Lamb Stew

I had no idea that lamb was so...expensive. But I was feeling adventurous and the weather was kind of crappy so lamb stew happened! I basically went off of this recipe, adding in a little more salt and garlic to taste, and subbing sweet potatoes for regular ones.

Cauliflower Rice Sushi

I really love sushi but it's higher in carbs than I'd like to eat right now, so I tried making it with cauliflower rice (seasoned with rice wine vinegar). One head of cauliflower made three rolls. I only had veggies on hand, so I rolled up a baked sweet potato with shredded carrots, steamed asparagus, peeled squash, cucumber, and sesame seeds.

Dipped it in some coconut aminos and it was surprisingly good!

Peaches and Tea

I've never been a big fruit fan, but there's something nice about the simplicity of some sliced summer fruit and a cup of pomegranate herbal tea :).

Provencal Vegetable Tian

This is adapted from 'The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches to Go' which is a fun little directory of lunch ideas. This one is time consuming but super simple. You just need to chop everything and be around while it bakes. Really nice caramel flavor on the vegetables and great cold or hot!

Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Garlic
2 Tbsp fresh thyme
2 Tbsp fresh basil
1-2 large onions, sliced
1 large zucchini (or yellow squash, or both!), sliced thinly
1-2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced (I get rid of seeds)
1 large sweet potato, thinly sliced
1 bunch kale or spinach
3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 eggplant, thinly sliced and salted (the pat with paper towel to soak up moisture)
1 bunch asparagus, thinly sliced long ways

Preheat oven to 425. Toss sweet potatoes in olive oil and salt and roast until tender (about 20 minutes). While potatoes are in the oven, cook down onions and kale or spinach on the stove top in 1/4 cup olive oil for about 10 minutes. Fill the bottom of a casserole dish with the cooked onions and greens.

Drop oven to 325. Layer remaining vegetables like a lasagna, with herbs and garlic mixed in and frequent salt. Any combination of vegetables will work! I think green beans would be good too. Top with tomatoes and remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and bake uncovered for 60 minutes. Cover with foil and bake an additional 90 minutes. Bonus--it goes really well in an omelet too!

Paleo Stir Fry

I really like that paleo can often be a matter of throwing together simple, basic ingredients, like with this stir fry. I'm pretty sure we added shrimp to this (grilled separately), but otherwise threw together some broccoli, zucchini, shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, onions, peppers, sesame seeds, and coconut aminos.

Family Time in Myrtle Beach

It was a short trip, but one with a nice view (before the crowds hit, that is)!

Oh, and This Happened

On the Whole 30 you cut out a LOT--all grains, dairy, sugar/sweeteners, legumes, alcohol, processed anything--and salmon with vegetables gets really old after like Day 3. So even though I've been a proud vegetarian for over 20 years (the last two I ate seafood also), I finally got the courage to try meat. I've been mentally building up to it for a while now, reading books and articles ('The Vegetarian Myth' is a particularly good one) on how to ease back in to the meat world. I believe it has important nutrition that my body needs and I think that the grain/dairy/legume/vegetable diet I've lived on for so long has gotten me to where I am now (overweight, with severe hayfever and many other minor ailments). It's a high carb, insulin-fueled diet that I realize now is the reason I've had cravings, crashes, and steady weight gain over the years despite eating pretty healthfully and exercising regularly.

Anyways, I recently started using chicken broth when cooking (instead of veggie stock) and then dove in head first with a (grass fed, organic) beef burger...which I LOVED. It's like all the cells in my body lit up and started cheering. I felt so satiated (not stuffed) afterwards! I had about one a week while on the challenge and also tried bites of my husband's chicken and pork (which I'm still working up to). I worried a lot about what people who've known me a long time would think, but I'm at the point where I want to take control of my health and I think a paleo/Whole 30/Wheat Belly/whatever you want to call it diet is the best course of action (for me at least). I don't think I'll ever be a huge carnivore, but I would like to incorporate meat as a side to add protein, iron, etc. a few times a week. So there you go!