Whole 30 - Family Gathering

Today was my first full day with my family, and it was a bit of a later start than I was expecting. I ate a small banana for breakfast before leaving the hotel. After my parents and I got our ID passes from the Air Force base (the hotel at which we are staying is on the base), we stopped by the grocery store in order for me to pick up some ingredients for Paleo meals. My grocery list consisted of:

• Butternut squash 
• Cauliflower 
• Broccoli 
• Onion 
• Scallions 
• Garlic 
• 2 tart apples 
• Bacon (as organic and free-range as I could get) 
• Ground beef (as organic and free-range as I could get)

While I was there, I also grabbed some acorn squash because it looked delicious. Once we got to my uncle's house, I immediately started cooking. I started off with Mashed Cauliflower, Roasted Broccoli

and Spicy Kale Chips

I also chopped up two bags of Brussels sprouts for a side dish tomorrow. By this point, it was about time for lunch. So while my family ate BBQ pulled chicken, I snacked on some broccoli and salami. And because of happy coincidence, my Atlanta-born college roommate and I happened to be in the same city, so I met up with her in the early afternoon for a catch-up -on-your-life tea break. When I got back from hanging out with her and her hubby, I started making non-Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars for my family. Yeah, I'm just that nice; even though I couldn't eat it, I wanted to share the deliciousness with my family. I think they liked it... just kidding, it was awesome!

Because the oven was full of baking lasagna and mozzarella breadsticks, I postponed prepping my own dinner until the oven was free. Because I'm on vacation I didn't want to think of any new recipes and the acorn squash reminded me of a PaleOMG recipe that I wanted to try. So I made Stuffed Acorn Squash.

1/2 acorn squash

1 lb ground beef (go for free-range/grass-fed if possible)

1/2 onion diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbls + 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 375°C. Cover a baking sheet with tinfoil.

Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Coat the flesh of the squash with olive oil (1 tsp on each half). Now shake 1/2 tsp of cinnamon onto each half and rub the cinnamon across the squash to ensure even distribution. Place the squash, cut-side down, onto the baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes before flipping over and baking for another 10 minutes.

While the squash is baking, heat 1 Tbls of olive oil in a skillet over the stove. Once hot, transfer the onion and the garlic into the pan and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the ground beef. Once the beef has been browned, reduce heat to low and keep warm until the squash is done.

Now that your squash is done (the skin of the squash will be squishy when you poke it), carefully scoop the flesh out of one half of the squash, making sure that you don't break the skin.

Transfer to the pan on the stove and mix into the ground beef. Transfer back into the skin of the squash. When the half is almost completely full, use your spoon to make a dent in the mixture and crack an egg into the hole you just made. Put the squash back into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the egg is cooked.

You could do the same thing with the other acorn squash half, or you could use a knife to cut the squash into squares for use in some other dish. I did the later, but I haven't decided yet what to make... I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow.

So it took an hour after my family ate for me to finish cooking and get around to eating, but hey, I managed to stay Paleo and eat a delicious meal. And I have exercised INTENSE self-control and have not eaten any of the pumpkin chocolate chip bars which you all know that I love. That's dedication to Whole 30. Your admiration of my mad self-control is appreciated.

CrossFit

Last Friday night I went out with some friends. While we were at the bar, my buddy BJ convinced me to attend CrossFit with him the following morning. I've expressed interest in attending a few times over the last year and he's invited me multiple times; this was the first time I accepted. I was excited about going on Friday night, but when Saturday morning rolled around, I was nervous. I know that there was no reason to be nervous, but I was apprehensive because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to handle the workout. I had heard about so many CrossFit workouts that seemed impossible to me because I hadn't tried any of them. We did the "Fran" workout on Saturday which consisted of thrusters (squats with an overhead press) and pull-ups. I didn't add any weights to the bar and I did an assisted pull-up, and found the workout much easier than I expected. Don't get me wrong, my arms and legs were burning afterward, but I know that I could have increased the intensity of the workout with more weights and would have been able to handle it.

Based on that one class, I could definitely see myself doing CrossFit regularly. This past Saturday made me realize how much I miss doing working out with people. I miss teams. I should join a team of some sort. Doing P90X alone at home holds absolutely no appeal now. I've been running instead lately. I really need to join a team. I'm just waiting until AFTER I take the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) Exam, so I can actually study a bit.

My post CrossFit breakfast: Open-faced Omelet

2 eggs

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 sausage link

3 Tbls guacamole

5 cherry tomatoes

Brown the sides of the sausage over medium heat. Once browned, cut the sausage into pieces and brown the flat sides. While the sausage is cooking, whisk the eggs with the spices. After both sides of the sausage slices have been browned, reduce heat to medium-low, then add in the eggs. Once the eggs have cooked, slide onto plate and add guacamole/salsa/Paleo ketchup/whatever you want. I used hatch chile guacamole with some cherry tomatoes.

Paleo Pizza and Running

For some reason, I find that when I cook during the week, it usually takes me a long time. And by the time that I actually finish whatever it is that I'm making, I'm not really hungry anymore and it's about time for me to go to bed. Sigh. At least I know what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow.

I went for a run yesterday after I got home and unloaded the groceries into my fridge. I started my run around 7:15p.m. today, with the temperature at about 86°F. My old running coaches always said to dress for weather 10°F higher than what it is, because that's what it'll feel like. And let me tell you, between the heat outside, the humidity, and the amount of heat my body was generating, I felt like I was cooking from the inside out. My legs started hurting that night, which only warned me how much it'll hurt this morning. When I stiffly walked into work this morning, you know the culprit.

I wanted to make something that I hadn't done in a while, so I decided to make some Paleo pizza.

Paleo Pizza Crust

1/2 cup almond flour

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp basil

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground pepper

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir up the dry ingredients. Taste to see if you want any other seasonings (then add said seasonings). Crack and whisk two eggs in a separate bowl before mixing in with the dry ingredients.  Use your hands to knead the dough to make sure everything is fully incorporated. Place the dough onto a well-greased or parchment paper-lined baking pan, and spread (using your hands or a rolling pin) until roughly 1/4" thick. Place is preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until crust is solid and starting to brown on the edges. And now your pizza crust is done. Voilà!


I topped my crust with a mixture of 1/4 chopped onion, 1/3 of a small red bell pepper, 1/3 of jalapeno pepper, 1/2 cup of quartered cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup mushrooms, 1 cup spinach, 1 clove garlic minced, and 3 chiffonaded basil leaves that I had cooked in a pan for about 20 minutes. Delish! The basil definitely gave it a good flavor!

Spicy Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef

Spicy Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef
1.5 lbs Beef Bottom Round Rump Roast (or cut of choice)
1/2 tsp:
   chili powder
   cumin
   cayenne pepper
   paprika
   garlic salt
1/4 tsp:
   basil
   cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp hot sauce
1 onion, sliced
7 stalks celery, cut into ~2" pieces
20 baby carrots, halved
3/4 cup chicken stock (can use beef stock/broth as well)

Mix all of spices together in a bowl. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap on your counter and put your roast on top. Use a spoon to transfer spices to the meat and rub in with your hands. Once the spices are thoroughly rubbed in, wrap the meat in plastic and put in the fridge for ~1 hour. While the meat is chilling in the fridge, chop your veggies: sliced onions, halved baby carrots, and 2" pieces of celery. Later these in the crock-pot. Pour in the chicken stock and 1 tsp hot sauce. Take the meat out of the fridge, unwrap, and put on top of the veggies. Spread 1/2 tsp hot sauce on the meat. Cover. Cook for 10 hours (you can cook it a little faster/hotter if your crock-pot has the setting available. I choice 10 hours so that it would be done cooking by the time I woke up at 5am.

Before cooking

After 10 hours of cooking

 After taking two forks to the beef, you get the shredded beefiness shown below.

Chorizo Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Chorizo Turkey Stuffed Peppers

I found the recipe below for Chorizo Poppers on The Food Lovers Kitchen. Instead of using 1 lb of mini bell peppers, I used 3 large bell peppers. I also added some garlic salt.

Ingredients


The night before:
1 lb Ground Turkey
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 tsp Black Pepper
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1/2 Tbsp Cumin
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 Tbsp Dried Oregano
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

For when you're actually making the meal:
4 large Bell Pepper, tops removed, and seeded (I went with one red, one yellow, and one orange and had just over 1 cup of meat leftover)
1 cup Tomato, diced
1/2 Onion, chopped
[1 Tbsp Cilantro, minced] - Recommended unless you're like me and don't have any at home

In a bowl, season the ground turkey with garlic salt, chili powder, paprika, oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, and apple cider vinegar.

Use your hands to mix the turkey and spices.

Cover the seasoned turkey with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Rinse the bell peppers using cool water. Cut off the tops of peppers, and remove the seeds and membrane from the insides. Set aside peppers.

Brown the seasoned ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat. While this is browning, chop the tomato and onion. Remove the turkey from heat, and stir in chopped tomato and onion. I didn't have any cilantro at home, but if you do, now would be a good time to add 1 Tbls of minced cilantro.

Stuff bell peppers with chorizo turkey mixture, and place on a baking sheet (I lined mine with tinfoil for easy clean up).

Bake peppers for 20–25 minutes at 400°F, or until peppers are somewhat soft.