Whole30 Week 3 Eats/Update

I am going to be totally 100% honest here.  How am I doing on the Whole30?  Good and bad, in equal parts.  Here is the good:

-I have finally broken free of my desire for sweetened coffee!  This is huge, probably the biggest thing for me.  I don't care to sweeten my daily cup o' joe anymore and I am truly ecstatic over this.  Some cinnamon and cream and I am good to go.
-I am totally dunzo with peanuts and beans, and don't miss them in the least.  They make me uncomfortable and give me crazy nausea.  Good riddance.
-I'm fine with drinking water, tea, or decaf coffee, whereas I used to crave  diet drinks.
-I do not miss treats, cookies, etc at all.
-I do not miss cheese at all, goodbye cheese.  (I do continue to use cream and butter though.)
-Starch is a big problem for me, intestinally.  Anytime I ingest any amount of starch I pay for it big time.  I have felt much better eliminating starches from my diet.

The Bad:
-8 weeks of absolutely nothing sweet at all has been rough.  It was fine the first 6 weeks or so, but now I am just dying for a little dried fruit.  That's all I want!  No cookies or treats, just some dried fruit as a snack.  I have had some here and there and then felt really guilty.  I have been able to stop myself, but a few times I have soooo wanted to go to town on something and just barely been able to walk away.
-I am tired of snacking on nuts and I overindulge and then feel gross.  It is annoying to only be able to snack on protein and nuts.  I keep lots of veggies in the house but they need some sort of preparation/thawing and that is not really what a snack is, essentially.  Snacks are my downfall!
-I have not done as good a job as I hoped I would.  Taking bites and tastes of things I shouldn't.  However, I have been 100% faithful to the no peanuts and no beans.
-My blood sugars have been a little wacko, I can't pinpoint why exactly.  I feel like things I used to ingest without issue are now giving me a lot of trouble.  I'll have to continue to monitor this.  I have not been using any sweeteners of any kind, so I know it's not that.  It could just be my diabetes progressing, who knows.
-My tummy has actually been kind of bothering me.  No discernible pattern to it, it could be anything, I could have a bug, not be drinking enough water, I don't know.  I'm not sure why, but I felt amazing during my sweetener detox, and then now that I am doing Whole30 I've had some problems.  It very well could be that I was super strict on my detox but once I got into Whole30 mode I relaxed a little, and that's whats bothering me.  I am going to try to be way more compliant and see if that helps.

All in all, I'm still pretty happy with where I am.  No sweetener in my coffee is great, and I think I've broken my treat-addiction, which is thrilling, for serious.  I'm not sure there is a way I'll be able to incorporate any amount of fruit back into my diet without some major blood sugar issues, but I'll try, once Whole30 is over.  I am also stoked to have successfully rid my diet of cheese, beans, and peanuts.  That is major improvement for me.

Annnnyyyways folks, lets talk Whole30 eats shall we?  This week is an interesting one!  I whipped up some cod with an onion curry sauce on Monday, and some crazy good spiced carrots.  These carrots will change what you think of carrots forever.  Make them ASAP!  Here is the recipe.   The cod was super simple.  Saute some onions until browned, sprinkle about 2 tsp of curry powder over, pour in two tbsp of broth, reduce, and pour over sauteed cod (which I also sprinkled liberally with curry powder).  Takes maybe 20 min. tops.

We are also going to have some Nom Nom Paleo inspired bacon-avocado sammies with a fried-egg topped salad, and tomorrow I am super pumped to make some slow cooker ribs with my own Paleo Barbecue Sauce recipe.  The sauce is simmering on the stove right now and smells awesome.  With the ribs I'm going to make a quick side dish of sauteed cabbage and 'shrooms.

And that's about it folks.  I am thrilled to officially be on vacation through 1/3!  I'll be in Chicago with family for a wedding for about a week, so I'm not sure how much cooking I'll be doing, but hopefully I'll have some fun posts and positive Whole30 updates for you.  I also need to do a Justus Drugstore restaurant review, an amazing locovore farm-to-table nose-to-tail joint located in bumblef*ck Smithville, MO.  Truly an incredible meal.  I'll do a recap when I have a bit more time.

Lastly- some stupid fun pics.  What do you think- have I gone off the deep end?

Sugar Free Tart Peach Frozen Yogurt

As you can see, this pic is not of sugar free tart peach frozen yogurt, though equally delicious if I may say so myself.  Isn't it funny that by 10AM you've already had a pretty full day, in toddler time?  We took a trip downtown to a cute little kiddo exhibit, and little miss hippopotamus had a grand old time.  So far it's been a pretty nice weekend, which kicked off with a relaxing shabbat dinner Friday evening.  A shabbat dinner of... bacon wrapped hot dogs!  Hmmmm, probably not the best thing to make for shabbat dinner, but whatever.

Have you ever had a bacon wrapped hot dog?  In my former life on the CW diet, I would never in a million years have dared to eat such a thing- but now- I don't bat an eye.  A little heavy on the nitrates but what the hell.  So easy.  Take a strip of bacon and wrap it around your dog- place on a cooling rack  over a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400 for 20-ish minutes or until your bacon starts to crisp up.  Pretty yummy folks!  For a veg we had:

Nothing crazy.  Peppers, onions, and grape tomatoes with a little sea salt and cumin and paprika.

What was crazy, crazy good that is, was my latest experiment with the ice cream maker.  OMG!!!!  I am really psyched about it, and the best part is how much it makes (and for a fraction of the cost of going to the yogurt shop.)

Get to the g-store and get yourself some plain 0% Greek Yogurt now!

Sugar Free Tart Peach Frozen Yogurt
-3 cups plain greek yogurt, I used 0%
-4-6 containers of peach baby food (I used 4 but would use 5 or 6 next time.  Or go crazy and do 3 peach and 3 banana, berry, whatever!)
-4 tablespoons or your preferred sweetener (I used Z-Sweet which is a mixture of erythritol and stevia which is amazing- from WF)
-juice of one lemon

In a large mixing  bowl, combine yogurt with baby food, sweetener, and lemon juice.  If you want to bump up the tartness, use the zest as well.  Combine well and refrigerate for 3-4 hours so it's nice and chilled.  Prepare the yogurt according to your ice cream maker's instructions and in 20min you'll have awesomely peachy frozen yogurt, or pop it in the freezer for 2 more hours and it'll be a bit harder.  Just note that the next day, it'll be rock hard straight out of the freezer.  You'll need to let it sit out on the counter for a bit first.

I loved this yogurt because it's packed full of protein, and has less carbs than other yogurt because greek yogurt has less lactose and carbs as the whey has been removed (right?) and it has a great tart flavor and a hint of sweet.  Plus, no gross chemicals or weird ingredients like when you buy the stuff at pinkberry or wherever.  You know exactly what's in there and it is GOOD stuff!  And it tastes incredible.  Not like some sad diabetic imitation but like the real thing- if not better!  And we have tons left over.  Yum!

Do you have an ice cream maker?  I'd like to try plain old vanilla too.  Just some erythritol and vanilla extract.  What's your favorite way to make ice cream or frozen yogurt?

Herbed Bacon and White Bean Soup

Are you a Top Chef fan?  Have you noticed how when a chef has either kinda crappy ingredients, not a lot of time, or is just a little stumped on what to make, they'll make soup?  Soup is great for those situations.  Maybe you don't have anything fresh, maybe you don't have much time or you don't want to dirty a bunch of pots and pans.  Make the soup, let it sit for a few hours on or off the heat, and you're dunzo.  This soup is a great example of that.  On another note, if you do like Top Chef, how do you feel about Padma?  I hate her.  I don't often say I hate someone, and it's really not a habit of mine to throw that word around, but I hate her.  She's awful, and makes my stomach turn.  She practically ruins the show for me, and often does.  Two weeks ago, the rodeo episode, when she rode in on a horse, I think I gagged audibly.  She is just the worst.  Sorry, moving on.

Herbed Bacon and White Bean Soup
4 or 5 strips of bacon (I used turkey but use whatever you prefer)
1 can rinsed and drained white beans/cannellini beans
1 carton of low sodium chicken broth
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 bay leaf
3/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried sage
salt and pepper

Heat up your pot with just a touch of oil, and once it's hot, add chopped bacon.  Cook until starting to crisp up, stirring frequently.  Add your onion, pinch of salt, and cook for another few minutes or until onion is starting to brown.  Then add garlic, celery, carrot, bay leaf, sage, rosemary, and another pinch of salt, and some pepper.  Cook for about 7 minutes or so, until veggies are softening.  Then throw in your beans, and cover with chicken broth.  Cook for 45 minutes.  The longer you let it sit, the better it will be.  If desired, use immersion blender to make a creamy soup!  Yum!

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breast

We all know how boring, bland, and dry plain boneless skinless chicken breast can  be.  Especially if it's been sitting in your freezer for awhile.  But, it's nothing some bacon can't fix!  Many recipes call for first pounding out your chicken, and rolling up some kind of elaborate stuffing into it- smoked gouda, swiss cheese, herbs, all kinds of things.  By all means, if you have the extra time and ingredients, go for it.  But if you're looking for a quick and budget friendly meal, this version is it!

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breast (Serves 2)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, patted dry
1 tbsp mayo
2 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper
5-6 slices of bacon, depending on how big the breasts are

Preheat your oven to 365.  In a foil lined baking dish, spray a little cooking spray to ensure nothing sticks.  Mix mayo and dijon in a small bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Slather may mixture onto chicken breasts liberally.  This will keep them moist and flavorful.  On a clean surface, lay your bacon strips down horizontally, then put your chicken breast down over them perpendicular to the bacon.  Wrap the strips around the chicken breast.  You don't really need to put toothpicks through them to keep them in place, but if you want to, go ahead.  Repeat for second chicken breast, or however many you're doing.  Now, I would not recommend using turkey bacon, as there is really not enough fat for them to crisp up nicely, and you'll end up with something more like smoked turkey wrapped chicken, which is fine, but not really what we're going for.  If that's all you have on hand, you could try brushing some EVOO or butter over the turkey bacon to help it crisp up in the oven.  Bake chicken breasts for 30 minutes or until the bacon is starting to brown.  Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing.  Served with some kale chips and salad, this was Wednesday night's dinner in a flash.  Best of all, clean up is easy- just remove the foil and you're done!

Bacon is sure getting ample time in the spotlight these days.  I'd say we are experiencing full-on bacon fanaticism.  Don't get me wrong, I love bacon, but people are really going all out nuts.  One awesome result from the bacon craze is that people are really starting to seek out sustainably raised, organically fed heritage pigs, and going back to nose-to-tail eating.  Utilizing every ounce of protein and fat from the animal humanly possible.  And why not?  If you have to kill an animal for food, do it with honor and respect for the animal, and use every bit of it you can. 

What are your favorite bacon recipes?  Bacon pancakes?  Bacon chocolate-chip cookies?  Bacon milkshakes?  I just recently made some egg muffins with bacon too.  Share your fave bacon recipes! 
XoXoGFG