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Thursday, February 13, 2014

Day 3: Whole 30 and a Recipe

We have officially completed 3 days on the Whole 30! Only....27 more to go, ha!

When I first read about what the plan consisted of, it looked like more of a list of what you couldn't have vs. what you could eat. I'm sure that is pretty intimidating to most people (including myself), but it honestly hasn't been that challenging.

What I've learned in the past few days about how to succeed on this plan: you need to meal plan in a new way. When I typically meal plan, it's for 4 dinners. Sometimes we have leftovers that are taken for lunch, other times Matt picks something up and I'll have a few different snack type things for lunch. Many of those items include granola bars, peanut butter and an apple, a yogurt, cheese stick, etc. ALL items that are banned on the Whole 30. Meal plans need to include breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and we can't just plan on eating out Friday and Saturday nights. I'm cooking a crockpot meal tomorrow that will be dinner for Thursday and Saturday nights. We're having Whole 30 friendly pulled pork. Of course, the difference with this recipe is that there is no sugar (which is always one of the first ingredients with any bottled or prepared sauce). This recipe uses pineapple to sweeten it. I'll serve it with roasted broccoli and carrots.

Matt and I are both feeling really good. We haven't been having any crazy cravings (thankfully), but Matt has had a few headaches. From what I've read, this seems pretty typical. I think it's probably a mixture of sugar withdrawal and caffeine withdrawal. We have both only been having one small cup of coffee each morning because unsweetened black coffee basically sucks.

So far this week we've had Chili:

 
Salads with veggies, grilled chicken, and roasted veggies on the side.
 
 
And, Curry Chicken with peppers, sweet potatoes, and onions.
 
 
Now, the picture of the Chicken Curry really doesn't do it justice (forgot to take a picture until I had packed up the leftovers in tupperware). This recipe is SO GOOD. And I'm completely patting myself on the back, because it's something I pretty much winged without a recipe. I love the Trader Joe's Thai red curry sauce, but one of the first ingredients is sugar. I looked at the other main ingredients in the recipe, and made this version. Try it!
 
 
1-1.5 lbs chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1 can light coconut milk
4 red/orange bell peppers
1 large white or yellow onion
2 sweet potatoes cut into medium chunks
1 T cumin
1.5 T curry (more if you like it spicer, less if not)
2 t garlic powder
1 t powdered (more of fresh if you have it) ginger
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro on top (as much as you like)
1 lime wedge per serving to squeeze on top
Olive oil to saute
 
Pre-heat oven to 410. Throw the chopped sweet potatoes onto a baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast until fork tender, I do about 15 minutes, flip, and another 15 minutes.
 
In a small sauce pan, combine coconut milk and all spices and heat over medium  low heat. Whisk it together as it heats. I let it simmer while the chicken and peppers cooked, it will continue to cook in the larger pot with the chicken and veggies.
 
In a large pot, brown the chicken pieces on medium high heat in olive oil (or coconut oil), set aside. Add a small amount of oil back into the pan, and throw in the veggies. Sautee until browned, about 8 minutes. Add chicken back in. Pour the coconut milk/spice mixture over the chicken and peppers. Let it simmer on low for about 20 minutes.
 
I served this with the sweet potatoes on the bottom of a bowl with the chicken curry mixture on top. Yum!

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