Success! Day 1

Well day 1 of Whole30 was a success for me! Although I did not eat my 3 meals. Mr. Paisley had to work on New Year's Day and either I was so exhausted that I didn't hear him get up and leave or he just inadvertently proved that he CAN indeed be quiet and still get ready to leave when other people are sleeping. I suspect it's option 2.

Unfortunately Mr. Paisley walked in the door after work and said "this diet is going to suck" - well yes - when you know you will be working a 12 hour day, walking out the door with 1 small golden delicious apple is probably not going to work out for you. He ended up stopping at Publix and grabbing a multi-pak of individual bags of baby carrots. At least he stuck to the rules. Maybe he'll make some breakfast and pack an actual lunch now.

As I mentioned before I did not eat 3 meals. I slept well and woke up at 9am. I can't remember the last time I slept that late. It was glorious! I got up and did some stuff around the house, fed the critters and such...and just wasn't hungry. At noon I though I should make something to eat, but got side tracked. Around 1:30 I whipped up some rosemary potatoes. They were terrible. I have made them for years - with the exception of adding butter to "fry" them in. I've always used a mix of Kerrygold and EVOO and let me tell you, butter makes a crazy difference. Gotta get that clarified butter going if i'm going to have any chance here.

Later I had a Golden Delicious apple. I had planned to eat it with Almond Butter, however, when I pulled that out of the pantry and read the label...it has added sugar. Of course it does. Now I need to add a bulk purchase of almonds to my list so I can make my own - sans sugar.

I wanted to do a substantial dinner since Mr. P. was cranky and well I was hungry. I microwaved 2 large sweet potatoes following the method below (I had to add an additional 5 minutes - they were BIG potatoes). I added a bag of SteamFresh veggies (broccoli, sugar snap peas, water chestnuts, and carrots). Reheated the potatoes for Mr. P. (no more for me thanks...not until the butter is back). And some quick garlic shrimp (recipe below). Mr. P. wasn't a fan of butter-free veggies, but I thought they were just fine with salt and pepper. The shrimp was also fine. Nothing to write home about, but quick and easy, so it may make a return appearance.

SHRIMP RECIPE

Ingredients (inspired by Solea, serves 4-6):
1/2 cup olive oil
10 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed, defrosted if frozen
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Pinch or two of red pepper flakes, optional
Preheat the broiler, if using.  Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat.  Add the garlic and saute, stirring frequently, for about five minutes, until the garlic is softened but not browned.
Add the shrimp, raise the heat to medium high, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, paprika, and red pepper.  Cook for three minutes on each side or until the shrimp are completely opaque.  Serve hot.  If you decide to broil the shrimp in individual ramekins, cook on one side in the skillet, flip over into the ramekins, top with some of the oil and garlic, and broil until opaque throughout, about 3 minutes.




You might want to dampen the paper towel - some people claim theirs went up in flames. I did not - I also added an additional 5 minutes because of the size of my sweet potatoes. They were delicious. Just remember that all microwaves are different - different wattage, different size, etc. They are not one size fits all - go with your gut - you know how your microwave behaves.

That said - I will go the "less work" route tomorrow and brush with coconut oil, sprinkle with cinnamon, wrap in foil and stack a whole bunch in the crock pot on low for 8 hours. No fire, no turning the potatoes over. Just a bunch of ready to be reheated at lunch time sweet potatoes.

You could always use the potato button on your microwave if you have that option or bake them in the oven.