Whole 30 and Plant Paradox compliant!

Although I have been resisting the idea of being a vegetarian or vegan, Ed is ready to give it a try.  (Easy for him to say–he’s not doing the cooking!)  Maybe it’s because I was brought up in a meat & potato kind of household, and so I can’t imagine not having some kind of protein with most meals.  I am working on changing my thinking, since Dr. Gundry (and others) claim we can get enough protein from other sources.  (And besides that, we really don’t need as much protein as we have been led to believe!)  So I am on a mission to incorporate more “meatless” meals in my repertoire.

I was looking through the recipes in the Plant Paradox book and came across Dr. Gundry’s recipe for Raw Mushroom soup.  While it seemed fast and easy, I didn’t like the idea of it being raw.  I knew that sautéing the onions and mushrooms would bring out more flavor.  So that is how it started.  The end result is pretty amazing, if I do say so myself.  Ed agreed wholeheartedly, so that means–it’s a “keeper!”  Paired with a salad, this makes a great light lunch or dinner.

3 Tbsp. coconut oil

1 red onion (chopped)

1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped garlic

2 packages of mushrooms (cleaned and sliced) (reserve a couple of mushrooms for garnish, if desired)

1/3 cup hemp seed hearts or hemp powder (Bob’s Red Mills sells both)

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

3/4 cup coconut cream (or milk)

1/2 cup water

Heat oil in large sauté pan.  Add onion, and cook a few minutes till it starts to soften.  Add chopped garlic and cook a couple of minutes longer.  Add sliced mushrooms, and stir.  Cover pan and let cook a few minutes till mushrooms start to release their juices.  Add hemp seed hearts, pecans, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Stir well, cover pan and let cook on medium heat about 5 more minutes.

Transfer mushroom mixture into blender (or food processor), add coconut cream and water and blend till smooth.  (Can add additional coconut cream/water if a thinner consistency is desired.)  We liked it thick!

Yields:  4 (1 cup) servings

Garnish each serving with a few sliced mushrooms and parsley (if desired).

Enjoy!

While my last blog showed a wonderfully refreshing salad with fruit as an idea for breakfast, I have to admit–having greens morning, noon, and night can get old pretty quickly.  For a change, I told Ed I’d experiment with Dr. Gundry’s muffins.  I made the first batch of muffins, for the most part, according to his recipe and they weren’t bad.  (Unfortunately, there are no pictures.  They disappeared before I could get my camera!)  In Gundry’s book (The Plant Paradox) he also has a unique recipe to make a muffin (for one) in a mug.  Originally, I made it with Vegan eggs, since Ed also wants to avoid eggs.  It didn’t turn out so well, so I went back to the drawing board, as they say.

I decided to try the other recipe in the book that is baked in the oven in regular muffin tins.  That is what this recipe is based on, with several changes, of course.   I intend to make these with lots of variations, so you’ll hear about them again (and again, and again)…. Ed really liked the idea of having something different–especially on the weekends–and he REALLY liked this version!

Banana Nut Muffins

In large bowl, combine:

1/4 c. coconut flour

1/4 c. almond flour

1/2 c. cassava flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. Sweet leaf (stevia) (or more if you want them sweet)

In separate bowl, combine and mix well:

3 eggs (or 6 Tbsp. Vegan eggs mixed with 1 c. water–do this ahead of time)

3/8 c. coconut oil

1/2 c. coconut cream

1 1/2 mashed banana

3/4 c. chopped pecans or walnuts (set aside 10-12 whole pecans for garnish)

Mix together wet and dry ingredients, then scoop batter in 10-12 muffin cups. (~3/4 full)

Bake 350 degrees for 22-24 minutes.  Let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

When we first started with the Plant Paradox program, green smoothies were recommended and they were easy to prepare.  The beauty of making them is that you can combine whatever ingredients you have on hand, and there is so much variety to the various greens available.  (We did add a little fruit and compliant sweetener after the 3 day cleanse period, which I think added a lot to the flavor.)  But after a while–well, let’s be honest.  It gets boring to eat the same thing every day.  Especially when you’re just DRINKING … and there’s no real chewing!

When Ed’s weight had fallen more than we were comfortable with, I decided it might not be a bad idea to add a little more fruit than what Dr. Gundry originally recommended.  So I put together the salad you see above.  Simple, yet healthy ingredients.  I used:

Spring mix

strawberries

blueberries

sliced banana

chopped celery

chopped walnuts (optional)

1-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Great for breakfast, lunch, or a nice light dinner! You can easily add some grilled chicken or shrimp if desired.

Enjoy!

This recipe is an adaptation of Dr. Steven Gundry’s Cabbage-Kale Sauté with Salmon and Avocado.  It is also Whole 30 compliant!

For 2 People:

1 Tbsp olive oil

6 oz. wild-caught salmon

1 avocado, diced

3 Tbsp lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

4 Tbsp coconut oil

1 red onion, chopped

1 Tbsp chopped garlic

3 cups shredded cabbage

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brush salmon with the olive oil and bake for 15-20 minutes.

While the salmon is baking, put the avocado in a small bowl, toss with half the lemon juice and a little salt.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 4 Tbsp. of coconut oil and sauté the onion and garlic till onion is translucent. Add the cabbage and sauté till tender.  Season with salt and pepper.

After the salmon is cooked, place  a 3 oz. portion on each plate, squeeze remainder of the lemon juice over each fillet, and top with the reserved avocado.  (You can either place the salmon on top of the cabbage mixture or serve it on the side–Which is what I did in the photo.)

You can also make a small side salad to round out the meal.

Enjoy!

Over the weekend, Ed and I went to NY to attend the Affiliate Summit East 2017.  It was an amazing event.  I heard someone mention that there were about 12,000 people in attendance.  Overall it was very educational, and extremely well organized.  Being new to blogging, and it’s potential, we wanted to learn more about affiliate marketing and what it has to offer.

We met a lot of great people blogging their way to blogging heaven.  Many have been blogging for a number of years, and naturally they’ve developed a large following.  We had a chance to listen to John Chow, who interviewed a panel of successful bloggers who make an incredible living blogging. A few suggestions I took away from their talk in particular were:

1. Build an audience before you try to monetize it.
2. Send out a reader’s census to find out what people want to read about.
3. If you want to get a blogger interested in your site–retweet, share, or comment on their blog to show (genuine) interest.
4. Learn more about the blogger you’re focused on contacting.
5. The best time to contact a fellow blogger is 5:30 to 6:30 AM.
6. To capture your audience’s email address, offer an e book regarding info from your content.

There were many great speakers at the Summit.  I will share additional info in the blogs to come, but just wanted to tell a funny story about something that happened while at the event.  It just goes to show that no matter how well you try to plan everything, things don’t always go as planned.

To stay on our eating program (The Plant Paradox), I dehydrated various meats and veggies and packed them in a small lunch bag, along with water and various snacks that were compliant.  As we were checking in, we had to have our photos taken for our badges.  Since I had my handbag, the lunch bag, and the special “event bag” they gave us across my shoulders, I decided to put them down for the photograph.  We had to walk from one booth to another to register, and somewhere along the way, I left the lunch bag behind.  A couple of hours later, we were ready for lunch……  but no lunch bag.

We returned to where we “thought” we left it, and it wasn’t there.  We talked to the people at the hotel where the Summit was being held, and they said if anyone found it, it would be at least 2 hours before they’d have it in the office.  I checked with the event staff at various locations, but nothing could be done for a while.  Instead of going hungry, we sought a local restaurant and requested a simple salad for me (without the items that were not compliant) and a shrimp sandwich (with gluten free bread) for Ed.  No one got sick, so that was good.

Later in the day, I decided to check with the Summit organizers again.  (I was determined to find that bag!)  Before I had a chance to call them, I noticed there was a message on my phone.  Believe it or not, the registration desk called me to say they had my lunch bag!  Needless to say, we were thrilled to have a truly compliant dinner that evening!