#Whole30ish "samosas"

In my efforts to stay healthy, we've cut a lot of grains from our diet...trying to keep sugar out too.

I made a samosa chaat inspired dish for dinner that turned out easy and delish!  Samosas are usually spiced potatoes and peas in a pastry and fried.  I need more protein than that and I definitely don't need deep fried foods :-P  So here's my take on that idea...peas, potatoes, ground beef, and warm, yummy spices.

Potatoes (for baking - I used organic from BJ's)
half a can of tomato paste
1 pound of grassfed beef (90/10 or 80/20 - or anywhere inbetween)
about 2 cups of organic frozen peas
1 small vidalia onion, diced/minced
various Indian spices: coriander, cumin, paprika, chili powder, ginger, black and/or green peppercorns, salt, vindaloo curry powder.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees and pop your rinsed potatoes into the oven.  Put your meat in the skillet and brown it.  Do not drain the grease.  Add the onion and spices.  I put quite a bit of coriander/cumin/paprika/chili powder...then I add ginger, black pepper and green peppercorn, salt...and vindaloo curry and add little by little, until I think it tastes "right".  You can look up recipes for true samosa seasoning, I just used stuff I knew would taste good :P  I have used this recipe for samosas before and it came out good!  Add your tomato paste and mix together evenly and a little water if you want.  Add your peas and cook everything down until cooked thoroughly.

  I put sour cream on mine, because I wanted to keep the fat content high on our dinner, in whole30 fashion ;P  But a cilantro(coriander) chutney would be just as good, or even in addition to the sour cream!

It's fast, cooked in one pan, and everyone liked it.  I opened the potato into wedges and topped it with the meat and peas...then the sour cream.

Hope you enjoy!  Sorry I didn't measure ingredients!
Bex

My chocolate chip cookies...

I spent a good deal of junior high and high school making large quantities of cookies...They were good...but I have been working on them the last several years....to improve on them even more...and I think I found the perfect recipe!
(use organic or non-gmo when possible.  Please use King Arthur brand, or unbleached unbromated flour.  I never use anything but!)

2 sticks of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract (REAL vanilla...don't ever use imitation)
2 and 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
2 cups, or 1 12oz bag, of chocolate chips.  I prefer guittard or ghiradelli.

Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare 2 or 3 cookie sheets with parchment.  Cream the butter and sugar together.  Add ONE egg and the vanilla.  Mix together the dry ingredients and add to the mixer.  Mix on low until just combined.  Add the second egg.  Then add the chips until barely combined.  Scoop out with dough scoop onto parchment on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for about 8-12 minutes, depending on the size you make them.

Enjoy warm, with a super cold mug of milk!

Not in that much health,

Becca H.

my #whole30ish

So, back in January, my husband I I did a round of the #Whole30.  If you haven't, and you want to get your diet and body back on track, I highly HIGHLY recommend.

We set new weight loss goals afterwards...we were so happy - Daniel lost ~20 pounds, I lost ~15....feeling great...clothes fitting better...

Us:

Well, then we finished the Whole30 we were like, "Ice cream...well, just a small scoop..."

Needless to say, we didn't continue to lose weight!  Shocking, I'm sure.  #Whole30 has a lot of rules...which are very important, if you are trying to determine what is making you less healthy than you should be.  Dairy, grains, soy, sugar, etc - all of these things can really impact a person's life!  But things like cooking with wine aren't allowed.....and no cheese (if you followed my Whole30 blogs, you'll know that cheese and yogurt were the biggest hangups for BOTH of us!) And no legumes (we all love peas, beans, and lentils.....but especially peas!  Our Bj's has a huge organic bag for cheap!).

So when we re-introduced foods, it was pretty clear what our problem was - grains and sugar.  Often, combined into delicious cake form!  Daniel also loves soda, and I adore me some rice/pasta....like, eating 3-4 servings is like no big deal for me....and a huge amount of calories.  Dairy caused us no digestive issues, neither did soy sauce (I use gluten free), and many other generally "healthy" options that aren't considered compliant, on the whole30.

So we're doing a modified "Whole30ish" - my affectionate term...my schedule has been crazy, but will wind down for this month of June...so back on it we are!  Except...my hangups!  We will keep fermented dairy, like kefir, certain cheese (like peccorino romano), BUTTER (ghee just doesn't cut it for me!), and yogurt (we use organic, whole, greek yogurt).  These are easy ways for us to add protein, that aren't so expensive, and are very satisfying for us.  I will keep cooking with wine or beer as needed, and we will eat legumes in moderation.  Legumes are cheap, have protein and fiber for days, and who doesn't love chili!?  I may even use a smidge of raw honey on my plain yogurt or a splash of half and half in my iced coffee....

Here's an example of our day 1 - 3 fried eggs in butter and an apple for breakfast. 16oz of iced organic coffee with splash of organic half and half.  Went on a 4.5 mile walk with BOTH kids (wearing Emilia for most of it).  Coconut flakes and raisins for snack after the walk, and cod with spinach and lentils for lunch.  Dinner will be spaghetti squash with meat sauce and peccorino romano cheese.

We won't eat desserts, or dessert substitutes, but if we are out to eat, I won't worry if the salad dressing has a little sugar or soybean oil...or if the baked potato has sour cream and cheese on it.  Definitely won't be eating any grains or sugar at all.  (unless the sugar snuck in somewhere that I was unaware of!)   I realize there is a science to why the Whole30 works...but I need something that works for us and pushes us on towards our goals a little easier and better than being quite so strict.  Also, I'm a foodie and chef...we have people over for game nights on a REGULAR basis....feeding crowds on whole30 gets very expensive and it isn't nearly as fun!  All people who aren't intolerant love cheese and butter....and they just make good food better...

Anyways, I'll try to devise a whole30ish meal plan like I did before, and post it on this blog with, hopefully, helpful recipes or my inspiration for certain dishes!

More to come...in health,
Becca H.