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.
 

Recipe Fail.

Mr. Paisley and I whipped up this dish Monday night for dinner. I was super excited about it. So i'm bummed that I didn't care for it.

I found the recipe on Pinterest and it looked soooo good. It's from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice.

Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Shrimp

(adapted from Fine Cooking)

1/3 cup olive oil


1 lemon, zested then half cut into thin slices and other half into wedges


3-4 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves removed


sea or kosher salt and fresh black pepper


spaghetti/pasta, couscous or rice for serving


1 pound fresh shrimp, medium-sized, deveined with tails off


5 cloves garlic, minced



1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a 9x13 baking pan combine olive oil, lemon zest and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 12 minutes. Meanwhile cook pasta, couscous or rice.


2. Remove pan from oven, add shrimp, garlic and the thin sliced lemons (don't squeeze them), toss to coat with oil mixture. Bake for 8-10 more minutes or until shrimp turn pink and start to curl. Serve over pasta, couscous or rice tossed with extra-virgin olive oil and fresh-squeezed lemon with additional lemon wedges for serving.



Ours did not look this pretty and bright. The lemon was over powering. We put it over angel hair spaghetti.
 
Mr. Paisley took the leftovers for lunch the next day and said it was better. I dunno...I wanted to like it. I might have to play with it a little and see if I can make it into something I like.
 
You might like it better - maybe my tastebuds were having an off day. Mr. Paisley wasn't ready to write it off, so I say give it a shot. If you make it or change it up, let me know what you did and how you liked it! I love shrimp...

Shrimp - what could be easier in the summer?

Yummy shrimp recipe...even better that it's quick, easy and low calorie.

Ingredients:

Marinade/brine

• 1    pound shrimp raw
• 1    clove garlic small, minced
• 1    inch ginger piece, minced
• 1/4    teaspoon salt   

Veggies

• 8    ounces snow pea pods   
• 1    each sweet bell pepper yellow, orange or red, largish diced
• 1/2    cup scallions, spring or green onions sliced
• 1    clove garlic large, chopped

 Sauce

• 1 1/2    tablespoons sugar   
• 2    tablespoons rice vinegar   
• 1 1/2    tablespoons ketchup   
• 1    tablespoons cooking sherry or shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine)
• 1    tablespoons chili garlic sauce   
• 1/2    tablespoon sesame oil   
• 1    teaspoon soy sauce   
• 2    teaspoons cornstarch   

 Directions

• In a medium bowl. Mix together the shrimp, garlic, ginger and salt. Set aside to brine for 20 minutes at room temperature
• Meanwhile prepare the green onions, red pepper and garlic.
• Add the sugar, rice vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili garlic sauce, sherry and cornstarch to a small bowl and whisk until combined.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut of vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high to high heat until the oil just starts to smoke.
• Add the snow peas, red bell pepper and garlic to the skillet and stir-fry (constantly stirring) for a couple of minutes until the veggies are slightly blistered and beginning to brown.
• Remove the veggies from the pan and set aside.
• Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. 
• Add the scallions and stir fry for 30 seconds.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and add the shrimp. 
• Cook for 30 seconds to one minute.
• Then add the sauce and allow to poach for about two minutes until the sauce has thickened is more sticky and coats the shrimp. There will not be a lot of sauce.
• Add the vegetables. Toss to coat.

Serve immediately over rice.

Recipe from Recipeland.com

Personally, I think i'd serve it over lo mein type noodles or rice noodles...but it would be good over rice as well.