Whole30

I haven't been taking photos of the food we cook. I do take lots and lots of photos when we go out to eat, but that's a different story.

I am in the middle of a Whole30 round. It has been an...interesting and enlighting... 10 days so far. The biggest challenge has been cooking a dinner we all can/will eat.

Biggest hits have been:

• Nutpods. I resisted buying them, but I found it harder to give up half and half in my coffee than it was giving up sugar; who saw that coming? After trying my coffee black for something like 2 weeks, I'm glad I caved and now I'm on the hunt for the best price on these little cartons of joy.
• Whole30 BBQ Sauce from Jay's Baking Me Crazy. When I made this, I was confident my family would not like it, but they all gave a big thumbs up to the recipe I made that used this (next bullet).
• Hawaiian Chicken Meal Prep Bowls. I didn't expect them to like this, but we all did. Husband was upset I took the remaining chicken as my lunch.
• Sloppy Joe Bowls We tried this before I was even on a Whole30, and my husband requests it for dinner throughout the year.
• Coconut Shrimp Taco Bowls This was a huge hit for the whole family. I took leftovers for lunch, and even the shrimp was good straight from the fridge. Major keeper!

I've enjoyed:

• Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowl has been a great and easy breakfast, so long as I remember to cook the sweet potato the night before.
• Burrito Bowl Stuffed Peppers
• Egg Roll in a Bowl
• 30 Minute No Bean Chili
• Roasted Breakfast Potatoes and Veggies This has been a great make ahead breakfast item. It tastes great, and keeps me satisfied, along with scrambled eggs or a hard boiled egg or two, until lunch time.
• Cottage Pie This was delicious (without peas, of course), and most of my family enjoyed it. It made me several days' worth of leftovers, but it was definitely time consuming to make.

Chicken ravioli soup

I've been making this recipe for my kids for years. It was on a site called Disney Family Fun, which I really wish still existed.

So I don't again lose the recipe, here it is. Anne Coleman was the author.

Hands-On Time: 5 minutes
Ready In: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

8 cups chicken stock or broth
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
2 cups refrigerated mini cheese-stuffed ravioli
1 cup cooked chicken – diced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat chicken stock in a soup pot to boiling; reduce heat and add carrot and celery.
2. Simmer until vegetables are soft – about 20 minutes.
3. Add ravioli and cook according to package directions — usually about a 5 minute simmer.
4. Stir in cooked chicken, salt and pepper as desired and serve.

Whole30

Yes, it's been almost a year since I've posted here. See my instagram. I've definitely been cooking, but documenting is just not happening lately.

This year, I hope to reduce my sugar addiction. I'm noticing it in small ways like the mid afternoon crash and in bigger ones, like my waistline. I asked on facebook about free sugar detox, and was pointed in the direction of Whole30.

Heck, it's only a month, right?

So I need to plan. I jumped in (as is my way) and planned a whole bunch of Whole30 on Pinterest tagged recipes. This made me realize that jumping in isn't going to work, and I need to take some time to plan, while trying out these recipes (and being willing to say ok, this needs cheese to be ok)...

First up, I need to figure out breakfasts. I'm a carb junkie but I'm also in need of really easy, no brainpower, breakfasts on weekdays and surprisingly, even more so on weekends (I take it so leisurely, I often just forget to eat until I'm too hungry).

So this looks good:

• http://crazytogether.com/easy-delicious-breakfast-saved-whole-30/

It's lucky that the Kitchn is doing a series on Whole30 as I start this, so here's a great post about weekend prep:

• http://www.thekitchn.com/what-i-prep-on-sunday-for-whole30-meals-227075

My goals for 2017 are many, and while there's a lot of criticism of Whole30, and I honestly don't think I have the discipline for it, it's also in line with many of my goals.

So here are some of them:

• Eat more vegetables
• Eat out no more than 3x/month
• Reduce sugar intake
• Exercise 3x/week (once I get this shoe off)
• My son will cook 1 dinner/week
• Drink 64oz of water/day
• 1 meatless meal/week

So far, we've cooked two of the recipes I planned. The first was... a fail. The second was pretty awesome; we added cheese to it (to make it more awesome but not Whole30 ok) but it was a hit for almost the whole family. SCORE!

First intentional #whole30 dinner. I have no confidence I will last for 30 days if I have to cook separate meals for my family. #365project 8/365 #croy36517

A photo posted by Christina Marie (@smallbutfeisty_jersey) on Jan 8, 2017 at 2:28pm PST

This was the first one. It was way too spicy for any of us to eat. It did, though, inspire me to get back to the breakfasts I used to make of roasted sweet potatoes. I'll have to see if I can make a sweet potato hash of some kind. It was awesome to cook it in the crockpot though! Here's the recipe.

Our second #whole30 meal (though this has cheese, I haven't officially started) is also the second meal @b1g1mag1nat1on cooked. #365project 9/365 #croy36517

A photo posted by Christina Marie (@smallbutfeisty_jersey) on Jan 9, 2017 at 3:33pm PST

Yum. Here's the recipe.

Chicken Enchiladas

Here's how I modified these Chicken Enchiladas from Skinnytaste. Original recipe.

Ingredients:

For the enchilada sauce:
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 cups tomato sauce (I used 1c water with a small can of tomato paste)
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste
For the chicken:
1 tsp vegetable oil
8.5 oz (2 breast halves) cooked shredded chicken breast
1 cup diced onion
2 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup cilantro
kosher salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup tomato sauce (1c water mixed with a small can tomato paste)
For the enchilada:
8 (7-inch) low-carb whole wheat flour tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, spray oil and sauté garlic. Add chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic on low until soft, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, salt, cilantro, cumin, oregano, chili powder, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Put 1/3 cup chicken mixture into each tortilla and roll it.

Place on baking dish seam side down, top with sauce... 

Then top with cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Top with low fat sour cream or scallions if you wish. (Extra points) Makes 8 enchiladas.

Fried Chicken

So good. Very time consuming. 

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/skillet-fried-chicken

Clam Boil

http://www.circulon.com/recipes/cuisine/american/clam-shrimp-boil/?utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=social&utm_term=CC%20-%20Clam%20and%20Shrimp%20Boil&utm_campaign=sm-recipe

INGREDIENTS
24 littleneck clams, rinsed
1/2 cup cornmeal
3 quarts water
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 lemon, quartered
1/4 cup Old Bay seasoning
1 pound petite red potatoes, (about 10)
1 onion, quartered
12 ounces kielbasa, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 ears of corn, cut into thirds
30 large shrimp, rinsed
1 loaf French bread
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, add littleneck clams, cornmeal and enough water to cover them by 2 inches. Mix well and let them sit for 30 minutes. This process will help remove the sand and grit from the clams. Rinse clams and set aside in fresh water until ready to add to the pot.
In a Circulon® Innovatum™ 6-quart stockpot, add 3 quarts of water. Add the peeled garlic cloves and squeeze the juice of the lemon into the pot. Place the actual lemons in the pot as well. Stir in the Old Bay seasoning. Bring the pot of seasoning to a boil.
Add the petite red potatoes, onion, and kielbasa. Cook on medium-high with lid on for 15 minutes. Then add in the corn and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Rinse and drain the clams and add them into the pot; boil for 5 minutes. Then add in the shrimp and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Drain water from the pot, and pour the contents of the pot on a newspaper lined table. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy.

Stuffed grilled tomatoes

Brownies

On a snowy day, it makes sense to get some goodness in your tummy. My son and I decided to bake some brownies. 

I turned here and my brownie stash didn't find him anything he wanted to make, but he was on board with these brownies from Cravings of a Lunatic, which we found on Pinterest.

They came together really easily and are quite delicious. I don't know if they're "The Best Brownies in the World," but they are quite good. They even made me, someone who dislikes the taste of milk, craving a glass of milk to go alongside.

Give them a try; you'll be happy you did!

The Best Brownies in the World Via Cravings of a Lunatic

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons of butter
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs. beaten
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ¼ cup flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper. 
• Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate together over low heat in a medium saucepan. Stir with a rubber/silicone spatula (I used my spoonula and it worked great!).
• Remove from heat and add the sugar. Stir well.
• Now add your eggs and vanilla, stirring until it’s smooth.
• Add chocolate chips, flour and vanilla salt. Stir until well blended.
• Pour into pan and place in oven. 
• Bake for 35-45 minutes, toothpick inserted should come out clean when done.
• Remove and cool on a rack, about 10 minutes.
• Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Easy peel boiled egg

I've discovered the way to perfect hard boiled eggs, through much trial and error. Here's how:
Put eggs in a pot, cover with cold water, don't cover the pot. Put over high heat on the stove, and bring to a rolling boil. Let boil about 1 minute. Remove from heat, cover the pot, and let sit 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl filled with ice water and let sit at least 5 minutes.

But then peeling was always a bear. When this came across my radar, I had to try it... see, I've been making my eggs on the weekend but only recently started peeling in advance.

I tried and didn't have much success. It was easier than my previous methods, but no pinch the whole shell off as in the original.

I tried again on this snowy day and it worked! This time I used a straight glass, a little bit of water, and shook more than I thought I should.

Here's how it went for me, a regular person!

Chopped Thai Salad

I hate shredding vegetables. I do an excellent job of shredding my knuckles when I do. I have purchased one of those Kevlar gloves, but in reality, I just use my mini chopper when shredding is required.

I love Thai food, but we never as a family seem to get to Thai restaurants; I think the last time I had Thai food was when I was in labor with my now 7.5 year old. I really need to get on that!  When this popped into my Pinterest feed, it was really a no-brainer. Healthy, fast (weeknights have been insane with my having gone back to school in January), and all the trappings of delicious.

I rushed home after work and threw this together while my husband picked up the kids from school. All told, it probably took me 20 minutes, maybe 30, but only because my cabbage would not cooperate with being cut in half. I was really wishing I had bought coleslaw mix, with the cabbage and carrots already shredded, but it wasn't bad to take care of and certainly less expensive to do it myself.

My husband and I enjoyed this, and he even enthusiastically packed it up for our lunches today. I was concerned (I ate before the rest of the family) that it wasn't enough food, so I took an uber small portion and was quite hungry about 2 hours later, but the others had plenty.

The boys gave it mixed reviews, but my 4 year old has really only been eating tried and true favorites lately, so there's been a lot of skipping for him.

I omitted peanuts simply because I didn't have any. I think they would have jazzed things up a bit, but my husband said they wouldn't have been good in the salad.

Chopped Thai Salad via Pinch of Yum

INGREDIENTS

Salad

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 small head green or white cabbage (2 cups chopped)
• 1 large carrot (1½ cups shredded)
• 1 small papaya, chopped
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• ½ cup green onions, chopped
• ½ cup chopped peanuts

Dressing

• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon fish sauce
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• ¼ cup water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook and cube your chicken into bite sized pieces. I love this method.
2.  Toss the chicken and vegetables in a large bowl and keep chilled.
3. Mince the garlic in a small mixing bowl with the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, lime juice, oil, and fish sauce. Whisk until smooth. Add the peanut butter and water and whisk again until smooth and creamy.
4. Toss the salad with the dressing. Add the crushed peanuts. Serve chilled. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to one day. For best results, keep the leftover salad and dressing separate until ready to serve.

Meal Prep Sunday

It has been a really long time. I want to get back into this, because I keep trying new recipes, but they get lost to the ether since I never record what is great and what is not. I'm not trying to make excuses, but it really became a hassle taking pictures of our food. You know, you just want to sit down and eat? So you don't bother taking the 20 seconds it takes to take a crappy camera phone picture just for posterity.

So it's meal prep Sunday. On the stove I have 6 eggs hard boiling, and I'm excited to try this method. (The verdict: First I tried 4 eggs in a Tupperware container; it worked ok--not as easy as in the video, but easier than my typical method. I found that it was even better with the egg submerged in cold water).

In the red crockpot, I have chicken cooking for shredding. This method is so easy and I do it several times a month, sometimes remembering to freeze some of the shredded chicken.

In the white (and apparently very dirty on the outside) crockpot is black beans. I love this no soak method!

Most of my meal plan requires cooked chicken, so I really hope I made enough.

My meal planning method is to work out the meals on Friday night, planning through the weekend, so that I can grocery shop super early on Saturday morning. My meal cooking plan, however, usually means that I forgot to check the reality of our week when doing my meal planning and that I left a 45 minute dinner for a night we need dinner on the table at 4:30. I also never plan a dinner out, though it happens typically once a week.

Monday
B: Breakfast Sandwiches (made by my husband)
L: Tacos (leftovers from last week's Not so Sloppy Joes)
D: Chopped Thai Chicken Salad

Tuesday
B: English Muffins
L: Mac and Cheese (not sure if it will be Annie's or homemade just yet...depends if I can get it made in my meal prep today)
D:  Burrito Bowl

Wednesday
B: Smoothie Pop
L: Chicken Nuggets
D: Chicken and Broccoli with Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Thursday
B: Cereal
L: Mango and Black Bean
D: Pizza

Friday
B: Overnight Oats
L: PBJ
D: Turkey Pesto Sliders

Saturday:
D: Honey Chicken Stir Fry (I actually made this last night; next time use half the garlic chili sauce)

Sunday
D: BBQ Chicken Pockets


How do you get ready for a super busy week?

Meal Plan

I did not do a great job of planning breakfasts and lunches this week. It was a busy weekend, and I had to change my schedule and chaos ensued.

I actually planned ahead and cooked the chili on Sunday night, but well, I made modifications and the boys refused to have it in their lunches for today.

So here's what's up for dinners this week:


Pumpkin chili
weeknight turkey bolognese
cilantro lime shrimp
crockpot salsa verde chicken
chili mac
monte cristo
mexican pizza


ed2244063a28572a95e87e9e9c2761921e3cbca754662cf9a1

Turkey Taco Chili

I used cannellini, dark kidney beans, pinto, and navy beans.

Here's another post I found in my drafts. Looks yummy!

http://www.yummyhealthyeasy.com/2012/10/quick-easy-delicious-turkey-taco-chili.html

Portobello Pizza

This was sitting in drafts; since it's been so long since a post.....

http://www.bodyrock.tv/2011/06/25/delicious-healthy-pizza-recipe/

I liked, M said it needed something, boys refused to try it.

Meal Plan

I have been horrible about blogging. I've realized, though, the necessity of posting a meal plan here. Many times, my husband will have to take care of getting dinner started, and I have no idea what to tell him or which recipe to send him because the meal plan is at home. Putting it here will help in those situations, and give me a starting point should I need to pick up anything last minute. It's just a matter of actually posting it.

Lunches and breakfasts are the plan for the boys. Usually, the lunches happen while the breakfasts do not. I don't plan ahead for myself, which I know is incredibly foolish.

Monday:
Breakfast: Crockpot Apple Oatmeal
Lunch: Meatballs (leftover from my mom's party; in a thermos)
Dinner: Weeknight Turkey Bolognese 

Tuesday:
B: Green Monster Smoothie
L: Taco
D: Crockpot Potato Soup

Wednesday:
B: Waffle Sandwich
L: Mac and Cheese
D: Cilantro Lime Shrimp with Cilantro Rice

Thursday:
B: Slow Cooker French Toast
L: Black Beans and Mango (I really have to blog this; it's their favorite! It's really just cooked rice, cooked black beans, and diced mango)
D: Peanut Butter Chicken

Friday:
B: Banana Roll Up
L: PBJ
D: Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken

Egg muffin cups

I think I'll be selling this one big time in the morning, but here's the source: http://www.stockpilingmoms.com/2012/10/3-for-3-lunch-challenge-lunchbox-ideas-107/

Apple wiches

Super long time...

Trying out a new lunchbox treat. This came from http://www.stockpilingmoms.com/2012/10/3-for-3-lunch-challenge-lunchbox-ideas-107/

Sides were watermelon and sliced apple.

Firecracker Chicken

This is a recipe that seems to be floating around the blogosphere these days, and since I'm hardly on blogs these days, it looks like I missed it.  So I'm super glad that Stephanie shared this because we LOVED it.  Most telling, though, was that the boys said they liked it even though it was spicy.  Wow!

This came together really quickly, which was a saver on the crazy day we had when I made it.  I thought it was really great; the flavors were awesome and the broccoli had a nice crunch since I chose not to precook it.  I was really disappointed when these reheated very poorly for lunch the next day.

Firecracker Chicken and Broccoli, Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks via Stephanie Cooks

Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1/2 c. cornstarch
2 eggs

For the Sauce: 
1/3 c. buffalo sauce
1/2 c. light brown sugar
2 t. rice wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced 
1/2 t. salt

2 c.  broccoli florets

Directions:

1- Preheat the oven to 350.

2- Dice chicken into 1" pieces.

3- Pour the cornstarch in a shallow dish. Beat the eggs in a separate shallow dish.

4- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip the chicken into the cornstarch and then in the eggs. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes or until just browned. Place in a 9 x 13 greased baking dish along with the broccoli florets.

5- In a bowl combine the buffalo sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, salt. Pour evenly over top of the chicken and broccoli and bake for 30 minutes (until chicken is cooked through), stirring every 15 minutes, until the sauce is completely coating the chicken.
6. Remove from oven and serve over top of rice.

Bbq turkey meatloaf

I made this one a long time ago and haven't made it since.  This was foolish, because this is an amazing meatloaf.  My husband made it this go around.  The BBQ sauce on top is sweet and yummy while there's a real savory flavor in the meat itself.  The onions and pepper add some nice crunch too.  

Make this one soon when you're craving some comfort food!

BBQ Turkey Meatloaf, courtesy of The Neely's 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon Neelys' BBQ Seasoning, recipe follows (I used a pinch of paprika, a pinch of sugar)
• 1 teaspoon crab boil seasoning, (recommended: Old Bay)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups BBQ Sauce, reserving 1/2 cup for the top (this was a bottle's worth)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 pounds lean ground turkey (I used ground chicken)
• 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix BBQ seasoning, crab boil seasoning, soy sauce, beaten egg, 1 cup of the BBQ sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil. Add onion, bell pepper, salt and pepper and garlic. Saute until tender. Remove from heat and add to wet mix.
Pour mixture into bowl with the ground turkey. Add bread crumbs and mix all together with your hands.
Transfer the meat mixture to a cookie sheet or baking pan. Using your hands, shape the meat into an oblong or rectangular shape. *Cook's Note: Alternately, you can pat the meat into a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and pour 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce on the top of the loaf.
Bake for 35 minutes. Remove and add the reserved 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce to the top and continue to bake for 20 more minutes.

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