.

@Jim4884 I hope to start growing herbs this year in a small greenhouse at the (hopefully) new house. If either of you have any books or websites to recommend on growing herbs or fruit trees, I'd be grateful. We are planning on growing citrus (at least one each: lemon, lime, orange), pomegranates, and avocados. Maybe figs! I must be patient, it's not a done deal yet.

Happy Solistice!

[MeadowLily]

On 12/20/2018 at 6:34 AM, hollysmokes said:

@MeadowLily! Thank you for your many encouraging words through the years. I hope you and your family are doing well and have a very Merry Christmas

Right back at you and LadyLisbette, too.  Melissa summed it up a short time ago.   'It's not enough just to do the thing'.  That's it in a nutshell and not the whole bushel.  Unless you reframe everything about food and what it can do to you, dieting the pounds away by remote control will never ever be enough.  You have to unravel and unwind yourself.  Go back to the very beginning where you tripped and undo every tangled web.   A healthy relationship with food begins in the kitchen but transformation happens in the mind.

[Elizabeth33]

On 12/18/2018 at 9:06 AM, LadyLisbette said:

Anyone have any ideas on what to do with a duck breast that doesn't involve sugar? Hubs is asking for duck, for Christmas dinner, and I've never made it before.

Definitely sear it skin side down to make it nice and crispy. I put some garlic (when I could do garlic) and rosemary, you can also maybe to a teriyaki sauce. Here are some links I found.

https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/crispy-balsamic-duck-breasts-110201

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/duck-breast-with-clementines-and-tuscan-kale-recipe-1949116

This one is for chicken but I don't see why you can't do it for duck. http://www.thedefineddish.com/whole30-chinese-orange-chicken/ 

[hollysmokes]

21 hours ago, MeadowLily said:

...transformation happens in the mind

Ain't it the truth! Thanks, @MeadowLily, you helped me make my goals more tangible. I hadn't really put them into words yet but "unravel and unwind yourself" gave me a great visual and, for me, it translates into unlearning: negative self-talk, less-than-good choices, insufficient and improper movement and everything that lies in between those things. I'm feeling the tiger blood this morning, the sky is blue (even though it's below freezing right now) and the possibilities are endless! 

@Elizabeth33 thanks for the links; those recipes look really good. I'm going to try to get some duck breasts today. My mom and I always embark on a cooking adventure or two when she visits and I think that would be fun. How are you doing? Gearing up to restart? My husband has the same crud and, hopefully, is starting to feel a little better today.

On 12/20/2018 at 9:35 PM, Jim4884 said:

Caraway seeds ARE the predominate flavor in rye bread, but that also is not similar to the flavor of rye whiskey.  No idea why they share a name. 

They are both made with rye, a cereal grain! 

Good day-after-solstice morning to you @LadyLisbette! We didn't get to go to the concert last night due to sick hubby but had a terrific day anyway. We started with the egg roll bowls for breakfast and, you're so right, that's a definite keeper. I already put it into my recipe software and emailed it to my mom so she'd have it when she gets back home. We ran some errands, picked up our prime rib, had a light lunch of turkey slices wrapped around prosciutto with avocado, cherry tomatoes and olives then fixed a quick pork tenderloin and roasted cauli, peppers and onions for dinner.

I was up early this morning and was greeted by a gorgeous full moon hanging over the trees on the hill across from our house. So beautiful and such a great start to the day. It always makes me wonder what other beautiful things does this day hold? Answer: whatever we make happen!

Thanks for the links; I have some reading to do! I've struggled with this for quite a while but, for some reason, I'm being more aware of it now and think it's one more step to improving the quality (and, therefore, the quantity) of my sleep. Like everything, it's a work in progress but I'm hopeful. I wish we could have citrus trees! We had a very prolific meyer lemon tree in New Orleans and had just planted a blood orange tree the year before Katrina chased us out. As a kid, we had fig trees and I remember climbing the tree and eating them until my mouth hurt. They have an enzyme in them similar to what's in pineapple so overindulging has a (very worth-it) price. 

Time for me to go enjoy this beautiful day!

[LadyLisbette]

Hi there @Elizabeth33 thank so much for those links! I read through both of the duck recipes, and I really love the simplicity, especially with the balsamic vinegar. It helps me to wrap my brain around he process of it, and the time it will take, and to find a comfort level, like with the fat rendering. I'll look forward to the third recipe when I get home from work later.

I've been thinking about

On 12/21/2018 at 7:33 AM, MeadowLily said:

transformation happens in the mind.

and I am sitting with that.

 

1 hour ago, hollysmokes said:

I've struggled with this for quite a while . . . I'm being more aware of it now and think it's one more step . . . Like everything, it's a work in progress but I'm hopeful.

It seems awareness is the only game in town, to Meadowlily's point above. Yep.

When I came home last night from a sort of hectic but productive day, I had, oh no, more tasks...aware of being a little task fatigued/annoyed, and wanting to get into the tub. I succeeded in avoiding devices, and made a beautiful bath with epsom salts and some essential oils, just right candle light. A long soak. Let myself unwind. The words unravel and unwind keep coming up, even my massage therapist remarked that working with me she was getting a sense of "unraveling" which I validated as where I'm at...but not unravel as in falling apart, unravel as in re-wiring the brain. Yes? Anyway, I also took some Hylands homeopathic Calms Forte, for the first time - has anyone ever used that? -  and at last enjoyed a welcome altum somnum. I think I will not wait for another solstice to enjoy the combo of no devices/hot bath at the very least!

Just as you said @hollysmokes

1 hour ago, hollysmokes said:

what other beautiful things does this day hold? Answer: whatever we make happen!

Yes!

I enjoyed your story about climbing the fig tree...and I'm so sorry to know you got chased out of New Orleans by Katrina. II'm sure there is a novel in there, right? I will never forget the dread of the night before, and my mother crying as we braced ourselves from afar, and grieved and worried, for all of the suffering that was on the way. Man. So glad you landed on your feet.

It will be a year to learn a lot about trees - looking forward to that among lots of related things!

[Elizabeth33]

Hey everyone. I am doing somewhat better. I worked at a place that had two dogs, a cat and carpet. It apparently caused havoc on my allergies because my sinuses to re-swell. This is caused more congestion more sir throat coughing as it goes down to my chest.  I then got another mild fever and not felt well. Doctor says I’m not sick just says that the fever was a reaction to the inflammation. It’s very frustrating because I really need to work and can’t currently because with childcare parents don’t really want a congested the coffee person to take care of their kids even if they’re not sick. And this is my busiest time of the year. 

 I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to eat for this coming week. That eggroll breakfast sounds really good so I may try that. There’s another seaweed wrap chicken dish that I’m looking into with pesto mayo.  I’m gonna look through my recipe books and try to figure something out. I’m gonna probably do Cornish game hens for dinner on Christmas. 

@hollysmokes I understand nighttime congestion. I have used a Netti pot or equivelent to that which is helped And also a vaporizer at night. @LadyLisbettethose other links also look interesting so I will look into those as well. Although usually I sleep with the CPAP at night so when my nose does get stuffed up it makes it very hard to use it so hopefully those links will be helpful. The turkey wrapes with prosiutto and avocado sounds so good I’m gonna have to do that. 

I miss being able to grow fresh herbs. Where I live now it is not possible. As a kid we had a fig tree. They were good but unfortunately the birds got most of the figs. I tell you the squirrel around where I used to live gave us a run for our money with the peach tree. A neighbors grand daughter planted a seed and it actually grew. Those little rascal squirt would grab the fruit just before it was ripe and take a few bites and throw it away. Lol 

[LadyLisbette]

@Elizabeth33  I understand where you are at. Not sure what to make next, take a glance at a pile of recipes, and inspiration takes hold! I was in that boat today, and then a happy accident occurred. I had offered for a neighbor to bring me a big soup pot, and that I would return it with an edible Christmas gift, as in bison chili. I was going to make his family my usual double batch. But what he brought over was a large sauce pan. SO! I'm going to make my usual double batch, and transfer over whatever will fit in their pan, and KEEP the rest! Bonus meal made with love! They will never know otherwise, and I will have a jump start on the next eats.

Pesto mayo sounds really good. I'll bet that would be tasty with turkey wraps that I keep returning to, now I'm dreaming of turkey, cucumber, prosciutto, and avocado with pesto...yum!  What else are in your seaweed wraps? I haven't used seaweed at home before. Yikes, I'm sorry you've been so sick, but it sounds like your getting to the root cause. If you can recover from this bout, can you still catch some of this season's business? Hope so! Meanwhile, you're staying focused in your kitchen, so bravo! How cool that you and @hollysmokes both had fig trees to climb as kids! Tonight I was talking to a horticulturist friend who has lived in this area all her life, and going back 3 or 4 generations...I queried her about the fruit trees and bears because we have black bears. Did you know that black bears show up in other colors? Blonde, brown, and cinnamon! She said the bears destroyed her apple trees. When they come down out of the Park to this elevation and into human populated centers, it is only because they are extremely hungry, which is heartbreaking and worrisome. So I think that if a bear got into my fruit trees I would not be too upset, but would want him or her to help themselves.

I'm dying to know about @kirbz camp out in Bishop, and what was on the menu. Speaking of that, I'm hungry, and have caught a second wind from making the chili, so I think I'll eat something and watch a movie. Happy weekend, everyone! Pretty soon all the non-W30ers, [or, can we call them normies like they do in recovery circles?] will have devoured all the Christmas cookies and it will be safer out there. Or, does that happen after New Year's? Speaking of after New Year's I'm thinking that my first re-intro will be organic wine. I have never had any, and I want to see how my sinuses do, because I always get stuffed up from the sulfites. I'll have to order some online.

[Jim4884]

On 12/20/2018 at 8:08 PM, LadyLisbette said:

 

@Jim4884 I hope to start growing herbs this year in a small greenhouse at the (hopefully) new house. If either of you have any books or websites to recommend on growing herbs or fruit trees, I'd be grateful. We are planning on growing citrus (at least one each: lemon, lime, orange), pomegranates, and avocados. Maybe figs! I must be patient, it's not a done deal yet.

Happy Solistice!

Days are getting longer - summer's coming!  Haha!  

LadyL, I have no magical insight to share - I've just planted a bunch of herbs in an outside space that freed up due to plants dying.  They are mostly doing well.  I have to manually water them sometimes, the basil plants seem to attract some kind of bug, so I spray them with a water mister (all organic here) - and make sure I wash everything before using.  Rosemary is really hardy, and parsley, sage, oregano and thyme seem reasonably easy.  Good luck!  I love the idea of homegrown citrus, and especially avocado - is there ANYTHING avocado doesn't make better?  

Merry Christmas, happy whatever anybody may celebrate!

[kirbz]

Happy Holidays to everyone!

It's Day 29 for me. I can't believe I'm almost done! LOL, and I can't believe I saw this one through! My meals haven't matched the template as closely as I would have liked and I haven't been eating three meals a lot of days, but I made it. I've learned a lot and I've gained a lot of NSVs despite the flaws.

Our camping trip was lovely. I honestly ate pretty simple meals, and not enough on most days (though I wasn't particularly hungry; I just didn't make three meals). I packed mason jars full of soups and chili and simply heated that up and ate it most days. For breakfast, I'd scramble some eggs and eat that with a mason jar of soup. For lunch, I didn't do so great. It was usually snack-ish type stuff like meat bars, coconut butter, RXBars, etc. For dinner, it was chili and soup, or pan-cooked chicken and soup. We have a camp stove so it really wasn't too bad. 

Anyway, it's great to hear all your stories and successes! Keep it up! 

[hollysmokes]

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your holiday is everything you want it  to be.

@kirbz you made it! Your christmas present to yourself is Day 30! Are you doing a standard re-intro? I'm glad your camping trip was a success. We car camp and then typically do our hikes out of our camp. I've never used mason jars because they're so bulky and space is always an issue but I make chili, stew, meat sauce kinds of things and vacuum seal them. They can freeze flat and then just put in a pot or boil-in-bag to reheat for less mess.

@Jim4884 are you W30-ing right now?

On 12/23/2018 at 9:20 PM, Jim4884 said:

Days are getting longer - summer's coming! 

I'm with you!

@LadyLisbette have you ever tried Frey wines? They have organic and biodynamic wines and do not add sulfites to their wines. They also use non-GMO yeast. I was introduced to their wines at a biodynamic conference, got to taste a couple of them and really liked them. I know they lost their winery in one of the fires a couple of years ago but they are rebuilding and still making wine. Our anniversary is NYE/NYD and we're going to an early show to see the Hot Club of Nashville at City Winery so wine will be my first re-intro as well. I'm looking forward to it but am not planning any other off-roading yet. This W30 has flown by; I can't believe we only have 5 more days!

I struck out on duck breasts and didn't feel as adventurous as you did with the whole duck. I did score some calamari and braised them in a tomato sauce with olives and harissa. My husband wasn't a fan but mom and I loved it. Dinner last night was creamed kale cooked down in coconut milk and Thai red curry paste then I seasoned some red snapper with Mel's Lebanese spice blend and baked it on top of the kale. It came out really good and was so easy!

We walked 3 miles yesterday and the day before. If the weather holds out, we'll do it again today! Keeping the movement momentum going!

[LadyLisbette]

Congrats, @kirbz! You made it! Your camp out sounds great! I've never even tried to keep W30 ways on a camp out, and I am impressed by your approach and also by your tips, @hollysmokes. My husband and I like to camp, and also backpack, and one of the things I am looking forward to in 2019 is adjusting to W30 food on both, even if I'm "in between" W30s. It's just time. Thanks for showing the way!

Merry Christmas to all! Yesterday I heard the sound of doom, but got through it fine. I started with a great breakfast. Work was speed-of-light busy. When it was time to go next door for my occasional grilled chicken salad: they were closed! D'oh! At the other possible carry out place, there was nothing that I could realistically eat while alternately waiting on customers. So, I had an Rx bar, and then another one. Me too @kirbz. I know it's not ideal, but hey, what can i say. Perfection offends the gods after all. When we finished the long day, I did not feel like cooking the salmon I had in mind, so we went, famished, to the nice restaurant in town to enjoy their buffet. I ate teriyaki chicken thighs and coleslaw and potato salad. I know darned well there was non compliant stuff in all three, but I was grateful, and self-forgiving, and enjoyed myself completely. When we emerged it was raining cats and dogs. Yahoo!

Now the duck is in the oven! I have cherries and ginger simmering on the stove, and made gingerbread lattes for us, with a little sugar in it for the hubs. https://www.thekitcheneer.com/2018/12/21/ginger-snap-latte-whole30/

I have some nice, ripe plantains ready for ginger frying as a side, I'm looking at you @hollysmokes! And I'm not sure if I'll steam broccoli, or make time to roast some brussels while the duck rests. Do I really need two ovens? Yeah, I do. LOL

Thank you so much @hollysmokes for the tip on the Frey wines, I will look into that! I am seriously finished with sulfites, thanks to W30 experiments. We'll see how my husband gets along with no-sulfite lunch meats...fingers crossed.

I'm inspired by your Thai coconut kale, and the Lebanese treatment on the red snapper - yummm.

The rest of this week will be another killer. I'm thinking I'll pre-roast the salmon fillets I have in the freezer and prepare lunches in advance for the rest of the work week. I also might take the frozen hash from November out of the freezer, so I don't have to cook again for awhile...like money in the bank!

Yes, this W30 HAS gone by fast!

[kirbz]

@LadyLisbette My fiancé and I both love camping and backpacking as well! On my last Whole30 attempt, I actually made it through a short backpacking trip eating compliant meals (though I then promptly gave up and ate McDonalds on the way home). Oops.

Anyway, I compiled a list of compliant pre-packaged backpacking meals here if you’re interested: https://forum.whole30.com/topic/54278-whole30-approved-freeze-dried-meal/?tab=comments#comment-491563. They’re pricey but they are compliant and delicious (at least the ones I’ve tried). 

I also purchased a dehydrator toward the end of the season so I’ll be working toward making my own healthy and nutritious meals for backpacking next year!

 

[kirbz]

MERRY MERRY Christmas to you all! Or Happy Holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas! Regardless, I wish you a day full of the things that matter the most! 

We woke to a fresh blanket of snow and a beautiful white Christmas so we began the day with a snowshoeing adventure with our precious pups. Now we're all relaxing and enjoying some TV and a simple fire. 

As for this Whole30 stuff... I think I might stick with it for a few more days. Perhaps until the end of the week. Just because I'll be away from home for the next few days and it'll be easier to manage my reintroductions at home. I do plan to do the formal reintroductions, as outlined in the book. I didn't do that last time and very much regret it. I want to learn how different foods affect me, though I'm not expecting anything significant. I don't think I'm very sensitive to foods in general. 

I am, however, fantasizing about some hot chocolate and some banana bread! Both are pretty close to Whole30 (the banana bread is actually completely compliant in terms of ingredients and the hot chocolate is just coconut milk, cacao, honey, and vanilla powder). Those are definitely happening next weekend! 

I am struggling quite a bit with what to do after Whole30. I don't know how I want to eat for the long term. I don't know if I want to try for something Paleo-like, or if I want to have my diet informed by my reintroductions. I think I want to try for Paleo. But, even then, I'm thinking it will only be 90-95% of the time. Because an occasional trip to Red Robin is going to happen! LOL. 

Have you guys given much thought to life after Whole30? What do you think that will look like for you? 

[LadyLisbette]

Hi @kirbz, it sounds like "more will be revealed" after your re-intros. I know you will make the best decision for you! We all have a Red Robin or equivalent out there...when you imagine going to RR, what could you eat that would be the most healthful for you? Also, what do you expect you might experience in re-intros?  For me, I can tolerate most things too, until I'm eating them all at the same time. The sum is more severe than one at a time! Snowshoeing sounds so wonderful! I hope we can get up to the higher elevations near us this winter with the snow shoes! When the clouds part we're going to see a lovely new snow, too, though we are a little too low at 1100 feet to get snow except for once a year or so. Could you post or DM me the banana bread recipe? Thanks!

The duck was a hit. The cherry/ginger glaze, after being briefly churned in a mini cuisinart, is the texture of jam, and we used it as a chutney. I'm pleased it has just the right amount of ginger. I froze what remains of the glaze for the next duck, or pork tenderloin. As the recipe stated, it is marginally more work than roasting a chicken, and it was barely enough food for the two of us, but we both really loved it, and look forward to doing it again. I strained the duck fat through a sieve and cheese cloth, and cannot wait to roast something with it. Also I saved the bones, neck, and giblets to make soup. As for the 2 plantains, one of them was slightly more ripe than the other which I thought was ripe, but wasn't. So they behaved very differently in the hot oil - my first time deep frying anything. I was disappointed at first, and they were almost burned, but they were both delicious, even the less ripe ones, and we devoured them. I will keep practicing. I roasted brussels after all, so everything was crispy, crispy, crispy! We had oranges from our backyard tree for dessert - I know that's not W30 approved behavior, whoops. It was good.

1 hour ago, kirbz said:

Have you guys given much thought to life after Whole30? What do you think that will look like for you? 

I see myself fine tuning. And tuning in with more presence and care during the re-intro in January. Overall I really like the paleo template of W30, and so far, that is what works best for me. I know I can do occasional legumes, and occasional added sugar. Fortunately I'm indifferent to dairy unless someone puts really good gourmet cheese in front of me, but that seldom happens. I know I really need to stay away from grains. If I eat grains, I need to get right back on track. This is my third round, and the last one was last December. I really like doing this in December it turns out! This year: fine tune and keep moving. I hear there are a couple of trails near my new place, and I'll explore that right away upon moving to get some momentum. I'll be a two minute drive from the gate to a big Park, so that is feasible, too, it's just that I really like not having to get into my car first!

[kirbz]

@LadyLisbette Thanks for sharing your long-term plans! It's nice to hear what others are thinking... And I'm glad your duck recipe turned out! I'm honestly not entirely sure I've ever had duck. Perhaps I'll have to think about trying that someday. 

Here is the banana bread recipe: https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/paleo-banana-bread-no-sugar/. I usually add some pecans and/or walnuts. It's truly delicious though! 

[LadyLisbette]

Thanks, @kirbz this might be a great thing for me to share at work, post Whole30 - where I can safely have one piece and let others polish it off. I printed it out, thanks!