Thanksgiving Recap, Detox Update, and Tangy Bacon Brussel Sprouts

How was everyone's Thanksgiving?  Now that we are almost a week out- what were your successes and downfalls?  Any amazing recipes?  Any not so amazing recipes?  Hopefully regardless of the food you all spent a happy, healthy, wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.  I had quite the week, with my twin 3 year old nephews in town, Thanksgiving, and a quick trip to Chicago for a bachelorette party, it was definitely an eventful few days!

Before the food, just a few updates.

I got a gel manicure the day before Thanksgiving.  I believe the brand is CND Shellac?  Here is a pic a week later.  I don't think I would do it again- for one, it's pretty expensive.  And yes, I appreciate the no chip and I do like that it stays shiny, but the thought of wearing it for another week is a little tiresome.  Plus, by then the rest of my nailbeds are going to be prettttty worked.  Ew.  I have had a few little chips here and there, but nothing like what my normal manicure would be looking like by now.  I also really loved that it was totally dry by the time you left the salon.  But unless you are absolutely in love with your color, and your salon has a really good selection, you will probably be dunzo with your mani before it's done with you.  But hey, if you are a nurse/cook or use your hands a ton and can't deal with chipping manicures and have the extra $$$, go for it!

Detox Update:
I have 3 more days before I finish my sweetener/sugar detox and move on to Whole30.  Since giving up sweeteners, treats, and cutting out most starches, my blood sugar has been consistently lower.  I thought for awhile it might be due to my off-week on birth control pills as hormones can raise your blood sugar, but that ended over a week ago now.  While my sugars weren't necessarily out of control before, it's definitely been interesting to watch them go down.  The only modification I have made is cutting out sweeteners and eating minimal starches.  And my A1C was even lower, 4.9!  Crazy!  Are sweetener the devil?  No, not necessarily.  I still have the Whole30 to get through before I can even think about using them again.  But lower blood sugars are great.  And I really don't miss the treats too terribly much.  The one time I did, was over the weekend at my cousins bach party when everyone was eating tons of crap and candy.  But I got over it.  Have I snuck a few tastes of things here and there?  Yup.  I have.  I'm not perfect.  Am I totally in love with unsweetened coffee and tea?  Not really.  But we'll just have to see what happens after Whole30.  I will be cutting out cheese, all legumes including peanuts, anything with "gums" in them, and continuing to abstain from sweeteners, any kind of fruit, starches, treats, and anything else not Whole30 approved.  Looking forward to it!

Thanksgiving was strangegoodbadfun.  I loved having some time off work.  I spent some quality time with my super cute little nephews, and S had a great time playing with her COUSINS all week.  I enjoyed some great QT with me, myself, and I on Wednesday, and went on a date with MKG.  I slept in once or twice and we had great weather.  It was nice!  I also had a very strange doctors appointment, where I learned more about my 57 autoimmune diseases, and was two hours late (due to said doctors appointment) for family pics with my in-laws.  Thanksgiving day was kind of weird.  I was home by myself most of the day cooking and packing for my trip, which is kind of an odd way to spend T-Day! I got to my in-laws in the afternoonish.  I know I am picky and have a modified diet and yes I guess I am a bit of a snob when it comes to food, but seriously- if you are ever going to bring out the big guns and put 100% into your food, put your heart, soul, and complete effort into it, it should be Thanksgiving right?  If you aren't going to do that, then you should really leave the cooking to someone else.  That's my honest opinion.  No one wants to eat an afterthought.  Or a a table full of afterthoughts. Ick.  Ok, that's off my chest.  I made a couple items- Kale salad which I may or may not post, pumpkin bars which were good but just your run of the mill paleo pumpkin bars which you can surely make on your own, and a DELISH brussel sprout dish, which I share below.

Tangy Bacon Brussel Sprouts

2 lbs brussel sprouts, trimmed and quartered
2 shallots, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T dijon mustard
8 ounces bacon, chopped into lardons
EVOO

Roast your quartered sprouts in some EVOO, salt and pepper in a 450 degree oven until they are nice and browned.  20 min or so.  Remove and transfer to a large bowl.  In a saute pan, fry up your bacon lardons, and remove lardons when crispy.  Cook shallots in the bacon fat until translucent and starting to caramelize.  Add in your garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Add your mustard and red wine vinegar and cook for just another minute until well incorporated.  When ready to serve, toss your sprouts with the dressing.  This is best served warm but it's still quite good at room temp!

The morning after T-day I was on a plane, Chicago-bound for my cousins spa bachelorette party in Lake Geneva, WI.  We stayed at the Grand Geneva and all enjoyed some amaze spa treatments.  If you are ever in that neck of the woods, I definitely recommend it!  Lake Geneva is a quaint, sweet old resort town just an hour and a half outside Chicago.  The six of us had a blast, and I even was able to squeeze in a haircut!  And I'd like to mention, that if someone wanted to build me a steamroom, I probably wouldn't say no.  #justsayin

Ok folks.  Hope you have all recovered from T-day.  I am happy to report I seem to have made it through the detox.  Now, on to Whole30!  Who's with me????

Detox Updates, Eats, Thanksgiving Planning

Hey GFGs!  We are T-minus two days until the big day.  Being dialed in to all the blogs/tweets/posts in the paleosphere is fun and super informative, but I have to say I am reaaaaally starting to tire of the Thanksgiving recipe roundups, advice columns, turkey talk, and the same recipe for mashed cauliflower over and over again.  I am getting sick of Thanksgiving and it's not even here yet!

So I am going to spare you another recipe roundup.  God knows if you need a recipe there are seriously thousands and thousands of paleofied treasures to be had.

Instead, I'll give you a little update.  The coming week will be the true test of my detox powers.  Will I survive?  Nobody knows.....  haha actually, I'm not too concerned.  I am preparing well by making two GFG approved Thanksgiving sides so I know if nothing else, I'll have some yummy veggie side dishes to snack on.

I am still kind of just plugging along.  Because phase 1 of my plan isn't about eliminating potential irritants/inflammatory/allergenic foods, I don't really feel any different, nor did I expect to.  It is really more about just purging myself of all the sweeteners in my diet and trying to sever the ties I have with them.  Like I said last week, I think it's been a great lesson for me in learning to elevate meals from just food I stuff down my throat, to something that's wholesome, enjoyable, well-rounded, nutritious, and satisfying enough that I don't feel like I need a GFG treat afterwards.  I am also finding that over the last week my blood sugars have been lower and not as up and down, which is nice.  I'll keep watching to see if there is some discernible trend to this.

So what am I eating?  A lot of hard-boiled eggs for one.  I finally made the perfect hard-boiled eggs last night, complete with easy to peel-off shells.  It has taken me years and years to figure this out, I wish I were lying.  I put 6 eggs into cold water with 2 teaspoons of vinegar on the stovetop, brought to a boil, and then removed from the heat and let sit for exactly 9 minutes.  I then rinsed them in very cold water and peeled them, while submersed in cold water.  The shells came off super easily.  Yay! The whites were hard-cooked (which is essential as I am allergic to undercooked egg whites) and the yolks were not quite cooked through, but not runny either.

Another staple that I am finding I just couldn't live without is frozen shrimp and frozen seafood.  Trader Joe's has a blend of different frozen seafood, squid, little scallops, shrimp, that are terrific with some sauteed diced tomato and garlic, shown below with a side of lemony organic spinach (also frozen).

Another great staple to have on hand is The Clothes Make The Girl's Whole30 compliant Paleo Chocolate Chili.  Good lord this was good!  I was not expecting it to be as delicious or as easy as it turned out.  I would advise you to make a double batch and freeze half to thaw as needed.  It is so good.  I served mine on top of steamed (again, organic/frozen) cauliflower for a complete balanced meal.  Lastly, one night last week when I was beyond tired I simply threw together some diced cucumber, sliced grape tomatoes, boiled eggs, avocado, and green onion with some salt and pepper.  Salad doesn't always need lettuce people!  As you can see, detoxing/whole30 doesn't have to mean bland boring chicken and broccoli every night.  Explore your organic grocer's freezer section and stock up on seafood and veggies.  You'll be just minutes away from a healthy, satisfying, and fun meal every night of the week.  And unless you are doing an autoimmune protocol Whole30 there is no reason to hold back on spices.  I am shocked at the rate I go through cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, cinnamon, oregano, and seasoned salt.

So what am I making for Thanksgiving anyways?  After lengthy deliberation and tonnnns of recipe hunting I have settled on these three dishes:

-Roasted Brussel Sprouts with a mustard, bacon, and red wine vinegar dressing

-Massaged Lemony Kale Salad with Avocado and Pine Nuts

-Pumpkin Pie Bars with a Pecan and Walnut based crust and a custardy pumpkin filling.  Easier than pie and a little less conventional.  Sadly, this dish is not one I'll be indulging in.  No worries though, more kale for me!  

I'll post the recipes later this week.  I'd love to hear what you are cooking for the holiday.  Share your GFG/Paleo recipes with us!