whole30: week two + recipe ideas

Toward the end of week two, the Whole30 folks claim that you should be coming to grips with some of your psychological junk around eating. I don’t know if I’m coming to grips with any pyschological junk, but I have been thinking about food A LOT, even moreso than usual, which is really saying something. I don’t think it’s healthy to be honest (or at least not for me). When we did this the last time, it was May, so there was lots of fun stuff coming up in the garden and plenty to do outside, so I think that kept me from getting as cranky as I have been this time around. As promised, I’ll have more comments to come. I just feel like I should wait until the end.

But I stuck with things for another week, so I thought I would do another recap of recipes and ideas that worked well or might stick around post-Whole30.

Starting with the top left

1. Water with lemon is pretty much my go-to beverage throughout the year, but the lemon is extra necessary right now since all I’m drinking is water. Lemon is detoxing and has lots of other benefits, as well, so it’s a great habit to start. If it wasn’t the middle of winter, I would be adding herbs from the garden to my water too.
2. Sausage and pepper red sauce is one of my comfort foods, so I made this for the weekend to make it feel a bit more like a weekend.
3. Making this potato sausage egg casserole ahead of time made mornings much easier, and I didn’t even get sick of it by the end of the week. The kids loved it too, so I think this will definitely stick in the rotation post-Whole30 since it’s an easy way to get some veggies in our breakfasts.
4. I’ve been making lots of stock to use as a drink that kinda fills me up too. Stock has all sorts of other side benefits.
5. I made some ranch this week, which made lots of meals feel a little more decadent. See the end of this post for the recipe.
6. We made sweet potato fries a few times this week, and I made some for tonight’s big Colts game (go Horse!). Sweet potato fries feel like a game day appetizer, don’t you think? I just slice up the sweet potatoes and dump them in a bowl. I add some melted coconut oil, chili powder, minced garlic, and salt and pepper (I sometimes add an egg white, which makes them a little extra crispy), and then spread them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat and throw them in a 425°F oven for about 30 minutes, flipping them about halfway through. Use that ranch to dip them in for an extra treat!
7. Winter pico de gallo (I left out the honey for the Whole30 batches) has been a great addition to eggs and salads to spice them up a bit. I can’t wait to dip some tortilla chips into it at the end of the month though!
8. As I mentioned last week, sunflower butter continues to be a tasty treat (recipe coming this week, I promise!).
9. Grant smoked some pork sirloin, and I used the leftovers to make a modified pozole (without any hominy). It yummy!

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