sweet potato puree

For a while Esther has been very interested in eating - she keeps reaching for food or drinks that Michael and I are having. Since I felt like it was too early to share my coffee or Thai curry with her;) we decided to let her try to eat some solids (with doctors approval). I think Esther had high hopes for the experience. As I lifted up the spoon to give her her first bite I looked away to say something to Michael and before I knew it she had wrapped her mouth around the spoon and taken a bite. BUT I think it ended in disappointment for her. She was so eager and then ... then her face started frowning and she wasn't as eager for the following bites. She didn't complain, but her facial expressions revealed her true feelings. Ha! I guess food wasn't all it was cracked up to be in her mind and maybe sweet potatoes just didn't taste good to her in general so we will try another veggie or fruit in the near future.

In the end I think Esther's parents had more fun with it than Esther herself:) We started the day by going to the farmers market to pick up some sweet potatoes to bring home to puree.

farmers market

mor and daddy - why are you posing me with a sweet potato???

Sweet Potato Puree

Ingredients:
Sweet Potatoes, peeled
Water

Directions
After peeling the sweet potatoes cut the potatoes up into small chunks.
Add the chucks to boiling water and let it boil until tender, about 15 minutes.

Then add the boiled potatoes to your blender and add some boiled potato water (or other liquid) and blend until you get the right consistency.

The pureed sweet potatoes can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days or you can freeze it as well.

This is SUPER easy to make and has no preservatives. Both characteristics that are important to me when feeding my baby. 

I think it tasted just fine and even a little sweet, but for now Esther isn't the biggest fan. I guess once we start mixing food together we will try the sweet potatoes again with a fruit or something.

even if esther wasn't the biggest fan of sweet potatoes she was super excited about her new bib:)

diy thursday: homemade (spicy) dijon mustard

I have been making my own condiments since I am tired of reading their labels and seeing the amount of weird ingredients that are added to preserve etc. If you do end up finding some that only include the "basic" ingredients ... then it is rather expensive. To remedy these two problems I figured how hard could it be to make it myself ... and it has proven to be super easy. My husband loves mustard and I have in the recent years come to enjoy it as well. So recently, I set out to make some Dijon mustard and it tasted GREAT and was really easy to make.


Homemade Dijon Mustard
recipe adapted from honest-food.net


Ingredients

6 Tbs mustard seeds (the dark seeds are more spicy than the lighter seeds)
1/2 cup mustard powder
2 tsp salt
3 Tbs white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1/2 cup water


Directions

With a spice grinder roughly grind the mustard seeds. Choose your combination of mustard seeds based on how spicy you like it. We like things spicy in our household so I just used brown/black mustard seeds, but you can use white/yellow or a combination to find the right level of spice you prefer.

Mix the roughly ground mustard seeds, mustard powder, and salt together.

Then add the vinegar and water and stir together.

Finally, add the mustard to a glass jar and let it sit in the fridge overnight ... and voila you have mustard!

ENJOY!

diy thursday: cold brew

I love coffee. I love the taste and the aroma. And sometimes cold brew is the way to go. The great thing about cold brew is that it is a lot less bitter providing a much smoother flavor. It is less acidic and since many people have a hard time with the acid in coffee this allows them to drink coffee without much trouble (and if you want to make it even less acidy you can use decaf coffee). If you do make caffeinated cold brew then there is less caffeine per cup as well. Cold brew is also easy to bring if you are going somewhere where they don't have a coffee maker. Just bring some cold brew and you have coffee for the week without the need for a coffee maker. And to top it off cold brew is super easy to make.


Cold Brew Coffee

Ingredients

Ground coffee
Water (I use filtered)
French press or substitute (I use my Eva Solo Cafe Solo -just a little plug for danish design:))
Glass jar with lid or other container


Directions


In your french press add your coffee and water (1/3 cup ground coffee per 1 cup of water).

Stir the coffee and water together.

Let it sit covered for 24 hours.

Then pour the concentrated coffee into your glass jar. This is why is it helpful to use a French Press or my trusted Eva Solo as it helps keep the grounds out of the coffee concentrate as you pour. But you could also use a coffee filter instead.

Store the cold brew concentrate in the fridge.

When you are ready to use then add some cold brew to a mug or glass depending on whether you want hot or iced coffee. Add as much as you would like depending on how strong you like your coffee.

Then add either hot or cold water  - and voila... you have a fresh cup of low acid smooth tasting coffee.

ENJOY!

diy thursday: raw apple sauce

I love apple sauce! Apple sauce is also a great alternative to oil when baking. And since organic apples are a lot cheaper this time of year, I decided to go ahead and turn some of them into apple sauce. 

Homemade Raw Apple Sauce

Ingredients

Apples

Lemon Juice (about 1 Tbsp per 2 apples)

Directions

Cut the apples into smaller pieces. I leave on the peel for added fiber.

Place the the ingredients in the blender.

Blend them together until desired consistency. 

This is great to freeze as well. I freeze smaller portions and use it when I bake .... or just want a yummy treat. 

ENJOY!

diy thursday: how to freeze avocados

I love avocados. They are so tasty. The only thing that bothers me is that you wait and wait for them to get ripe, and then all of a sudden you have to eat them that very day or they spoil. Ugh. Sometimes avocados are on sale and you want to buy a bunch, but you don't necessarily want to eat them all at the same time ... that is when freezing them comes in handy. I wasn't so sure whether this would work, but it totally did! The avocados didn't taste any different and they were as green as when I froze them (they didn't turn brown).

Ingredients

Avocadoes, pitted and pealed

Lemon juice

Directions

Put avocados in a bowl.

Add some lemon juice (no more than 1Tbsp per avocado)

Mash them all together. I use my KitchenAid stand mixer.

 

 

Place the mashed avocados in an airtight bag(s) and store it in the freezer until you need it. I used mine several months after freezing it and it tasted great.

whole30 meal plan

As I have mentioned in my previous blog post about my Whole30 experience, seeing sample Whole30 meals was helpful. So I thought I would share my Whole30 meal plan (and if I ever do it again I don't have to recreate a plan from scratch) with some recipe links to the recipes I used (if they weren't my own creation). Having a weekly meal plan proved very helpful and a lot easier when seeking to stay within the limits of the Whole30. Hopefully this will be of help to you as well. 

Week One

Day 1

Breakfast: Veggie Scramble - scrambled eggs with sweet peppers, spinach and squash

Lunch: Salad with fruit and nuts

Dinner: Chicken with veggies including sweet potato

Day 2

Breakfast:  Veggie Scramble (with tomatoes instead of sweet peppers)

Lunch: Japanese Vegetable Pancakes (substitution: almond flour and no tangy sauce)

Dinner: Yellow Thai Curry with zucchini noodles and chicken and veggies

Day 3

Breakfast:  Eggs, avocado, and cherry tomatoes

Lunch: Japanese Vegetable Pancakes (leftovers)

Dinner: Chicken with veggies and salad

Day 4

Breakfast: Veggie Scramble

Lunch: CAMPING: Salad with veggies, nuts, chicken and avocado

Dinner: CAMPING: Hotdogs (ones that met the requirements of W30) and sweet potato

Day 5

Breakfast: CAMPING: Scrambled eggs with fruit salad

Lunch: CAMPING: Salad with veggies, nuts, chicken and avocado

Dinner: Yellow Thai Curry with squash noodles and chicken and veggies (leftovers)

Day 6

Breakfast:  Eggs with cherry tomatoes

Lunch: Egg with fruit salad and a sliced apple with almond butter (yes, I needed to go to the store:)
Dinner: Homemade meat sauce with spaghetti squash

Day 7

Breakfast:  Eggs, avocado, and cherry tomatoes

Lunch: Leftover homemade spaghetti meat sauce with zucchini noodles

Dinner: Mexican Chicken with Cauliflower "Rice" with avocado and homemade salsa

breakfast snapshot

Week Two

Day 8

Breakfast: Smoothie with banana, spinach, strawberries, chia seeds and water (I know W30 prefers you don't have smoothies, but we ran out of eggs so I thought this would be the best substitute)

Lunch: Mexican Chicken with Cauliflower "Rice" with avocado and homemade salsa (leftovers)

Dinner:  Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables with a salad
Day 9

Breakfast:Veggie Scramble with avocado
Lunch: Salad with fruit, nuts and chia seeds and a sliced apple with almond butter
Dinner: Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables (leftovers) and grilled heart of romaine

Day 10

Breakfast: Homemade Turkey Sausage with sweet potato hash browns
Lunch: Chicken salad on bed of lettuce with homemade mayo, grapes and almonds and an avocado on the side.
Dinner: Chocolate Chili

Day 11

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with tomato and turkey sausage
Lunch: Chocolate Chili (leftovers)

Dinner: Homemade pesto on zucchini noodles with chicken
Day 12

Breakfast: Eggs with tomato and avocado

Lunch: Homemade pesto on zucchini noodles with chicken (leftovers)

Dinner: Oregano's salad with chicken (no cheese or dressing)
Day 13

Breakfast: Eggs and turkey sausage with avocado and a pear

Lunch: Salad with veggies and chicken
Dinner: Mahi Mahi on a bed of lettuce with homemade mango salsa

Day 14

Breakfast: Omelet with veggies

Lunch: Tuna salad on a bed of spinach with homemade mayo, almonds, cucumbers, tomatoes and an avocado on the side.

Dinner: Salmon and Spinach Frittata

lunch snapshot

Week Three

Day 15

Breakfast: Omelet with veggies and basil

Lunch: Gazpacho

Dinner: Yellow Thai Curry with sweet potato and veggies on spaghetti squash
 Day 16

Breakfast: Egg and turkey sausage
Lunch: Gazpacho

Dinner: Yellow Thai Curry with sweet potato and veggies on spaghetti squash (leftovers)

Day 17

Breakfast: Egg and turkey sausage and tomatoes and blueberries
Lunch: Yellow Thai Curry with sweet potato and veggies on spaghetti squash (leftovers)

Dinner: Mexican Meatza

Day 18

Breakfast: Eggs and apple sauce and flax seeds

Lunch: Paradise Bakery salad (no cheese or dressing)

Dinner: Chicken with sweet potato and veggies

Day 19

Breakfast: Eggs with guacamole and turkey sausage
Lunch: Mexican Meatza (leftovers) with a salad with veggies and nuts

Dinner: Homemade pesto on zucchini noodles with chicken

Day 20

Breakfast: Sweet Potato Casserole and turkey sausage

Lunch: Japanese Vegetable Pancake and heart of romaine
Dinner: Salmon salad with veggies and sweet potatoes

Day 21

Breakfast: Sweet Potato Casserole and turkey sausage

Lunch: Salmon salad with veggies and sweet potatoes (leftovers)

Dinner: Mexican Chicken with Cauliflower "Rice" with avocado and homemade salsa

dinner snapshot

Week Four

Day 22

Breakfast: Eggs, grape tomatoes and turkey sausage

Lunch: Japanese Vegetable Pancakes and banana with almond butter

Dinner:  Chili

Day 23

Breakfast: Eggs with guacamole and grape tomatoes and blueberries

Lunch: Chili (leftovers)
Dinner: Salmon Cakes with homemade mayo

Day 24

Breakfast: Omelet with veggies

Lunch: Chili (leftovers)
Dinner: Rad Rainbow Raw Pad Thai with chicken instead of edamame (substitute: tamari for coconut amino and no maple syrup)

Day 25

Breakfast: Eggs and grape tomatoes and avocado
Lunch: Salmon Cakes with homemade mayo (leftovers) and a pear
Dinner: Chicken with sweet potatoes and veggies with a salad

Day 26

Breakfast: Eggs and turkey sausage
Lunch: Pita Jungle Salad (no cheese, no dressing)
Dinner: Rad Rainbow Raw Pad Thai with chicken instead of edamame (leftovers)

Day 27

Breakfast: Smoothie with water, strawberries, spinach, banana, chia seeds and flax seeds
Lunch: Spinach salad with chicken, veggies and nuts

Dinner: Chicken with veggies

Day 28

Breakfast: Omelet with veggies
Lunch: Tuna salad on a bed of spinach
Dinner: Raw Vegetable "Pasta" with Tomatoes and Herbs with chicken

Week Five

Day 29

Breakfast: Eggs and ground flax seeds in applesauce

Lunch: Salad with chicken and veggies

Dinner: Mahi Mahi with mango salsa on a bed of lettuce

Day 30

Breakfast: Veggie Scramble

Lunch: Salmon Cakes with homemade mayo

Dinner: Vegetable and Chicken Stir Fry with a salad

After day 30 we also completed the reintroduction period as described in the Whole30 book It Starts with Food.

If you plan on using zucchini and carrots instead of noodles, I would highly suggest investing in a Spiral Cutter. The price is a little high in my opinion, but it really helped make the process a lot easier. Spaghetti squash is of course also a great pasta alternative.

Hopefully this meal plan will be of help to you as you embark on the Whole30.