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Hey there! I'm Holly. A 40+ year old insurance-nerd wife, mom, beauty lover, and about a million other things in between.
This is the place where I share about our lives, what I'm currently loving, books I'm reading, plus-size style, beauty recommendations, health + fitness endeavors and anything else I'm finding interesting at the moment.
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Monthly Archives: January 2013
Real Life Style: January Closet
I post a daily picture on Instagram of what I wear. Well let me rephrase: what I wear when I actually put on an outfit that looks reasonable. If I’m home all day writing or watching Real Housewives of Anywhere in my yoga pants, I generally don’t bother with a snap shot. You’re welcome. 🙂
It seems a little vain to take pictures of your clothes — I get that, and to a certain extent it is —Â but over the past year I found it fun and inspiring to have a log of what I wore. It’s helped me figure out where my style is at currently and it gives me a foundation from which to decide where I want to go. Understanding those things actually makes it easier (and more fun) to get dressed in the morning, and both are a total win – so vanity be damned!
When I did my summer survey last year there were a lot of requests for more Real Life Style posts. Many of you responded to the idea that everyday style vs aspirational style was helpful to see, and I love that! But I have struggled with a way to do that on this blog that isn’t just a roundup of pictures with captions of where all of it came from. It’s not that I don’t enjoy those types of posts (I do!) but personally, I find them a little bit tedious to write and not all that helpful unless I’ve just purchased something that I can link to. Unfortunately a lot of my outfits include Stuff I Bought At Target A Long Ass Time Ago. It’s my style-statement, I guess…but you gotta work with what ya got!
I thought a monthly roundup could be a happy medium — photos of what I wore (in case you don’t follow me on Instagram) but also bit of talk about HOW I got dressed. I mean, yes yes “One leg at a time” but more about:
*Items I’m Currently Loving (ie: Repeating)
*What Inspired Me While Getting Dressed
*Hits/Misses
So enough explanation…here’s how I got dressed in January:
(Click the links below the photos if you are interested in the specifics of an outfit. I listed each item (with links where applicable) but I warn you, I wear a lot of old stuff! :))
1. Hot Pink Accents, 2. Running Errands, 3. Channeling Hannah From Girls, 4. Favorite Outfit This Month, 5. Oldie But Goodie, 6. Comfy Basics, 7. Black Skinny Jeans I Love (FINALLY!), 8. Pattern Mix (Stripes and Spots), 9. Dress/Tights, 10. Polka dots/Mini Peplum/Puppy, 11. Biker Bitch (but a nice one!), 12. Stripe on Stripe on Stripe!, 13. Jeggins/Chambray Layers, 14. Semi Chic Hobo, 15. Black & White & Red All Over, 16. Unapologetic Stripes, 17. Layer w/ A Bit of Color, 18. Polka Dots!, 19. Plain Jane, 20. Bathing Suit Coverup! What?
What I’m Currently Loving
A visual grid makes it very clear I am loving scarves and stripes. I think I’m going to get over stripes here shortly. Obviously I love them, but I want to branch out with some other prints. Stripes tickle the geometric part of my brain, but there must be something else. I’ve got my eye out!
As for scarves, let me make a confession: this isn’t even the tip of the iceberg. I LOVE SCARVES! (What? They are like purses and shoes! They always fit!) I was really into infinity scarves this month thanks to a clearance purchase at the Gap (the gray knit one) and a gift from Elizabeth (the turquoise one, which I LOVE!)
What Inspired Me While Getting Dressed
Honestly, this month it was all about functionality. I work in an office that is freezing one minute and burning up the next, so layers are kind of a must. Also, I wanted to wear dresses this month but it was also 40 degress on the regular. Best purchase so far this year: $8 leggings from Target.
In addition to functionality, I was really feeling like exercising my minimalist brain this month and I repeated quite a few things. My wardrobe isn’t that big actually. The rack that I stand in front of taking my pictures is basically ALL OF MY CLOTHING. So yeah, not much. But I was hoping to mix them up in a creative way so that it wasn’t glaringly obvious that I was wearing all the same stuff. I feel like that was pretty successful.
Hits
This was my favorite outfit of the month.
Also, I still have so much love for Gap Sexy Boyfriend Jeans. They were the only jeans I wore this month, actually. Every time I link to them I think “$80 is a lot of cash! DAMN!” But ya know what…they are TOTALLY WORTH IT. Really versatile, stylish and durable — For $80 I have completely gotten my money’s worth. I don’t have a large clothing budget (in fact I don’t even HAVE a clothing budget written in as a line item) so it’s nice to remind myself every once in a while that sometimes a higher quality item is worth paying for.
Misses
This was my least favorite. In fact, all day long I kept thinking I was channeling Hannah from Girls…who we all know is kind of a hot frumpy mess. I even read a fun article about how they tailor her clothes to be ill fitting. Not my best day!
*****
So that’s my closet this month! What do we think about this format? Helpful? Unhelpful? Holly, get your face outta my face? 🙂
Here I Go Again by Jen Lancaster
I was a mixture of excitement and nervousness to see that Here I Go Again, Jen Lancaster’s new book, was this month’s BlogHer Book Club pick. I have been in a bit of a book slump — I didn’t finish ANY other books in January despite starting a few — and had been feeling down about reading in general. (UGH. Hate that!)
In the past when I wanted a go-to book that would keep me flipping the pages, laughing out loud and following Garrett around reading hysterical passages, Jen Lancaster is who I would turn to.
(Fun fact: My favorite book of hers is hands down Such A Pretty Fat.)
She’s sharp tongued, witty, full of pop culture references that make me feel like she lives in the attic space in my brain. Plus she writes great memoirs – which, despite always getting made fun of, are my favorite genre of books to read! Then she started to write fiction. And I will freely admit, there was trepidation.
Prior to this, I hadn’t read any of her fiction because I had heard some mixed reviews. That didn’t stop me from picking it up though! But after reading Here I Go Again I sort of understand the mixed reviews. Overall the book was a very fun read, and one that definitely got me out of my slump! It was quick, funny, and I actually really enjoyed the ridiculous plot (former bitchy high school girl gets to go back in time and remedy some of that bad karma) which I was VERY unsure of when the I read the book jacket.
Luckily it delivered with Lancaster’s trademark laughs, and I had no probably breezing through it. But I guess when you are used to reading about an author’s life and hijinks though, there is a bit of built in disappointment when they start creating other characters. It would be like going to the blog of a super great writer that you’ve been reading for years and having her start to only write about other people. Certainly still enjoyable in a way, but not the same. If you love smartly written cotton candy for the brain, you will probably love this. If you are a die hard Jen Lancaster fan, you will probably like this. And if neither are your bag, skip it.
I’m hoping February with be full of MORE book reading!
****
I read Jen Lancaster’s book as part of BlogHer Book Club and while I was compensated for my time to review and provided a free copy of the book, as usual all opinions are my own.
Post-Whole 30 Reintroduction + Thoughts On What’s Next
Is today your final day of Whole 30? Tomorrow? Are you filled with that simultaneous sense of excitement and anxiety? If so, you are right on track! 🙂
The Whole 30 is such an awesome process. If you decided to take it on, there is no doubt you learned a lot about yourself and your food habits along the way. I don’t know about you, but physically I feel fan-freaking-tastic (and especially compared to how I felt in December – UGH! I have PTSD just thinking about Christmas Cookies.) All of this data you’ve gathered over the last month is hard earned — there have been challenges, and tests of faith in the process. Or if you are like me, moments of weakness and child like behavior/rebellion. But if you pushed through all of that, what you’ve gotten in return is the knowledge of how your body can look/feel/perform if you spent the bulk of your time concerned with the food you put in it.
But Day 31 is back to reality. This is not a Whole 365, nor should it be, and we can’t live our lives spending every single day concerned with the “compliance” of all of our food. It’s not ideal to have such a rules based relationship with food every day of the year, so now the real challenge is revealed: What the heck do you eat next?
The Whole 30 Reintroduction Plan suggests you reintroduce some of the things you’ve eliminated over a ten day period and evaluate how they affect you. So rather that going out and stuffing your face with pizza on Day One (dairy AND gluten, for example) they suggest spreading out the potential stressors on your system:
Day One: Dairy
Day Four: Gluten Containing Grains
Day Seven: Non Gluten Containing Grains
Day Ten: Legumes
You don’t have to stick to this exact order, but you get the idea: Reintroduce and then give yourself some time to REALLY evaluate how this affects you. And it’s important to note that the idea here isn’t to look for immediate digestive distress — everything you eat isn’t just going to “give you a tummy ache” if if doesn’t agree with you. The point is, now that your body is a clean slate, use that as a control group to see if you really do “thrive” when you eat yogurt in the morning and cheese in the afternoon. See how you feel an hour later after you have oatmeal for breakfast instead of something with lots of protein/fat.
The bottom line is: Experiment with foods you miss, but do it in a way that will actually help you gather more information. Don’t just go mow down a medium pepperoni with olives because later when you are bloated and feel like taking a nap you won’t know if it is the cheese or the gluten bomb (Dude, it’s TOTALLY the gluten bomb!) and you have 30 days of data on your side!
Full Disclosure: My first Post-Whole 30 meal will probably involve wine. The food part will be compliant, but there will definitely be a Friday night cocktail. We’ve juiced some limes for our water and all month every time I look at it I think about mixing it with tequila. I’m not even a giant margarita fan, but salty rimmed glasses full of crackling ice cubes sound like just about the best thing ever right now. I REALLY MISS THE RITUAL OF HAVING A DRINK. But beyond that, I have no plans to follow the Whole 30 Reintroduction Plan. (WHAT???)
The reason I won’t be following it is that I followed it to the letter the first time around, AND I’M SO GLAD I DID. I know exactly what to expect when I eat dairy, sugar, booze, gluten — ALL OF IT. I could write you a screenplay complete with narrative arc about how those foods affect me. And that knowledge helps me make decisions in my regular life — and that is such a stress reliever so I want to really recommend it.
I think it’s easy to feel impatient and just want to dive right in to something crazy. And you CAN to a certain extent, if you do it in a smart way. You have 30 days of data behind you, don’t just throw it away on something silly. Because here is the thing: Having the knowledge about how food affects you? Doesn’t mean you can NEVER have that food again. Gluten makes my eyes puffy and makes me depressed about 24-48 hours afterward. Now that I know that, I understand the actual price I’m paying when I eat it. But guess what — I STILL EAT IT SOMETIMES!
(WHAT???????)
(I KNOW!)
But now, I probably wouldn’t eat it a day or two before a job interview. Or a day or two before I had to have a picture taken when I wanted to feel cute. You see? Knowledge is power! I’m a firm believer in life of knowing the rules really well, if only so you know WHICH RULES CAN BE BROKEN, AND WHEN MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
So…awareness doesn’t equal law! Just because you take the time to figure out how food affects you doesn’t shackle you to a life of restricted eating. But it does make your choices more informed, and I’m always pro-being informed!
That’s my two cents when it comes to reintroduction, and my plan moving forward. I am going to continue with Whole 30 style eats throughout February just because I am training for this running event, I’m still trying to drop some pounds, and because it agrees with me and I enjoy it. But I’m not doing the full on protocol because I need a little cocktail ritual here and there, and I do a love a good Paleo Pancake! 🙂 Plus it’s Valentine’s Day and we traditionally go wine tasting — can’t pass that up! But I will be trying to keep the eats clean as a whistle around here next month. I’m so SO grateful to have done this in January. It has really put my year in perspective, I think.
Now that you are finishing up, I’d love to hear some of your thoughts:
1. What are your biggest takeaways from this experiment?
2. What habits do you hope to keep moving forward?
3. What might you do different if you did this experiment again?
4. What surprised you?
Need some more Post Whole 30 Info? Check out this post on Life After Whole 30 (The comments are full of good stuff!)
Chorizo Stuffed Mushrooms
I recently wrote about Healthy Super Bowl Food for a local magazine and shared my favorite strategy for keeping things in check on game day: Incorporate as many vegetables as possible! I thought it might be on your mind too, and since many of us will be getting together with friends and enjoying a fun afternoon, I wanted to pop in real quick and share a simple recipe to help your healthy eating cause. This bite-sized appetizer is not only super delicious, but Whole 30 compliant!
If you are feeling really creative, you could even customize the filling to include MORE vegetables if you wanted. I have to admit, I’m not really a mushrooom fan, but something about the salty, spicy bite of a chorizo stuffing just compliments the earthy flavor of a mushroom. It’s an awesome match-up, and hopefully the Super Bowl will be too!
Chorizo Stuffed Mushrooms
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
- 16 White Mushrooms, half the stems reserved and finely diced
- 12 oz Pork Chorizo
- 1 Tablespoons Ghee or Butter, divided
- ½ Red Onion, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley, divided
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 oz of pork rinds, crumbled (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Wipe mushrooms clean with a paper towel or a damp dish towel. Hold stems firmly and pull out. This will leave the hollow portion in the middle for stuffing.
- Reserve half the stems and chop them finely into small bits and set aside with the filling ingredients.
- In a large pan over medium high heat melt 1 Tablespoon of ghee
- Brown mushrooms in batches, careful not to overcrowd the pan, about 6 minutes each side
- When Mushrooms are browned, set aside in a greased 13×9 pan
- In a separate pan while you are browning your mushrooms, crumble 12 oz of pork chorizo into a pan over medium high heat and cook until most of the surface is brown and crispy (about 10-12 minutes)
- Remove crispy chorizo from pan and set aside, while leaving about aTablespoon of pan drippings behind
- In the chorizo drippings, sauté ½ red onion and mushroom stems over medium high heat until browned (about 5 minutes) then add salt and ¼ teaspoon of dried parsley
- Mix the chorizo back in to pan with other ingredients and then scoop filling into each mushroom
- Top with remaining ¼ teaspoon of parsley and (optional) crumbled pork rinds and bake at 350 for 20 minutes
Whole 30 Meal Plan — Week 5 (THE LAST WEEK!)
Woo hoo! It’s the final week and all I can think of is “just get food on the table until it’s over.” My creativity is gone with the wind, and I don’t mean Gone With The Wind Fabulous. While that may sound sort of boring, I actually think it’s an indicator of success. By the time I get to the end of the Whole 30 I’m basically eating because I have a need to nourish, not to feed any cravings or particular emotions. SCORE!
Monday
Breakfast: will be the same all week. I made Italian Brunch Bake and roasted up some brussels sprouts. Breakfast in boxes all week long!
Lunch: Rogan Josh (straight out of Well Fed. HOLY CRAP this is a simple, but flavorful dish.)
Dinner: A variation on Nom Nom Paleo’s Slow Cooker Kalua Pig (smoked paprika instead of bacon. Oh bacon, how I miss thee!)
Tuesday
Lunch: Taco Salad, because OBVIOUSLY.
Dinner: Turkey Satay Burgers + Broccoli Slaw +Green Goddess Cauliflower Rice (h/t for pointing me in that direction Tara!)
Wednesday
Lunch: Roasted Shrimp (riff on this recipe) + Green Beans (the microwavable Trader Joe’s kind
Dinner: Ground Beef with Baharat (Paleo-ified) over Spaghetti Squash
Thursday
Lunch: Chicken Salad with Avocados + Sliced Cucumber
Dinner: Burgers TBD + Roasted Broccoli + Sweet Potato Fries
No idea what to do with the burgers Thursday night, so riddle me this…what is your FAVORITE way to make/dress/serve a burger?
Happy Last week of Whole 30 you all! Thanks for keeping me (mostly) inspired in the kitchen! ha!
We Can’t All Be Perfect
Can I tell you what I am absolutely terrible at? Realizing that I am sick. The last time I was forced to realize I was sick I was trying to donate blood at a blood drive and was brutally rebuffed after having a fever of 101. Of course as soon as they said “Well are you feeling sick?” I started to realize…oh right, I have been super tired and my body has been achy and I’m not really eating anything and hmmm…but until the idea was forced upon me I was just walking around clueless and acting like an ass (ie: doing training runs for the half marathon last time around.)
photo credit
I experienced a little bit of deja vu this weekend. I was sneezy and congested all weekend but thought it was probably allergies. I got up and went for a run Saturday morning on a trail full of trees, that’s probably why I was sneezing! We had been out at a CrossFit competition all day and we had taken the dog — “It’s probably just allergies!” I had taken a couple of really long naps (which, while enjoyable, lately it is very unlike me) “Hmmm…I guess I was just tired.” It’s like I just can’t do the health math. Must’ve failed that subject in school.
Yesterday I got home from going to 4 different grocery stores and it was literally all I could do to get the groceries in the house before collapsing on the couch in a stuffed up heap! Temperature: 100 degrees. Hmmm…no wonder the 3 mile run I had done that morning felt so slow and heavy.
IDIOT.
I wrote a To-Do list on Friday morning that had 17 things on it. Currently 14 are not crossed off and I’m feeling a little stressed about that, but I have to take it easy today . I am feeling better this morning, but not 100% so I’m just going to try and ease back into real life without diving head first into something stupid and then getting full blown sick! Like, uh, working out this afternoon which I suggested to Garrett and he just looked at me and shook his head. Crap, I don’t know — it looks like a fun workout! But I probably should just stay home and write a love letter to my immune system for packing such a powerful punch already this weekend.
I’m bummed this is all happening at the end of the Whole 30 because I feel like my cheerleading should be at an all time high right now since we are all about to cross the finish line. But know that I am cheering you on in spirit. We are almost there folks!
Fun Things To Read On Friday
OK OK! Friday links will stay! Heard ya loud and clear! 🙂 And yes, DOWN WITH THE ZUCKERBERG! We are all on the same page here. I hope you know though that I’m now going to use all of you to rationalize my blog reading habit. IT’S ALL THEIR FAUUUUUUUUUUUUUULT!!!! 🙂
*Not that I want to go suggesting anyone read more blogs (ahem) but there were quite a few good ones on Greatist’s 60 Must-Read Health & Fitness Blogs for 2013 (including my girl Nom Nom Paleo!)
*In the past few weeks of doing the Whole 30 I’ve become obsessed with Trader Joe’s pre-chopped kale. (Btw, if you need some greens inspiration, look no further.) This week I think I purchased 6 bags which necessitated 2 different trips because I was embarrassed to buy 6 bags at once. On my second trip I saw that TJ’s now sells kimchi. While it’s not Whole 30 approved (doh!) I picked up a bag and was excited to see The Kitchn post inspiration about what to do with it this week. Every recipe isn’t Paleo, but it got the wheels spinning in my head. Cosmic!
*Speaking of “Paleo” vs “UnPaleo” I really enjoyed the tone and perspective in this article Which Diet Is Best? Such a great eating manifesto.
*I bought a Valentine for Garrett this week and it’s totally from this list. Some hilarious options!
*Since we’re talking about Valentines and romance, I loved this New York Magazine post about sex on lifestyle blogs…or rather the lack thererof. I don’t know that I’m dying to comb through archives about someone’s sex life, but I do think it’s an interesting point of note.
At the forefront of female cyber-exhibitionism, lifestyle blogging barely even acknowledges that physical pleasure exists, never mind its key role in domestic bliss.
*Continuing in the interesting points of note category, this post about The
Challenges of Conversational Journalism really got my wheels spinning about what I read online. I was actually reading it with Extra on in the background last night and the headline stories were the ones he mentions and yep! it was mostly just people sitting around speculating. So interesting.
*It’s hard to know what to believe these days because we are completely oversaturated with information. It’s always good to keep your ears out for marketing buzzwords that don’t *really* mean anything.
*****
Hope you guys have some fun plans for the weekend! I’m hitting up a CrossFit competition, cooking some food for the FINAL DAYS OF WHOLE 30, and doing a lot of writing. Hope you have a great one, friends!
Wednesday Bullets
Too many ideas! Not enough time!
As usual, lots to say but not a lot of time to format this into something that makes logical sense and has a structure. So. Bullets!
*The only good thing about starting a week with a Tuesday that felt like a Monday (womp womp) is that your Wednesday then feels like a Tuesday, and that is a much more enjoyable situation. Especially when you have Friday off.
*Speaking of Friday’s off, I’m giving up my work schedule that gives me every other Friday off. I’ve had this schedule for a little over 2 years and enjoyed it, but the downside is it means I work longer hours. Giving it up means I will get off work at 3:30 from now on and I’m basically thrilled about that. Garrett and I did a lot of scheming and planning and just talking about life this weekend and one of the things that has been stressing me out for quite some time is the fact that I leave for work before 7am, get home at about 4:30, go to the gym at 5, come home and cook dinner and by the time I hit the couch it’s 7pm and NOW WHERE THE HELL DID THE DAY GO AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO GET UP AND DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN TOMORROW? Something clicked this weekend and I thought to myself, hey — you don’t have to do that if you don’t want. Isn’t that just the most empowering thought. I mean seriously, digest that for a minute. So, for me, being done with work at 3:30 will be nice for a change.
*We picked our running assignments for The Relay the other night (my team is super rad, yay!) and I’m Runner 9. That probably doesn’t mean anything to most of you, but maybe this will: It is rated the second easiest route! ha! HOORAY! (Not that I think it will be easy for me by any stretch of the imagination) It has me running 4.4 miles through Sonoma (right where my Grandma used to live which is AWESOME), 6.5 miles at night through Millbrae and 6.3 miles through Ben Lomond. I’m excited. It’s a little over 17 miles which will be a challenging amount of distance for me, but not so much incline that I will want to off myself. I think it’s a good match for my skills. Still haven’t worked out a training plan yet and THE CLOCK IS TICKING.
*Some folks have been asking for a post about what I recommend regarding the Whole 30 reintroduction protocol and what my plans are Post Whole 30. I’m marinating on it and will try and maybe get it together by this weekend.
*Speaking of Whole 30, can we talk about the fact that it is Day 21 and I still (STILL) really miss booze. I’m surprised because at this point, during my last go round, I was over it. But these days all I can think about is when I get to have a glass of wine. I’m scouring Pinterest for cocktail recipes and lustily looking at the bottles of cider in our outdoor fridge. It’s kind of weird. I’m thinking about continuing the Whole 30 through February and honestly the food challenge is not even phasing me. But thinking about going through another 30 days WITHOUT A FREAKING DRINK? Man, it’s causing some panic.
*And since we’re doing a little stream of consciousness and talking about potential posts, I’m really itching to do a post about The Business of Blogging. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Partially because I have done some sponsored posts and want to talk about that. Partially because I have moved this blog into the For-Profit arena in the past few years and I want to say more about that so you know my intentions. And partially because I have lots of thoughts about pursuing your passions and career goals without being a total sleaze-bag and I think it all relates. Man, I have lots of ideas I need to get out on paper soon. Time to use my favorite SEO Tools Centre’s free online sentence counter.
*No time is sort of this recurring theme in my life and it’s 100% my own fault that I don’t have the time that I want. I’ve been bitching to Garrett lately about how I don’t really have time to read, but I realized yesterday when I confessed to twitter that I follow 295 blogs in linkbuildingplan.com (TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY FIVE! AND SOME POST MULTIPLE TIMES PER DAY!) that it is not so much that I don’t have time for reading, but that I am not making time to read books. I guess this number probably explains a little bit about why I’ve felt compelled to start sharing weekly links though, because MAN, I read a lot of crap I want to share! That said, are you into linnks? Hate them? Wish they didn’t come on Friday’s like every other website on the internet? 🙂 Because I’ve been thinking about what is the best way to share them. Is a round up post fun to read? Would you rather me link them over on the Holly Would If She Could Facebook Page? I always worry on Facebook that nobody actually *sees* the posts because of Zuckerber’s Maniacal Formulas or whatever. But I’m open. Feedback, yo. I’m asking for it. :::cringes:::: Also while we’re at it…how many blogs do YOU follow?
*Social media culling is on my radar and I’m taking on my digital landscape like someone walking through the jungle with a machete. I cut my reader down about 20 sites yesterday (hey, it’s a start!) and then I went over to twitter and asked myself the same questions that I’m now asking myself about Facebook friends:
* do I have your email?
* do I follow you somewhere else (twitter/instagram/RRS) and do I like you there better?
* could I easily find you again if I wanted to contact you?
* have we interacted recently? (…and have I enjoyed it?)
And hopefully shortly I will have a little more time. Time to do things like write posts that aren’t long, meandering and peppered with bullets. 🙂
Whole 30 Meal Plan – Week Four
So! I’m a few days late, but I promise I’ve still been meal planning. This is the last FULL WEEK of the Whole 30. Can you even believe that? Just yesterday we were talking about Make Ahead Meals and now we are less than 10 days from finishing. My mind is BLOWN! It’s going by pretty fast I think, and a stocked fridge and a menu plan full of ideas just keeps me chugging along.
My strategy this week is to rely on leftovers. I’m making a few larger meals for dinner and then serving them up for lunch the next day. I’m also still relying on some convenience food (Trader Joe’s Turkey Burgers and Microwave Green Beans mostly) but hey…ya gotta do what ya gotta do!
Monday
Breakfast: will be the same all week. I made an egg casserole with Chorizo + Kale + Onions and roasted up some butternut squash. Breakfast in boxes all week long!
Lunch: Leftovers (we did some fridge clean out)
Dinner: Rogan Josh (straight out of Well Fed. HOLY CRAP this is a simple, but flavorful dish.)
Tuesday
Lunch: Leftover Rogan Josh
Dinner: Paleo Minestrone Soup
Wednesday
Lunch: Leftover Minestrone
Dinner: Kielbasa Steamer with Stir Fry Sauce (Less recipe more method: Chop up Cauliflower, Carrots and Broccoli and steam with Kielbasa over the top. Serve up with Ghee and Stir Fry Sauce. Plain. Simple. Delicious.)
Thursday
Lunch: Trader Joe’s Turkey Burgers and Green Beans. Sounds kinda simple and boring but I am LOVING this meal right now.
Dinner: Turkey Curry Shepherd’s Pie
Friday
Lunch: Leftover Shepherd’s Pie
Dinner: Pork Chops — TBD — if you have a suggestion I’d love to hear it. Also, roasted brussels sprouts and broccoli.
Saturday
We are going to be gone at another all day event on Saturday — CrossFit competition season is beginning and we really enjoy spectating. Last week this is what we packed up to take with us:
Sunday
I’ll post a new menu on Sunday! THE LAST MENU. Yesssssssssssssss!
*****
So how many of you are still going strong?
Have a great week everyone!
Southwestern Turkey Burgers
Today, let’s talk turkey!
Turkey burgers have come a long way right? They used to be this dried out “healthy alternative” to a REAL burger but now I find it’s just another iteration of poultry that I really enjoy. The only problem? If you have a red-meat-loving spouse at home it can be challenging to talk them out of the Turkey Burger = Fake Burger headspace.
For years when I’d suggest making turkey burgers Garrett would kind of groan and suggest that we eat something different. That is until I made these burgers one night. It’s a play on an old Rachael Ray recipe that I adapted when we went Paleo because it was that tasty! It’s been making appearances on my meal plans forever but I have never blogged it, which is silly because it is absolutely a staple in our house. The key to making it not taste like a “fake” burger? Tons of different flavors.
Turkey is a blank canvas and alone it can be a little bit bland. But that makes it the perfect type of meat to mix with smoky, spicy Southwestern flavors and crispy sweet peppers. Add a little touch of your favorite hot sauce and some jalapenos dialed up to your desired heat level and your turkey is all of a sudden a flavor force to be reckoned with.
The nice thing about this recipe is you just dump everything in a bowl and mix. I say just get your hands dirty, but you can also mix it up with a fork. Turkey is pretty forgiving and doesn’t get too tough like ground beef does if you overmix it. Grill or fry up in a pan and serve over a giant bed of greens. Your dinner will be done in less than a half hour and you won’t feel at all like you are eating a healthified version of something. If you want to get really spicy top it off with some smoked jalapeno kraut. That stuff is the real deal and so is this burger!
Southwestern Turkey Burgers
Author:
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Ingredients
- 1.25 lbs of ground turkey, preferably dark meat
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 large shallot or 1/4 red onion, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 small bell pepper, finely diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce
- 2 teaspoons grill seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut oil
Instructions
- Combine turkey, garlic, shallot, thyme, parsley, bell pepper, jalapeno, cumin, hot sauce and grill seasoning in a medium bowl and mix until combined
- Dived mixture into 6 equal mounds and then form into patties.
- Heat coconut oil in skilled over medium high heat
- Add patties and cook 5 to 6 minutes per side
- Serve on a giant bed of lightly dressed greens
- Enjoy!
3.1.09
