WHOLE30 Day #11 – Sometimes You Feel Like a (Coco)Nut

Day #11 of our WHOLE30 Journey. And according to the authors of It Starts with Food and the WHOLE30 official timeline, these are the hardest of our 30 days. Here’s hoping that holds true for me. I’m really tired, unnervingly cranky and surprisingly hungry, like all the time.

Interestingly, I’ve become extremely fond of all things coconut these days. I’m chalking this up as progress, since the Hartwigs and others (see this article for example) rate coconut oil as one of the healthiest fats for consumption, especially for dieters and those looking to improve their skin (see chapter 15 of It Starts with Food). Um, rich yummy taste and prettier skin? Yes please!

So tonight’s dinner features coconut in each dish. The menu:
Mango Tango Chicken (recipe below)
Crispy Roasted Green Beans (also pictured below)
Toss Salads with Fruit & Nuts
Birthday Date Treats for dessert

Mango Tango Chicken

Ingredients:
•1 (2.5 lb.) bag frozen chicken tenderloins, (e.g. Tyson)
•1 tsp. salt
•1/4 cup unsweetened dried mango slices, crumbled
•1 sweet red pepper, seeded, diced
•1 sweet onion (e.g. Vidalia), peeled and diced
•1/4 tsp. hot sauce
•1/4 tsp. garlic powder or 2 garlic cloves, crushed
•1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
•1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
•1/4 cup lime juice
•2 Tbsp. unsweetened coconut flakes

Process:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (Fahrenheit).
2. Lightly oil a 9X13″ baking pan with coconut oil and add tenderloins to pan in a single layer.
3. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt.
4. Top with mango, onion and pepper. Then evenly sprinkle on additional seasonings.
5. Stir together pineapple and lime juices then pour over all.
6. Finally, sprinkle the top of chicken mixture with coconut flakes. Then cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
7. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 40 minutes or until internal temperature reach 170 degrees.
8. Remove foil and turn oven to BROIL. Return pan to oven and broil for about 5 minutes or until nicely browned.
NOTE: This step is optional but makes for a nicer presentation.
9. Allow to rest at least 5 minutes before serving.

I served with Crispy Roasted Green Beans, that roasted in the oven along side the chicken.

Crispy Roasted Green Beans – simply seasoned with garlic, salt, lemon juice and (natch) coconut oil!

Wisdom of the Day:
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
~Psalm 23:5-6 (English Standard Version)
Read more here.

Recommended Resource of the Day:
21 Unexpected Beauty Uses for Coconut Oil

WHOLE30 Day #9 – You Say It’s Your Birthday

Happy WHOLE(30) Birthday to Me! Let’s Celebrate with These Simply Delicious Date Treats!!!

… Well, it’s my birthday too. And as much as I’d like to dive in mouth-first to a great big birthday cake with 3″ of thick sugary buttercream frosting, I’m staying strong. Also, I’m pretty sure that the authors of WHOLE30 would not have a lot of sympathy for me and my birthday cravings. Still, I feel the need for a little treat to celebrate my special day. So I concocted this simple little treat using the following 3 (program approved) ingredients:

3 Simple Ingredients

1. All natural almond butter (no sugar added)
2. Whole pitted dates, unsulphured+++
3. Unsweetened shredded coconut

The result tastes a bit like a coconut almond cookie or candy. It’s very sweet and very satisfying. You really only need one or two (at most) of these treats to really feel as though you’ve just enjoyed a delicious dessert. Good thing too, because according to WHOLE30 program rules, these kind of sweets should (for the most part) be avoided during the program. I reasoned that these little treats were acceptable this once because 1.) I used all approved ingredients (hopefully, see note below regarding dried fruit). 2.) I was not trying to recreate any specific naughty traditional dessert (e.g. these are NOT paleo pecan pie bars); and 3.) the healthy fat helps to blunt the impact of the sugar in the dates; and 4.) lastly because this type of small indulgence is important for me to remain motivated and enthusiastic about staying the WHOLE30 course.

If you’re interested in recreating my birthday treats, be forewarned, it can get a bit messy. But the results are deliciously worth it! So here’s the process:

1. Stir almond butter so it’s smooth and has a consistent texture.
2. Spoon several Tbsp. of almond butter into a plastic sandwich bag. Try to keep the butter closer to one bottom corner of the bag.
3. Refrigerate the almond butter baggie for at least an hour (this makes it easier to work with).
4. Place about 10 dates on a plate. TIP: Take out a few more than you expect to make. Invariably, a couple of the dates will be smushed and unusable for this recipe.
5. Snip one end of the plastic bag and roll the almond butter portion of the bag into as narrow a cone-like shape as possible.
6. Pipe the almond butter into each date, smoothing out any that leaks out.
7. Gently roll each date in coconut flakes and store in refrigerator. Enjoy!

These delicious little treats are the perfect way to celebrate health with someone you love!

Thought for the Day:
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
~Galatians 6:9 (ESV)
Read more here.

+++ After posting this recipe, I read about approved and unapproved additives during WHOLE30 as I continued to educate myself on the program. I encourage anyone considering WHOLE30 to begin reading and researching the program rules and to familiarize yourself with the wealth of free info and tools available at the WHOLE30 website. Anyway, the dates I used in this recipe (e.g. Sunsweet brand) do not include sulfites on the ingredients list nor do the manufacturers indicate sulphites included during processing (even on the Sunsweet website because I looked). But neither the bag nor the website states the product is sulphite-free which is a pretty big selling point among dried fruits, so I’m left to wonder. Sulfites are definitely off limits during WHOLE30 so when in doubt, choose a brand that clearly states “unsulphured” or “sulphite-free.”

WHOLE30 Day #6 – The Great Mayonnaise Fiasco

I love salads. Salads are a huge part of my meals, especially dinner. I eat a salad every single day. Maybe it’s because I’m from Florida where it’s hot so much of the year. Perhaps I’ve grown accustomed to eating a cool, crisp salad in the evening as a refreshing closure to a hot, sticky day. I don’t know how it started for sure, but I know I love them. And I almost always enjoy them – with one caveat. Salad dressing. Salad dressing is key! If the dressing is bad, the salad is bad. Certainly the quality and condition of the greens are important too, but the salad dressing makes or breaks the salad. You know I’m right. So when we began our WHOLE30 journey a big concern for me was “what the heck am I gonna use to dress my salads?”

After some internet research, we found Tessemae’s All Natural Dressings , several of which are WHOLE30 approved. According to Tessemae’s website, their products are available for direct order from the company and at a number of retailers like Whole Foods and Amazon.com. Prior to starting WHOLE30 we made the trek to the nearest Whole Foods and bought a couple bottles of their Zesty Ranch (which is delicious, but which we finished all too quickly). But we were disappointed to learn we couldn’t purchase the mayonnaise at any of the retailers listed in our area (and believe me, I’ve been to all of them in the last few days). Now, I could just order some mayo online, but for some reason that seems lazy to me. For some reason I believe I should be able to make my own mayo, like they did in the olden days or something. There’s plenty of recipes online for homemade mayo so I assumed mayo-making is an easy thing to accomplish. Not so, my friend, at least not in my experience. (In case you’re wondering, I felt compelled to have mayo available because it’s required for yummy things like tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad etc. And mayo can be used as the base for my favorite salad dressings including ranch and Caesar. But it’s nigh on to impossible to find a mayo in your grocery that is NOT made with soybean oil or other nasty ingredients shunned by WHOLE30.)

So I dove in using this recipe as a basis, replacing the vinegar with lemon juice and equal parts EVOO and liquified coconut oil (e.g. the coconut oil that has been modified to remain liquid at room temperature). I then decided to dismiss Hubs’ offer to assist me, convinced I could whip up a brilliant mayo very quickly using a stick (immersion) blender just like Alton Brown. Sadly, I got a little off balance as I tried to manage the blender, slowly drizzle in the oil drop by drop and hold the large measuring cup I was using to hold the emulsion. Not sure exactly what happened but suddenly half my concoction was all over the counter top and I was screaming. Disaster! Hubs sprang into action and helped me rescue most of the wayward emulsion. We transferred it to a more appropriate bowl and continued drizzling in the oil and used a more appropriate hand mixer to finish whipping the mixture. Here’s my result:

Tastes great, but a little thin

Unfortunately, the mayo never reached the expected thickness. I’m not sure which of my missteps caused this result. I’m confident I can still find a usage for my “creation.” But I’m also sure I’ll be purchasing some more Tessemae’s Dressing soon. Life’s too short and WHOLE30 is too hard to go through this again!

Lessons Learned:
1. Use a bowl and not a measuring cup when making mayo.
2. Ask for help instead of trying to do it all yourself.
3. Coconut oil is always a health choice. But in hindsight, the modified liquid version may have prevented the end result from thickening as expected.
4. There’s no shame in simply ordering approved products online. WHOLE30 is challenging enough. Why make it harder on yourself?

Recommended Resources:
1. Shop Tessemaes Online
2. Tessemaes on Amazon

Thought for the Day:
Where there is no [wise, intelligent] guidance, the people fall, But in the abundance of [wise and godly] counselors there is victory.
~Proverbs 11:14 (Amplified)
Read more here.

WHOLE30 Day#5 Delicious Dinner in a Hurry – Turkey Cabbage Skillet

WHOLE30 Dinner in a Hurry

So our WHOLE30 journey continues and today was pretty hectic for me. I was out most of the day – running errands, dealing with maddening traffic and frustrating people. Basically, all the typical stressors everyone encounters. But I was left with very little time and almost no energy to prepare the elaborate WHOLE30 dinner I had planned for the family.

Plan B, what can Mommy throw together in a hurry using WHOLE30 approved ingredients that happen to be readily available in the kitchen right now? Ground turkey breast, check. Now for a veggie. Something quick. Ready-to-use cole slaw – score! Now, something to add extra flavor and pizzaz. As I stood there wondering, what is WHOLE30 sanctioned and goes well with cabbage, my eyes landed on our fruit bowl, and I suddenly flashed back to several recipes from Hubs’ German heritage. Apples, excellent! Done and done.

The recipe that follows is quick and can easily be thrown together while you manage other tasks like preparing salads, helping the kids with homework or any of the other myriad items on your evening to-do list. And it happens to be darn tasty, if I do say so myself. Enjoy!

Turkey Cabbage Skillet

Ingredients:
•1 lb extra lean (98% lean) ground turkey breast
•1 pkg. ready-to-use cole slaw mix (not including dressing)
•2 medium red apples, sliced
•1 tsp. salt
•1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
•1 Tbsp. coconut oil
•1/8 tsp. garlic powder (or 2 cloves garlic, minced)
•1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
•pinch tarragon leaves, crushed (optional but highly recommended)
•a few generous sprinkles white pepper (again optional but recommended)

Process:
1. Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat and add ground turkey.
2. Sprinkle salt and other seasonings (except mustard) over meat while stirring continuously as meat browns.
(N.B.: Meat will keep covered over LOW heat for about half an hour if needed while you prepare the remainder of your meal.)
3. About five minutes before serving, turn heat to MEDIUM and stir in cabbage mixture and apples.
4. Stir to combine.
5. After about 2 minutes, turn off heat. Stir in vinegar, then cover skillet.
6. Wait a couple more minutes then stir once more before serving.
NOTE: This makes about 5-6 servings so it’s great if you need leftovers for lunch the next day. Here’s a pic of Hubs’ Turkey Cabbage lunch from our WHOLE30 day #6. He said it was even better the next day. Score!!!

Perfect lunch leftovers!

Recommended Resource of the Day:
Grace Gifted

Thought for the Day:
The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
~Proverbs 16:9 (NASB)
Read more here.

Quick & Easy Crispy Potatoes

Crispy Potatoes served with Eggs & Bacon

Ingredients:
1.5 lb. Baby Red Potatoes, washed (unpeeled)
1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil (I used extra virgin)
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
Dash Oregano Flakes

Process:
1. Wash and dry potatoes but do not peel. Cut them into more or less uniform size pieces, which for me was into halves and thirds depending on the size of each potato.
2. Place the potato pieces along with all remaining ingredients in a bowl. No need to stir just yet. Microwave on HIGH for 5-7 minutes depending on the strength of your microwave.
3. While the potatoes cook, preheat over to 400 degrees (Fahrenheit), and spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray (I used coconut oil).
4. Remove potatoes from microwave and stir well. Then turn mixture onto prepared cookie sheet, being sure to distribute evenly on sheet.
5. Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until desired crispiness.

Salty, Crispy and Soft in the Middle – These Potatoes Are Guaranteed to Chase Away Any Potato Chip Cravings You May Be Experiencing

Makes 4-5 servings.
NOTE: These also make great hash browns!

Wisdom of the Day:
This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24 (NASB)
Read more here.

Daily Beauty Wisdom

Walk in wisdom : grow in beauty: live in love

Beautiful Basics

WHOLE30 Day #11 – Sometimes You Feel Like a (Coco)Nut

WHOLE30 Day #9 – You Say It’s Your Birthday

WHOLE30 Day #6 – The Great Mayonnaise Fiasco

WHOLE30 Day#5 Delicious Dinner in a Hurry – Turkey Cabbage Skillet

Quick & Easy Crispy Potatoes