Stuffed kabocha squash

 https://cookingforpeanuts.com/roasted-kabocha-squash-recipe/#recipe

Made this "acid watcher" friendly:

Subbed pepitas for the walnuts and just omitted anything pepper, tomato, onion,  and garlic-related

For the tahini sauce I just used tahini, water, honey, and salt.

I had one squash and for dinner I stuffed each half with one cup each of brown rice and the tofu taco filling. I ate one quarter of the squash, rice, filling combo and that was quite a lot!

Date and nut bars

Currently trying to avoid wheat and/or gluten, but I'm craving sweet stuff.  I'm also trying to eat through the pantry so we don't have so much stuff in the cabinets. 

Enter date and nut protein bars.  I couldn't find a great recipe that included everything I wanted to use  so I made up my own.

Ingredients 

45 pitted medjool dates, roughly chopped

Boiling water,  enough to cover the dates 

2 Cups nuts, toasted.  I used mostly almonds and some walnuts. 

1 cup flaxseed and chia seeds

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut  

1/2 cup dried apples torn or cut in small pieces 

1 tsp ground Cinnamon 

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1. In a small bowl pour the hot water over the chopped dates and let it sit while you move to the next step. 

2. In a food processor,  chop the nuts.  Some medium pieces are OK,  but generally less than 1/4" cubes. Pour into a large bowl.

3. I like to grind the flax seeds in a coffee/seed/spice grinder. Pour into the bowl of chopped nuts. 

4. Put the dates in the food processor to chop into a paste. Work in batches if needed. Pour into the nut bowl. 

5. Add remaining ingredients mix thoroughly.

6. Press into a greased 9x13 pan with parchment paper. 

7. Refrigerate for a few hours.

8. Cut and store.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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