21DSD Day 3 - Mashed Parsnips

I've been in training sessions for the past two days. Because you never know what you're going to get when it comes to the food that's provided, I planned on bringing my own lunches and snacks. It turns out that I can find something to eat for lunch, but I would still need my own snacks. Yesterday for lunch I ate mixed greens with pan-fried chicken, two small pieces of salmon, and steamed broccoli. Today we had pork loin and braised chicken legs/wings. The food is mediocre, but it'll do, and it's less strange for me to eat large portions of meat than it is for me pull out my own foods while everyone else is eating the provided food.

Today was a bit harder to deal with the sugar cravings and temptations. After my meeting today, we had a dinner out at an Italian restaurant. We were offered wine before dinner and with the meal. I think that was the hardest part: saying no to wine. Everyone else was drinking and some people questioned why I wasn't drinking. Instead of explaining that I'm in the midst of a Whole 30 and 21DSD, I just said that I wasn't drinking because I was driving. That seemed to be a good enough excuse for everyone. Another thing I wanted was to have something other than water. But when you go to a restaurant, your options for drinks generally include alcohol, soda, iced tea, and water. Obviously there are some variations, but not many.

There were three courses: soup or salad, entree, and dessert. Oh, and fresh-baked bread. I had a caprese salad which is tomato, basil, and mozzarella (I had tomato and basil), chicken with mushrooms and spinach, and no dessert. Though oh buddy did I want that cheesecake when it came out. Yum. Anyways, enough about my struggles, here's a recipe you can use while doing Whole 30 or 21DSD.

Mashed Parsnips

1 lb parsnips

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp dried parsley

2 Tbls ghee

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1. Set water to boil in a medium pot on the stove.
2. Wash and peel the parsnips as you would a carrot. Here's the before...

and after shots.

2. Cut the parsnips into chunks and place in the boiling water. Add in all of the ingredients and boil until the parsnips are tender ~ 20 minutes.

3. Drain the liquid (but don't toss it yet).

4. Transfer the parsnip pieces and 1/4 cup of the liquid you set aside to a blender or use an immersion blender in the pot to puree. Add more liquid if you want it a bit smoother, but don't add too much or it'll get runny.

Optional: Instead of using the cooking liquid, you can use coconut milk to make the mashed parsnips a bit creamier.