Whole30 Confessionals - Day 1

Woke up hungover, depressed and feeling like shit...

It can only get better from here...

What's for dinner on the Whole30...???

Today's Stats:

Water Consumption:
I have no idea, I totally didn't track it...not good:-(

Sleep:
5 hours
Totally horrible:-(

Daily Meals:
5am - Coconut Milk Latte

2pm - Late Lunch: Kale Salad, Veggie Noodles, Avocado & Tomato Salad, Hanger Steak

6pm - Snack: Homemade Beef Jerky

8pm - Dinner: Seared Split Chicken Breast with Veggie Noodles, Cherry Tomatoes, Sweet Bell Peppers & Peas

FYI: Today is 'National Be Kind to Chickens Day'...

If you haven't been buying pastured raised eggs or if you don't know what step chickens your buying you should consider it...

I met the owners of Mary's Chickens last week at the SP Whole Foods Supplier Fair and they were sampling out Step 5 grilled chicken. I had no idea there were certified 5 Step chickens available at Whole Foods. Although I think the product is so new and limited it's only available in the SP region. I was so out of it I totally forgot to check when I bought my breasts today, although they were Mary's chickens:-) 

Want to read more about Mary's Chickens and 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Standards Program implemented by the Global Animal Partnership.

Now Casting - Next Food Network Star Season 11

If you know me then you know I love to cook, coach and sell. You also probably know I've been trying out for the Next Food Network Star for the past 6 or 7 years; it's been so long I can't keep track any more. The finalists of the NFNS compete for their own cooking show. To become a finalist you first need a creative and unique cooking perspective. 

My cooking perspective has definitely evolved with my lifestyle and current health trends. Growing up in the 80's made me fat-phobic. The major message back then was - Fat made you fat, so don't eat anything with fat or else you will be fat. The grocery aisles were filled with fat-free, sugar-filled, processed products which is what I ate. Highly additive foods that were not at all satiating or nutritious, but were fat-free...

Although an athlete throughout high school and college I didn't understand the connection between performance and diet. 'You are what you eat.' How many times have you heard that before. Well, there is a difference between hearing it and actually living it...and I was not living it until... 

About 2 years ago I found Crossfit and was introduced to the Paleo community, which has helped change my fat-phobic mentality. Eating (good quality) fat will not make you fat. I've been in the natural foods industry for over 10 years, a fitness coach for over 15 years and a trained chef for 6. I thought I was living a healthy lifestyle, but now I know I was duped...

I'm not 100% Paleo ..I like to say 'I'm 100% Paleo 80% of the time'. It's my 80-20 rule:-) 

I like food way too much to deprive myself, but I know I perform better eating Paleo. 

When I was first introduced to paleo I was turned off by it. WHAT!?!? I can't cook or consume any bread, beans, soy, peanuts, dairy, pasta, etc...!!! I'm a trained chef, how could I cook without those ingredients...??? I love to eat, why would I restrict myself from those tasty foods...??? 

NO-WAY, NO-HOW.!.!.!

It took awhile to warm up to a Paleo Lifestyle. I started with baby steps and reluctantly eliminated some foods from my diet and started paying attention to how much better I felt. I think the major reason why I was so stubborn about going Paleo was because I was more focused on what I had to eliminate instead what I was going to gain. As soon as I shifted my negative thoughts to positive ones, I started seeing and feeling differences in my mind and body. 

Anyhow, the reason for this post is to get some feedback. I will be auditioning for the Next Food Network Star again and want to incorporate my Paleo-ish lifestyle into my culinary point of view, but I believe words like 'Paleo' or 'Primal' might turn people off...What do you think?

My tagline for this show is Real Food.Quality Ingredients.

BUT I need a show title that reflects my culinary point of view while relating to the masses...

Below is a list of show titles, which one resonates with the most...

- Partially Paleo

- Paleo Kitchen

- Primal Cooking

- Primal Eats

- Real Food Cooking

- The Cavegirl Cook

- Cave Crave

- Cavegirl's Kitchen

- Karen's Cave or Karen's Kave

- Lifestyle Cook 

     

Or if you have other ideas, shout them out...All feedback is welcomed...THANKS!!!

One Pot Wonders - Garam Masala Brisket

Sunday is my Fun-day in my kitchen and in order for me to prepare everything I need for the week, I start off preparing a 'One Pot Wonder' to either eat that night or the next, the key is to make enough so you have leftovers and to be creative with your leftovers so your not just eating the same thing meal after meal...Re-Create 'One Pot Wonders' into something unique and different...restaurants do this all the time, why do you think they have daily 'Specials'...

Make this Garam Masala Brisket and Re-Create into steak & eggs or brisket wrapped asparagus or brisket egg muffins or brisket taquitos (not Whole30 approved) or serve it with an egg top (which will totally change the entire dish - In my opinion, anything served with a fired egg on-top 'usually' elevates a dish to another level)...

Garam Masala Brisket

Ingredients

- 3 lbs Brisket (grass-fed & finished, if available)

- Garam Masala Brine: water, salt, peppercorns, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom pods, cumin seeds, sugar

- 1/4 cup Ground Garam Masala Seasoning

- Salt & Pepper

- Coconut Oil or Ghee

- 1 Yellow Onion, chopped

- 5 cloves garlic

- 2 Jalapeños, chopped (seeded if don't like too much heat)

- 4 Carrots, chopped

- 2 Sweet Potatoes, chopped

- 1 Bunch Celery, chopped

Instructions

1. Brine the brisket overnight. Brisket is a very muscular piece and brining helps make the tougher pieces juicers. That said, soak the meat overnight in the above mentioned Garam Masala spices and completely cover with water.

2. After brining, discard the water and spices, pat down the meat until completely dry.

3. Pre-heat oven to 275 degrees.

4. Season the meat. I personally like salting the meat first to ensure it gets salts correctly. Then I pepper the meat. Then I cover the meat in seasoning, in this case Garam Masala seasoning which is a mixture of turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, and cumin.

5. Heat the coconut oil or ghee in a skillet or dutch oven and sear both sides. This step is very important because it helps lock in the flavors and juices of the meat.

6. Remove the meat and sauté vegetables. If you are using different pans, make sure and deglaze (add some vinegar and whisk the fond, the brown pieces, at the bottom) the pan you seared the meat and add those juices to the veggies.

7. Add the meat to the veggies and add water or homemade stock to the pot. You want to add enough liquid so the meat is covered about halfway.

8. Bring to a boil and place in the over to braise for 4-5 hours. Take out of oven and let sit on counter for another hour with lid on.

9. Remove the meat and slice to your thickness preference. Note I only slice the meat I want to eat at the meal because when I re-create meals I usually want the meat sliced differently.

One Pot Wonders - Slow Roasted (Beef) Chuck Roast

If you don't have yet, you need one, it is an essential for any kitchen...

DUTCH OVEN...

It took me awhile to save up for this, but it is well worth the time and money I spent on it...Actually, I didn't spend any money because I saved 6 William Sonoma gift cards I received over the years to purchase this cooking gem...Above is my 7.5 QT Le Creuset Dutch Oven, my pride & joy!!!

If you don't have a dutch oven, don't despair...you can use your crock pot, but I personally like a dutch oven because I can sear the meat in the same pot I braise it in, I can control the heat (my crock pot only has two temp low & high) and ultimately I think it produces better flavor...

For more on Dutch Oven vs Crock Pot....

Ok, to my fabulous Slow Roasted Chuck Roast...We bought a quarter cow (grassed, of course) over a year ago and have a few parts of the it left...I never really buy Chuck at the store because I always think it takes too long to cook it, but since I have it already I decided to cook it...Chuck is the cow's shoulder and is very muscular so it takes awhile to cook, usually braise (combination cooking method using both dry and moist heats : 1) sear over dry heat 2) then you slow cook in liquid)

Anyhow, I am going to start buying more Chuck more often because it's so easy to make and using my dutch oven it's a One Pot Wonder!!!

Ingredients

- 4-5 lb Chuck Roast (grassfed & finished preferred)

Note: Meat shrinks about 20%-25% when you slowly cook it. 

- 1 Yellow Onion, chopped

- 5 Carrots, chopped

- 6 Celery Stalks, chopped

- 8 Garlic Cloves

- 1 Leek

- 2 TBS Coconut Oil

- 32 oz Beef or Chicken stock (homemade preferred), you can also use water

- Salt & Pepper

- Curry Powder

- Chile Powder

- Garlic Powder

- Cardamom Powder

Instructions

1. Preheat Oven 250 degrees.

2. Season the meat. Coat the meat with salt and pepper. Place the rest of the seasonings in a bowl and mix. (I usually make extra seasonings and save for other occasion.) Using a strainer, heavily sprinkle the seasonings over the entire meat. This is very important when searing the meat. (Note: If I wasn't on the Whole30 I would season flour and coat the meat because the flour helps give it a better sear).

3. Turn the stove on high and heat the coconut oil in the dutch oven. Oil must cover the the entire bottom. When hot, place the meat in pot and sear all sides. 

4. Heat the stock or water in a medium size pot.

5. After searing remove meat. Bottom of pot should have created a fond (brown pieces, which is where a lot of flavor is hidden so keep this stuff).

5. Add the veggies to the pot and coast with fond. Ladle about half of the hot stock or water into the pot and whisk the bottom to deglaze the pan. Click the video to hear the sizzle - that is how you get rid of the find and deglaze the pan.

 

6. Add the meat back into the pot. Add the rest of the stock or water. Meat should be submerged into the liquid about 1/3 way.

7. Bring to a boil, cover, and place in the oven.

8. Let cook for 4-5 hours, until for tender. Halfway through the cooking process you can rotate the beef and redistribute the juices.

9. As you can see the meat shrunk, but in doing so it also absorbed all the delicious flavors in the liquid...

 10. I served mine on a bed of spinach, with a side of puree cauliflower-parsnips-sweet potato puree and some from tomatillos on top!

BTW, we have leftover for a few days...that is another reason why this dish is a One Pot Wonder!)

If you are craving carbs - Make Sweet Potato Fries...They are sweet & easy...

On heavy lifting workout days, like today, I needed some extra carbs especially in the mist of a  Whole30 challenge...

My go-to low-carb, carb are sweet potatoes and when I'm craving something crunchy and 'semi'-fried (more like baked) I reach for sweet potatoes...Truth be known, I used to hate sweet potatoes, I thought they were too sweet, but a couple of years ago my mind changed and I started cooking them...

Here's my go-to easy recipe...

Ingredients:

- 2 lbs Sweet Potatoes, cut into fries with skin on optional 

(Personally I like Yams or Garnets - they have the most moisture & flavor)

(If you buy more then you'll have awesome leftovers you can mix with eggs or mash or make into sweet potato cakes - I'm a fan of leftovers, but many people aren't)

- 1 cup Coconut Oil, melted

- Salt & Pepper

- Curry Powder

- Garlic Powder

- Smoke Paprika

- If I wasn't on the Whole30 I would sprinkle a little brown sugar

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

2. Place the cut sweet potatoes in a big bowl and pour the melted coconut oil over them. Toss to coat thoroughly.

3. In a small bowl, mix all the seasonings together.

Note: I didn't give you measurements for the seasoning because I don't measure them. I just pour seasonings in a bowl, taste before I add it to the sweet potatoes and adjust if needed. You will know if it is needed (i.e. too salty, too sweet, too spicy...) You might not need the all the seasoning you mix at once so save what you don't need for another dish (i.e. chicken, steaks, fish, portabellas)

4. Using a small strainer, cover the sweet potatoes with seasoning and toss to coat.

Note: I like to use a strainer to help me season because it evenly distributes the seasonings, so when you take a bite into the fry it's not completely covered with seasoning or is completely bland because it has no seasoning.

5. Spread evenly on a baking sheet, see image above.

6. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until soft inside and crunchy outside. You might want to flip them 20-25 minutes into cooking so they don't get overcook on one side and not the other, that is bad french fry cooking...

6. Take them out of oven and wait at least 5 minutes for them to cool down (you don't want to burn your tongue) and drip them awesome sweet potatoes fries in my Tomatillo - Jalapeño - Avocado Aioli...

OMG!!! I made it through another day on the Whole30:-)))))

Breakfast-On-The-Go : Egg McMuffin, without the Muffin...

Many of you ask me what to eat in the morning...This is one of my go-to on-the-go breakfasts, high in protein, good fat and can be made with any leftovers in the fridge...I make them on Sunday and eat them throughout the week...they are good hot or cold...

Try popping one of these in your mouth after a WOD...

Mini V-Egg Muffins

Ingredients: Yields 24-30 Mini Muffins

- 12 large eggs (organic & free range)

- 1/2 cup coconut milk (full fat)

- 1 cup sun dried tomatoes

- 1/2 cup olive/mushroom tapenade

- Coconut Oil Spray

-Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat over 350 degrees.

2. Whisk eggs with coconut milk (salt and pepper optional - note the sun dried tomatoes and tapenade has salt and other seasoning so take it easy on the SP).

3. Chopped sun dried tomatoes and olive/mushroom tapenade together.

4. Spray the muffin baking sheet wil coconut oil.

5. Place 1 tsp of sun dried tomato and tapenade at bottom of muffin hold, see below.

6. Pour egg mixture (1/4 inch from lip) on top of sun dried tomato/olive tapenade. Don't pour too high, the egg fluffs as it cooks so it needs a little room to cook. 

7.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, until eggs fluff and are fully cooked.

8. Take out of oven and let rest (about 10-15 min), and spoon around the egg muffin to take out.

Salmon Egg Muffins

Same concept, just a little bigger muffin pan and made with Salmon since I had leftovers...

Ingredients: Yields 12-14 Mini Muffins

- 10 large eggs (organic & free range)

- 1/2 cup coconut milk (full fat)

- 1 1/2 cup cooked salmon

- 1/3 cup olive/mushroom tapenade

- Coconut Oil Spray

-Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat over 350 degrees.

2. Whisk eggs with coconut milk (salt and pepper optional - note the sun dried tomatoes and tapenade has salt and other seasoning so take it easy on the SP).

3. Chopped salmon and olive/mushroom tapenade and mix together.

4. Spray the muffin baking sheet wil coconut oil.

5. Place 1TBS of salmon and tapenade at bottom of muffin hold.

6. Pour egg mixture (1/4 inch from lip) on top of sun dried tomato/olive tapenade. Don't pour too high, the egg fluffs as it cooks so it needs a little room to cook. 

7.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, until eggs fluff and are fully cooked.

8. Take out of oven and let rest (about 10-15 min), and spoon around the egg muffin to take out.