percypat's 1st Whole 30

[calee]

Pics are great! I'm not a mayo fan so never tried making it. Yours looks good. Had to laugh about hubby checking Scoby. I bought some ghee. Put it on sautéed cabbage as a finish.ni thought it tasted like popcorn in the movie theatre. Yum! Then I promptly started AIP and couldn't have it again. Let me know hat you do with it please. Can you fry with it etc? Dunno.

[percypat]

Thanks calee! I opened my jar of ghee for a sniff when I got home and thought "Popcorn!" as well!

One more picture before I go to bed ...

Looks yellow because of the flash but it's much paler than that. I hope that's the real deal and not an imposter!

[Nadia B]

Stop checking on it, leave the baby alone, crazy parents. Serisously, they don't like to be moved, shaked or disturbed It looks perfect, growing big and spongy!

I love that you eat carrot noodles too! I LOVE making carrot ribbons - coconut oil, thyme and cinnamon. Heeeeeaven.

I like homemade ghee way better, you should totally make your own. I like it a bit more browned for a caramel swypo aroma. Anywho, ghee is good for anything. Fry eggs and veggies. I love to sneak a spoonful now and then. Weird but so tasty.

[percypat]

Neurotic mummy! Can you imagine what I'd be like with a human baby? "Hey" *prod prod* "Are you sleeping? Just checking".

Any excuse to use the julienne peeler. I like carrot noodles better than zucchini, nicer texture for me. Will try aubergine next!

And ok, homemade ghee goes on the list. I fried my eggs in ghee this morning and put a little bit on my leftover broccoli ... yum! Nice change from coconut oil.

[calee]

I don't like coconut oil, so I'm going to love playing with Ghee at the end of AIP.

I've never tried carrot noodles. I have carrots on my lust for tomorrow. I know what I'll try!

I think I will shopping for a scoby home this weekend.

[percypat]

Have you got a julienne peeler? They're the best for making noodles!

Ooh, please post picture of new scoby home when you get it! Are you going to grow your own one or get a scoby from someone?

[Susan W]

Just love all this parental love for new SCOBYs. :0)

Easiest ghee recipe ever. I forget who on this site spoke about this method originally. I take two 8oz packs of Kerrygold unsalted butter. I put them in a 4qt Le Creuset pot. Then I stick it in a 300 degree oven for about one hour and fifteen minutes until the milk solids are very dark brown but not black. Strain it through cheesecloth and boom!! Best ghee ever.

[melbournegirl]

I started buying ghee about 6 months ago. The family now use it to cook popcorn. I have had this a couple of times in between whole30s and it is yum!!

[percypat]

I guess I need to buy a Le Creuset pot now! As good an excuse as any We are anxious parents Susan ... Hopefully we will get over the fretful, impatient stage soon and be cool, relaxed ones!

Juzbo, it smells like it would be perfect for popcorn. A little too perfect ...

And on that note, I found a food without brakes for myself today :/ Dried figs. I was picking a few things up from our local supermarket and was looking through the dried fruit (originally for compliant dates for almond milk) and found compliant figs. Thought they'd be nice with pate, and I'd handled the turkish apricots really well, so bought a little pack ... and I've eaten the whole bloody lot of them. All that jammy deliciousness. *hangs head in shame* I'm not even that sorry. They were worth it. But I can't buy them again - at least not before I've finished this Whole 30.

So here is day 24 ...

Breakfast: 2 eggs fried in ghee, broccoli with a bit of ghee drizzled over, small mug of sweet potato soup and carrot sticks with mayo.

Lunch: pate with dried figs, carrots noodles dressed with red wine vinegar, olive oil and parsley, capsicum sticks and mayo.

Dinner: roast chicken with sage and olive oil, roast pumpkin and carrots, blanched green beans. Half an avocado. And ... yup, figs.

Snacks: figs, figs, stupid lovely figs.

My jeans were a bit looser this morning but if they are tight again in the next few days, I'm blaming the figs.

[percypat]

Argh, editing fail. Rotated upsidedown photo in photobucket and now it is ginormous again! Don't dare touch it anymore. Sorry about mega-picture folks!

[Nadia B]

You can make sweet potato and pumpkin noodles too! And my fav - rutabaga noodles (most of time I'll make fries). Do you have them there?

I make ghee in old cheap saucepan and it's just fine. However if you need the justification for a Dutch oven, I GET it. Love mine, but so not crucial for ghee making. Yep, cut butter, set on lowest temp on the stove top and check on it from time to time. Strain and do the happy dance.

Now, something to play with while your scoby is growing. You can make...drumroll...flavored ghee! No joke.

Your hubby thinks you are posessed by cooking demon, right? Feels great that I am in the right company of like minded crazies

[percypat]

I had to look up rutabaga on Wikipedia, but yes we have them! We call it a swede or a turnip here. Will give them a go too!

Good to know ghee making works in saucepan, probably better to try it that way first anyway. Flavoured ghee?!

Oh definitely, I asked him today if he'd eat lamb liver if I cooked it and he asked what was up with the offal obsession. For the most part, the cooking demon works in his favour so he can't really complain too much. I'm so glad I found the other crazies too! Though clearly it just eggs me on!

[Susan W]

Oh yes, no need to buy new stuff..unless that will make you a happy ghee maker. I used to make it on the stove top. I found it to be fussy and I had to stand there every second or it went from golden to black and unusable. Now, something to keep in mind; Nadia is a magical person. She doesn't follow the booch rules and ends up with lovely and fizzy Kombucha every time. If i didn't like her so much, I'd be annoyed. Melissa Hartwig is the same with mayo. Never had a fail. NEVER!! They are both sprinkled with magic pixy dust. I digress..what I like about the oven method is it's a hands off item. I set the timer for 70 minutes and walk away. I also love the lovely aromas that float through my house. Below is the link I used to use for stovetop preparation.

[percypat]

Hum, I forgot about that. I don't think I can rely on magical cooking pixie dust to get me through. I guess I will try stove top method when I finish this jar, and if it's a big fat failure, hubby will be buying me a new kitchen pressie!

Fortunately he never quibbles kitchen purchases. He knows which side his bread is buttered.

[calee]

Haha, your hubby is in heaven! I don't have pixie dust so lots of kitchen fails! I wish I could send you my Dutch Oven. I have my mom's and never use it.

I was surprised at the pronunciation of ghee in the video!

We have both rutabaga and turnip here. They are two different veggies. Rutabaga is my secret ingredient in my chicken soup.

Figs, ever so yummy figs! Don't feel bad for eating them. Relish the thought of how yummy they were. Mmmmmm..... Then yes decide whether you want to buy them again.

[melbournegirl]

You can buy both swedes and turnips in the supermarkets here but I think only the swede is a rutabaga? I think I used the swede in a root vege bake once in the last year.... Must try noodling...

[percypat]

Heh calee, now that I've slept on it, I really don't feel bad about eating those figs at all! Such a far cry from before: yes there was a whole bunch of sugar in them but what else? Anything man-made? Anything I couldn't pronounce? Anything harmful to me? No. Clearly I don't want to make a habit of gobbling them everyday but you can bet I will have them again in the not too distant future

Juzbo, I think you're right - the picture on Wikipedia looked like what I call a swede. I've never seen turnips at the supermarket (I expect you have more options in Melbourne), even in NZ. Always swedes. Will have to give the noodling a go for sure!

One more thing. Baked sweet potato and ghee. Oh my flipping god. Why did it take me so long to try this? Just when I thought I was running at capacity for sweet potato love, I found a way to love them even more.

[melbournegirl]

I had that today... Sweet potato with ghee... Try some cinnamon sprinkled on top as well!!! I used to mash it with coconut cream too but it became a bit too much of a habit.... Sigh

[percypat]

Ooh, that sounds lovely. And the mashing with coconut cream. More things to try *rubs hands together*

I've been feeling nibbly today. I'm not hungry. I just want to snack. Is this my punishment for scarfing all those figs yesterday?

Finally went to check out the local markets and they are really good. Unfortunately they were also really really busy and poor husband didn't look happy so we just had a quick look around and came home with some loose shredded coconut and frozen cherries. I don't like being rushed when I shop. I'll go back early Friday morning when they're next on and take my sweet time checking out all the veggies without having to worry if hubby is getting fed up.

Eats: Day 25

Breakfast: mushrooms, beans and baby spinach fried together with ghee, pate and butter tea (work in progress as per the bulletproof coffee discussion).

Lunch: Leftover roast chicken, beans, baked sweet potato with ghee, capsicum sticks with mayo. Tea with coconut milk.

Dinner: Osso bucco with carrot noodles, red cabbage with apple cider vinegar and a bit of ghee. Half an avocado.

Snack: couple of teaspoons of homemade mayo.

We are charging through the vegetables at the moment. My fridge isn't big enough!

[Beets]

I def get nibbly from dried fruit. It kind of ruined the last week of my W30. Ack. Past is past but I struggle with the dried fruit. (Maybe yours wasn't dried? Either way the sugar from sweet fruit does indeed make me snacky.)

[melbournegirl]

Definitely need two fridges for whole30's LOL

[spagirl]

Hi! Thanks for your post on my newbie thread!

How are you feeling?

As I mentioned I'm about to start and I'm just curious.

Do cravings disappear?

I'm stressing a little with what to replace some things with.

Like ... water. I've given up diet coke (yay!) and have tried sparkling water with a touch of organic lime juice.

(No added sugars!) so I think that's ok.

Then there's chocolate. I know... It's about rethinking your relationship with food...

but I think that will pose a challenge for me. Ah well, just gotta do it, right!

[percypat]

Hiya spagirl! You're welcome! People were so nice to me when I started, it's nice to be able to pay it forward

I feel really good now. I started off strong, had a bit of a slump around the mid-way point which is apparently totally normal and am back to feeling great again.

For me, cravings have disappeared, yes! Following the meal template was key. I didn't understand that so well my first couple of days and it was pointed out to me right at the start of this log. Made a big difference, in hind sight. I don't get hungry between meals because I take in enough fat and protein at each sitting. So even if I want something because I just feel like eating something tasty, I'm not hungry enough to act on it.

Instead of thinking about what you can't have, think about what you can have ... Honestly, I have never experimented with food so much or tried so many new recipes in my life. It has been really fun and I'm going to make eating this way the norm for myself.

You will be fine! Use the boards here for support and ask all the questions you need to (and rant when you need to!). Everyone is lovely. And plan your meals. If you have a plan, you won't have the last minute what-am-I-going-to-eat panic which could lead to falling off the wagon.

PS Try kombucha if you want an alternative to your sparkling water and lime juice ... I'm one of the newest converts here ... But it is delicious and you get some fizz!

[percypat]

I def get nibbly from dried fruit. It kind of ruined the last week of my W30. Ack. Past is past but I struggle with the dried fruit. (Maybe yours wasn't dried? Either way the sugar from sweet fruit does indeed make me snacky.)

Whatever it was, it was delicious! Will just stay away from it for now I think!

[calee]

I haven't had dried fruit except for a couple of dates the first week of my whole 30. The date container hasn't caller me at all the last few weeks. I definitely know tat dried fruit makes me snacky. I try not to bring it into the house. I'm surprised I haven't hit the dates. Mayb because the cherries are finally ripe here.