Whole 30: Paleo-ites Unite!

Anyways, Friday was an exciting day. I found out that I passed the FE exam! Excuse me while I dance around my apartment!! ... And, I'm back. Phew. On Friday night, I went to a Brazilian steakhouse with a Paleo meetup group. If you're a Paleo person and feel alone in your city, check out meetup.com and search for things like Paleo, Primal, Health, Natural Foods, Caveman, CrossFit, Primal Blueprint, Gluten-free, Nutrition, etc. You'll probably be able to find at least a few people who you can bond with over Paleo trials and tribulations. And want to know how to recognize a table of Paleo-ites/Groks? Look for the table that all turns around to the waiter and says "No bread, please! No, we don't want the bread." The most amusing part of the evening is the fact that one of the guys at the meetup whom I had never met before happens to be friends with one of my buddies. Small world, eh?

Other excitement over the weekend... A couple of my friends and I went to a German Christmas Market where we got to see some of these cool characters... like Santa on a golf cart... because that's what we do in Texas...

 St. Nicholas and a elf/puppeteer...

and a high school German dancing club...

 My lunch was a bratwurst (minus the bun)...

And then I saw the star of my future nightmares... these ridiculously enormous pretzels that had to have been twice the size of my head

 My friends indulged in an apple strudel, which looked truly delicious. The bakers told me how impressed they were that I was saying no to the strudel and lemon white chocolate mint bread.

Oktoberfest Spirit

Happy October everyone! I'm happy to report that we had fall-like weather over the weekend, which made me exceptionally happy.

Because it's October and that always makes me think of Oktoberfest, bratwurst, and Halloween, I decided to indulge and make some bratwurst with cabbage. Here's how it goes...

Slow-Cooker German Bratwurst

3 cloves garlic

1 onion, sliced

2 Gala apples, peeled and sliced

1 Tbls lemon juice

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp black ground pepper

3 Tbls apple cider vinegar

1 tsp parsley

1/2 Tbls Dijon mustard

1 head red cabbage, shredded

1 package bratwurst, sliced

Start by slicing your onions. Layer the bottom of your slow-cooker with the onions. Next, slice your apples and layer the slices over the onions. Sprinkle the cloves, and 1/2 tsp parsley over the apples. Pour 1 Tbls apple cider vinegar and 3 Tbls beef broth over the apples and onions. Spread the shredded cabbage over the apples and onions, followed by the bratwurst slices. Sprinkle the 1/2 tsp parsley. Pour the remaining broth and and apple cider vinegar over the top. Put the cover on the slow-cooker and set for 8 hours on low. (Set for 8 hours, but you're only going to cook it for 6 hours.) After two hours, stir the ingredients. Continue cooking for another 4 hours and turn off the slow-cooker. Done. Happy Oktoberfest!

Note: My slow-cooker can only be set on low when I set the time for 8 or 10 hours. You want it set on low, but you don't want to cook it for too long because it'll end up looking like mine did... brown. I went to a concert while this was cooking and it sat on "Warm" for a while. The purple color of the red cabbage permeated everything and it turned brownish. It may not look appealing, but it tastes good. And it's perfect if you're in the mood for Oktoberfest.