Madhur Jaffreys Instant Pot Dal Makhani

The recipe for Madhur Jaffrey’s Instant Pot Dal Makhani came into my inbox via The NY Times recently. I wanted to try it again after my first attempt.   I followed the recipe as written except the very last instruction about transferring to a serving dish then putting in the Tarka. I stirred in the tarka into the IP instead because who wants to clean another dish and I was running short on time.
It took a little longer than I would have liked to thicken up, so if I were to make this again, I would probably use less water. Other than that, I liked how it turned out and it was simpler than my first attempt at this dish. I liked how it had just a bit of spice at the end. The rest of the family however weren’t as enthusiastic. The kids ate it reluctantly and E called it poo and dog food, but he ate it anyway, so who knows!?

Zucchini brownies

I made the King Arthur zucchini brownies recently. I liked how they turned out, but neither E or L liked them, so I brought them to share at work.

Blueberry muffin bread

I made this blueberry muffin bread for a Labor Day party. I didn’t have vanilla, so I subbed in maple flavoring. I really liked how it turned out. It went pretty quickly, so other people seemed to like it too.

GF Zucchini Bread

I had some zucchini I needed to use up and I wanted to make something gluten free so I could bring it to work to share. I found a GF zucchini bread recipe from the Power Hungry blog. I followed the recipe exactly, except I used dairy milk and forgot to add the vanilla. I was pretty happy with the texture of the final product, but it wasn’t sweet enough for me. I was trying to figure out how to incorporate honey as the sweetener instead of the coconut sugar. My gf coworker said she liked it, so that made me happy, but if I make it again, I’ll definitely change the sweetness up a bit.

Peaches!

I was able to get in on an order of a flat of peaches. The noon lions club does a fundraiser selling peaches and pears from Colorado in the summer. Once they were in and ripe and ready I had to figure out what to do with all of them!
They came on Tuesday, we ate a bunch, but they were ready for being used by Thursday and Friday, so Thursday night I made a gluten free peach crisp to bring to work. I used a recipe from Cookie and Kate. I followed the recipe pretty closely except I put it in a 9x13 pan, so I scaled the recipe by 1.5 to fill the pan generously.

Saturday was a very busy cooking day. In between literally running to the farmers market I made Smitten Kitchen’s peach butter and I adapted the Original plum torte recipe from the New York Times to use peaches.

For the peach butter, I used the instant pot to cook the peaches. I cooked at HP for 8min with a NR. I used about a half cup of water, but it would be better with much less. After the peaches were cooked, I used the immersions blender to purée everything. Then I added the sugar and lemon juice and set the IP to sauté. This part took the longest time, and it may have been better to transfer to the stove because I kept having to turn the sauté off because it was splattering so much. The end result was good. I ended up with three pint jars and stuck two in the freezer. If I had canning equipment, I would try to can it so as to not take up freezer space. Maybe next summer.

For the torte, I made the batter as called for, but I grated some ginger in. I used about four large peaches cut in at least 1/8 wedges which I arranged skinned side up in a large outer circle and smaller inner circle around the pan. I grated a bit more ginger on top. I was happy how it turned out. I thought it tasted like some Kuchens I’ve had in Germany. Not too sweet, but the cake was nice and buttery. E didn’t like it because it wasn’t sweet enough. The recipe does call for sprinkling sugar on top depending upon the sweetness of the peaches but I opted to not add more sugar. Oh well, more for me.

I have about 5 peaches left with lots of possibilities, so stay tuned!

Rice Cooker Mexican Rice

We had an impromptu dinner with my sister and threw together some burritos. I cooked some Rancho Gordo San Franciscano beans in the IP and also the standard refried beans for E, but the highlight was the rice. E requested Spanish/Mexican rice, so we searched for recipes online. My last attempt  at Spanish rice years ago was a bit of a flop that tasted way too tomato-y. I hadn't re-attempted since!
E found one recipe, but it didn't appeal to me. The directions used a microwave, which we don't have, and it said it would take 30-40 minutes. My sister found an Instant Pot recipe, but since the beans were still cooking, I decided to go rogue and just use the rice cooker. I thought it turned out pretty good and even E complemented the rice.

We roughly followed the recipe from Tastes Better From Scratch in terms of ingredients, but here are the details used:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1.5 Cups white rice, we just used the short-grain rice we normally have, didn't have long-grain rice
1/4 onion, this was probably about 1/4-1/3 cup finely diced
2 garlic cloves
2 large/Med-large tomatoes finely diced
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4-1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/8-1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper or to taste
1 Tbsp cilantro finely chopped

1. Saute the rice, onion, and garlic in oil in a saute pan for about 3-5 minutes until the onion and garlic become soft.
2. Transfer rice mix to the rice cooker, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, and pepper with enough water to cook -I added water up to the "2" line in the rice cooker bowl. It was probably about 1-1.5 cups of water.
3. Set rice cooker to regular rice setting, on our Zojirushi, it is Reg/Sushi setting, and press start.
4. When rice cycle finishes remove bowl from cooker, add cilantro, and mix. Add any salt or pepper to taste.

If you want to make it spicier, you could probably add in some chopped jalapenos with the tomatoes, but we had some spice-averse kiddos who would be eating as well.

IP Beans with Chorizo

This Budget Bytes recipe calls for pinto beans, but I used some Rancho Gordo Yellow Indian Woman beans and a half package of Trader Joe’s soy chorizo. This is ended up more like Chili than I was anticipating, but it was still pretty good! I would make this again!

Lemony White Bean and Arugula Salad

I have arugula growing like crazy so I found Giada’s Lemony White Bean and Arugula Salad. I used Rancho Gordo flageolets and honey in place of the cannalini and maple syrup. I skipped the capers, but missed the saltiness.
It kept in the fridge pretty well, but I probably won’t make this specific thing again.

Pumpkin Apple Breakfast bake

I made this Pumpkin Apple Breakfast bake during my W30 time. I thought it might be more “bread or cake” like, but it wasn’t. It was very moist, and almost more like a cooked smoothie or pudding. The flavors were delicious, but texture was off or at least not what I wanted. If I tried this again, I’d probably shoot for less moisture or add in some almond or coconut flour.

Belated MW30 close out update

I'm  quite a bit past day 30, so I’m behind on this update.

Overall, it went pretty good and I would call it a success. I didn’t eat eggs, but I did eat beans, lentil and soy/tofu.

I lost about five pounds. I was hoping to loose a little more, but understood that the modifications I made probably affected the weight loss.

I had some digestion issues most of the W30, but I wasn't sure if it was related to the egg thing or something else. I felt pretty good, slept ok, and had good energy, but I felt about the same before too.

I continued on without eating added sugar for quite some time, and tried to continue on my weight-loss journey with Weight Watchers (or as it's now branded WW). After some time with that and "being able to eat what I want," my sugar/processed flour addiction has returned. I need to reconsider this or figure out a better way to control it.

At the end of the last one I said I wouldn't do another one, but here I am. I might do another modified W30 to help reset my sugar addiction, but probably won't for a while.

Smashed potatoes

This was a food trend going around that I’m glad I finally tried. I used this NYT recipe as the base, but steamed the potatoes with the IP to start. E got some smaller potatoes that cooked up quite creamy. This was a good side to have with veggie dogs/sausages.

Pizza beans

This style of meal had been sweeping my Facebook dinner group and I finally got around to trying it. I opted for the “fake” pizza beans from the New York Times, versus the original from Smitten Kitchen.
I liked them and they came together very quickly, I had used dried beans I cooked the day before. I’m not 100% convinced the entire family liked them though. L keeps saying she doesn’t like beans, which hurts me. I’m going to try again, because I have so many beans. I think I’ll try royal Coronas next.

White Vegetable Lasagna

We had people over for an Easter egg hunt and since most people were coming from far away, I wanted to make dinner for them. I made two pans of lasagna. One traditional with tomato sauce and cheese and the other with roasted vegetables and a white base (lots of butter!). This is the recipe I used for the white lasagna, though I veered from the original recipe a bit.

I roasted zucchini, red pepper, and mushrooms the night before and I only had a tomato on hand so I roasted that to. I chopped all the veggies put into the veggie layer and I put the no-cook noodles in hot water until they were soft, as recommended by several other recipes to ensure the end texture was proper.

My mom and SIL both said they really liked it. I won’t make this just for my family, but I would bring this to a pot luck. I

Kala Chana

I made this black chickpea curry, also known as Kala Chana. I was trying to make an effort to recreate a dish I loved at Guru in Somerville.
I cooked the chickpeas in the IP ahead of time, but maybe didn’t cook them long enough because they were still a little firm.
Otherwise it was pretty good. I’m not sure if I will try this again, but I probably should with more properly cooked chickpeas.

Minimalist Baker work-potluck take-over

Around May, some people at work organize having pot-luck lunches to raise money for the Relay for Life. Groups usually pick a theme for their food. Last year our group did soup/salad and I made a wicked good chili. This year, we opted for Italian food. I have a couple co-workers who have issues with gluten and dairy, so I wanted to make something they could eat too. Well, I probably went a little overboard, but I had a lot of fun making everything. I thought it all tasted pretty good too.

I made

• vegan "meatballs," which also required me to make the 
• vegan "Parmesan cheese"
• No-Bake Carrot Cake Bites
• vegan, gluten-free brownies

I thought everything turned out great. Making everything did take some time. I made everything over two nights and each night I made quite a mess in the kitchen with all the bowls and the food processor.

For the "meat"balls, I used GF-soy sauce instead of the Worcestershire sauce, I didn't use fennel because I didn't have it. I used dried herbs where fresh were called because that's all I had. I also just  skipped the pan-fry step and baked them in the oven. They held together quite well and tasted good too. 

I didn't include raisins in the carrot cake bites and just coated them in finely-shredded coconut.

For the brownies, I used almond butter instead of peanut butter and skipped the chocolate chips because I didn't have any dairy-free chocolate chips. I baked the brownies a bit longer than the recipe called for - probably about 20-25 minutes total, and they still looked wet when I took them out. They definitely set up after cooling, like the recipe said.

I had several people at work ask for my recipes, and that always makes me feel like I made something somewhat tasty.

White Bean and Avocado Salad with Garlic Oil

I was looking for bean recipes to use up more of the lovely Rancho Gordo beans. I made this White Bean and Avocado Salad with Garlic Oil with some Alubia Blancos cooked in the IP. I was warned that they wouldn't take very much time, and that was quite true. The cooking liquid for the beans came out quite thick due to some of the beans breaking down.
Overall, I thought it turned out ok, the flavors were bright, but probably due to user error, it was a bit mushy and everything stuck together. I felt like there was a bit too much oil, too.

I won't be making this again.

Vegan Caesar Dressing

I really was craving a kale Caesar salad during my modified Whole 30. Since most store-bought Caesar dressings have anchovies, much less aren't Whole 30 compliant, I decided to make my own. I found this recipe for vegan Ceasar salad dressing from Minimalist Baker.
It calls for hummus as the base, so not completely W30 compliant, but since I was eating beans, it was ok for me. I just omit the maple syrup/sweetener and I still thought it tasted pretty good!

Enfrijoladas

I'm catching up with new food and recipes I've tried over the past few months. This was another recommendation that came from my Facebook dinner group. I jumped on the Rancho Gordo Bean Club membership and needed something to use up the beans before the next shipment. Someone posted this recipe for Enfrijoladas, which are basically bean and cheese enchiladas. I think I used some pinto beans, or maybe Rio Zape beans. Either way, these are delicious and they came together very quickly with my stick blender!
I definitely toned down the chipotle peppers so my daughter would at least try them, but I would definitely make these again.

Date Tahini,and Cardamom Smoothie

On a recommendation from my Facebook dinner group, I tried out this smoothie recipe from Serious Eats. I was looking for more variety in my morning smoothie game during the whole 30, so it is compliant with that.
I had all the ingredients except the almond milk, so it came together fairly easily. However, I wasn't as enthralled with the outcome as some of my fellow group members. I'm not sure now because it has taken me way too long to write up these reviews, but I think it was the texture and the flavor of the tahini that I didn't quite like.
I'm sure it works for other people quite well, but I'm going to label it a flop in my mind. I won't be making this again.

Green Lentil Curry

I found this recipe for Green Lentil Curry that I decided to make for a quick weeknight meal. I modified it a bit and also made it in the IP for all the hands-off cooking. I even made a cake during the cook time! My ingredients and method are below:

Ingredients

·      3 tablespoons olive oil

·      ½ cup onion, finely diced

·      1 teaspoon finely grated ginger

·      3 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste

·      2 teaspoons ground coriander

·      1 ¼ teaspoon cumin

·      1 tomato, diced

·      1 cup dried green lentils

·      1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

·      1 medium carrot, thinly sliced

·      1 cup finely chopped cilantro (optional)

·      1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

·      Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It

Step 1    

With IP on Sauté mode, add oil. Once oil is hot, add onion, ginger, and garlic. Stir and saute until soft. Add coriander and cumin. 5-15 seconds, just until sizzling and fragrant. Add the tomato, about 2 minutes.

Step 2    

To the pot, add the lentils, carrots, turmeric, optional cayenne pepper, 2.5 cups of water, and season with salt. Close lid and ensure seal. Cook at high pressure for 6 minutes and allow natural release.  Serve with rice, warm naan, plain yogurt and cilantro.

MW30 Day 23-29

23rd day
Breakfast  - Smoothie: hemp hearts, almond butter, two bananas, coconut milk and spinach

Lunch - potato, sweet potato wedges, 1/2 veggie patty, raw red pepper, carrots, celery, and an avocado with S&P. I wish I had my EBTB seasoning, but I left it at home. Maybe I should get an extra for work.

Dinner - Can't even remember at this point.

The rest of the days are all a blur. Though Breakfast has been consistent.
Lunch and dinner have been mostly kale salads and soup. I made the curried butternut squash soup again, but I ran out of curry powder. It didn't taste quite the same.

One day to go, though I might continue with some parts...

MW30 Days 19, 20, 21, 22

Breakfast every day has been a smoothie with almond butter, coconut milk, two bananas. I have added spinach when I have it. Also 2 Tbsp of hemp hearts, at least up until day 22 when I ran out and used chia seeds. It's not the same, so I really need to go to the store!

Lunches - soup and olives/nuts, salads with lots of veggies, olives, and avocado, and the tahini or balsamic dressing.

Dinners - Pretty much the same as lunch. Though Day 21 dinner was a pre-cooked lentil/bean mixture from Trader Joes. I added olives. It was ok, but I should have had some cauliflower rice or something else similar. I did make up some lentil-veggie patties that were superb IMO and ate those on occasion for some extra protein.

Lentil Veggie Patties

Lentil Veggie Burger
1/2 cup black lentils
1 small roasted beet, shredded
2 med/small carrots, sredded
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder or flakes
1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup flax seed, ground

Cook the lentils, covering them in 1" water, until soft ~30-40 min? It probably would be faster to cook in the pressure cooker.
While the lentils are cooking combine the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl.
When the lentils are soft, drain remaining water.
Add the lentils to the vegetable-spice mixture and mash with the back of a spoon until you have a consistency of thick mashed potatoes.
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Scoop out about 1/3 cup of the mixture and form into a patty shape then place onto the baking sheet.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes then flip and bake another 5-10 minutes.

MW30 Day 16, 17, and 18

Wednesday Breakfast - I was pretty hungry and tired of all the leftovers so a quick search of Vegan Whole 30 breakfasts brought up several hits! I will have to go back and get some more ideas, but I decided on a smoothie. Technically smoothies aren't recommended, but like I said, I'm getting weary of all the leftovers for breakfast and since I'm avoiding eggs, those are out of the question too. My smoothie consisted of two frozen bananas, about 3/4-1 cup coconut milk, 3 Tbsp hemp hearts, 1/2-1 cup pineapple, and 2 Tbsp cashew butter. This was really very tasty and Roland really liked it too!

Lunch - Chickpea, cauliflower korma and an avocado with EBTB seasoning. Couple handfuls of almonds.

Dinner - Ebon caught some trout! I fried up two filets in ghee with garlic, some steamed carrots and potatoes, and a couple olives. I needed more fat, so downed a couple



Thursday Breakfast - Smoothie again, this time without the pineapple. It consisted of two frozen bananas, about 3/4-1 cup coconut milk, 3 Tbsp hemp hearts, and 2 Tbsp cashew butter. I was full until about 12:30/lunchtime no problem!

Lunch -Last of the chickpea, cauliflower korma and a handful of almonds.

Dinner - big salad of red-leaf lettuce, spinach, 1/2 red pepper, with balsamic vinaigrette. Later I had large handful of toasted walnuts and a couple handfuls of coconut.

Friday Breakfast -  Smoothie again, this time with some spinach. It consisted of two bananas, about 3/4-1 cup coconut milk, 3 Tbsp hemp hearts, a handful of spinach, and 2 Tbsp cashew butter.

Lunch - a couple handfuls of almonds prior to lunch, and during - large bowl of the white bean soup.

Dinner - I can't remember now, but probably a large salad.

MW30 Day 13 and 14 and 15

Sunday
Breakfast - 2 pieces of the egg bake with Tabasco and 1/2 avocado. Also a banana. I went for a run this morning and felt a little funny after eating this breakfast, but didn't seem as bad as the days before and it could have been from the run too.
Lunch - I wasn't hungry so after I had a nap, I had an apple with cashew butter.
Dinner - I attempted to make a white bean and vegetable (celery, carrot, 1/4 cabbage, 1/2 orange pepper, 1/2 large potato, onion garlic, and tomatoes at the end) soup, but I used too many beans and didn't used the pressure cooker which would have made everything go much faster. It ended up taking about an hour to get dinner ready on the stovetop, so I won't be doing that again. I used a quart of the veggie stock I made earlier in the month and that, along with S&P, basil and oregano made it taste pretty good, once the beans were actually done.
Snacks - pomegranate seeds, pear


Monday
Breakfast - avocado with EBTB seasoning and handful of almonds.
Lunch - Salad with 1/4 roasted cauliflower, tomatoes, and olives with balsamic vinaigrette and spaghetti squash with the korma simmer sauce.
Dinner - Bean soup and too many handfuls of nuts and raisins.

Tuesday - Halfway to 30!
Breakfast - too many almonds
Lunch - Carrot ginger soup, chickpea and cauliflower korma, avocado with EBTB seasoning
Dinner - spaghetti squash with the korma simmer sauce.

MW30 Day 12

Breakfast- two pieces of the egg bake with Tabasco and 1/2 avocado, but my stomach discomfort is back so I really think it is the eggs. It makes me so sad. I’m going to have to up my tofu intake to have a little more protein.

Lunch- Cauliflower chickpea korma from 101 cookbooks that I wanted to make last week. It was ok, but not as flavorful as I was hoping for. I’ll have to tweak it a bit, I think.

Dinner - huge kale salad with 1/2 of the roasted cauliflower, olives, toasted walnuts, tomatoes, and lemon tahini dressing.

Snacks were 3/4 pear, handful of nuts and raisins, and 1/2 rejected banana.

Barely Lentil soup

I made this barley lentil soup the other day. It was just ok. Fairly plain. Don’t think I’ll try this particular recipe again.

Vegetarian Runzas

Ever since moving back to Nebraska, I had been craving a Runza sandwich. I found a recipe from a Nebraska blogger, so it was time to try. I found some Gardien crumbles to use instead of ground beef. I had a lot going on so I attempted to make them on a Sunday, but started a little late.  I made the dough and the filling, but abandoned both after realizing that dinner would be at 8. They stayed in the fridge for about a week before I had a chance to assemble and bake them. At that point a good portion of the dough was dried out. The filling was ok, but I didn’t have the sauerkraut and I think it really was needed. I’m going to try again with a recipe that a fellow Nebraskan from my dinner group gave me.

Fried cheese curds

E and I both like the fried cheese curds we get from restaurants, so we wanted to try to make them at home. There are quite a few recipes on the web, but we settled on this one. It was pretty much a disaster. We tried to deep fry and we tried using the air fryer. Neither worked all that well. They both kind of ended up like blobs of cheese with a little batter somewhere. I think we’ll just stick to ordering fried cheese curds at restaurants.

MW30 Day 11

Breakfast - had two pieces of the egg bake I made last night with Tabasco and 1/2 an avocado.

Lunch - last of the curried butternut squash soup. That was a really good soup that I wish the rest of my family liked. I also had a big spinach salad with olives, 1/2 orange pepper, 1/4 of the roasted cauliflower, tomatoes and the balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinner - I made carrot ginger soup based on a recipe I found from plated cravings. It was just ok. I added more ginger after cooking but it still didn’t have the flavor I had hoped for. Afterward, I had a couple handfuls of nuts and raisins.

Small batch chocolate cupcakes

L really wanted cupcakes so I made some based on a recipe that was really for two (ramekins). I didn't want to make my go-to because I am following the MW30 diet and I chose not to eat them and didn't want to have lots of cupcakes/a whole cake around the house. So this fit the bill nicely and we ended up with five cupcakes overall. I replaced the AP flour with white whole wheat, but made everything else except the frosting as the recipe described.
I didn't taste them, but both L and R liked them. I think E could taste the WWW because he didn't like it.

MW30 Day 10

I skipped breakfast today, mostly because I was running around and didn't know what to have. I stuffed an avocado and EBTB seasoning in my backpack, but I didn't get a chance to eat it.

Lunch, another sad salad because customer audit, but I ate the avocado from home that I didn't get a chance to earlier. Same salad as yesterday, but less hard boiled egg.

Dinner - baked sweet potato with ghee and huge spinach salad with tomatoes, olives, and homemade balsamic dressing.

Snacks - I scarfed a couple handfuls of almonds after the audit.

I had a chance to catch up and do a lot of food prep this evening. I made an egg bake based off a recipe from Paleo Running Momma and used some shredded zucchini that was in the freezer from the summer, also onions and mushrooms with a sweet potato base/crust. I added thyme, rosemary, S&P to the eggs before dumping it in.
I also roasted a spaghetti squash and a head of cauliflower. It feels good to get ahead, because I haven't really been eating well because I didn't have stuff prepped.

MW30 Day 9

Breakfast - whole avocado (though I shared with R) with EBTB seasoning and banana rejects (also from R).

Lunch - sad salad with no dressing due to lunch at our cafeteria during a customer audit. It included shredded iceberg lettuce, olives, cucumbers, green peppers, pickle, sunflower seeds.

Dinner - baked sweet potato with ghee and olives.

MW30 Day 8

I made it a week, but now I need to prep food so I have stuff ready and on hand to grab. This morning I was lost trying to figure out what to eat for breakfast. I'm still not sure I want to eat eggs yet, so I had a little orange and leftover steamed carrots, but it was not enough, so I was hungry at work for a while. I didn't have to break into the soup I brought for lunch.
Still a little intestinal distress this morning, so maybe I need to hold back on the nuts too... Looking back, I should have at least had an avocado with some EBTB seasoning.

Lunch - Leftover curried squash soup and kale salad (practically the entire bunch) with tomatoes, 1/2 avocado, and lemon tahini dressing.

Dinner - Spinach salad (about 1/2 the bunch) with 1/2 avocado, olives, 1/2 red pepper, and olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing.

MW30 Day 7

I've made it a week!

Breakfast - Leftover black eyed peas that need to be eaten. Large handful of almonds, and 1/2 banana that was rejected by the toddler.

Lunch  -  Leftover Japchae and two handfuls of almonds. I was a little hungry around 11:40 so I downed the almonds before.

Dinner - I tried out the Trader Joe's cauliflower gnocci with a tomato sauce I had frozen previously. Also consumed with green peas. I was going to have something else, but I was tired of making stuff and just tired in general. I tried to follow the instructions on the package for the gnocci, but they turned out pretty mushy. I'm going to have to try for a different method to get them soft and warm on the inside and crunchy on the outside.
After dinner I had three handfuls of nuts. Probably not a good idea, but I was a little hungry and it was easy to get/eat.

MW30 Day 6

Breakfast - Leftover black eyed peas that need to be eaten. Large handful of almonds, 1/2 banana that was rejected by the toddler, and a handful of raisins.

Lunch - Huge salad with olives, tomatoes, 1/2 avocado, carrot, and the lemon tahini dressing.

Dinner  - Japchae without the sugar and baked tofu using tapioca starch instead of cornstarch.

Snacks - lot of pomegranate seeds.

I was feeling a little intestinal distress so I want to try to stay away from eggs for a day or two to see if that's what's causing it. We'll see how it affects me long term and also if I will continue to stick with the diet.

MW30 Day 5

Breakfast - Three ghee-fried eggs, 1/2 avocado, leftover roasted veggies, and some butternut squash I had in the freezer. I tried putting some Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel seasoning on the squash, but it didn’t quite work, or at least I didn’t like it too much.

Lunch - I made a pretty good curried butternut squash soup with the freezer squash because it was a little stringy. It was really good, I had two bowls! I also had a kale salad with tomatoes and the tahini dressing.

Snacks- I was a little hungrier today, so I had a few snacks. Some pomegranate seeds and a handful of nuts before dinner. After dinner I had an apple with almond butter.

Dinner - trout filet fried in ghee with some garlic, steamed carrots, sautéed kale and tomatoes.

MW30 Day 4

Breakfast - 3 ghee-fried eggs with Tabasco, 1/2 avocado, and lots of the roasted vegetables from the other night's dinner

Lunch - Leftover salad from last night's dinner with the added roasted cauliflower. I wasn't sure if I would eat the whole cauliflower, because that seems like a lot, but I did. It was delicious!

Dinner - I had another salad. Kale with roasted butternut squash, fresh grape tomatoes, toasted walnuts, a hard boiled egg, and olives. I made more tahini dressing because it was so good!

MW30 Day3

Breakfast - 3 ghee-fried eggs with Tabasco, 1/2 avocado, the last of the technically non-compliant potato and sweet potato wedges from last week that I don't want to go to waste.

Lunch - Black eyed pea stew from New Years Day, 1/2 avocado, 2 hard boiled eggs, and a handful of almonds.

Dinner - Great salad with a lemon-garlic-tahini dressing! Massaged kale with olive oil and s&p, roasted red pepper from yesterday's dinner, carrot strips, sugar snap peas, olives, toasted walnuts
Putting everything together took quite a while, so I should really try to prep the salads ahead of time. Everyone else was eating pizza while I was still assembling my dinner. I also started roasting a whole cauliflower before E went for the pizza, but it wasn't done in time, so I decided that it was for tomorrow.

Dressing -3 Tbsp. tahini, ~1-2 Tbsp. olive oil, juice of one lemon, 3 garlic cloves, salt, pepper - put everything in a tall bowl and blended with the stick blender

MW30 Day 2

Day 2 food:
Breakfast - 3 ghee-fried eggs with Tabasco, 1/2 avocado, leftover collard greens from last night, technically non-compliant potato and sweet potato wedges from last week that I don't want to go to waste. Roland ate several of my sweet potatoes.

I have been super full so far, but I still have a ways to go to lunch.

Lunch - leftover egg salad from yesterday, romaine lettuce, 1/2 avocado, sugar snap peas, 7 olives, and tomato soup

Dinner - A huge plateful of roast vegetables - potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, onions, red pepper, and zucchini.

I started brushing my teeth with the kids, so I'm less likely to eat more when I finish putting them to bed.

Modified Whole 30

I need to get back to eating better, but the vegetarian version I did the last time didn't end well for me. I'm opting to eat beans/legumes for protein in addition to the many eggs I plan to eat. I will be tracking what I eat again, as it's helpful for me and others in the future. Starting weight is 165.2.

Day 1
Breakfast - 3 eggs, 1/2 avocado, 1med-large sweet potato
Snack- pomegranate seeds
Lunch - egg salad (probably 2-3 eggs worth) over romaine lettuce, 7 olives, 1/2 carrot, 1/2 avocado, handful of sugar snap peas, and some tomato soup.
Snack - stalk of celery
Dinner - black eyed peas with collard greens. I took the recipe for the beans from the Rancho Gordo Bean email but is also available here. It was ok, but only me and the toddler ate it. Now I have a lot left for the week.

I felt pretty good today, I felt a little hungry after dinner but I didn't eat anything, so off to a good start, I guess.