The Whole Almond

I decided to make some almond milk about halfway through our Whole 30.  A friend sent me an article about the best non-dairy latte, and it was made with house made almond milk, sweetened with dates and macadamia nut milk.  So, I made some of each.  I bought raw nuts at the bulk section of my natural foods market.  I soaked each of them for a few hours, in the refrigerator, and then drained them.  I dumped all the nuts into my vitamix with twice the amount of water.  I used 1 cup of nuts for each, so I used 2 cups of water each.  I let it run on high for about a minute.  I poured into a nut milk bag, and squeezed all of the liquid, the milk, out.

I didn’t add any sweetner.  I also did not remove the skins from the almonds.  More on this later.  I chilled in the fridge before I tried them.  They were both delicious, tasting distinctly different, as do the nuts.  The almond milk was delicious, so sweet with a slight cherry flavor.  It did, however, finish a bit bitter.  The skins.  Yes, of course.  We removed all of the skins for the second try.  After soaking them, blanch them in boiling water for about 1-2 mins.  The skins pop right off!

 almond skins

I added a bit more water this batch, and I wish I hadn’t.  It’s thicker, creamier and better with a  2:1 ratio, water to nuts.  You end up with 2 cups of delicious milk.  

The remains in the bag, the almond meat, is not trash!  So, I spread the crumbly mixture on a baking pan, and I let it sit in the oven for a few days until it was dry.  I should have turned on the light and I bet they’d dry faster.  When they were totally dry, I toasted them in the toaster over briefly.  I then put it back in the food processor and ground it to a powder.  Almond meal (or almond-hazelnut meal). 

nut meat, the aftermath of milking

I used the toasty goodness as a topping for two individual sized apple crisps that I made for my birthday.  I mixed in some walnuts, ghee, cinnamon, salt, lemon rind and a teaspoon of date paste (homemade and frozen).  I put on top of seasoned sliced apples and baked for a delicious treat!

apple crisp birthday treat complete with fancy tea light

With the rest of it, we added nutritional yeast.  It’s a delicious, crunchy, nutty, cheesy flavored punch of fiber that can be added to anything, like breadcrumbs.  I just used it to season pumpkin seeds from a pumpkin I roasted.  They are so delicious, I can’t stop eating them.  It satisfies that cracker crunch that I miss.

My guess is that this mixture could also be used to coat shrimp, chicken, zucchini or mushrooms and then baked with delicious results.  Could probably also use in meatballs, etc.

Such a cool way to use the whole almond, especially while doing Whole 30, or following a paleo diet.

First day post 30

I'm posting out of order.  I'm so sorry.  It's just the way it is.  I cannot be counted on to maintain a blog.  So, my friends, you will have to jump around with me.  I was going to wait to post about my first day post 30, but that's silly.  Let's start at the first mile marker, shall we?

A funny story that last night neither of us wanted to cook, so we decided to order a greek salad from Zoe's.  Their salad is so yummy and they serve it over a scoop of their potato salad made with a vinegar dressing, and green onions.  It's delish and was a welcome substitute for the feta cheese, turns out.  Since yesterday was our last day of Whole 30, and I was going to eat diary today, I figured I'd just get feta on my salad.  After all, it's better that way (that creamy saltiness of the feta).  So I ordered Joe's without and mine with.  They left it off both.  No cheese for me.  The universe conspired to make me finish, with honors.

So, I did.  I woke this morning and discovered I've lost 13 lbs in the last 30 days.  That's awesome!  That's really only one of the benefits that I've reaped from completing Whole 30.  My palate is more refined.  I don't have cravings.  I've had a healthy belly, and no heartburn.  I have more energy.  I'm satisfied all day long.  And the food we are making is just delicious.  We are forced to be creative with less ingredients, and we are going for big flavor so that we feel satisfied.

I made an amazing soup tonight for dinner.  I may add chicken, or shrimp to the leftovers if we want a protein.  I've been a little sick of meat the past few days, so meatless it was.  

You can also use peanut butter for that more traditional Thai flavor.  The tahini is really rich, and the sweetness from the almond butter balances out the bitterness of the tahini.  It is rich and delicious.  I was getting to the bottom of my tahini, so it was a bit thick...do yourself a favor, if yours is thick, and blend it up with the squash.  Make sure it's blended well so you don't get a mouthful of tahini all of a sudden.

Here's the recipe:

Roasted Thai Curry Soup

2 lbs. roasted butternut squash

1 cup vegetable or chicken stock

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

2 tsp. olive oil 

1 onion, finely chopped

3-4 cloves minced garlic

1.5 inch piece ginger root, grated

1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped

1 cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk

2 T Thai Red Curry Paste

1/2 c. tahini and raw almond butter

1 tsp. Fish Sauce (has sugar in it)

1 tsp. coconut aminos

few squirts of sriracha (has sugar in it)

2 T fresh-squeezed lime juice

1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro

Cut large butternut squash in half, lengthwise.  Scoop out seeds, dry and roast them.  Yum.  Oil a pan, and put squash cut side down, and roast until the skin is nice and brown, and the squash is soft, and roasted around the edges.  That’s where the extra flavor is.  I roast at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Allow to cool and remove skin, put in bowl and puree with immersion blender, or whatever you have.   Taste the squash, it’s so sweet and delicious.  

Now, sauté onion in olive oil for a few minutes until soft.  Add garlic, peppers, ginger, mushrooms and sauté until soft.   Add the coconut milk, nut/seed butter, veggie or chicken broth, curry paste, and other seasonings, except for lime juice and cilantro.   Cook on low for another 20 minutes so flavors can blend.  Adjust seasonings as needed.  Add lime juice and cilantro 10 minutes before serving.  Give extra to squeeze on top.  Garnish with bean sprouts, cilantro, chopped almonds, green onions, or whatever you wish.

This soup is rich and delicious.  There are many flavors to be savored, with an undertone of warmth and spiciness. 

For Whole 30:  Don’t use sriracha, or fish sauce.  Use coconut aminos, and another hot sauce or paste instead. 

Hope you enjoy it.

Big Changes aka Whole 30

This is going to be a long post.  Settle in.

I won’t get into all the reasons I chose to do Whole30.  Suffice it to say that I felt fed up with many things about my diet choices and I wanted to make a change.  It’s never worked for me to “cut back” and eat in moderation.  I didn’t have a baseline to start from.  That’s what I felt I needed.  Drastic?  Yes, but that’s what I felt would work for me.  I needed to get past the addiction to sugar and carbs, the cravings and change my palate.  I wanted to taste my food…learn to enjoy vegetables not drowned in cheese or a sugary dressing.  I’ve been eating pretty healthy overall for the last year, which helped make the transition, but it has still been eye opening.

The first thing I did to prepare was to read the book It Starts with Food.  It was quite eye opening and nearly everything resonated with me.  I downloaded some cookbooks to go along with the book and began to follow Melissa and Whole 30 on Pinterest and Instagram.  I signed up for the website community, but haven’t utilized it at all.  One of the first things participants are advised to do is to tell someone…to seek support.  I am lucky to have my boyfriend Joe making the commitment with me.  Not only is he my biggest support, but he’s a kick ass chef.  I cannot underestimate how amazing this is. 

While we are always a team on meal and recipe creation, the rules were about to change, and we had less ingredients to choose from.  A challenge that we were ready to accept, right?

So, before we went on a week’s vacation to visit family, I went through all of the cupboards and got rid of nearly everything with sugar or other forbidden ingredients in it.    Some of them I packaged up to donate to a food bank.  Others went on the bottom shelf, in the back so we could eventually consume them.    I was rather amazed at the emptiness of my cabinets.  I did my best to allow the fear to run through me and then let it go.  I was determined.

Our trip was great, and was filled with food, carbs, alcohol and all of the things a vacation should include, I suppose.  I came home feeling exhausted,  my back was sore from travelling and a lack of yoga.  I felt slightly sick to my stomach, and had heartburn after ingesting everything over the week.  Is this really what I want to do?  It didn’t take much soul searching to determine that I was ready for this.  My mind was set, so I needed to follow through.  I can be quite good at talking myself in or out of things I don’t really need or want to do.  I had to be stronger than that.  It was time.

I made a trip to Costco to stock up.  I went a bit overboard and spent $350!  Yikes!  This was clearly how I dealt with the stress and fear.  Be uber prepared.  I reminded myself that I was paying for a month’s worth of meals up front.  That helped.  I wouldn’t spend more at restaurants for the next month.  Plus, $350 is probably a month’s worth of eating out anyway.

Here’s what I bought at Costco:  I bought as many organic ingredients as I could.

Organic salad mix, organic spinach, mini peppers, baby carrots, grape tomatoes, snap peas, pineapple, butternut squash, avocados, bananas, grapes, frozen organic green beans, frozen organic broccoli, frozen organic strawberries, organic frozen cherries, frozen pineapple, frozen shrimp, frozen chicken breasts, frozen salmon,  2 dozen organic eggs, sliced almonds, walnuts, avocado oil, green olives, canned tuna, chicken sausages, green juice (which I think had some sweetener in it) and coconut water(with no sugar).  And a rotisserie chicken for dinner.  This probably had sugar in the ingredients, but I didn’t check.  I assumed, and probably was wrong.  I’ve looked since then.  I think Whole Foods has one that is compliant. 

I also ordered a slew of items from Thrive Market, online.  They have good prices, hard to find items, and free shipping over $50.  Here, I stocked up on (chocolate) herbal tea, coconut aminos (in place of soy sauce), full fat, organic coconut milk and curry pastes. 

Finally, I went to Sprouts and stocked up on cashews, raw almonds, sunflower seeds, ghee (browned, clarified butter) and produce: cucumbers, sweet potatoes, yams, onions, celery, garlic, ginger.

I was a bit overwhelmed by all of these ingredients.  I didn’t have any specific meal ideas in mind for the week.  I think that would have made the first week easier.  This way, all ingredients would be on hand.  And thinking wouldn’t really be required.  It was a bit overwhelming the first week.  Good thing my resolve was high.  We were excited by the challenge in the beginning.  But it was still overwhelming.  This change was big.  I knew we’d be eating every meal at home, and they’d all have to be prepared by us.  Did I mention that I am the dishwasher?  Yea. 

Here’s what I had in the pantry:

coconut flour (a ginormous bag I bought from Costco awhile ago…come borrow some, no need to buy so much)

almond meal/flour

olive oil

avocado oil

coconut oil

sesame oil

coconut aminos

coconut vinegar

red wine vinegar

black cherry balsamic vinegar

peach white balsamic vinegar

balsamic vinegar  (go for the aged…it’s luxuriously sweet)

nutritional yeast

coconut flakes

cacao nibs

raw cacao powder

tahini

canned tomatoes (watch for sugar)

canned chiles

chicken broth in a box (and in the freezer)

Other ingredients not mentioned:

lime juice (fresh and frozen)

lemon juice (fresh and frozen)

capers

spicy pickles

banana peppers

cherry peppers

hot sauce (NOT the tabasco chipotle, however)

La Croix flavored waters

herbal, black, green, hot, iced teas

herbs and spices, fresh and dried

mustards (again, watch for sugar)

As we close in on the 30-day mark, I am glad to report that we still have many of the frozen and pantry items that I purchased from Costco and Thrive Market.  

Stay tuned.  More to come.  Lots more.