Seafood Soup

This seafood blend is a wonderful product.  Shrimp, calamari, and little baby scallops.  Throw in some fish, or some extra shrimp, and you have a ton of protein for an easy, quick meal.  I've made this seafood soup twice in two weeks now, and served it once to company.  It is a yummy and filling soup for any seafood lover.

Seafood Soup
1 32. oz container fish stock
1 can light coconut milk (or regular)
2 cans water
1 onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
3 large carrots, diced
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup fish sauce, like red boat
salt and pepper to taste
1 bag trader joe's seafood blend
1 bag shrimp, chopped fish, langostinos, etc
1 bag frozen cauliflower florets

Saute your veggies in some EVOO until translucent, 5-7 minutes, in a large stock pot.  Pour in your seafood stock, coconut milk, and water, and add your garlic and salt and pepper.  Bring to a simmer.  Add your fish sauce, and taste.  Add more, or more seasoning, to taste.  When you've gotten it right, add in your frozen seafood and cauli.  Bring back up to a simmer and you're done!  This tastes great right away, and really good after a day in the fridge.   Enjoy!

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?

This week's Paleo/Sugar Detox Eats

I am plugging along with my detox.  Unsweetened coffee, treatless evenings, and no tasting the baked goods I make.  Meh.  It's not that big a deal.  I have some peanut butter after dinner instead of a GFG cookie or whatevs (only until Dec. 1 when I start Whole30- then no PB! eek!!!)

I am the tiniest bit bummed that I will not be able to eat the pumpkin pie bars I am so excited to make next week, but that just encourages me all the more so to make sure the foods I make that I CAN eat are  super delicioso.

That's the interesting thing about this detox that I have figured out.  Because I can't rely on treats, I am spending more time and thought on my actual meals.  Before I would just scarf down some raw veggies and deli meat because what I really wanted was my paleo dessert, but now I am putting a bit more effort into what I eat, to make sure it's nutritious and super yummy.  It's kind of neat!  It's an unexpected effect of this detox, and I'm really digging it.

For instance, here are two recent detox meals:

These are not elaborate meals by any stretch of the imagination.  In fact, the top meal was a total last minute, just got back into town and have no fresh food spur of the moment thing.  Everything you see pictured was frozen.  Well, not everything.  The fish, green beans, and cauliflower were frozen.  Then I had some sad looking baby carrots that I knew we wouldn't eat, so I decided to puree them too for some lovely orange mashed cauli.  Below are some romaine hearts with smoked oyster salad.  YUM.  If you are like me and can't get too excited about tuna salad, try an oyster salad.  Open a tin of smoked oyster, mush it up with a hard boiled egg, some sliced green onion, salt, pepper, and top with grape tomatoes and you're done.  In the past, I probably would not have taken the extra time to make a little salad to eat on a cute little romaine taco, but given the fact that there was no dessert to be had later, I had to get creative and make dinner more fun!

So that's been a great lesson in all this.  Maybe if I spend more time and energy on healthy meals, I won't care so much about the sweet snacks for after the meal.  I am going to concentrate on this and see where it takes me.

Another fun detox takeaway so far?  This one is also a very welcome side-affect.  In the past, any deviation from my normal routine would cause a fair amount of anxiety on my part.  Holidays, travel, family gatherings, etc.  How would I adapt?  How would I avoid the incessant comments and remarks from well-meaning but obnoxious friends and family?  How would I would summon the will power NOT to eat forbidden foods and so on.  Well, after traveling home last week at the last minute for a funeral followed by days of being surrounded by crappy SAD food, I can say that this detox is incredibly helpful in navigating the minefield that family gatherings can present.  Not only should I not eat that stuff, because you know, I'm diabetic, I follow a more ancestral, unprocessed, gluten/grain/sugar/starch free diet, all the usual stuff, but I CAN'T eat that stuff.  I am doing a detox!  It's not allowed!  That is the whole point of this detox!  It's not just, oh gee, I shouldn't.  It IS the whole god damned point.  And if I slip up, that erases the weeks of detoxing I've already done!  This works for me.  It may be counterintuitive to others, but for me, this really works.  I have a very real and tangible reason to say NO.  It's like that part of my brain that says to just have a bite, a taste, is turned off.  I wouldn't recommend doing a 2-phase, 8 week detox over the holidays to anyone, but if you are the kind of person that appreciates structure and rules and doesn't have emotional attachments to food, this might be a good way for you to avoid a lot of the frustrating aspects about the holidays.  And it's also a great way to ensure excellent blood sugar control and weight control over the holidays.  Rather than freak out about getting into shape after the new year, losing those couple pounds you put on, why not just buckle down a bit and prevent the entire situation to begin with?

So, those are my findings so far.  As for the cravings, I still miss treats.  I miss a little sweetness in my coffee.  I'm not sure if those things can be overcome.  Ask me on January 1st.  But I am enjoying the extra care I am putting into my meals and I am finding that I get more excited about meals than I used to, which is cool.  I don't know if I can live my whole life like this, if for no other reason than I truly enjoy baking and experimenting with different ingredients, but a little palate-reset now and then certainly can't be bad.

Until next time GFGs! Xoxo

Shrimp and Tilapia with Lime

This is becoming an easy summer routine- grilled/broiled/baked protein of some kind on top of a salad.  Easy, yummy, light, and fast.

Shrimp and Tilapia with Lime
1/2 lb raw shrimp, shells off
2 tilapia fillets (roughly 6 oz each)
favorite lettuce
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 english cucumber, chopped
2 limes, juiced
kosher salt
3 tbsp EVOO, plus a bit more for coating the fish and shrimp
sprinkle of cayenne
sprinkle of black pepper

Throw you raw shrimp in a bowl and marinate in the juice of half a lime, and a dash of EVOO and salt.  On a foil lined baking sheet, place your fillets and coat with a little EVOO, then squeeze the other half lime over.  Sprinkle liberally with salt and cayenne.  My baking sheet had enough room for the fish and shrimp.  Spread your shrimp onto the baking sheet and bake everything together at 350.  Your shrimp will be done quickly, so check after 8 minutes or so, depending on how big they are.  Remove them and place onto a plate with a spatula.  At this point, set your oven to broil just to crisp the fish up.

While the fish finishes cooking, take your remaining lime and juice it in a bowl, then add your EVOO.  I like dressings tangy but if this is too acidic for you, add a bit more oil.  Sprinkle some salt and pepper and cayenne and whisk or mix with a fork.  Throw your lettuce and chopped tomato and cucumber into a bowl, and top with shrimp and fish.  The whole process start to finish is like, 25 minutes.  Super fast dinner for any night of the week.

Tangy Slaw with Baked Lime and Cumin Spiced Fish

I loooooooooooove cabbage.  Napa, chinese, red, plain old green, whatever.  It is so dang good.  I could eat it plain.  But in this tangy slaw, it's sooooooooooo much better.  I wanted fish taco flavors without the taco, and this dish definitely delivers.  The fish was really just a protein thrown in for good measure, the real star of this meal is the cabbage for sure! 

Tangy Slaw
1/2 a head of cabbage, chopped
juice of one lime
3 green onions, sliced
3-4 tbsp mayo
1 tbsp (more or less depending on your preference) vietnamese chili garlic paste
kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well- let it sit in the fridge a few hours if you can.  Great served with this simple and no clean-up fish.

Baked Lime and Cumin Spiced Fish
3 fish fillets (tilapia, roughy, whatever mild fish you have)
zest of one lime
kosher/sea salt
sprinkle of cumin on each fillet

Place one fillet each on a square of aluminum foil and sprinkle liberally with your zest, cumin, and salt and wrap them up tightly.  Bake 20 min at 400.  Dunzo!  Serve atop your slaw and add a few slices of avo if you have 'em.  Or don't.  Yum!  S ate her fish without the lime zest, it's quite mild on its own so you really want a nice flavorful slaw with it. 

We aren't in to Mardi Gras and we don't do lent, but this would be great for a Friday night meal if you abstain from meat on Fridays.  I have a feeling there will be lots of fish recipes circulating starting about now.  Any good ones to share?  I usually have a boring white fish in the freezer, what's your favorite way to spice up mild frozen fish?  XoXoGFG

Parmesan Broiled Tilapia

I'm pretty sure there was once a rule mandating that fish and cheese were not to be combined.  Maybe some old school Italian rule.  But paremsan and tilapia, or any mild white fish for that matter, go incredibly well together.  And it couldn't be easier.  Sprinkle some seasoned salt over your fish, heat up some EVOO in a pan, and cook 2 or 3 minutes per side, while your oven is preheating.  This entree takes about 15 minutes top to prepare.

Parmesan Broiled Tilapia
2 large tilapia or white fish filets
2 tsp seasoned salt (I used Curt's from Door County WI but use whatever you like!)
2 1/2 tbsp shredded parm, freshly grated or pre-grated, though fresh is preferable
2 tsp EVOO

Set your oven to broil.  While it's heating up, coat your fish on both sides with your seasoned salt.  Pour EVOO into saute pan and cook fish 2 or 3 min per side depending on how thick your fish is.  Transfer fish to a baking dish and sprinkle generously with parm, a sprinkle of black pepper would be great too.  Place in broiler for 3-5 minutes or until parm is starting to brown and bubble.  So delicious!  With a big helping of lemony asparagus, dinner is dunzo in minutes!

I actually like to buy frozen fish from Trader Joe's so I always have a healthy and super easy protein ready to go.  What's your favorite way to cook frozen fish?  I get sick of salmon pretty easily and am always looking for a nice flaky, mild white fish.  Let me know your favorite way to cook fish, and what your favorite kind of fish is!

Use What You Have Tuesday= Cumin and Paprika Spiced Carrots and Orange Roughy

 

Yes, that's right.  I am beginning yet another post with an ode to some frozen bag of veg from TJ's.  S looooooves carrots.  I love carrots.  We all love carrots.  I have had this bag in the freezer for awhile and have seen some awesome carrot recipes lately- many of them calling for cumin.  One of my top five favorite spices- well, top ten anyways (celery salt- how did I not know about you until now?).  Along with some frozen fish and a can of chickpeas- dinner dunzo in about 25 minutes.  Best of all, the pumpkinhead scarfed down her spicy fish and carrots like a champ.

Honestly- there is no need to post an actual recipe.  I sprinkled cumin, paprika, salt and pepper quite liberally over the carrots and a can of rinsed and drained chickpeas on a sheet pan with EVOO and roasted at 500 degrees for about 25 minutes.  I seasoned the fish just the same and cooked in a large saute pan over med-high heat, 3 or 4 min. per side.  I drizzled just a bit of EVOO over the fish so the spices would stick, et voila!  The fish I was using is super easy to cook, it comes skinless and boneless, and there is about 16 ounces total, certainly plenty for 2-3 people.

I've also discovered that my favorite Door County Tart Cherries can also be ordered online!  OMG that is definitely going on the list of things to order.  I have not been able to find dried unsweetened cherries that actually taste like something resembling a cherry.  These cherries are a rare find- www.countryovens.com!
   Having a grand old time swallowing five hundred vitamins a day, although I'm pleased to report no more burping clouds of cinnamon through my nose.  HIIT is also super (not) fun and I like how efficient it is- I was in a rush this morning so squeezed my workout into 20min, how can you complain about that?!  Last random thought of the night- have you heard of these? 
Teeny tiny eensy weensy little cans of champagne!  Or, sparkling white wine I suppose since it's from CA.  OMG these things are freaking cute as hell!  My cousin was serving them at her rehearsal din and I about died.  They are so stinkin' cute.  It's ridiculous.  I could just be woefully behind the times, I don't get out much and certainly not to very many drinking establishments these days, but these things are just obscenely presh.  If I ever have a party, with like, adults, again, I'm so serving these little babies.  Alrighty then- that's it for me.  G'night all- XoXoGFG