Cauliflower "pizza"

Cauliflower pizza crust - first try! 

Sage sausage, mushrooms, onions, plum tomatoes, cheese. 

Semi-cook cauliflower (6-7min in oven) then mix in egg, cup cheese, spices. 425 deg in oven for 15 minutes. Brown crust. 

Add toppings. 

Put back in oven for another 10-15 minutes.

#alittlebitbetter

Whole 30 Days 4-6

THURSDAY Day 4:

Tired. Grumpy. Hungry.

BREAKFAST: egg 'muffins' and a banana

LUNCH: 'no bun no fries' from our restaurant at work

DINNER:

Pork loin, roasted sweet potatoes, rainbow swiss chard with onions

FRIDAY DAY 5:

Woke up feeling HUNGOVER today. M did too. Terrible headache, exhausted, both slept through the alarm for the gym. Not nice. So odd. We both spent 15 minutes googling possibilities of a sweet potato hangover or half-joking that the cat fed us drinks while we were sleeping. What the $%^& good is not enjoying a cocktail for 30 days if we are going to wake up feeling like we got schmammered the night before? Almost all of the negatives without the fun. Great. Needless to say we were pretty pissed this morning and really missing some greasy food and sugar-bombed coffee. Yes. I get that this is missing the point. We didn't do it alright?! I'm just saying...

Breakfast: plum, mix of cashews and pecans with some salt

Lunch: salad from the restaurant Chicken Cobb without cheese with oil and vinegar

Dinner: bunless burger from FOUR BURGERS with fried egg on top and a side salad with oil and vinegar and dijon mustard. 

DYING for a treat, so at the movies instead of popcorn and a diet soda (my usual treat) I brought mixed nuts (no peanuts) with a vita-coco

SATURDAY DAY 6:

Breakfast: bowl of cashews, coconut shreds and a few strawberries mixed together

Lunch: green salad with shredded chicken, olives, cauliflower and shredded carrots, oil and vinegar

Dinner: Pot roast with bacon (slow-cooked), celery, carrots, onions. With a side of asparagus and artichoke hearts.

I have been struggling with beverages, missing the different flavors. I didn't realize how much I would miss that. I've been crushing as many different flavors of club soda as I can find. We have also been really craving foods that we normally wouldn't eat. Example, Saturday night we nearly caved when we both suddenly wanted chocolate chip cookie dough ice-cream (mint chocolate for M) AND ruffles chips with french onion dip. We were literally both GIDDY talking about it and I think both waiting for the other to just say 'screw it' and sprint to the corner store. This is crazy.

I am getting a little sick of all of the cooking. M is getting sick of doing so many dishes. We are spending all weekend in so we're avoiding temptation. Damn this Whole30.

I know it's good for us, enjoying some of the new recipes but tired. Tired of cooking. Tired of reading labels. Tired of no sauces on anything. Tired of being one of those obnoxious 'oooooh we don't eat that we are paleo, mmmmmmk?' people. I actually watched Ted talks yesterday debunking paleo as not being authentic to the cavemen at all. So mentally we are not doing well with this.  All this complaining and we're not quitting yet? Why you ask? I have no idea. Just that we said that we would do 30 days so #$%^& it we are going to do it. $%^&*^%$!!!! 

Arrrrrrrgh #alittlebitbetter

Pesto and portobello stuffed/bacon wrapped chicken

Kudos to PaleoMomRx for this recipe. 

While we will probably never subscribe to the full hype that is crossfit or paleo - recipes like these are something to make you stop and appreciate it. 

Borrowed and modified from her blog, here's our version...

Served stuffed with portobello mushrooms, pesto, wrapped in nitrate-free bacon (thanks trader joe's). No instructions provided because it is EXACTLY as easy as it looks. 

350 til the juices run clear. Our oven (not convinced it gets to temp) took 50 min. A decent oven I would think 35-40. USDA says 165 deg internal temp. I cooked til 155 and it looked perfect (white all the way thru but still moist). Serve as you see fit. 

We choose to mandolin some yellow zucchini (so delicious and cheap this time of year) and salt. Served under as a little side dish. 

Bon appétit!

 http://www.paleomomrx.com/2012/08/08/pesto-stuffed-chicken/. For this

Fast Food/Instant Breakfast #alittlebitbetter

Muffin-tin Breakfast Frittatas. 

About 15 minutes to prep (and I'm slow). 25 minutes so cook. Makes 6 servings

You could easily make this vegetarian and dairy-free too. I think the sausage added a lot of flavor (ahem, fat) to these and if you wanted to lighten it up you could nix or sub that out. Also found versions online with egg whites only. Experiment and see what you enjoy and let me know!

This was a breeze and variations on theme will be following. I wrapped in paper towels then tupperware once cooled and put in the fridge. You can enjoy them cold, or warm to taste. This will be breakfast for the rest of the week!

Ingredients: 8 eggs, 1/2c half and half, veggies of choice (4 asparagus stalks, 1/2 red pepper, handful sliced portobellos, 1/2 sweet onion), protein of choice, cheese (optional but delicious - we used shredded Italian 1/3 cup and a few sprinkles of Mediterranean feta), herbs/spices as desired. 

Assembly:

1. Brown sausage in a pan, when nearly finished, add chopped onions and continue to cook until sausage is cooked through and onions are sauteed.

 

2. Meanwhile, chop vegetables of choice. We love chopped asparagus, chopped red peppers, chopped portobello mushrooms. Mix together with a touch salt and pepper and put into a bowl.

 

3. (Optional): Add cheese to veggie mixture. We added a little crumbled feta, and a half cup shredded Parmesan cheese.

 

4. Add meat mixture to veggie bowl and mix everything together. Spoon mixture into coated (I recommend coconut oil to coat) muffin tin.

 

5. Whisk eggs, half and half together lightly. Transfer liquid into the muffin tin. A baster makes it clean and easy.

 

6. Put into pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes (until eggs start to brown slightly). Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes after to cool then transfer to cooling rack.

 

7. Bon appétit! 

NUTRITION FACTS

Serving Size: 2 muffins

Amount per Serving

Calories 197                                         Calories from Fat 125.1

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 13.9g                        21%

Saturated Fat 5.43g                27%

Cholesterol 266.53mg             88%

Sodium 288.89mg                   12%

Total Carbohydrate 4.41g         1%

Dietary Fiber 1.27g                  5%

Sugars 0.17g

Protein 14.02g                         28%

Est. Percent of Calories from:

Fat           63%

Carbs      8%

Protein   28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/alyssas-muffin-tin-frittata-sausage-vegetables/#ixzz2ci4rvVic

Easy dinner - lo-carb chicken salad

Pan-grilled chicken,

other pan: onions, mushrooms, asparagus, dill, lemon juice, 

Salad: greens, cukes, tomatoes

Easy. Delicious. Lo-carb and healthy.

Stuffed Salmon & Zucchini Pasta

Stuffed salmon with artichoke hearts, feta and spinach (as inspired by this Whole Foods recipe: www.wholefoodsmar...) 

and easy zucchini "pasta" 
with pesto, mushrooms and tomatoes. So easy. So lo-carb. So gluten free. Soooooo delicious. We were pretty impressed with ourselves.

Our Zucchini Lasagna

Our Zucchini Lasagna 
#gluten-free #lo-carb 

1. Thinly slice zucchini length-wise. Paper towel & salt to pull out water. Let sit for @ least 10 mins. 

2. Sautée meat - Add onions & garlic. Add tomato sauce & balsamic. Simmer 30 mins+ 

3. Chop veggies. We chose kale, spinach, portobello mushrooms, green peppers & sun-dried tomatoes. 

4. Separately mix cottage cheese, 1 egg, shredded cheese. 

5. Layer it up. 

6. Cover w foil. Bake at 375/45 mins. Remove foil for next 15. Rest for 10. 

7. Bon appétit