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Daily Archives: January 2, 2013
Whole 30 Meal Plan – Week One (Plus Homework!)
Our Whole 30 starts today! And I celebrated by hopping on the scale to get a baseline. I mean it seemed like a good idea at the time. SOB!
LORD ALMIGHTY THAT WAS A RUDE AWAKENING. I can’t even really talk about it, but let’s just say it was worse than I thought, and my assumption was pretty bad to begin with. But hey — LOOK AT ALL THE OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVEMENT I HAVE! OH MY. I AM SO GRATEFUL. (sarcasm)
::::the glass is half full. the glass is half full. why is the glass not half full with red wine, is what I want to know:::::
Just kidding.
The glass really is half full and I am not interested in looking back. All those cookies seemed like a good idea at the time, and well — it is what it is. All I can do is do my best today! I’m feeling optimistic but that doesn’t mean that Day One hasn’t had its challenges already. I got to work and found a See’s Scotchmallow Bar in my purse that had been a gift on New Year’s Eve. YOU MEAN I COULD HAVE EATEN IT ALREADY AND I FORGOT? Yeah, so no dice. I had to give that away, STAT. Also there are cookies in the breakroom. I mean, hello, did everyone not get the memo that is January? NOBODY WANTS COOKIES.
But I’m determined to have this awesome Whole 30 experience so enough cookie talk, let’s talk about what we are actually eating this week. I’m going to post my menus each week. This week starts on a Wednesday so it will be short, but from here on out I will try and get the menus up each Sunday.
Wednesday
Breakfast: Southwestern Frittata with Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Roasted Carrots and Parsnips (I made all of this on my days off. Score!)
Lunch: Cinnamon Beef Stew (which we made and had for dinner last night. Leftovers, Holla!)
Dinner: Caramelized Italian Pork Chops with Sweet Onion Jam + Roasted Broccoli + Cauliflower
Thursday
Breakfast: Southwestern Frittata with Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Roasted Carrots and Parsnips (You are sensing a pattern here, aren’t you?)
Lunch: Paleo Minestrone Soup (Yep, made a batch of that this weekend too!)
Dinner: Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries + Kale Chips (I think I’ll blog my fave turkey burgers next week. What a tease!)
Friday
Breakfast: Southwestern Frittata with Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Roasted Carrots and Parsnips (Sorry, it is just really easy to make 4 days worth of breakfast on the weekend!)
Lunch: Paleo Minestrone Soup (Keeping it simple this week, which SURPRISE! Means a few repeats up in here)
Dinner: Roasted Shrimp (not sure what marinade we are doing yet – TBD) with Green Beans + Almonds and Roasted Brussels Sprouts. (You can not have enough brussels sprouts)
Saturday
Brunch: Poached Eggs over Spicy Sweet Potato Hash (no hollandaise this time around. Sad face.)
Snacks for the afternoon
Dinner: Taco Salads. It’s happening, and I’m already looking forward to it. I’d make them today but my avocados aren’t ripe, and it’s actually not legal to make a Taco Salad in California without an avocado.
Sunday
I’ll post a new menu on Sunday!
So Hey — Let’s Talk About Homework
So I think many of you are Whole 30 social media mavens and you are probably out there tweeting and Instagramming all of your gorgeous meals. Well, actually I know it because I’m probably following you and your feeds make me droooooool. So, if you would like to play along, hashtag your meal pics with #hwisc (Holly Would If She Could, see what I did there???) And I will try and do a round up each week of some of your awesome food porn for inspiration. That way we can eventually all find some new people to follow and perhaps some new recipes to make. What do you think? Don’t you miss homework from your school days? No? Just me? 🙂
Have a great week everyone!
Paleo Minestrone Soup
Growing up, one of the best “Comfort Food” dishes my mom made was a big batch of Minestrone Soup. It was meaty, salty, full of pasta and potatoes and there was no better way to serve it than smothered with a ton of Parmesan cheese.
These days I still love comfort food, but my palate has changed and my desire to stuff my face with my mom’s cheesy pasta soup has (on most days) been replaced with a desire to enjoy a nostalgic home-cooked meal while also stuffing my face with some vegetables. This soup is how I combine the two.
I should also note that I can’t actually make this soup without Garrett doing his Eric Ripert “Minestrone!” impersonation at least twice during the preparation. Despite the fact that this soup is very Italian, there was a Top Chef episode many moons ago where Ripert kept saying it OVER AND OVER in his very French accent and so now every time we eat it Garrett acts like he is about to launch into a performance of Les Poissoins. The second thing you should note is that on that same Top Chef episode I think the person who made the Minestrone was eliminated because her carrots were not all the same size. This really offended Tom Colicchio, so you know, KEEP THE CARROTS UNIFORM.
Um, or don’t. This is a rustic soup. That’s the best part, actually. It’s a chop, drop, season, stir and eat kind of soup. And the best part? It tastes EVEN BETTER a day or two after you make it. So make up some on the weekend and eat it for lunch all week. Bonus? It’s Whole 30 compliant! So what are you waiting for?
Paleo Minestrone Soup
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
- 1 Large Yellow Onion, medium dice
- 6 Small Stalks Celery (preferably from the heart, leaves attached), sliced
- 4 Large Carrots, peeled and diced (try to keep them about the same size)
- 2 Medium Zucchini, medium dice
- 1.5 lbs Ground Beef
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 teaspoons Pepper
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 3 Garlic Cloves, finely minced
- 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 2 (14.5 oz) Cans Diced Italian Tomatoes
- 8 Cups Beef Broth
- 4 Cups Red Cabbage (about half a large head) diced bite sized
- 1 Bunch of Kale, stems removed, chopped up
Instructions
- Heat 2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil in a large heavy bottomed pot (I used a 7.5 Qt Dutch Oven) over medium heat
- Add onions, celery, carrots and saute until translucent and vegetables start to soften (about 10 minutes)
- Add zucchini and saute for 3-5 more minutes and then push veggies to one side of your pot
- Turn heat up to medium high and ground beef in and proceed to crumble and brown
- As beef begins to brown, stir in with all the vegetables
- Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and minced garlic and saute for 2 minutes
- Stir in tomato paste and let it melt into other ingredients
- Add diced Italian Tomatoes and beef broth and bring to a boil
- Once boiling, lower heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered
- Add cabbage and kale and simmer for 10 minutes, covered
- Serve and Enjoy!