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Monday, April 30, 2012

Whole30 Days 1-2 Recap, Brussels and Beef

Thanks for the positive comments yesterday about my Whole30 journey!  Thanks to those of you who sent me links to great sites and also for the words of encouragement!

If you missed my big announcement about the Whole30, you can click here to view it.

So far, it has actually been… delicious!  It is a little hard to watch TV.  I never really noticed how many commercials there are for sweet treats!  I don’t usually notice them, but I guess since I am having a little sugar withdrawal, they stand out to me!  :/  I know from reading about others’ experiences that this is pretty common.

So… on to the food!

I plan on blogging about some of these meals in greater detail later, but here is a quick glance at some of my meals over the last couple of days:

Sauteed Bok Choy with Diced Chicken

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Homemade Meatballs

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Bean-Less Chili topped with Avocado

And tonight… Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Braised Short Ribs

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Yes, it has definitely been delicious!  Tonight I would like to highlight the last meal above: the brussels and short ribs.

Let’s start with the veg.  I am fairly new to Brussels Sprouts.  In fact, I tried them for the first time about a year ago.  (Click here to see.)  They were great, but I always wanted to try them roasted.  This week on a whim, I grabbed a bag at Harris Teeter and thought maybe it was time to try.  I cut off the ends, removed any yellow leaves, and then cut each one in half.  I tossed them in EVOO, and then sprinkled them with salt and pepper.  I popped them in a preheated oven (400 degrees) and roasted them for about 20-25 minutes.  (If you choose to leave them whole, they will take a little longer to cook.)  I turned them over halfway through cooking.

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So delicious!  I can’t believe I waited this long to try them!  I’ll definitely make them again soon—I have half the bag left!  Yay!  They were crunchy on the outside with great flavor and crisp-tender on the inside.

I also used this recipe to make the short ribs.  It took a little longer than 2.5 hours in the crock pot—more like 3 hours.  But the prep was really easy and the ingredient list was really simple.  Since the Whole30 means no alcohol, I subbed broth for the wine. 

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These were really tasty!  I have never used coffee when cooking beef before, but it really did bring out the flavor of the meat!  The sauce was wonderful! 

Even if you are not eating Paleo, I think you should try BOTH of these dishes out soon!  It’s funny how I felt like things would be so different over these 30 days, and they are, but then again, they aren’t.  I’m not eating anything weird.  It’s veggies and meat!  I would say the one difference was feeling like there should be a carb in there.

Discussion Topic: What veggie did you learn to love as an adult (that you never ate as a kid)?  Post your comments below!

10 comments:

  1. Great post liz, I never tried Brussel sprouts until last November and I too couldn't believe that I had wasted an entire 30 years without them.  I love roasting them too with some garlic and onion thrown in there.
     

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  2. you have convinced me.......never tried them roasted and I like brussel sprouts.

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  3. Oh, you must try them! They really are delicious. I never roasted veggies until a few years ago and most times, it is the best method for taste. My other fave roasted veggie is broccoli!

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  4. It makes me think I should retry beets. I hated them as a child but now so many bloggers write about them. Maybe I misjudged them? But I haven't worked up the nerve to try them again!

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  5. Go, Elizabeth!  I am going to read about the Paleo diet; I am not familiar with it.  I will be curious to see how the journey goes because I also am a huge fan of food, and not necessarily the good stuff!

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  6. It's Brussels Sprouts for me!!!

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  7. Thanks so much! I know... me too! I try to eat healthy, but I had a lot of not-so-healthy choices, as well as choices that I THOUGHT were healthy, but am now realizing that they were impacting me negatively-- like wheat. I ate everything whole wheat... but now after reading a lot about wheat, I am thinking it was not helping me at all.

    I am in day 3.5 and am feeling good!

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  8. Now you need to try them this way. You've done them shredded, right? I think this way was even better.

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  9. brussel sprouts here too, but I roast them with some chopped bacon and a little maple syrup along with the oil and seasonings and even my 5 yr old will eat them!

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  10. I'm with you on the sprouts, only tried them last year, and now i'll eat a whole pan full (I roast in a large cast iron pan, and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice)

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