Whole 30 Week 1 Do-over

I had a hard time with week one. I took the weekend off, ate reasonably well, but did not follow the Whole 30. I had a talk with D, and posted on my Whole 30 group. I made some alterations to my plan, including many more legumes and allowing for some carbs (my family is still eating them, even though I'm not and they do sneak in here and there). I have been craving meat, so I am bringing some meat into my diet as well.
I made a new meal plan for these 2 weeks. It's Friday, and I'm feeling much better than I did last week. I am not being as strict as I originally intended, but I'm not losing my mind, either. 
I decided after a 3 day break, that I needed to start over. So this was week one again. I didn't take very many pictures, won't be writing many recipes for this week. My focus has been on other things. I'd like to pick up my daily blogging, but we'll see how it goes. 

Here's today:

Breakfast:
Chocolate Cherry Smoothie

Lunch: 
Oven Baked Sweet Potato Chips
Tossed green salad with Pomegranate Red Wine Vinaigrette
Orange and Cucumber Fruit Water

Dinner:
(Very un-Whole 30)
Crock pot 15 Bean Soup
Pea Salad


Pomegranate Red Wine Vinaigrette
1/2 cup Pomegranate red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
generous pinch fleur de sel
3 grinds black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a jar. Seal and shake well.
Drizzle generously on a tossed salad.

Cherry Cream Smoothie
12 fresh or frozen cherries
1 TBS coconut cream
1 handful smoothie greens 
ice
Almond milk

Place all ingredients in blender jar. Add almond milk to cover. Blend until smooth. 

Variation: 
Chocolate Cherry Smoothie
Prepare as above, but add 1 TBS cocoa powder.

Orange-Cucumber Fruit Water
Thinly slice one orange (well scrubbed) and one cucumber into a pitcher. Fill pitcher with water. Refrigerate one hour. 
Serve water over ice. Refill pitcher with fresh water. 

Crockpot 15 Bean Soup
This soup obviously does not comply with the No Legume rule of paleo/primal/Whole30. However, I did clean it up as much as possible. 

Soak 15 bean mix (of other beans of your choice) in warm water, changing water every 1-2 hours when possible, for a total of 18-24 hours. 

Place 1/2 cup minced onions, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1/4 cup minced bell pepper, and 1-2 shredded carrots in crockpot along with drained, rinsed beans. 

Cover 3 inches deep with water. Cook on high 6 hours, or until beans are tender. Add more water if needed. DO NOT cook beans in salted water. The salt will toughen the beans. 

Once soup is fully cooked, season with salt and pepper. Serve with a nice green salad. 

My Mama's Guacamole 
I made an unremarkable taco soup this week, but I topped it a special dose of heaven. I will share that.

6 avocados, scooped and mashed
3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 onion, diced
The juice of one lime or half a lemon
1 tsp each salt, garlic powder, and onion powder

In a large bowl, scoop and mash avocados. Beat in juice and seasonings. 

Fold tomatoes and onions into avocado mixture. Chill 1 hour for best flavor. 

Serve with chips, on tacos, in burritos, or pretty much anytime, anywhere, because it is crazy good. 

Olive Oil Simmered Garlic
You may not know this, but when whole garlic cloves are cooked slowly, over low heat, they turn into surprisingly sweet, mashed potato-y textured little niblets of yumminess. 
This isn't a recipe per se. Just a tip. 
Heat a skillet with an inch of olive oil over low heat. Add in garlic and simmer until it browns lightly, or until it is very soft. Stir often to prevent burning or uneven cooking. 
Remove from oil, drain and salt. 
these are delicious on good french bread, or tasty as a snack all by themselves. I sprinkled these over my salad, and mixed a few into the yummy coconut curry that follows. 

Easy Coconut Curry
This is one of my go-to comfort food recipes. I developed a taste for thick, warm curry gravy while living in cold, wet Japan.
Include any veggies you have on hand. At least one starchy veggie is a must- sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips, white potatoes, cauliflower. Anything else is bonus.
I used a yellow curry powder for this batch, but you can experiment with red or green curry pastes as well as brown, Japanese curry bricks, of course. 
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 carrots, sliced
2 turnips, peeled and diced
1 onion, sliced
1 eggplant, peeled and diced
1 large handful fresh green beans, ends removed
1 can coconut cream/milk
3 TBS curry powder (or paste, if you prefer)
Water to cover
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1.5 hours, until all veggies are tender. 

Serve over rice or with a side of stir-fried greens. I especially enjoy this curry over a scrambled egg. 

Cinnamon Apple Snack
This evening, I was silently bemoaning the absence of fries, potato chips and, most egregiously, popcorn (popped in coconut oil, topped with butter and exotic sea salts). Sigh.
I thought I might satisfy my hunger with an apple. Maybe my sad little apple would feel a little fancier dressed up in some yummy cinnamon. 
MMMMMMM. Oh. Mmmmmm. It was reallyreallyreally good. Yeah. I'm going to have to do this again.