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,
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
