The Kid's First Birthday!

Today our kid turned ONE! We had family and friends over to celebrate with a sweet potato bar and biscuits for lunch, and apple cake & ice cream for dessert. It was all super yummy :-D

Wanted to post the cake recipe before I forgot it, because I made many adaptations. I think the batter itself could be adapted with all kinds of fun flavors...

FOR THE CAKE

Mix together:
1.5 c butter (room temp or melted)
1.5 c sugar
3 eggs
2 T vanilla

Sift together:
3 c flour
1t salt
1t baking soda
1t cinnamon
.5t cloves
.5t allspice
.5t nutmeg

Mix dry and wet ingredients.

Fold in 4c finely diced apples.

bake in a jelly roll pan at 325 for 45 minutes

After the cake cools frost it with this:
4oz Cheve
4oz greek yogurt
1 bag powdered sugar
.5t cinnamon
1t vanilla

Whole 30 Endings

hello there, I kind of fell of the blogging truck at the end there. We did end our Whole 30 a few days early sue to various work events surrounding food. Still, we tried to add in things not all at once.

The first day, we visited Proper Pie (yum!) for savory meat pies and a shared blueberry apple pie (we each actually only had one bite of dessert-it seemed super sweet to me!) Right after lunch I got irritating itchy bumps on the insides of my cheeks. What I noticed later that day was that I had some acid reflux issues, also I didn't sleep as well that night.

On super bowl Sunday we took a veggie tray with guac to avoid chips, but I couldn't resist dipping carrots and cucumbers into the spicy cheese dip. Having grown up in Texas, I have a soft spot for queso. What I noticed in the hours that followed was an uncomfortable bloating and fullness. The next morning my stomach was not in a good mood.

We've had a few bites of sweet treats and have noticed a filmy feeling in our mouths.

After eating yogurt, my sinuses were irritated.

Overall, I think we'd like to keep eating this way most of the time, it just feels better. We both noted that we didn't need to use advil in January, we slept well, we had energy, and we snacked less between meals because the food was filling longer term, we both also lost a little over 10 pounds. As far as I'm concerned, that's a success. It's also weird because I'm not craving the desserts and cheese in the ways I was a few weeks ago (maybe because they could technically be allowed now, but I know how they make me feel?)

so in our kitchen for tomorrow morning I have chicken marinating in blood orange juice, coconut oil, and some spices. Tomorrow I'll bake it to serve on a salad with beets, orange slices, avocado, and some toasted nuts.

Whole 30 - Day 22 & 23

Ok, there's definitely something to this thing. After the potluck my belly was blargh! And last night we went to a dear friend's for dinner. I snacked on sweet tater chips that were cooked in some kind of veggie oil. Did not sleep well at all last night, super gassy, woke up at 3 am, and grogily got out of bed in the morning with a headache. I will definitely keep cooking with the fats we've been using this month. Of course, it's hard to control what you eat in other places, but since we eat 75% of the time at home, I think it will still be helpful.

Monday's Menu

breakfast: green smoothie and an attempt at sweet tater cakes that failed

lunch: leftover soup

dinner: roasted veggies, salad, fruit, chicken

snacks: clemmie, sliced turkey, olives, sweet tater chips (at a friend's house--not W30 approved)

Tuesday's Menu

breakfast: green smoothie and soft boiled egg

lunch: kale, turkey, avocado salad and an orange

dinner: ginger, chard, mushroom, & chicken soup

snack: frozen cherries, olives

Whole 30 - Day 19, 20 & 21

Our life has been busy with non food related things so the food program has been in the background. I took two ordination exams on Friday and resisted bowls full of candy. We went to a friend's house for dinner last night and I managed to not eat chocolate cupcakes or mac & cheese. It does get obnoxious to have to communicate with the people who love you what you are and aren't eating. Today we went out with church folks for lunch and tonight we're going to a pot luck.

It's harder to do this when you want to go socialize with people or you have work events that feed you. We are actually considering stopping at the end of January, which will be day 25 for us. We have several social occasions and work events coming up that will involve food that is definitely not on program.

I do think we can see differences in our health, bodies, and energy levels from this challenge, and I think we're going to try and pay attention to the way the foods we add in affect us. As people who lives often center around table fellowship, I'm not sure this way of eating is something we could keep up consistently, but I'm glad we're done it.

Friday's Menu

breakfast: green smoothie and soft boiled egg

snacks: mandarin orange and dehydrated fruit (the one thing they had at the testing site that didn't have added sugar, grains, etc)

lunch: leftover kitchen sink soup

dinner: frittata, salad, and chicken sausage

Saturday's Menu

breakfast: frittata, sweet potato pancakes, fruit salad, apple sauce

lunch: leftover roasted veggie and hazelnut soup

snacks: banana, soft boiled egg, chocolate cherry mousse, mandarin oranges, frozen cherries, coconut butter (my attempt to make this didn't work out that well, it was super grainy--I guess some thing really do require a vitamix)

dinner: shredded pork and carrot sticks

Sunday's Menu

breakfast: green smoothie and soft boiled egg

lunch: salad with grilled chicken and grilled veggies

snack: mandarin orange and some prunes

dinner was a potluck and we can't be sure of the sugar content in the things we didn't bring. I ate: ham, turkey, roasted veggies, curried cauliflower, salad (scooped trying to avoid the crunchy noodles and cheese), and mixed fruit

Whole 30 - Day 18

it's a hungry all day kind of day... probably because I'm supposed to be studying.... Also because I'm tired of leftovers... Also because I really want some gooey, melty cheese, and maybe a toasted hunk of a baguette. Nothing we're eating tastes like that.

Today's Menu

breakfast: green smoothies

lunch: leftover moussaka

snacks: toasted pecans, a few prunes, a boiled egg, some of that delicious coconut-chocolate-cherry-banana mousse (yes, I made more)

dinner: kitchen sink soup (veggie broth, carrots, onion, celery, rutabaga, tomatoes, chicken sausage, kale)

Whole 30 - Day 17

I'm tired when I don't eat enough protein. Also, I had to pick up a lasagna for our potluck that had been given in someone's honor. Driving with a hot lasagna and loaf of fresh bread was tough, especially as I'm still experiencing cheesy bread cravings... but I didn't cave, so there you go!

Today's Menu

breakfast: purple smoothies

lunch: leftover soup

dinner: tonight was church pot luck. we brought salad with apples, dried cherries, pistachios, almonds, and tuna. Also ate a deviled egg, ham from a ham biscuit, broth from a bean soup, and a few pieces of fruit. Hey, you work with what you have.

snack: a clemmie, a handful of nuts

Whole 30 - Day 16

All day I've been craving a grilled cheese sandwich and I wouldn't mind following it with a warm from the oven chocolate chip cookie. I love dairy and bread-y type things, it's true. Still, eating this way seems to be good for me-- my pants fit better, I'm not hungry between meals, I find myself feeling less fatigued. Still, on February 6, I think I'll eat a grilled cheese :)

I do notice that not eating much protein at breakfast and lunch made me headache-y this afternoon and I had difficulty focusing. Interesting thing to notice...

Today's Menu

breakfast: green smoothies

lunch: leftover hazelnut veggie soup topped with almonds and prosciutto

snacks: marcona almonds, an orange, warmed coconut milk with cocoa powder

dinner: moussaka

Whole 30 - Day 15

Today's Menu

Breakfast: Purple Smoothies and soft boiled eggs

Lunch: leftover mousakka, paleo apple crisp

Dinner: Soup (roasted acorn squash, cauliflower, onions, carrots, garlic, apples, and hazelnut butter) with a sprinkling of sausage

snack: a clemmie

Whole 30 - Day 13 & 14

Saturday's Menu

breakfast: Civilized Caveman's paleo pancakes, fruit salad, scrambled eggs

lunch: leftover beef stew

dinner/snacks: leftover burgers and baked sweet tater fries

Sunday's Menu

breakfast: green smoothies

lunch: leftover stew/soup

dinner: paleo mousakka

snacks: chocolaty banana cherry coconut frozen goodness, clemmies

Whole 30 - Day 12

Snow and two power outages will slow down a blogger... this was the day we were both longing for bread and sweet treats.

Today's Menu

breakfast: green smoothies and TGIPaleo's fluffy paleo pancakes (These were more like egg cakes, tasted like fried bananas, and were nearly impossible to flip. Finally, at the end, I let them cook on the first side longer and that helped.)

skipped lunch as we ate breakfast late.

snacks: clemmies and marcona almonds

dinner: burgers made with belmont's butcher's blend, caramelized onions. cooked mushrooms, homemade bar-b-q sauce, and baked sweet tater fries, a yummy dessert (in the blender I tossed cold coconut milk-most of the water removed, a ripe banana, cocoa powder, and frozen cherries in the blender--it was soooo good, and the rest is now in our freezer!)

Whole 30 - Day 11

Well, I kind of forgot to do lunch as I woke up late, ran all my errands in the middle of the day and then spent an hour prepping beef stew, so I was just a snacker. I will say that I love love love going to Belmont Butchery to buy meat. Tanya, the butcher, is awesome. She's answers all kinds of questions, explains every possible method for cooking something. I'm a big fan of her and her butcher shop. Another one of those I *heart* RVA moments.

On a completely different not, I'm craving chocolate like nobody's business. I swear whole foods was forcing the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies through their ventilation system! This is a good reminder for me that desserts seem to be my food addiction (and go to comfort food). When we're done with this whole thing, I hope I don't crave them in the same way, even though I'm sure I'll still want to eat cookies. They're just so good. But hey, I can do anything for a month.

Today's Menu

breakfast: purple smoothie and hard boiled egg

lunch (jess): salad with tuna cakes

snacks (noe): 2 clemmies, some almond butter, half an avocado

dinner: beef stew and salad

Whole 30 - Day 10

Today's Menu

breakfast: green smoothies and a hard boiled egg

lunch: salad and tuna cakes (tuna, carrots, onions, egg, paleo mayo, coconut)

snacks: banana and clemmie

dinner: salad with yesterday's chicken, toasted almonds, roasted beets, olives, and apples

Whole 30 - Day 9

some food and body thoughts from noe...

my belly was angry this morning... it's either a bug (with the encouragement of our administrative assistant I decided to work from home, just in case) or something I ate. I was able to eat something at every meal today, but there continued to be an uneasiness in my belly. I find these kind of days to be frustrating. As the day has continued, I do really think it's a food reaction and that the puniness that followed was me failing to catch up to good hydration.

So other than being sick this morning, how am I feeling after the first week of this food challenge? Pretty good. My sinus congestion, while still present, seems to be lessening. I haven't had any headaches. I'm full between meals. I'm sleeping more soundly. I have identified my cravings for sweets (specifically chocolate and cookies) and have realized I'm never actually hungry when I crave those things--weird--it's totally connected to my emotions or boredom. (does anyone else eat when they're bored?)

I don't think eating this way is very difficult when you can cook for yourself. We've had plenty of tasty meals and they actually don't require a slice of bread to be complete. Who knew?! I do think if we ate out more I'd struggle with this challenge. I hate being the person at the table that asks a million questions. I wish menu's had to be written out with nutritional and ingredient information the way grocery store labels are. oh well...

Today's Menu

breakfast: green smoothie and a hard boiled egg.

lunch: leftovers from last night

dinner: a salad with apples and almonds, roasted beets, and Nom Nom Paleo's Tandoori Chicken (I went the coconut milk route. I didnt have tandoori spices, so i mixed Penzey's singapore seasoning with garam masala--it smelled good)

snack: nut-ola and whipped coconut milk

Whole 30 - Day 8

Today's Menu

breakfast: purple smoothies, nut-ola, whipped coconut milk, and frozen berries
(Noe made a first pass at "paleo pancakes," but they were, umm, kind of gross. . . flavor was nice, but we couldn't get past the texture)

lunch: (Noe): leftover carrot and fennel soup topped with warmed almonds and pancetta, a salad with avocado, smoked trout, olives, almonds, and homemade dressing
(Jess): leftover kitchen sink soup, some carrots, an apple, and an orange (Jess ate on the go before teaching a class, and yes, she's still hungry. . .)

dinner: delicata squash stuffed with apples, sausage, pecans, and kale (it was delightful!!)

Whole 30 - Day 7

Today's Menu

breakfast: purple smoothies, nut-ola, whipped coconut milk, and frozen berries

lunch: salad with apples & toasted pecans tossed with homemade dressing, 2 soft boiled eggs (just on  Noe's salad), leftover soup from yesterday

dinner: Eating Well's Pacific Sole with Oranges & Pecans (I used mandarin oranges and added ginger to to the fish spice, I also used cider vinegar instead of white wine vinegar, ghee instead of butter, didn't have dill, and added coconut flakes to the orange sauce) and roasted broccoli and carrots (coconut oil, salt, pepper, ginger, orange extract, and balsamic vinegar)

Whole 30 - Day 6

Today's Menu

breakfast: scrambled eggs, fruit salad, and a green smoothie

lunch: sauteed mushroom and bok choy (with coconut oil and splashes of sesame oil, fish oil, and coconut aminos), sliced leftover pork, and a soft boiled egg, topped with garlic pepper sauce

snacks: marcona almonds and a manadarin orange

dinner: Roasted Carrot and Fennel Soup (we didn't have basil or marjoram, I used tarragon. I also added a vegetable bouillon cube) garnished with with San Miniato Sausage Meatballs and fennel fronds

The finished product. YUM!

Roasted Carrots and Fennel
simmering with other goodness...

I *heart* RVA

the food scene in Richmond is so wonderful. I am reminded again and again how lucky we are to have relationships with local meat and veggie farmers, grocers, and food artisans.

Today at the South of the James Winter Market I visited:

Frog Bottom Farm for beautiful carrots, eggs, and pork chops (they have fantastic brussels right now, too... but I can't eat them too often because they don't always agree with my belly). I also got to see Lisa and Arlo, which is always a joy. There's a gentleness to this family that I'm so grateful for.

Here I am preparing for the first CSA pick up in the summer of 2009

We've been enjoying yummies from Frog Bottom since Arlo, who's now 3, was in utero. When we were still in school, we traded work hours for a CSA share, and I think this was the beginning of my love for locally grown food. Ill be sad to see them leave our part of the country to head for a farm in NY this spring.

back to my market stops... after holding up the line at the Frog Bottom tables, I popped by Crumptown Farm for oh so delicious red russian kale (it's great roasted, in soup, in smoothies, as salad... one of my favorites!)

and Deer Run Farm for beef soup bones.

....THEN! then! THEN...

I went with friends to check out the new grocer in our neighborhood. Little House Green Grocery had lots of local produce, dairy products, breads, meats, and other goodies as well. They even had oyster shucking demos today, but we passed on that due to my shellfish allergies. I'm excited to know that I can find such goodness less than a mile from home.

Y'all, I love this town. LOVE it. Richmond is a place that grows on you slowly, and once it's rooted in you, I think it may never fully let go. I hope you can explore the goodness here some time soon!

Now I'm sitting in our lovely home enjoying the smell of simmering beef broth and roasting carrots, onions, and fennel. Blessings abound. Goodness overflows. I am filled with gratitude.

Whole 30 - Day 5

an old photo, but the bows
make it so celebratory!

8 a.m.
I should let you know upfront that there may be some cheating today. If that means adding on more days at the end, I'm ok with that. Today I'm 33 and we are going to celebrate, so if a friend brings champagne to the house, I will drink a glass. Please don't judge me, just send me birthday love instead!

10 p.m.
I am contemplating renaming our month to be the Paleo Challenge instead. There's been a lot of drama on the Whole 30 Facebook page and I think they would say we aren't doing whole 30 because of things like smoothies, muffins, or granola. The thing is, tonight when I cheated I was reminded what my food weakness is. I don't eat muffins or pancakes nonstop, I don't crave pizza, I don't swim in buckets of fried chicken. The times I can't help myself are centered around chocolate, cookies, cakes, and pies. I made a paleo dessert for dinner tonight and caught myself sticking my finger in the bowl to test it again and again. Clearly this is where my impulse control flies out the window. So, today we broke our fast from sweet treats and booze (I had one glass of champagne and a sip of a friend's homemade beer), and now I see I need a long break from desserts. In that way, I do feel like we're following the Whole 30, but maybe others wouldn't agree. As a note we both felt bloated and overly full at the end of the evening.

Today's Menu

Breakfast: green smoothie and nut-ola with frozen cherries and spiced, whipped coconut milk (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, lime juice, banana puree and date purree folded into the whipped goodness)

Lunch: leftover soup from yesterday's lunch

Snacks: marcona almonds and an apple

Dinner: Stone Soup made with friends, a big green salad with fresh fruit, and Paleo Chocolate Banana Pie (recipe below)

Paleo Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Pie

I used the walnut crust recipe from Mark's Daily Apple with a few changes. I used ghee instead of butter. I also baked the crust for 30 minutes because the filling was not something that would be baked in the crust.

Slice a banana and place the slices in the pie plate once the crust has been cooked.

Make Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache (adapted from Aran Goyoaga's Small Plates & Sweet Treats)

Coarsely chop a 6oz bar of 100% unsweetened chocolate (I used Dagoba) and place in a medium size heat-proof bowl

in a saucepan, whisk together:
2/3 c unsweetened coconut milk
1/4-1/3 c maple syrup or honey (I mixed the two)
2 T hazelnut butter (I made hazelnut butter in my food processor, so easy! These tips helped. I didn't sweeten or salt, but I did add a few teaspoons of walnut oil to help it along.)
heat until simmering

pour the coconut mixture over the chopped chocolate and gently stir to combine.

Stir in:
2 t vanilla
1/2 t salt

Pour the ganache into the pie crust. Cover and refrigerate.

Make Coconut Banana Cream

In a blender, liquify:
2 bananas
1 T maple syrup
1 T vanilla extract

Follow these steps from Oh She Glows to make coconut whipped cream in your mixer. Then stir in the banana mix. Refrigerate.

Pipe coconut banana cream onto the pie before serving.

Everyone liked this dessert, even the eight year old!

Whole 30 - Day 4

This morning I made nut-ola (grain free granola) because my beloved really likes to have a bowl of crunchy goodness for breakfast... also, I was excited to find a granola recipe we can use in the future since I have an oat allergy!

I found the basic recipe at Real Food Kosher.  I halved her recipe because I had two eggs whites in the fridge leftover from making mayo yesterday. There are some things I'd do differently if I made it again. My interpretation of the recipe follows:

noe's NUT-ola

In a medium bowl, whisk together:
2 egg whites
3 T date puree (or apple, prune, etc)
2 t extract (almond, orange, vanilla--use your favorite)
spices, 1-2 t each (use your favorite mix... my suggestions include cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, orange or lemon peel, cloves, cardamom, etc)
1 t salt

In food processor, chop to desired size:
2 C mixed nuts and seeds (we had walnuts, pumpkin seeds, pecans, almonds, cashews in the pantry)

Stir nuts into the wet mix along with:
1/4 c dried, fruit (no sugar, oil, or sulphites added)--I used raisins
1/4 c unsweetened, flaked coconut

Spread the mix in a coconut oil greased jellyroll pan and baked at 275° for about 45 minutes.

Stir and re-spread the mix in the pan every 15 minutes, checking it every 5 minutes after it's been in the oven half an hour to avoid burning.

Let cool completely before placing it in a sealed glass jar or container.

Today's Menu

breakfast: green smoothie and paleo blueberry muffin

lunch: kitchen sink soup (everything in the pot but the kitchen sink! well, not exactly... it's the last of the shepherd's pie leftovers, canned tomatoes, turkey stock, carrots, rutabaga, mushrooms, chicken sausage, and kale. YUMMY!)

snacks: earl grey with coconut milk, marcona almonds, banana

noe's dinner: I was driving a friend t the airport, so I had to get creative at a restaurant. The patty of a lamb burger on a bed of greens with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

jess's dinner: soup from lunch, a salad, and mix fruit with grated ginger and unsweetened flaked coconut

Whole 30 - Day 3

Today's Menu

It's not the best photo in the world, but it sure did taste wonderful. . . 

breakfast: green smoothie and breakfast hash (butternut squash, apple, chicken sausage, toasted pecans, and cinnamon in the frying pan)

snacks: half an apple, a banana, and paleo blueberry muffin

lunch: leftovers from last night

dinner: half an avocado and tuna salad lettuce wraps (tuna, homemade mayo, grainy mustard, s/p, chopped apple, slivered pecans, and dill)