Whole30 Challenge: Day 22
Wed, March 22nd
DISCLAIMER:
If you haven't already read my disclaimer, please click the link HERE from Day 1 of our challenge. As with any lifestyle or dietary change, if you have any questions or concerns, be sure to discuss them with your physician. Also check out the Whole30 website for specifics and additional info.
PRE-BREAKFAST:
I would like to give a quick pat on the back to hubs and me for officially making it 3 WEEKS on our Whole30 Challenge. I think I smell a victory dance on the horizon...
GIF compliments of giphy.com
I'd also like to inform you that I have met my own personal goal of stretching out my 3rd jar of almond butter to the 4th week. Now there may only be a tablespoon left in the jar... but that means, there's still some left, and I met my goal! :) If you need evidence, see Exhibit A.
Needing a little positive affirmation, I'm going to pretend Jimmy is giving me a compliment on my mini victory.
GIF compliments of giphy.com
I do suspect that hubs secretly eats spoonfuls when I'm not looking... At least I'd like to hope that's the case since my going rate has been 1 jar per week... My last week potential goal is to not buy another jar of almond butter until March 30th... no promises though, that's why it's only a "potential goal"...
BREAKFAST:
Waking up at 4:30AM for no reason except to tinkle, and not being able to fall back asleep for no reason at all, I turned on The Mindy Project to start my extra-early morning off with a few laughs. There's only so much Mindy you can watch at the the crack of dawn though before you start realizing your productivity will be 0 if you keep this up... So around 7AM I got up and proceeded to work towards wifey of the year by making breakfast for hubs and me.
Back up, first I decided it was an appropriate time to annoy hubs for a few minutes to wake him up (apparently he does not fancy my custom song creations for him and prefers the sound of his blaring alarm to me singing morning tunes). Even though he won't admit it, I did see him crack a sleepy smile, which was good enough for me, so I headed downstairs to the kitchen to start creating the savory smells of breakfast which would be my 2nd attempt of waking up hubs.
Since hubby was never privy to my pretty tasty omelette the morning before, I decided to go for round 2 while honing my omelette flipping skills. Time for Chef Shelbs to make my repeat omelette with bison, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and a side of sea-salted avocado and our no sugar added salsa.
This time I remembered to document it. I think it's safe to say I spoke too soon as my omelette flipping skills were clearly lacking this morning. Half of it ended up on the table... Hubs will never know the difference...
The beckoning delightful smells were enough to get hubs to mosey on downstairs to see what was shakin'. We opted to split the ginormous omelette since it was literally larger than a Chipotle burrito, and I shoved hubs out the door to work with a cooler of fruits, nuts, and veggies.
TASTE TEST: The omelette tasted better than it looked. :) The avocado and salsa really help to add some variety to the Whole30 minimalist omelette situation (aka no dairy).
LUNCH:
I was running late for an appointment, so I finished the last of my almond butter with a banana and grabbed a Lara bar for the road.
DINNER:
We decided it was time to branch out again with a different catch of the week, and since it was 3 weeks since our last salmon run, we decided to increase our omegas and bring on the other pink meat. This time we decided to serve the salmon with a healthy serving of my go-to guac. Nothing like the present to double-dip on more heart-healthy omegas.
Bonus: We finally were able to utilize our new juicer (since other juicer is still awol), so we gave it a whirl with the limes. Thank you Target for the clearance juicer in my favorite color. #meanttobe
I always thought that these little juicer gadgets were just a gimmick to add more clutter to your kitchen, but turns out, the juicer is much easier and more efficient than squeezing by hand. #mythbusterfail #go-go-gadgets
Whole30 Zesty Guac-Topped Salmon
INGREDIENTS:
salmon filets
1 to 2 limes/lemons
olive oil
Seafood Spice Blend (or favorite Whole30 seasoning)
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
guac ingredients (see recipe below)
STEPS:
Make Whole30 Good-for-You Guac (recipe shown below), and put in refrigerator to chill while preparing salmon.
Marinate salmon with lime or lemon juice. Season with Seafood Spice Blend (or your favorite Whole30 seasoning).
Heat up olive oil in pan over medium heat. Cook salmon skin-side down for 4-5 minutes with lid on pan to retain heat. Then flip over and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. (Timing depends on the size and thickness of salmon.)
Flip back over so skin-side is down, check temperature, and cook until salmon has an internal temperature of 145°F (usually 1-2 minutes more, depending on thickness).
Serve with Whole30 Good-for-You Guac, and garnish with lime slices and cilantro.
TIPS:
You can also bake the salmon, which we've done before. See our Whole30 Challenge: Day 2 for steps on baking salmon.
If you don't have the Everyday Spice Blend, you can season the salmon with sea salt, crushed black pepper, various herbs, cumin, garlic powder, and any other combination you'd like.
TASTE TEST: We finished off our plates and decided this was one of our Top 3 favorite dishes. Hubs said, "That was pretty daaaaarn good!"
Whole30 Good-for-You Guac
INGREDIENTS:
2 avocados
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped (more or less depending on preference)
1 lime (juice from 1 lime)
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, chopped (you can use any tomatoes though)
1 garlic clove, minced
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
STEPS:
Chop up small onion, grape tomatoes, and cilantro leaves. (We used our food processor to make it extra easy.)
Combine onion, grape tomatoes, cilantro, minced garlic, and lime juice in a bowl. Add in avocados and stir gently to mix, making sure not to completely smash the avocados. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.
TASTE TEST: This guac is a regular at our house. We both were guilty of eating it straight out of the bowl with a spoon... Hubs wanted to finish off the guac, but I persuaded him to save a little for tomorrow...
Click Below to Read MORE:
