Whole30 Challenge: Day 23

Thurs, March 23rd

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.

BREAKFAST:

After making guac this week, we had a hankering for some fresh home-made salsa. So for breakfast we feasted on eggs with my Whole30 Salsa/Pico de Gallo. With salsas, I normally just throw ingredients in and mix them up, so this is more of an estimate as to the actual measurements of the salsa, but I'm guessing it's pretty accurate.

Whole30 Salsa / Pico de Gallo

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup grape tomatoes, chopped (most tomatoes will work fine)

• 1/2 onion, chopped

• 1-2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (depending on preference)

• juice from 1/2 lime

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1/4 cup bell peppers, chopped

• 1 tablespoon diced jalapeño, seeded

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

• sea salt to taste

• pepper to taste

• garlic powder to taste (optional)

NOTE:

• If you have plum tomatoes, use them in the salsa as they are one of the best types of tomatoes to use in salsa.

STEPS:

1. Chop ingredients (we used our food processor to keep things extra easy).

2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together.

LUNCH:

For Lunch, we enjoyed an extra healthy salad complete with grilled chicken, bell peppers, tomatoes, oven-roasted pecans (recipe below), and our Whole30 Good-for-You Guac on a bed of mixed greens. (Hubs got rewarded for not devouring all of the guac last night.) We drizzled our salad with our go-to Whole30 Trifecta Salad Dressing. (Click the links to see the Recipes.)

Whole30 Colorful Chicken Salad

Click the link see the full Whole30 Colorful Chicken Salad recipe.

This is the salad I made for us today. I'd like you to assume I made a salad for each of us, but in all honesty, I made one large salad to share, and we both ate it together...off of the same plate... #marriedlife

TASTE TEST: The guac on the salad was a nice touch. Apparently we had quite the voracious appetites as we were both inducted into the Whole30 Clean Plate Club.

Whole30 Sea Salt Roasted Pecans

INGREDIENTS:

• pecans

• avocado oil spray (or olive oil spray)

• sea salt

STEPS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil (to minimize cleanup).

3. Place almonds on baking sheet.

4. Spray almonds with avocado oil spray (or olive oil spray) and lightly sprinkle with sea salt.

5. Bake for 5 minutes.

DINNER:

We made a "quick" trip to Pottery Barn to make a return, which turned into a 2-hour endeavor. I didn't mind though as we totally scored (thanks to hubs attention to detail). Hubs noticed a sign that clearly was made in error, so at Pottery Barn's blunder, we basically purchased the dinner settings we have had our eye on for 60% off. #letsmakeadeal #thankyoupotterybarn #thanksKatandCarole :)

Being that it was 9:30PM by the time we returned home and given the fact that our hunger monsters were growling and fierce, we opted for something fast. Dinner was once again a hodgepodge which consisted of scrambled eggs with my home-made Whole30 Salsa/Pico de Gallo, Aidells sausages, bison meat, and Whole30 Citrus-Seasoned Acorn Squash (recipe below).

Quick Detour: I've purchased acorn squashes many times before, but never made an effort to figure out how to make them. Usually they self-destruct, and I"m forced to dispose of them before I have the opportunity to learn how to cook them properly. Apparently this was "almost" the fate of our current little guy as once again, we waited a little too long to finally give our acorn squash a try. I'm pretty sure we bought it on our first grocery run over 3 weeks ago...and I do remember it was green at the time...but apparently it changed colors on me while hiding in the back of our fridge. It still looked edible though. Only after googling it did I find out that you should select an acorn squash with a dull green rind (opposed to one that's turned orange). An orange acorn squash can have tough and fibrous flesh... Thanks Google! Good to know for next time! Determined not to discard this one too, we decided to give it our best shot.

TASTE TEST: Surprisingly the orange squash was still quite tasty. It was possibly a tad fibrous, but definitely still edible. They were a nice side dish, quite filling, and would be a wonderful autumn dish as well. I promise to cook my next one while it's still green...

Here's our modified version of the Whole30 Citrus-Seasoned Acorn Squash.

Note: I modified the Citrus-Seasoned Acorn Squash recipe from Country Cleaver's recipe which provided me inspiration and encouragement to give it a whirl: You can find the original recipe here.

Whole30 Citrus-Seasoned Acorn Squash

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 acorn squash, seeded and cut into wedges

• 3 tablespoon olive oil (or coconut oil)

• 1 tablespoon lime juice

• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

NOTE:

• If you don't have all of the spices above, just use what you have. Acorn squash is great with all sorts of spice combinations.

STEPS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a small bowl, combine all seasonings and mix together.

3. In another bowl combine olive oil (or coconut oil) and lime juice.

4. Brush the squash wedges with the olive oil/lime juice mixture.

5. Sprinkle the squash wedges on all sides with the seasoning.

6. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until squash is tender.

7. Serve while warm and garnish with lime slices.

TIPS:

• For a slightly different variation, omit the lime juice for Whole30 Savory-Seasoned Acorn Squash. I've included this recipe below for easy reference.

• We tried using both olive oil and coconut oil. We couldn't taste a major difference between the coconut oil and the olive oil.

Whole30 Savory-Seasoned Acorn Squash

Whole30 Savory-Seasoned Acorn Squash

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 acorn squash, seeded and cut into wedges

• 3 tablespoon olive oil (or coconut oil)

• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

STEPS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a small bowl, combine all seasonings and mix together.

3. Brush the squash wedges with the olive oil (or coconut oil).

4. Sprinkle the squash wedges on all sides with the seasoning.

5. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until squash is tender.

6. Serve while warm.

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