Day 13 Whole30

Today is that female time of the month so I didn't feel great. It hasn't been long enough to notice if dropping dairy will affect it, hopefully next month i'll have a better idea. Suffice to say I had some pretty rampant sugar cravings, in particular...you guessed it CHOCOLATE!!! boy I really really wanted to cave today but I didn't.  Dallas and Melissa warn that this part of the program can get really intense, I'm looking forward to day 16 when hopefully the cravings will be gone.

On the bright side I am really loving trying lots of new things because I'm not having any dairy, I really do have to think outside the square! 

My new Well Fed cookbook is just awesome!!! I highly recommend this book, for anyone from beginners to those of us that have been at this a long time, like myself! Great ideas and lots of new flavours, herbs and spices that I wouldn't have thought of.  

The introduction is awesome, a very basic yet well thought out way of explaining Paleo and how to transition to a Paleo diet.  Plenty of advice for meal planning and preparation tips.

It would be a perfect gift for that person in your life that keeps questioning about your "crazy diet" but isn't ready to change their eating habits because they don't understand how to do it. I would say if you read this book and didn't like the recipes and suggestions then there is no saving you ;)

Hubby was blown away by tonights  meal and kept raving about the chicken and sunshine sauce.  You must try this!!!!(links below)

8 hours sleep

8am: 2 egg omelet filled with leftovers from yesterday's lunch (pizza inspired mince & veggies)

2pm: Almond and smoked lemon coated chicken fried in coconut oil, on top of asparagus "noodles", drizzled with lemon olive oil. Blueberries with cinnamon toasted almonds and coconut

8pm: The Best Chicken You Will Ever Eat. Ever. with Sunshine Sauce and chopped up carrots, cucumber and yellow peppers with coriander and Buttercrunch lettuce (this meal was AMAZING!!!!!) 

Chinese Five Spice Stirfry

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
• 2 teaspoons of Chinese Five Spice Powder
• 1/2 onion, diced
• Assortment of veggies e.g.. onions, bok choy, kale, mushrooms, red peppers, snap peas, broccoli etc..
• Sliced Beef or Chicken
• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• 1 Tablespoon Tahini
• 1 Tablespoon Coconut Aminos
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Sauté the onions and five spice powder in the sesame oil, if you need more fat then just use something like coconut oil or duck fat.  

Add your veggies and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken or beef (small pieces), add the broth and tahini and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Take off the heat and stir through the coconut aminos and serve, top with sesame seeds.  

Notes: Cashews are a yummy addition, Beef cooks much faster so reduce the simmer time to about 3-4 minutes.  

Zucchini Carbonara

This is one of my favourite dishes:

Ingredients:

Serves 2:

• 1 large breast of chicken chopped up into bite sized pieces 
• 4 strips of streaky bacon chopped up 
• 5-6 large sundried tomatoes chopped up 
• 75gms Creamy feta (more or less depending on your taste preference) 
• Handful of Toasted Pinenuts 
• 100-200mls Heavy Cream 
• 2 Egg Yolks 
• 2-3 zucchinis julienned 
• 1 Tbsp Basil Pesto 
• Knob of butter 
• Garnish: Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese and Salt & Pepper

Instructions:

First toast your pinenuts!
Then fry your bacon, once browned put aside, fry the chicken using the bacon drippings. Once the chicken is almost cooked throw back in the bacon, sundried tomatoes and pesto.

In a bowl add your egg yolks, cream salt and pepper. Add the wet mixture and let simmer on a very low heat, you don't want the egg to curdle. Only cook for about 2 minutes. Add your feta and take off the heat.

In a separate non stick frying pan melt a knob of butter and flash fry the zucchini, you don't want to do it for long otherwise your zucchini will go mushy, add the zucchini noodles to the creamy chicken and serve immediately, grate some fresh parmesan on top and some freshly cracked pepper and salt.

Warning: Super rich!!!

Honey Mustard Chicken and Parsnip Purée!

Honey Mustard Chicken

• 2 Skinless Free Range Chicken Breasts
• 1 Tablespoon Raw Honey
• 1 Tablespoon Wholegrain Mustard
• 2 Tablespoons of Cream or Coconut Cream would probably work well.

Preheat your oven on fan grill to 200C.

Mix honey, mustard and cream with a dash of salt and pepper to taste and combine well, toss the chicken breasts in the mixture and marinade for a at least 15 minutes (the longer the better), grill them for 10 minutes on each side and then turn down the oven to 180C and change to fan bake for a further 10 minutes.  Rest for 10 minutes.

Parsnip Purée

• 200gms Parsnip (peeled and remove the woody core)
• 500mls Chicken Stock
• 2 Tablespoons of Butter (preferably grass-fed)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Dash of cream

Chop up your parsnip and place in a pot, pour in the entire 500mls of chicken stock and boil for 15 minutes, watch closely as you don't want it to burn, it should use up most of the liquid with only a little bit left in the bottom.  Remove from heat and add in your salt, pepper and butter and use your immersion blender to blend it nice and creamy.  Once you are ready to serve it then place it back on the stove to heat it through again and add your cream.  

Serves 2

Almond & Coconut Chicken!!! "Extra Crispy Chicken"

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts (boneless & skinless)
• 3/4 cup ground almonds
• 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp celery salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 2 eggs beaten

Directions

Slice your chicken breasts in half so you have two flat 1 inch thick pieces out of 1 chicken breast. (4 all up if cooking 2 chicken breasts)

Combine almonds and seasoning in a bowl. Whizz up your coconut to make it fine or leave chunky - the choice is yours!

You'll need 1 bowl for the eggs and 2 large places: one for the almond mixture and 1 for the coconut.

Dip all the chicken  in the eggs and coat thoroughly, then coat with the almond mixture, then coat again in the eggs, final step is to coat with the  coconut, the two coatings make for some 'fried chicken' tasting chicken and extra tender!

Line a baking dish with baking paper and place your chicken.

Bake at 180 Celsius for 30 minutes, flip chicken halfway through. 

Serve hot!

This salad goes awesome with this chicken:  

Julienne about 1/2 a cucumber, slice your green onions (spring onions), chop fresh basil and coriander (cilantro), toss them all with mesclun or spinach greens or both! Add the juice and zest of 1 lemon, 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper!

Dijon Maple Chicken

Ingredients

• 2-4 Chicken Breasts
• 2 Tbsp's grade b maple syrup
• 3 Tbsp's Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp fresh Rosemary
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves grated

Instructions

Preheat oven to 160C (Fan Forced). In an oven proof dish stir together the mustard, maple syrup, olive oil, soy sauce, grated garlic and chopped rosemary.

Coat the chicken breasts really well and arrange in your dish so they are side by side completely covered in marinade.

Bake the chicken breast in the preheated oven until cooked (approx 45-60 minutes)

Cajun Chicken with Mint dressing

This chicken dish is one of my favorite dishes, it's fresh, spicy, tasty and just plain ol yummy! Plus it's super easy :)

Depending on your personal preference you can either serve it with Rice (like above) or Cauliflower Salad (like below) 

Chicken:
Use chicken tenderloins and marinate in Cajun Seasoning, you could either make your own (Salt, Paprika, Black Pepper, Onion, Basil, Garlic, Chilli, Fennel, Thyme) or you could use Masterchef Cajun Seasoning http://www.masterfoods.co.nz/Products/ProductDetail/tabid/83/ProductId/1477/Cajun-Seasoning.aspx however it has wheat starch in it so if you are intolerant to that then make your own. 

Dressing: 
150gms Plain Greek Yoghurt
Juice of two limes and the grated lime zest
Bunch of chopped up Mint or Coriander
Cubed cucumber - amount varies depending on how much cucumber you want


The Cauliflower salad is a recipe from Annabel Langbein:

• 200g cauliflower, cut into florets, stems discarded

• ½ cup salted roasted cashews

• 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

• 1 tsp grated ginger

• 2 tsp neutral oil

• salt and ground black pepper

Place cauliflower and cashews in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in coriander leaves, ginger, oil and a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Toss to combine evenly.

http://www.annabel-langbein.com/recipes/crisp-cauliflower--cashew-salad/223

Satay Chicken Stirfry

Satay Chicken Stirfry

• 2 garlic cloves
• 2x2 cm piece fresh ginger peeled & grated
• Zest and juice of 2 limes
• Large bunch of fresh coriander
• 3 Tablespoons of crunchy or smooth peanut butter (you could try using almond or cashew butter)
• 1-2 Tablespoons Gluten free Soy Sauce or Tamari
• 1 de-seeded red chilli
• 1/2 -1 cup coconut cream
• (optional: a little honey added at the end for sweetness)
• Chicken Breasts
• Red Onion
• Cashews
• Veggies

Directions

Combine the satay ingredients in a food processor and whizz until a thick paste is formed.

Chop up 1 red onion and fry in a mixture of sesame oil & butter, once nearly done add cashews, sauté for about 3 minutes and then put aside.

Slice the chicken breasts into thin strips and quickly fry in remaining oil/butter without cooking all the way through, add veggies eg. Capsicum, zucchini, green beans, broccoli and pineapple, add the satay sauce and extra coconut cream if it needs it then add the cooked onion and cashews, cook for approximately 10 minutes and serve on cauliflower rice or white rice (if your not trying to lose weight)
I don't eat this too often because of the peanuts, it's not strictly primal because of the peanut butter, you could try substituting with almond or cashew butter, I'm yet to try that as an option....

Bacon wrapped chicken, stuffed with feta and roasted red peppers

On a piece of cooking paper lay 5 pieces of bacon, top with 3 small chicken breasts, 125-150gms Creamy Feta cheese and several strips of roasted red peppers. Roll it up in the cooking paper and roll again in some tin foil, bake for 40mins ...on 175C Fan Bake, take out of the oven and remove the top of the foil and cooking paper and then pop back in the oven for a further 15 minutes to crispy the bacon. Let rest for a few minutes and then slice, serve and eat!

Chicken Satay Skewers

Ingredients:

Satay Sauce:

• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 2cm fresh ginger, peeled
• 2 tbsn soy sauce or coconut aminos
• 1 red chilli de seeded
• Zest of 2 limes and juice of 1 lime
• Bunch of fresh coriander
• 3tbsn crunchy peanut butter or sunflower butter

Water to thin it out or coconut cream is good too.

Directions:

4 skinless, deboned chicken breasts (try to get nice fat and plump ones)

Combine the satay ingredients in a food processor and whizz until a thick paste is formed. Add a bit of water until the sauce is spooning consistency.

Pour half of the sauce into a bowl and set aside.

Pour the other half into a roasting tray.

Slice the chicken breasts into big chunks and skewer onto wooden skewers. (soak the wooden skewers for a few minutes before skewering the chicken). Place the chicken skewers into the roasting tray and coat in the satay sauce. Grill/roast the skewers until the chicken is cooked and they are golden.

Feta and Sundried Tomato stuffed Chicken with White Wine Reduction

Feta and Sundried Tomato stuffed Chicken with White Wine Reduction

This is my husband’s favourite dish and one of my many favourites. I used 3 small-med chicken breasts that I butterflied, lay all flat on cooking paper, top with 125gms Creamy Feta and 6 or so chopped sundried tomatoes, roll it up in the cooking paper and roll again in some more cooking paper long ways and twist at end kind of like a lolly. Bake at 360F for 1 hour. Take out of oven remove baking paper and sear in a little butter in a hot pan then let rest for 10mins. Serve with White wine reduction which is approx 1 part white wine to 3 parts cream and boiled to reduction.