It’s hard to believe we’ve almost reached the halfway point

in our Whole 30 Challenge without cheating.

Well not entirely without cheating.

We weren’t supposed to weigh ourselves…and we did.

aaaand…

Captain Francois has shed 8 lbs and I, 4 lbs

in just two weeks.

This wasn’t about weight loss as much as it was about rebalancing our eating habits

but the fact that it has had this much impact

on the earth’s force of gravity on our body mass is very encouraging.

So, onward and hopefully downward to the menu board for today.

Breakfast

Waffled Egg BLT’s

Last year I purchased a little stove top camping-style waffle iron

to add to my galley gear

and it has helped me produce some very creative dishes.

I found out that with a little imagination

pretty much anything can be waffled…

I quite often use it as a panini press for grilled cheese sandwiches.

Great for using up leftover pasta, mashed potatoes,

and scrambled eggs…

Today I used it it to make Egg Waffle BLT’s for our morning meal.

I whisked the eggs with a bit of water

and cooked them in the waffle maker,

Spread each with a slather of mayo or in this case I used some leftover Vegan Nacho ‘Cheese’ Dip from Days 7 & 8,

top with slices of bacon, tomatoes and lettuce

and voilà! BLT Whole30 style.

Being creative is so much fun!

Lunch

Since we quite often have a late breakfast,

our mid-day meal is more like mid-afternoon

 along the lines of a light snack or appetizer.

It serves to stave off any hunger gremlins until the evening

but to be honest we have yet to feel hungry between meals.

These little nibbly bits went really well with our

sparkling water ‘cocktail’…

Seafood Salad Cucumber Bites

A little chopped cooked shrimp or baby clams, celery and onion,

a healthy sprinkling of Hot Old Bay Sea seasoning,

mayo (either homemade or no-sugar commercial) to hold it all together.

Because I still had some leftover

Vegan Nacho ‘Cheese’ Dip from Days 7 & 8 left I used that.

some sea salt and pepper to taste, a dash of dill

and few slices of English cucumber.

Keep a can of cocktail shrimp or baby clams on hand.

You never know when friends might drop by for docktails

Supper

Portobello Shepherd’s Pie

A fancy-pants way of making this basic dish

but oh my, was it ever tasty!

I added all my veggies into the mix to make it a complete meal

so no sides were necessary.

what you will need for 2 servings

3-4 large Portobello mushrooms

1/2 lb of lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1 tbsp cooking oil (I used rendered duck fat for more flavour)

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 – 2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp beef broth powder (preferably the no MSG kind)

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp arrowroot powder plus 1 tbsp water

2 cups mashed potatoes

dried parsley and hemp hearts to garnish (optional)

putting it all together

Remove the stems from the mushrooms, chop and reserve

Gently scrape the fins off each, reserving the bits

Heat oil or fat in sauté pan and add onions, celery and carrots.

Sauté for 3-4 minutes.

Add all the mushroom bits.

Sprinkle with seasonings.

I omitted adding any extra salt because of the beef powder.

Add the ground beef and sauté, breaking up any chunks.

Deglaze with balsamic vinegar.

Stir in tomato paste and beef broth powder

and simmer for another few minutes.

Add the water and gently cook until the vegetables are cooked but not mushy.

Turn off heat.

Whisk arrowroot powder with 1 tbsp water.

Stir into the beef mixture incorporating well throughout.

This should be enough to thicken the juices.

Pile the mixture into each mushroom cavity.

Top with a sprinkling of hemp hearts and parsley if using.

Bake in a preheated 375 ° oven, on your grill (medium low heat),

or stove top Omnia oven

for about 20 – 25 minutes until top begins to brown

and juices bubble.

inspiration thanks to The View From Great Island