I swore I would never "go Paleo." It seems gimmicky and I didn't want to give up bread. However, my awesome teammate is counting on me to make an attempt, and my coach is giving me lots of encouragement. So I am trying. Usually, I start really strong and quickly taper off. This time I have gotten stronger as I have gone along. (The German Chocolate Cheesecake in the fridge probably downgraded my early attempts.)
Yesterday was the long-anticipated cheat meal. We had to post a picture on Friday of how we were going to cheat. I decided I wanted bread and ice cream. We had a lovely dinner & went downtown for good ice cream.
Guess what?! My stomach sorta disliked white bread but it detests ice cream. I was awake all night in agony. And now I know. I can handle Greek yogurt & a little bit of buttermilk in the homemade ranch dressing (2 tablespoons) but my body really doesn't love dairy.
Here's what's on my dinner menu for this week:
Sunday: Turkey Meatloaf, Roasted Cauliflower, side salad
Monday: Rotisserie chicken
Tuesday: Slow Cooker Italian Pork Roast, zucchini noodles, side salad
Wednesday: (portable) Chicken, Apple, & Bacon Salad with homemade dressing
Thursday: Cafe Rio Chicken Salad, Guacamole Salad, Mexican rice (Rotel + rice + chicken broth)
Friday: Grilled Pork Tenderloin, roasted carrots, quinoa stuffing
Saturday: Date night (cheat meal?). Pizza for the kids.
Sunday: Hawaiian haystacks
Quinoa Stuffing
Adapted from Steven Raichlen's Big Flavor Cookbook
2 cups quinoa
1 firm apple, peeled & finely diced
1 tsp lemon juice
2 ears fresh corn (1 c kernels)
1-1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbsp)
4-5 c water or chicken stock
1 each small green, red, & yellow bell peppers, seeded, cored, & cut into small dice
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs (sage, thyme, basil, oregano, parsely, &/or chives)
2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
Salt & pepper
Rinse quinoa.
Toss apple with lemon juice to prevent browning. Cut corn off of cobs. Heat oil in large saucepan & saute onio, celery & garlic for 3-4 minutes over medium heat until soft but not brown. Stir in qunioa with 4 cups water & bring to a boil. Cook for (however long it takes). Add peppers, apple & corn & continue simmering, uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until quinoa is cooked. Just before serving stir in herbs, cheese, salt & pepper.
Guacamole Salad:
ReplyDeleteHoly Guacamole Salad
Prep time: 15 mins Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 4-5 cups
Ingredients
For the Salad
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 Persian cucumbers, chopped into medium chunks (we're making salad, not salsa!)
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
½ red onion, diced
1 jalapeño pepper (2 if you like spicy), seeded and chopped finely
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped finely
2 large, ripe avocados (or 3 small), pitted and cut into chunks
For the Dressing
Zest from 1 lime
⅓ cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
Report this ad
In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, red onion, avocado, jalapeno, garlic, and cilantro. Mix together, then add the avocado and fold gently to combine.
Zest one lime into the bowl.
In a measuring cup, combine the fresh lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Mix and pour over the veggies. Toss gently to coat.