Day 9 Whole30

The first week of my Whole30 is done!!! Day 1 feels like a long time ago!  The first few days were pretty tough, quitting dairy and dark chocolate gave me some intense headaches and acne breakouts and general just highs and lows of energy.  I am happy to say that I'm starting to get the energy that the Whole30 talks about! My acne flare up is now disappearing and I'm feeling pretty consistent energy throughout the day.Fingers crossed that Days 10-11 aren't too bad, they talk about it being the hardest of all the days and the days you are most likely to quit! I can't see that happening but I am prepared for the cravings!

I stocked up on loads of food today from the farmers market, butcher and veggie shop.  The best way do be prepared is to have enough food in your fridge and freezer.  I have to say that planning and preparation is key.  I would hate to imagine how you would get on if you didn't have enough veggies and meat in your fridge.  I do a lot of prep work on a Sunday, like chopping up fresh veggies, roasting pumpkin, kumara etc. and cooking a lot of meat so I always have leftovers in the fridge to grab in a pinch.  The biggest excuse I hear from people is that they don't have time and oh it must be nice to have so much time.  It's all about your priorities, if you have time for TV, facebook or the internet then you have time to make good food!  It takes me about an   hour to prepare food for the week, it really is very simple.

Today I really loved the food I ate! Definitely not feeling deprived, however when we went for coffee it was a bit strange not getting a flat white, I opted for a decaf short black and meh I'm just not really a black coffee drinker :(

8.5 hours sleep

7.30am: 2 poached eggs, 2 strips of free range, sugar free bacon, 1/2 avocado, mushrooms and little bit of leftover kumara (sweet potato)

1pm: "Sushi" Made with raw cauliflower rice, tossed with a bit of homemade mayo and sesame oil, filled with sesame seed crusted tuna, avocado and cucumber, topped with coconut aminos.  1 tablespoon of Coconut Manna

3pm: Decaf Short Black

7pm: Lamb and chicken from the Weber BBQ, cumin roasted pumpkin and carrots, green beans and mashed cauliflower with rosemary, ghee and coconut cream.

Lamb and Cauliflower Curry

I was making lamb bone broth from a leftover lamb bone that I cooked on the weber over the weekend.  It smelt so incredible that on a whim I decided to make a curry with the lamb that was falling off the bone!

To make your bone broth please see my blog for directions and just use lamb instead of chicken. 

Serves 1

Once your broth and lamb is ready transfer it to a smaller pot, add in the following ingredients:

1 1/2 tsps Cumin

1 tsp Ground Coriander

1 tsp Tumeric

1/2 tsp Ground Ginger

1/4 tsp White Pepper 

Salt to taste, I use about 1 tsp.

1/2 cup Coconut cream

1/2 tin chopped tomatoes

1-2 cups Cauliflower florets, small pieces

Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 15-20 mins, the liquid should reduce.

Once ready serve with some fresh coriander! (I didn't have any for photo)

*This was made super fast and without much thought or preparation, I'm sure some additional spices would make it even better like bay leaves (remember you remove the leaves before eating ;)), garam masala, cardomon, curry leaves etc..

Cauliflower & Feta Fritters

These are pretty damn yummy! After being away on holiday for a few weeks my eating hasn't been ideal so these are just the kind of thing I need to get me back on track to my ninja primal ways!

Cauliflower & Feta Fritters

• 1/2 head Cauliflower chopped up in small pieces
• 1/2 block feta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon Coconut flour
• handful of fresh rosemary
• Salt and Pepper

Prepare the cauliflower just like you do for the mash, see here: http://primaljourney.blogspot.co.nz/2012/10/rosemary-garlic-mashed-cauliflower.html

Once the cauliflower is cooked and excess water is removed slightly mash it but do not puree it.
In a bowl combine the coconut flour, eggs and seasoning and whisk well.  Add in the crumbled feta and cooked cauliflower, combine well.

Now you need patience otherwise they won't stay together! Fry on a low heat in small batches with plenty of butter, just spoon them in as you do with fritters, each side will probably take approx 5 minutes.  Once they have cooled for a couple of minutes you can pick them up and eat them like a normal fritter.

I suggest playing with the seasonings, maybe some spring onion or other seasoning like curry powder or something would spruce them up.  This was my first time making them and I just guessed with what I thought would work, feel free to improve them if you wish and be sure to let me know if you do ;)

Enjoy x

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie

To make the chilli mince:

Ingredients:

• Knob of Butter
• 1 Large onion
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers
• 1 tsp Chilli powder
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp ground Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Dried Marjoram
• 500gms Minced Beef
• 400gms Canned chopped tomatoes
• Concentrated Beef Stock

Directions:

Melt butter in a frying pan, add diced onion and cook till tender, add mince and brown.  Add the rest of the ingredients, there will be a lot of liquid so you need to let it simmer for 10-20 minutes, the sauce will reduce down and create a delicious thick rich sauce.  The leftovers are even better!

For the Cauliflower Mash:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head cauliflower cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2-3 cloves of roasted garlic (roast it in the skin for 30 minutes and then squeeze the garlic out)
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1-2 Tablespoons butter
• Freshly ground salt and pepper

Directions:

Boil your cauliflower in a pot for approx 6 minutes, once cooked then drain well and do not cool, pop the cooked cauliflower on lots of paper towels and more on top, pat dry as much as possible, I actually do this about 2-3 times to get all the liquid out of the cauliflower which is why my mash looks so "dry" just like mashed potato.  (you can also use a salad spinner which works quite well too)

In a bowl add the remaining ingredients and the cauliflower, use a stick blender to puree until almost smooth.

Lynda from A Change of Life adds an egg to hers to make it more potato like.
In a medium sized dish lay out your mince first and then top with the mash, then top with a combination of colby and parmesan cheese and a little extra chopped rosemary, place under the grill until browned.

I have tested this recipe on several people and it gets the huge thumbs up, M who doesn't even like Sheperd's Pie let alone cauliflower absolutely loves this and devours the lot! Trust me it's goooood!!!!!

Rosemary & Garlic Mashed Cauliflower "Potatoes"

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head cauliflower cut into small pieces

• 1-2 tablespoons cream cheese

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

• 2 cloves of roasted garlic

• 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

• 1-2 Tablespoons butter

• Freshly ground salt and pepper

Directions:

Boil your cauliflower in a pot for approx 6 minutes, once cooked then drain well but do not cool, pop the cooked cauliflower on lots of paper towels and more on top, pat dry as much as possible, I actually do this like 2-3 times to get all the liquid out of the cauliflower which is why my mash looks so "dry" like real mashed potato.  You can also use a salad spinner to get a lot of the water out, the more you can get the water out the more your mash will be creamy and smooth.

In a bowl add the remaining ingredients and the cauliflower, use a stick blender to puree until almost smooth, serve with extra butter!

Honestly this is a pretty amazing "mashed potato", I served it to M who as you know is my worst critic and he said he enjoyed it more than mashed potato so that says a lot! You must try this now, you won't believe how good cauliflower can taste!  This is the perfect topping for a shepherds Pie - Lynda from A Change of Life adds an egg to hers to make it more potato like.

Gravy:

The way I make gravy is I buy a stock called essential cuisine http://shop.countdown.co.nz/Shop/ProductDetails?stockcode=725331&name=essential-cuisine-beef-stock-liquid 
This is actually a bone broth reduction (you can make your own), once you've made your own you can understand why this cost of this is pretty high!

So I pop some stock in a pan, add things like dijon mustard, smoked paprika, a little bit of curry powder, a dash of coconut aminos or tamari, salt and pepper to taste.  
I use 1 Tablespoon of Tapioca starch/flour and dissolve in tiny bit of cold water as you would with cornflour.
Add the starch mixture to your beef stock and flavourings and "slowly" heat through, you cannot rush this or it will get too hot and thin out to the point you cannot thicken it again, patience is a must.  As it heats it will gradually thicken.  This makes beautiful gluten free gravy and no weird aftertastes or anything like with some of the other thickeners out there.