The two things I focus on when preparing for a Whole30 are (1) getting the foods I need and (2) getting rid of those I won't. That sounds simple enough, right?
Let's start with getting the foods we'll need. It's much more fun than step 2. I'm guessing most of us have started diets or detoxes or training programs and discovered we don't have the raw materials on hand. No amount of good intention is going to make up for a refrigerator devoid of vegetables when you need to fill your plate with them.
For me, protein was the easiest thing to have on hand. You can freeze meat and poultry for one thing. Cans of tuna and salmon and sardines stack easily in the pantry. Eggs will last weeks in the fridge. But fresh vegetables? Not so easy. And not so forgiving.
A few days (or hours if you plan like I do) before you start, head to the store to stock up on frozen (we'll get to fresh soon) veggies like broccoli, spinach, squash, green beans---whatever you like. If you don't pretty much love them, don't buy them. This is critical. Also buy several onions, whole heads of garlic, half a dozen sweet potatoes, a jar of coconut oil and one of olive oil, and a few of your favorite spices and herbs unless you're fully stocked already. If you can handle dairy, get a stick or two of pastured butter to clarify. I, personally, would skip this one. It's pricey and a bit of effort, but a lot of people love it. This is your getting ready to get ready shopping trip. I know, at this point we're all seeing dollar signs, so may I mention briefly the things you will NOT be buying this month? We're skipping prepared foods, breads, cheese, milk, cream, yogurt, ice cream, potato chips, and pricey "gluten-free" foods. If this plan is starting to sound expensive, I challenge you to start adding up those products we're skipping. I cringe at the thought, myself.
During this first round of your shopping, you could also pick up canned protein that you love. This is dangerous territory. You have to read these labels like your life depended on it. Oh yeah, it does. Why anyone would put gluten or sugar in canned fish is beyond me, but they do. They also add some yucky oils and seasonings sometimes, too. Just read your labels. Yes, fresh, perfectly raised meat and fish may be a better choice, but you need a safety net. In your pantry. Just in case. Grab a few dozen eggs while you're at it, if you can.
One of the hardest things for me to follow, initially, was their suggestion that sticking with organic, grass-fed, perfectly raised, local, etc. not get in the way at this point. While you won't find Whole9 suggesting grocery store, factory farmed pork (quite the opposite, in fact), they say for now, for the most part, it's your food choices that matter. Eat the chicken breast or thigh, not the frozen "chicken dinner." Don't worry about organic, necessarily. Don't worry about grass-fed, necessarily. These words are hard for me to write, but this latitude makes these 30 days much more approachable.
Next post, we'll talk fresh stuff.
Showing posts with label frugal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frugal. Show all posts
Friday, February 24, 2012
Thursday, November 3, 2011
the whole30, day twenty-seven
Did I just write 27? Yes! Yes! Yes! While I may not be making any radical changes at the end of thirty days, it will, nonetheless have been thirty days. Not that I'm excited or anything.
When I have food ready to go, mornings are so easy. I know I've mentioned this before, but overstating it seems impossible and repetition is almost demanded. This morning I grabbed the container pictured below and an apple and was on my way.
Last night I grilled a rib-eye steak on the stove using a Le Creuset grill pan. GK was having bean soup, and my planned vegetable soup had not quite materialized. I was at a loss for what to cook, as I'd planned on the veggie soup and hadn't made it. He asked, "Don't you have a hunk of meat you can cook?" He loves to give me a tongue-in-cheek bad time about my meat consumption, partly, I'm sure, because I prefer it rare, and he prefers it on someone else's plate. I did have meat, though, hard as a rock in the freezer. I am almost ashamed to say that I pulled it from the freezer, added a bit of Kosher salt, and laid it still frozen on the heating grill pan. As it started to thaw a bit, I sprinkled a bit of dried garlic and ground some black pepper over the top. It cooked surprisingly well given my less than careful preparation. I kept the heat lower than I normally would to grill a steak and let it thaw as it cooked. The outside caramelized nicely with dark grill marks as the interior stayed rare, though heated through. While it cooked, I threw (almost literally) a halved zucchini sprinkled with sea salt on the grill pan along side it. I had a rather nice dinner with plenty of leftovers for breakfast and lunch today.
Remembering how unlikely I am to want to start a slow-cooking process when I get home from work, I also tossed half an onion, a dash of cider vinegar, a quart or two of water, and what was left of my roast chicken in the crock pot. The only tricky part is that GK is going to turn it on this morning, and I do not dare insult him by calling to see if he remembered.
When I get home, hopefully, I'll just need to strain the broth and add it to a few sauteed vegetables. I'm looking forward to it. And when I wake up tomorrow, it will be Day 28.
When I have food ready to go, mornings are so easy. I know I've mentioned this before, but overstating it seems impossible and repetition is almost demanded. This morning I grabbed the container pictured below and an apple and was on my way.
Last night I grilled a rib-eye steak on the stove using a Le Creuset grill pan. GK was having bean soup, and my planned vegetable soup had not quite materialized. I was at a loss for what to cook, as I'd planned on the veggie soup and hadn't made it. He asked, "Don't you have a hunk of meat you can cook?" He loves to give me a tongue-in-cheek bad time about my meat consumption, partly, I'm sure, because I prefer it rare, and he prefers it on someone else's plate. I did have meat, though, hard as a rock in the freezer. I am almost ashamed to say that I pulled it from the freezer, added a bit of Kosher salt, and laid it still frozen on the heating grill pan. As it started to thaw a bit, I sprinkled a bit of dried garlic and ground some black pepper over the top. It cooked surprisingly well given my less than careful preparation. I kept the heat lower than I normally would to grill a steak and let it thaw as it cooked. The outside caramelized nicely with dark grill marks as the interior stayed rare, though heated through. While it cooked, I threw (almost literally) a halved zucchini sprinkled with sea salt on the grill pan along side it. I had a rather nice dinner with plenty of leftovers for breakfast and lunch today.
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| rare steak and grilled zucchini packed for lunch |
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| soon to be chicken soup |
Sunday, October 30, 2011
the whole30, day twenty-three
Meals around here are getting interesting and odd at the same time. GK has decided enough is enough with animal protein, specifically meat, and is insisting on beans and bread and such. Since he's been through quite a lot lately, I am looking for ways to accommodate him without making him, or me for that matter, sick. Such fun this is. Really, except for grimacing when making bean soup or oatmeal for him, it's likely to be workable, at least for awhile. I'm hoping it will pass.
This morning for breakfast, I made a veggie scramble for him with summer squash, red onions, mushrooms, and pastured eggs. This would have been a fine breakfast for me, too, but I am trying not to eat so many eggs. Well, that and I also had these beautiful little sandwich steaks from Wellness Meats thawed and ready to cook. Steak and eggs (one egg) just sounded better. This one was easy. It took about 15 minutes to do both dishes, and they were pretty darned good. Mine was, anyway, and he ate his with no complaints, so I'm assuming.
While I'm on the subject of beef, one of my favorite subjects, I must say more about those sandwich steaks. These are not your fancy steak dinner steaks. They are fairly small, I'd estimate about 2 ounces each, and thin. Each is about the size of the palm of a hand and shaped the same. They are grass-fed, tender, and inexpensive. They cook very, very quickly, but with a hot pan you can still manage medium rare if you like. Even as they approach well-done, not my ideal certainly, they maintain their tenderness. One would be a nice meat addition to a breakfast or lunch plate. They're good wrapped in a lettuce leaf, butter lettuce is my favorite, with the condiments of your choice. They're good, too, just to pick up unceremoniously and eat out of hand for a quick snack. I usually cook the entire pound package, use what I need at the time, and keep the others in the refrigerator for later.
We usually have something fun simmering away on Halloween and have a few people here to help us with trick-or-treaters---we LOVE to count them. My Halloween meal plan initially was lamb stew or lamb shanks. That has given way to a hearty beef stew and an equally hearty, though vegetarian, bean soup. We can both eat comfortably, and our guests will have a choice. I worry a bit about the negatives connected with legumes, but right now I'm worrying a bit more about his emotional well-being and need to exercise a little control over his diet. I may make some fresh almond flour biscuits, though I might feel awfully deprived as they are not Whole30 compliant. Maybe I'll skip the biscuits this time.
Speaking again of the Whole30, one week from today is day 30 for me. That seems almost unbelievable.
This morning for breakfast, I made a veggie scramble for him with summer squash, red onions, mushrooms, and pastured eggs. This would have been a fine breakfast for me, too, but I am trying not to eat so many eggs. Well, that and I also had these beautiful little sandwich steaks from Wellness Meats thawed and ready to cook. Steak and eggs (one egg) just sounded better. This one was easy. It took about 15 minutes to do both dishes, and they were pretty darned good. Mine was, anyway, and he ate his with no complaints, so I'm assuming.
While I'm on the subject of beef, one of my favorite subjects, I must say more about those sandwich steaks. These are not your fancy steak dinner steaks. They are fairly small, I'd estimate about 2 ounces each, and thin. Each is about the size of the palm of a hand and shaped the same. They are grass-fed, tender, and inexpensive. They cook very, very quickly, but with a hot pan you can still manage medium rare if you like. Even as they approach well-done, not my ideal certainly, they maintain their tenderness. One would be a nice meat addition to a breakfast or lunch plate. They're good wrapped in a lettuce leaf, butter lettuce is my favorite, with the condiments of your choice. They're good, too, just to pick up unceremoniously and eat out of hand for a quick snack. I usually cook the entire pound package, use what I need at the time, and keep the others in the refrigerator for later.
We usually have something fun simmering away on Halloween and have a few people here to help us with trick-or-treaters---we LOVE to count them. My Halloween meal plan initially was lamb stew or lamb shanks. That has given way to a hearty beef stew and an equally hearty, though vegetarian, bean soup. We can both eat comfortably, and our guests will have a choice. I worry a bit about the negatives connected with legumes, but right now I'm worrying a bit more about his emotional well-being and need to exercise a little control over his diet. I may make some fresh almond flour biscuits, though I might feel awfully deprived as they are not Whole30 compliant. Maybe I'll skip the biscuits this time.
Speaking again of the Whole30, one week from today is day 30 for me. That seems almost unbelievable.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
slow-cooked marinara sauce with a chicken option
For years one of my favorite pastimes was simmering a large pot of marinara sauce, sometimes two, on the stove. I'd end up with jar upon jar of rich, thick sauce for the freezer. Though in recent years, I've cut way back on my use of tomatoes, there's something comforting about the slow simmer of that sauce. The house just smells wonderful all day, which, of course, is one of my favorite things about slow-cooking and braising.
Though I used large, heavy pots for the fun of it, a crock pot works beautifully, too. The crock pot also has the advantage of needing much less attention during the long cooking process. This sauce goes together so quickly that you could even start it before work and come home wondering if you're in an Italian restaurant.
2 large yellow or white onions, sliced or chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 or 2 carrots, finely diced
1 pound mushrooms, sliced (canned will work here in a pinch)
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 4 tablespoons Italian seasoning blend*, preferably one with red pepper flakes
2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
2 28 ounce cans tomato sauce**
sea salt and pepper
**whole tomatoes may be substituted for tomato sauce, resulting in a lighter, though still tasty, sauce.
This sauce can be used as is over spaghetti squash or pasta, or it can be the basis of any number of dishes.
For a quick and easy chicken dish, one of my all-time favorites, add chicken pieces of your choice (I like thighs for this) to the uncooked sauce before beginning the 8 hour cook time. The chicken cooks with the sauce and comes out tender and moist, as it adds more depth to the sauce.
Freeze leftovers for quick dinners on weekdays.
Though I used large, heavy pots for the fun of it, a crock pot works beautifully, too. The crock pot also has the advantage of needing much less attention during the long cooking process. This sauce goes together so quickly that you could even start it before work and come home wondering if you're in an Italian restaurant.
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2 large yellow or white onions, sliced or chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 or 2 carrots, finely diced
1 pound mushrooms, sliced (canned will work here in a pinch)
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 4 tablespoons Italian seasoning blend*, preferably one with red pepper flakes
2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
2 28 ounce cans tomato sauce**
sea salt and pepper
- Brown onions and carrots in oil in a large saute pan.
- Stir in mushrooms and brown slightly.
- Add garlic and cook another minute or so.
- Pour onion mix into crock pot and add seasonings, tomatoes, and tomato sauce.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper to start.
- Cook on low for at least 8 hours. The long, slow cooking is what creates a rich sauce.
- Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
**whole tomatoes may be substituted for tomato sauce, resulting in a lighter, though still tasty, sauce.
This sauce can be used as is over spaghetti squash or pasta, or it can be the basis of any number of dishes.
For a quick and easy chicken dish, one of my all-time favorites, add chicken pieces of your choice (I like thighs for this) to the uncooked sauce before beginning the 8 hour cook time. The chicken cooks with the sauce and comes out tender and moist, as it adds more depth to the sauce.
Freeze leftovers for quick dinners on weekdays.
Friday, September 2, 2011
who needs wheat?
Sometimes now when I look at older recipes, both mine and those of others, I am dumbfounded at how often we add gluten when it doesn't even add to the dish, certainly not substantially. The same holds true with dairy and soy, though I'm still holding fast to my right to whine where heavy cream and luscious cheeses are concerned. I'm thinking of this today partly because I'm reviewing dozens of my own chicken dishes and partly, too, because I recently read a comment from a newly diagnosed young mother who is cooking separate meals for her family and looking for better options.
When I look at my old notes---I don't often write recipes per se, at least not for my own use---I notice wheat flour and bread crumbs in most dishes. Few, if any, of these need the wheat. It was just always our go to grain. It was just there. It almost feels quaint now and a little foolish that I never questioned it. It would not have occurred to me that breading didn't have to be wheat or that gravy didn't have to start wit a wheat flour roux. Of course, I was familiar with corn meal or arrowroot or corn starch for these uses, but they never seemed adequate, and I never thought of any as good substitutes. Still, that was then, this is now, and I'm delighted to see that wheat is almost always replaceable with something, often something better.
For many, many dishes, sweet rice flour makes a beautiful sauce or gravy. It can even be used as you would wheat flour to make a roux with oil, pan drippings, or butter if you can use it. If you haven't tried sweet rice flour, you're in for a pleasant surprise. It is milled from short-grained, sticky rice, so it's more glutinous than that from long grained rice, making perfect as a thickener.
One way to use sweet rice flour when preparing crock pot dishes that adds a good deal of flavor is to dredge the meat in the flour and then brown it in small batches. Chicken pieces are especially good this way. Though they can be tossed into the crock pot raw with good results, coating the pieces in rice flour and browning first by sauteeing them on the stove in oil is worth the extra effort. When using whole chickens, sprinkling the rice flour over them before placing in the crock pot also works well. Whole chickens will usually brown nicely on their own in the crock pot.
With almost any recipe, you can mix the spices, herbs, salt, and pepper with the rice flour first and then use this mix to coat your chicken pieces before browning. Any unused seasoned flour should be added to the crock pot to flavor and thicken the dish.
Chicken Chile Verde is quick and easy in the crock pot. This dish can be made more or less firey by adjusting the quantity of hot peppers. Remember to check them when your cutting them if using fresh jalapeno or serrano peppers. The heat varies so much from one to another that some may taste like bell peppers and others set your mouth on fire. I usually cut off the stem and touch the stem end, the part headed for the compost bucket, to my tongue. Do NOT do this if you are particularly sensitive to to hot and spicy foods. If you're really in a hurry, skip the browning step and layer all ingredients in crock pot. Browning adds to the flavor, but the dish is still very good without it. This recipe can easily be doubled. Note, too, that by leaving out the rice flour, which is in the dish to thicken primarily, this fits into a Paleo plan.
Add a garnish of avocado slices, finely sliced green onions, and sour cream (if dairy works for you.)
More crock pot recipes to come.
When I look at my old notes---I don't often write recipes per se, at least not for my own use---I notice wheat flour and bread crumbs in most dishes. Few, if any, of these need the wheat. It was just always our go to grain. It was just there. It almost feels quaint now and a little foolish that I never questioned it. It would not have occurred to me that breading didn't have to be wheat or that gravy didn't have to start wit a wheat flour roux. Of course, I was familiar with corn meal or arrowroot or corn starch for these uses, but they never seemed adequate, and I never thought of any as good substitutes. Still, that was then, this is now, and I'm delighted to see that wheat is almost always replaceable with something, often something better.
For many, many dishes, sweet rice flour makes a beautiful sauce or gravy. It can even be used as you would wheat flour to make a roux with oil, pan drippings, or butter if you can use it. If you haven't tried sweet rice flour, you're in for a pleasant surprise. It is milled from short-grained, sticky rice, so it's more glutinous than that from long grained rice, making perfect as a thickener.
One way to use sweet rice flour when preparing crock pot dishes that adds a good deal of flavor is to dredge the meat in the flour and then brown it in small batches. Chicken pieces are especially good this way. Though they can be tossed into the crock pot raw with good results, coating the pieces in rice flour and browning first by sauteeing them on the stove in oil is worth the extra effort. When using whole chickens, sprinkling the rice flour over them before placing in the crock pot also works well. Whole chickens will usually brown nicely on their own in the crock pot.
With almost any recipe, you can mix the spices, herbs, salt, and pepper with the rice flour first and then use this mix to coat your chicken pieces before browning. Any unused seasoned flour should be added to the crock pot to flavor and thicken the dish.
Chicken Chile Verde is quick and easy in the crock pot. This dish can be made more or less firey by adjusting the quantity of hot peppers. Remember to check them when your cutting them if using fresh jalapeno or serrano peppers. The heat varies so much from one to another that some may taste like bell peppers and others set your mouth on fire. I usually cut off the stem and touch the stem end, the part headed for the compost bucket, to my tongue. Do NOT do this if you are particularly sensitive to to hot and spicy foods. If you're really in a hurry, skip the browning step and layer all ingredients in crock pot. Browning adds to the flavor, but the dish is still very good without it. This recipe can easily be doubled. Note, too, that by leaving out the rice flour, which is in the dish to thicken primarily, this fits into a Paleo plan.
- 1 onion, sliced or diced
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 cans, about 8 ounces, of mild whole or diced chiles
- 1 15 ounce can tomatillos, drain most of the liquid
- 2 to 4 serrano or jalapeno chiles, or a few tablespoons canned
- 4 ounces chicken broth
- 2 ounces sweet rice flour
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 to 3 tablespoons oil
- 8 chicken thighs, cut in eighths (boneless, skinless thighs make it easier)
- Mix rice flour with dried herbs, salt & pepper. Add chicken pieces and mix well to coat.
- Brown onions and chicken pieces in a small amount of oil.
- Place chiles, garlic, and tomatillos in crock pot with any leftover flour mixture. Add browned chicken and onions.
- Pour broth evenly over top.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.
- Check seasoning, add more salt and pepper if desired.
Add a garnish of avocado slices, finely sliced green onions, and sour cream (if dairy works for you.)
More crock pot recipes to come.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
my newest food love: Beeler's bacon ends
Many, if not most, of us with health or dietary concerns end up paying more for our food than we would if we were throwing caution to the wind, as I must admit I have often done. We read labels, double check our reference guides for questionable ingredients, and stifle a low moan as we pay the tab. Our health is worth it, I have no doubt, but still...
I am always on the lookout for a more cost-effective way to stay healthy. I have, personally, made some major missteps trying to make sense of food over the years. Little is more frustrating for me than to eat or drink what I don't really like but expect to aid my health, only to find out those same products are hindering not helping. That is annoying!
I am always on the lookout for a more cost-effective way to stay healthy. I have, personally, made some major missteps trying to make sense of food over the years. Little is more frustrating for me than to eat or drink what I don't really like but expect to aid my health, only to find out those same products are hindering not helping. That is annoying!
Recently, I've added a little bacon back into my diet. Bacon does certainly not have to be from pork, though I am not really excited by the other options, personally. I know many who are. I like pork bacon but have rarely eaten it in recent years for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is all the scary additives. Many versions of uncured bacon are on the market, addressing one of my concerns, though in my opinion, they have two major drawbacks: price and flavor. It is never fun to spend more than you'd like on something, take the time to prepare it, and then have to choke it down or toss it. No, thank you.
I never thought of myself as a picky eater, but those close to me would probably beg to differ. I think we all want our food to taste good, and that is certainly a matter of personal preference. I don't care much at all for smoked anything; I don't even like walking into restaurants that specialize in BBQ because of the smokiness. So, with bacon, which I know is smoked, I have a very narrow window of acceptable taste these days. That adds to my hesitation to spend a lot on a new bacon.
Enter Beeler's bacon.
I'm not suggesting that Beeler's is new, just new to me. I love the flavor. Yes, it's smoked like almost all bacon, but somehow it doesn't have that super-smokey taste of many of the uncured bacons. I'm a bit of a purist with bacon and don't care for sweet or fruity tastes, though I know many love them, and the plain version works well for me. For those who do like it sweeter, they have that, too. Beeler's bacon is sliced fairly thick, which is not my personal preference, and it also tends to be a little pricey, I think. But, and this is a big but for me, they also make available a slightly larger package of bacon ends and pieces. These are cut irregularly as the name implies, though I find this a perk. It's like getting a variety pack for half the price of the plain version. I tend not to lay bacon out in neat and tidy strips for presentation on a plate, so the variation in shape and size does not bother me. That said, there are plently of lovely slices within the package that would be fine for that. There are also many very meaty portions with virtually no fat. It's a fun grab bag. The price is really about half that of their regular sliced bacon. Check them out http://www.beelerspurepork.com/index.htm .
Another bonus is that the rendered fat is considered one of the preferred fats for cooking when following a Paleo diet, so nothing is wasted. Since this bacon is free of added nitrates and nitrites, it is relatively pure. This applies, too, to uncured beef bacon, though I haven't tried it yet. It will take a bit of getting used to, this idea of cooking with animal fat, after all the years of avoiding it. I am carefully, cautiously approaching the concept.
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