 What better way is there to welcome Fall then cooking up a hearty meal with pork chops and apples! It's a winning combination and with premium quality meat it just gets loads of extra points for flavor and tenderness of the meat! I've recently got my first Butcher Box and I'm totally devoted to telling all about it to my friends and followers. Having a busy life is no longer an excuse for not getting high quality meat! With the Butcher Box subscription service you can get a box of 100% grass-fed, grass finished beef, heritage breed pork and free range organic chicken delivered to your doorstep every month or every other month, whatever option fits your family the best. You can personalize your box and mix your favorite cuts of meat in order to fit it to your household and you can always choose some add on's like no-sugar bacon, which has been a staple at our house since I've done my first whole 30 program. I truly recommend this because with our busy schedule it can be hard to have the time to go to the butcher and buy great quality cuts of meat - with this service you are sure to get what you order and, if you're a meal planner like me, it just makes our life so much easier! You know what cuts of meat you're getting so you can plan ahead and write down your meals for the week; apart from that you'll just need to make your produce list and make a run to the farmers market or your local supermarket to get the rest of your ingredients for the week's menu. It'll come out at approximately $6/serving which is a great value for such high quality meat and, as you can see in my video that I'm sharing in the link below, the steaks are huge as are the pork chops, so you'll get a few meals out of those cuts! Also, the chicken breast comes in 3 pre-portioned packs so you can use them independently and cook them on your meal prep in different ways so you can have different options to choose from during the week. You can cook up some chicken soup with one of the packages and grill some strips for the week's lunches and lunchboxes and still be left with a package left! On my first order, that I shared in this video, I got:
If you're interested in giving it a try and signing up to get to know a bit more about Butcher Box, just click here and, if you subscribe the service until the end of September, through my link, you'll get FREE ground beef for life! How cool is that? With this offer you'll get, with each box that gets delivered at your house, 2 lbs of 100% grass-fed and grass-finished ground beef for free! Just imagine the variety of meals you can cook up with ground beef, specially in the colder months: soups, chili, meatloaf, lasagna...so many options! So, don't waste a minute and click on the link above to get your offer but don't forget that you only have until September 30th to do it! As soon as you get your first box you can try this recipe for yourself! Grab your Butcher Box now and start meal planning for the next month!  Ingredients:4 boneless pork chops (I used the "Butcher Box" heritage breed pork chops) 4 big white potatoes 1 small butternut squash (about 1+1/2 cup) 1 lbs Brussels sprouts 3 large Gala apples salt and pepper 1 Tbsp garlic powder 2 Tbsp smoked paprika 1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves a few sage leaves for the pork olive oil 2 clementines 1 lemon Preparation:1 - Preheat the oven at 400 F. 2 - Prepare the vegetables to use them cover the baking sheet. Wash the potatoes and cut them in chunks, peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds and cute it in small pieces. Wash the Brussels sprouts , remove any damaged leaves and cut them in half or in quarters if they're too large. Try to have all the vegetables in same size pieces so they'll cook evenly. 3 - Place all the vegetables in a big mixing bowl and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and fresh thyme. Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil and mix everything in order to get a bit of it in all the vegetables; if necessary add some more. Add half of the paprika and give everything a last toss before transferring the vegetables to the baking sheet, previously brushed with olive oil. 4 - Wash the apples and cut them in fourths. Take out the core and seeds and slice them, keeping them in a bowl of water with lemon juice until placing them on the baking sheet, so they won't oxidize and turn brown. When the vegetables are on the baking sheet place the apple slices around the tray and between the vegetables, after removing them from the lemon water. 5 - Place the pork chops in a glass container or bowl and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and thyme leaves. Add a bit of olive oil and the juice of 2 clementines and 1/2 lemon.  6 - Place the meat over the vegetables and cover it with any remaining juice. This will help the pork chops to cook without making them dry and keeping them juicy and with a lemon/orange hint flavor. Place some sage leaves on top of the pork chops and place the baking sheet in the oven. Cook for about 25 minutes or until the meat is cooked. 7 - For plating just take a bit of everything and slice the pork chops in medium slices. the ones I used were big, so 1 was enough for 2 people. Get the vegetables on the bottom of the plate, cover with the pork chop and sprinkle some freshly chopped cilantro for a hint of green. Use any remaining juices to drizzle over the meat.  This was the perfect recipe to welcome Fall of 2018! The roasted veggies, the flavorful and tender meat, the apples and the sage were a superb combination of warm and cozy flavors. There's so much simplicity in sheet-pan meals that they really are one of my go-to's for busy schooldays - getting all the ingredients together and popping everything in the oven while everyone gets settled from school and sports activities is perfect! No weeknight dinner stress and mommy gets a load of compliments on the healthy and hearty meals cooked for the whole family.  Just to give you a notion of the number of meals I got from this sheet pan dinner, it was enough for one meal for all of us, another for my lunch the next day and I still got three more individual servings out of it. All in all, 7 servings which was pretty good for the price that I payed for all the ingredients. That is one of the other reasons why I love sheet-pan dinners so much, they really stretch the food out! Give it a try and let me know what you think of this recipe! Happy Fall everybody!
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 If you follow my blog you must know, by now, that I love salmon! I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to sample the Virgin Bay Seafood Co. wild caught salmon, from Alaska. It really does pay off to spend a bit more for great quality protein that is sustainable caught and that has, indubitably, more flavor and a texture that will leave you wanting for seconds after each meal you prepare with it! I mean, just take a look at this perfect and beautiful salmon portions:  How could anyone be tired of eating food like this?! Oh, well, I can't have this fish every week but I'm making sure to take some time and do proper research about the quality and sourcing of our family meals' protein sources. We really should pay more attention to what we feed our bodies and, specially after the whole30, that has been a concern of mine. Not only for my health but for all of my family's. By the time I did this recipe I was also able to try out some veggie kits I got from Urban Roots - even though I had to eliminate some of the seasonings that weren't whole30 compliant I had a great time trying these kits out and sampling the different condiments that come with each package. I loved the experience and I'm really glad to know that there's a company that makes eating veggies easier and simpler - if you have a busy life and not a lot of time to spend cooking you should really look into these! Check out their website and all their veggie kits! Here's a picture of what I got, alongside some amazing olive oil which continues to be a staple at our house.  I used the butternut squash and the cauliflower kit as a side for another meal and they were delicious! I usually buy all my veggies at the farmers market and prepare them yourself but, like I sad, if you're running low on time and want to make sure that there is always a veggie option in your fridge, make sure to grab some of these packages and try them out as soon as you can. You won't be disappointed! The recipe is pretty simple and that's one of the things that I like about cooking. You don't need to over do it, just choose good ingredients, simple flavors and you're off to a good meal, for sure! Ingredients:2 wild caught salmon fillets (I used the Virgin Bay Seafood Co. - Copper River Sockeye Salmon) 1 big sweet potato sliced 1 brocolli crown 1 lbs small yellow potatoes 1 cup cherry tomatoes 1 Tbsp capers 1/3 lemon juice 1 Tbsp (total) garlic powder salt and pepper a bunch of cilantro 2 Tbsp pitted kalamata olives Olive oil Preparation:1 - Preheat the oven at 400 F. 2 - Prepare all the veggies that are going into the oven - wash the potatoes and cut them in half. Wash the broccoli and separate it in florets. Place each vegetable in a different bowl and add the seasonings. 3 - On the potatoes and cherry tomatoes mix I used olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. The broccoli had olive oil, turmeric, salt and pepper. The sweet potatoes just had olive oil, red pepper chili flakes and garlic powder. 4 - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and line up all your veggies making sure that they are not overcrowded in order to cook evenly. I ended up mixing the salmon with the veggies but next time I'll cook them separately!  5 - On a different baking sheet lined with parchment paper place the salmon fillets and season with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Cook the fish and vegetables for about 20 minutes or until you see they're cooked through. The time may be a bit off if you choose thicker fillets or bigger chunks of veggies - if that is the case roast them for another 5-10 minutes. 6 - When everything is cooked, transfer to a serving plate and make the sauce to cover the salmon: in a bowl add the lemon juice, about a tsbp of olive oil, the chopped and pitted kalamata olives, the capers and some freshly chopped cilantro. I love cilantro so I really got a good amount in there! This was a meal for 4 and the whole family loved it! I must say that sheet-pan meals are my favorite for weekdays because they make everything so easy and simple - one pan (or two, in this case!) and everything gets cooked at the same time. It's also perfect to cook chicken breast/thighs (might need a bit more time to cook) or shrimp! Take a look at what you got on your last shopping trip and figure out what protein and veggies you can combine to make yourself a full and satisfying meal like this one! I would love to know if you also have the habit of doing this kind of sheet-pan meals! Let me know in the comments! 
Summer break is here and I've been struggling with adjusting to our new routine!
Well. the issue is that there is not an actual routine, which I must have to get some order in my daily life - the kids are having summer camp in alternate weeks so I'm with one of them all the time and the pressure of feeling like I have to get them out of the house for outdoor activities or other interesting things to do, instead of giving into TV and Ipad time is high! I also have to teach them how to figure things by themselves and try to occupy their own time without needing me all the time. Adding to this a lot of home chores, recipes on hold, reviews to write down and organizing our trip back to Portugal by the beginning of August...well, I'm just a mess all around. I know things will get better and summer really is a hard season for me. The constant reminder that I have to be perfect and that the house has to always look good, the cloths ironed and the kids well fed takes a toll on me and I'm trying to find a way to keep it all together. We all have bad days or weeks, it's just a matter of pushing through and trying to do the best we can. After all, we're just humans. Another thing that I've been struggling with, due to everything I've mentioned before, is creativity in the kitchen. I'm always trying to think of new dishes to cook and make them a bit more elaborate than everyday cooking looks like. To tell you the truth, I'm realizing that food doesn't have to be over complicated, it just has to be good, delicious and nutritious. Most of the times I think about putting some ingredients together in the most simple way, with basic condiments and spices and, if it works out it really is a great idea to publish it on the blog because, sometimes, people just need to get an idea of foods that go well together - specially in the summer, no one want to spend hours cooking a meal, right? We simply want to enjoy good food and spend time with family and friends, so choosing easy and quick meals is the right way to go! I've been sticking to a mainly whole foods diet and I'm looking into plant based diet too. I don't think I'll ever give up fish, meat and eggs completely but I'm seriously considering lowering down my animal protein consumption. I already try to have 2 plant-based days a week and it has been a great experience - I feel amazing and healthier than ever! I'm also educating myself and learning more and more about nutrition because there's nothing like getting information from clinical studies and educated people that have been studying the subject for decades. I'm currently devouring "The China Study", by T. Colin Campbell, PhD and his son Thomas M. Campbell II, MD. I'm trully enjoying this learning experience. So, yesterday I decided to cook up a delicious lunch bowl. I just opened the fridge, took a look at what I had in there and put this super yummy and nutritious lunch bowl together in just about half an hour. It rendered my about 4 meals which was pretty good for the amount of time I spent cooking. I decided to keep every cooked ingredient in a separate container because, I could combine it with different sides I had already cooked. That way I'll change up a bit my bowl every time I pick something from the containers! As you know I hat food boredom! I opted for spiralizing the butternut squash at home but you can buy it already spiralized it at the supermarket. It's more expensive to buy it already prepped but if you need convenience it's, obviously, the way to go. Ingredients:
1/2 a whole butternut squash
2 Tbsp olive oil salt, pepper and garlic powder 2 Tbsp freshly chopped basil leaves 3 Tbsp "The new primal" spicy marinade/cooking sauce 1 bunch kale 1/2 cup pine nuts 1/4 cup pepitas 1 Pederson's Farms no-sugar added smoked Kielbasa 1/2 cup fresh blueberries Preparation:
1 - Start by trimming the kale, chopping it roughly and washing it thoroughly. Reserve.
2 - Spiralize the butternut squash, which can be a bit of a hard task if you got a big one, like I did! You've got to cut the end of and peel the long part of the squash, which is the one that you'll be spiralizing, with a vegetable peeler. Reserve the remaining squash and dice it, store in a freezing bag and freeze to use in a different recipe. 3 - In a non-stick pan cook the sliced Kielbasa, in a Tbsp of olive oil, until it starts to get a brownish color. It's delicious when it starts to kind of caramelize, which is not the case because it doesn't have any sugar in it, but it's delicious! 4 - Reserve the cooked sausage and add the kale to the same pan to just toss it in the remaining fat. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and keep moving the kale around so it doesn't get overcooked. When the kale turns a dark green color add the pine nuts and pepitas and give it a final toss. Reserve the kale mix in a glass container. 5 - Add the second Tbsp of olive oil to the pan and cook the squash noodles. These will take about 7-8 minutes to get cooked in medium to high heat. Keep stiring them once in a while and when they start getting cooked add the cooking sauce/marinade. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, add the chopped basil and reserve. 6 - All the ingredients are cooked and you just need to assemble your lunch bowl. 
7 - In a large bowl add some of the butternut squash noodles to form a base. Add some of the kale and pine nut mix and some sausage slices. Add some extra pine nuts on top and some fresh blueberries for a burst of antioxidant goodness.
Enjoy! 
This is a great option to include on your weekly meal prep. Also, cook additional protein sources and veggies so you can build lots of different bowls throughout the week - having it all prepped and cooked on a Sunday night will, surely, make up for a stress free cooking week!
Just assemble your plate and bowl every time you need a meal and enjoy the different flavor combos - also, add some more fresh herbs to spruce up those flavors! Nothing like the scent of fresh herbs on a hot and delicious plate of food! 
As most of you, who read my blog, know I went through my first round of whole30. I started on January 29 and ended up doing a whole65. I wanted to do the proper reintroduction and have blood work done after finishing my round so I went on a bit longer to make sure that things like my cycle wouldn't influence the results of the blood tests or of the food groups reintroduction.
I was interested in the concept of eating solely whole foods and observing how my body would react - logically it could only be good and I also wanted to find the trigger foods for my chronic migraines. Having to live with migraines on a weekly basis (2-3/week) was disruptive and life altering. The episodes would lead to feeling sick, mood swings, not having enough patience for my kids at the end of the day... it was an overall bad situation, not only for myself but also for my whole family. What is the whole30?
If you have never hear of the whole30, the first and basic thing you need to know is that it is a food elimination process that is intended to let you know how different food groups affect you. After finishing a round you are supposed to do the reintroduction process, one food group at a time,
The program rules are simple: eat only real food and eliminate all processed food or additives. The first thing you'll need to do is clean your fridge and pantry in order to eliminate any non-compliant food. After that all you have to do is fill it up with whole natural foods and seasonings and eliminate the following for a 30 day period:
By now, if you weren't familiar with this process, you must be thinking:
"Wow! There are so many things that I can not eat!"
What about thinking about it the other way around:
"So, WHAT can I eat?"
The best thing to do is to look around and list all the produce you can eat, I assure you that you'll be able to find new favorites if you just leave your comfort zone for a while. There are a lot more vegetable options than broccoli and cauliflower! Nutrient dense green leaf greens, starchy veggies like sweet potato, peppers, lettuce, zucchini (great to make zoodles which go perfectly with home made marinara sauce!), butternut squash, green beans...there's a whole new world out there waiting for you to find it!
Before diving in, make sure you have all the information possible so that you feel comfortable enough to start the program and keep on track. The whole30website is perfect and has all the information you need. Basic advice, recipes, testimonials, everything is there.
One last thing you need to make sure you have mastered is the notion of the "whole30 plate template" that is the ratio of each food group you should incorporate in each meal. During the day you are to have 3 meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) with no snacking at all. Exceptions for pregnant women or if you're breastfeeding and also if you workout intensively which will make you incorporate several mini-meals throughout the day. In order to be satiated until your next meal and to get a balanced daily diet on the whole30 you should recreate the following plate:
Do you spot the "fat" portion of the plate? Be sure to get that healthy fat at every single meal and don't be afraid of it! We need good fat and it does wonders for our bodies. Just give the system a try and you'll see the benefits for yourself! I now know that I always have to incorporate a healthy fat in my meals (avocado, olives, coconut, nut butters) to feel satiated and to prevent mindless snacking before my next meal.
I'll briefly describe my 4 weeks in order to try to explain what I felt and noticed different in my body (and mind) during this whole process. Week 1 -
The first week was that thrill of starting something new and exciting!
I was preparing myself for a whole month before starting so I knew I had to meal prep in order to succeed - that was my first step. At the beginning of every week I knew I had compliant meals because I spent 2-3 hours on Sundays cooking and prepping all the meals I'd eat during the week. Having a beautifully stocked fridge on Sunday evening made me so happy! 
I made sure that I always had washed and chopped fresh veggies and fruit, some cooked meals, roasted vegetables, greens for salads/cooking and the rest of my family's meals scheduled so I could be assured to have compliant meals and no-stress weekdays. It's so worth it the work on Sunday!
This first week I felt lots of energy, since day 1! I think getting in the right mindset is key to a smooth whole30. If you enter this process thinking that it is an obligation you will not succeed - this is something that I did for my own good, to help my body find its balance and to make it cleaner and healthier. The advantages were all there for me and if to feel better I'd have to leave some foods behind I consider it a small price to pay for a happy and healthier life! I had one day in particular when I was mad at my husband, don't ask my why, but the good thing that came out of it was that I did't cave in and I didn't go for comfort through food! That was my first NSV (non-scale victory), for sure! I had some delicious meals and did not feel the need for snacking, at all. Maybe because my portions at breakfast were large I felt satiated longer and pretty confident about what I was feeding my body. I cooked this amazing fish and seafood soup with coconut cream and had it throughout the week. It is amazing and my 9 year old son loved it so much that I had to cook up a second batch! It freezes really well so you can double the recipe and freeze in individual portions to have a compliant meal on those busy days when you really don't have time to cook or strength to go into the kitchen! For lunch I had a small bowl and a salad and when I had it for dinner I added 1/2 avocado as the plated fat. 
On those first 2-3 days it was hard adjusting to this new meal template. We're used to the concept of "breakfast food"and abandoning that concept takes a while. After day 3 I was already good with it and it started feeling awesome to have such nutritious food for breakfast!
Isn't that a beautiful plate of food to start the day? 
I began practicing the concept of "eating the rainbow" - fill your plate with different colored foods to get an array of different vitamins and nutrients and to enrich your daily diet. Besides feeling great it looks so pretty on the plate!
For some inspiration you can look into my week 1 food journal and check out every meal I had during this week! Major findings during this first week of whole30:
Stressful situation - the only thing that was hard on me during this week was making toasted bread for my kids in the morning and spreading butter on it! I'm Portuguese and we LOVE bread...having to smell that scent in the morning or afternoon (after school) and not being able to eat it was really hard during these 7 days!
However, I persisted, stayed strong and carried on! Week 2 -
Another awesome week and I could only think that I was feeling happy all the time. Isn't that weird? I mean, I wasn't unhappy or miserable before but now everything just felt absolutely right! As soon as I'd wake up I'd feel great, super energized and ready to take on another whole30 day!
Every morning was crowned by a gorgeous breakfast and I realized that fueling our body right from the first hours after waking up is essential to keep the energy levels going throughout the day! My family kept find it a bit weird because they really weren't used to seeing breakfast food like this but I felt amazing and just wanted to keep on going! 
I remembered about smoked salmon and used it as my protein for breakfast and it was SO good! One of the major issues I see people battling with is "food boredom" - choosing a vast array of different foods (protein, fat and vegetables) allows you to fight this and to maybe, even, get to try new foods that you haven't even thought off, before!
I also made sure that I spent quality time with my breakfast, not shoving food down my throat! Thinking about what you're eating and taking time to properly enjoy breakfast became a priority and, even if that meant waking up 30 minutes earlier every morning, I did it because it made me feel good! I love food so it does make a lot of sense to enjoy it properly! I made a delicious "Pan seared cod with homemade tomato sauce" and added some more olives as the plated fat. This was a meal for the whole family...cooking different meals wasn't on my plan so whatever I cooked for me they also ate - what I did was cook the occasional rice or pasta for them instead of having just the vegetables. 
For lunch this week I had a lot of salads and tried to incorporate as many different veggies as I could. I maintained the fruit portions on 2 pieces a day and ALWAYS followed the meal template. On day 10 and 11 I felt a bit tired because I was on my cycle; I also felt a bit more hungry than usual but didn't cave in and opted for almond butter as plated fat at breakfast which I think helped a lot!
On my week 2 food journal I have pictures and description of every meal I had, so feel free to check that out and try to recreate some of the dishes by yourself. You won't be disappointed! 
Major findings during the second week of whole30:
Week 3 -
The first day of this week was my last one with the period and that was when I got my first migraine - worst day ever! One of the reasons I started this program was to find trigger foods for migraines and the good news is that this was my first episode during the program - before, I used to have 2 or 3 each week and these two whole weeks with none were surprising, to say the least!
So, with that being said, the first day of this week was the worst so far, with no energy at all and a full blown migraine banging on my head! After that everything returned to normal and by the following day I already had more energy and a clearer head! This week I had bacon for breakfast in a couple of days and it tasted so good! I started to think of this way of eating as a probable future lifestyle: it makes me feel great, my body is looking slender and amazing and, above all things, my mind is so clear that I can properly focus on what I'm doing all day long. If you had asked me before the whole30 I wouldn't tell you I had issues focusing but now that I'm realizing that I really did! Detoxing your body from fake stuff and fake food really has a great impact on our mind, that is clearer to me than ever before. 
I also stopped stressing so much about whether the program was working on not because I was feeling amazing and that was all that mattered. No scale can make you feel like that, only good, natural and nutritious food, so I decided to just enjoy it!
Feel free to look up my week 3 food journal to get some ideas and try something different for next week's meal prep! This was the week when I knew I would be having my gum surgery and that was kind of a bummer...however I decided to schedule it for my day 31 of the whole30 so I could do the whole full round. I started to think about soft food diet and I decided to really savor every meal I would have until then! What I felt during the third week of my whole30:
Week 4 -
With the finish line in sight the week went by too fast! The difference I felt from the other weeks was that I felt more tired but I was getting to my period week again and I attribute that to the hormonal changes - I usually start to have symptoms a week and a half before getting my period. Although I was more tired I can say that, as someone who usually has a lot of pain during this week, I felt like during the whole30 the symptoms were much more lighter and also my flow was lighter too. I know that a lot of ladies ask about this and these were my findings, regarding the period week: less pain, less bloating and less flow.
As for the food things were delicious, as usual! One of my favorite meals was the one I've pictured below - spaghetti squash with minced meat in home made marinara sauce, roasted asparagus, kalamata olives and plain blueberries. So good and so pretty! When they say 'we eat with our eyes' I couldn't agree more. Just look at that gorgeous meal, doesn't it look absolutely amazing?! 
I was so happy to be able to eat proper food because I got the news that after having my gum surgery I would have to be on a soft food diet for 6-8 weeks! That's a pretty long time...
I also knew that I wanted to do the proper reintroduction so that would mean that I would have to carry on doing the whole30 until after my post-op soft food diet so I could reintroduce foods properly and identify the ones that wouldn't agree with me. I was in for a treat! I tend to overthink things like procedures like this one and that was what happened - the result was a week of restless sleep, feeling tired almost all the time and, at the same time, feeling very apprehensive about it all. In the meantime I kept cooking my meals and doing meal prep on Sunday, which I kept pointing out as one of my biggest tips for a successful program. On my week 4 food journal you can see my meals with pictures and description of everything I ate. As for my findings I'll leave these ones for the main conclusion because it really reflects all of my whole30 and it should be read as a whole conclusion of the total period doing the whole30. Laser gum surgery
As I've already explained I had to have laser gum surgery done in two different procedures. On the first one I had my whole left side done and one the second one (10 weeks later) I had the upper right side done. All I can say is that it is not pleasant...it's not worth drawing flowers around the situation, it's uncomfortable and, if you do it while on the whole30, it is even more complicated in terms of foods you can eat.
I'm working on a specific blog post on soft food diet during the whole30 so I won't be going into much detail here. What I can say is that I looked at what I could eat/drink and made it compliant - for example, smoothies are not allowed on the whole30 but in this case I had no choice given that on the third day eating liquid soup for breakfast I was already gagging and getting it all out! So, I had to brace myself and go for it! I used what I knew was good for me, like bone broth and high quality protein that the doctor recommended as a post-op recovering aid. It really was hard and by the second week I was discouraged and didn't feel like eating at all. I lost even more weight than I already had until then (more on that on the post conclusions) but I really couldn't make myself eat more food. It was hard! Blood tests after the whole30
Since I had started the program I had the idea of doing a check-up at the end and have some blood work done.
I confess that one if the things that I was fearing the most was cholesterol - due to eating so many eggs. I had already read that it has already been proven that the cholesterol from eggs does NOT influence our cholesterol, which is mainly driven by genetic factors and other food interactions. Also, I had always bought organic eggs precisely due to the fact of eating more of them lately. Even so the doubt was there. Now, after having read tons of information and watching some documentaries with lots of scientific background studies I see that when we are "fed" the same recurrent message or information over decades it is hard to accept that those ideas were wrong and that the reality is different. It takes a strong person to change but when you have scientific evidence before you, I mean, I don't need anything else to believe the facts. I won't publish my values because I consider them personal information and I really don't have a base to compare them with because I didn't have previous blood work to compare. Let me tell you - my doctor was so surprised with the results that she even asked my what I was doing, even being a young and healthy woman!
Alongside the blood work I also did a sensitivity test. I found a company online that uses strands of hair and I decided to try this out, after all, what harm could it do? I wanted to have this information in my power AFTER my reintroduction period so I could compare the results I had gotten with the results from the sensitivity tests and find out if they matched.
Reintroduction period -
I decided to do the reintroduction of the different food groups on the final period of my post-op soft food diet. Because of that, I had to change the order of some food groups to be able to try them according to the sensitivity I had on my healing gum - I didn't want to get anything ruined but I also wanted to be sure of the effects that food had on me!
I decided to follow the 10 day reintroduction schedule but, as said, changing the order of some of the food groups. 
Source: https://whole30.com
I'll list the food groups I reintroduced and what were my symptoms after doing it, or for the next couple of days so you can have a feeling of what you might also feel if you try these elimination program. This is something very personal, we are all different and our bodies react differently to the same foods. It's just a matter of doing the experiment and seeing what foods make you feel good or bad!
At the end of the day I was feeling good and thinking that, maybe, the only thing I would be would be some bloating...was I wrong or what?! When I woke up on the next day I felt like I had been run over by a train!
I had pain all over my body, getting up was a hurdle and every movement I had to make was painful...for real, if I hadn't experienced this myself I wouldn't believe it. I had back pain like I used to have before getting my spine surgery...it was really intense and that just goes to show me that, at least for me, dairy is out of the question due to its high inflammatory effects. Truth be told, the only dairy I used to have was butter and ice cream once in a while. From now on I'm perfectly comfortable with other options like ghee and vegan ice cream, if I ever decide to try it out. Nowadays there are so many options out there that you'll always have options regarding the different food groups or diets you follow.
I didn't reintroduce alcohol because I don't drink alcohol. The exception will be the occasional cooked dish with a small amount of cooking wine but that is so sporadic that it doesn't even bother me. Other than that I don't drink, at all. It was really interesting to get my sensitivity tests results after doing the reintroduction and noticing that there were things that really did match. Others were a surprise for me and I'll keep having those foods since the effects of consuming them are not serious or almost noticeable. I tested for high intolerance (at least 85%) to the following foods:
There were also other foods like a specific variety of apple but these were the ones that I think are most interesting and the ones that I should focus on more. As for dairy and wheat I had already noticed from the reintroduction phase that I didn't react well to them and that my body had a negative response - either pain (inflammatory response for dairy) or by inducing a migraine (in the case of gluten grains). I had already decided to eliminate these two groups from my daily diet but it was somewhat reassuring to know that this can be supported by this testing. Although it is not a 100% certain result test method I think it helps us to get some more information. As for the salmon I was really shocked! I've always loved salmon and during my whole30 I had it several times and never felt anything weird or wrong after eating it. What I've read about the symptoms of eating salmon when having a high intolerance to it was that it can manifest itself through scaling of the skin, like eczema. I noticed that my right hand, specifically, had been getting worse during these last few weeks and it could be because of that. Even so, I don't consider it so bad or harmful that will make me eat less salmon and the same goes for the olives. I love them and will continue to use them a source of good fat on my daily diet. Findings and conclusion
This really was a journey of self discovery!
I got to try a new way of eating, I began a new eating routine but doing this whole30 showed me that it is way much more than just something about food. It's a deep process of re-setting your mindset towards food and life in general. As I've mentioned before, along the way, I noticed the impact that the changes I made to complete this program had on my behavior, general mood and overall wellness indicators. As I started to go on a whole foods diet I started thinking clearly and feeling more positive and energetic. I had a sense of calmness that reassured me something that is pretty obvious but that you'll only perceive if you try something like this - real food heals, real food is good for you, real food is what your body needs to keep your mind healthy and thriving through good and bad times. Whenever I would be faced with a challenge or a situation with which I wasn't comfortable with I was able to turn the situation in my favor and resolve it in a calm and orderly manner. I learned that I start to be more patient with my kids, I wasn't yelling at them as I would before and that everything needed to be more calm and peaceful in my household. My husband also noticed it and mentioned that to me, which was pretty reassuring and satisfying for me. Physically, the changes are huge! Of course I've lost weight and that was also favored by my post-op period from my gum surgeries in which I had to have 13 weeks of soft foo diet. Even so, after resuming my regular whole foods diet I've maintained my weight which has never happened before! Since starting in January I've lost 22 lbs and I'm now at my fittest as an adult as I've ever been. I've been struggling with weight issues for a LONG time and to know that I can be at my fittest without making any sacrifices and eating the foods that I want and crave makes this experience so much more rewarding than I ever thought possible. For decades I would hear those voices that we all hear, through TV commercials, magazines or on social media:
"Stay away from fat! Eat only fat-free food!"
"If you want to loose weight count calories - if you burn more than you eat you will loose weight, for sure!"
"Eat small portions of food throughout the day, no big meals!"
Those messages that we are fed for so many decades really do us harm and don't help us at all. What I've learned is exactly the opposite of that and I'll keep sharing it with my readers, family and friends so that all of you can, too, try to get to a point where you don't feel like food is the enemy. Food is your friend and food can heal, just choose the most natural way of eating and it can only do you so much good!
Eat real food
Do not base your grocery shopping on boxed items, they are full of chemicals and fake stuff! Eat generous but balanced meals made up from excellent protein, colorful veggies and fat! Good fat, eat it and enjoy it because it makes you so much good that you're blood work will get A+ Avocado, olives, nuts, nut butters, olive and avocado oil are amazing good fat choices, use them! Eat the rainbow at every meal and you'll beat any multivitamin that comes off from a bottle! Eat loads of different dark leafy greens to get vitamins and calcium in highly absorbable levels!
With all that being said I feel great about my natural daily diet and I'm currently looking into Paleo diet as a lifestyle. Keeping things and meals the simplest possible really makes me feel really good, healthy and energetic, so why would I want to change that?!
The only thing that keeps holding me back from being 100% Paleo, at the moment, is the fact that I love hummus! I usually have it a couple of times a week and I do get it why legumes are out of the Paleo lifestyle but I'll have to contemplate the options and decide what to do. Maintaining a good gut health and avoiding foods that cause leaky gut are a priority for me, now that I've learned so much about nutrition and about the impact that food can have on our lives. I've also tried to incorporate, at least two days a week, a plant-based day. Eating just plants has proven to be an excellent way to feel even more in touch with myself and to have clearer thoughts and I'm loving all this things that I'm learning through food. Experimentation really is an amazing tool and I couldn't be happier with this experiment that has gone through almost 6 months. So, eating grass-fed and grass-finished meat, sustainable wild caught fish, organic eggs, lots of veggies and fruit, tree nuts and raw unfiltered honey have been my guidelines after finishing my round. I just have the issue with legumes to look into but if I don't even miss oats anymore I believe I can do that with legumes too, as long as it is for the sake of a better life and healthier future. I'm also taking the time to teach my kids about food and the importance of making good choices for their present and future health. I don't impose them any specific diet but they do have veggies with every meal and they love fruit. I also know that I'm passing on to them the right concepts and I trust them to carry them on through their lives and practice what I teach them. Should you do a whole30 round?
I would recommend everyone to do a whole30 round!
As we all know it is not a weight loss diet. It isn't a diet at all. It is a reset program built to let your body detoxify itself from all the junk and fake stuff that we usually have through processed foods. Keeping a natural diet will help you achieve so many things beyond weight loss: no more inflammation, no more migraines, no more metabolic issues due to an imbalanced nutrient intake. With the reintroduction program you will be able to determine which foods don't do you any good and remove them from your diet. It will always be an option and a single round may not be enough, specially if your previous daily diet was loaded with sugar and carbs. No matter how many rounds you need, the most important thing is to START! Put yourself first, put your health first because all you feel it's wrong with you can be changed by changing what you eat. We really are what we eat - I see that now, more clearly than ever! Give this program a try and see for yourself how amazing it can be, how good you can feel about yourself and share it with other so they can also have a glimpse of what they can achieve, without medication, fake vitamins or more chemicals pumped in our system.
Go natural, go back to our basic diet and feel like a million bucks!
I really hope that this posts inspires you to start or to continue your journey and I would love to know about your personal experience with going on a natural diet.
Feel free to comment or to reach out through my email, either way I'll love to know your personal experience!  I love salads and they really are my first choice for warm weather meals. This was my first attempt at a chicken salad with mayo since I usually don't use it and prefer simpler seasonings. I had gotten a Primal Kitchen avocado mayo to try out so I decided to use it and it really came out perfectly balanced and not overpowering, as I thought it would be with regular mayo. I chose Boston living lettuce leaves because they are big and sturdy enough to hold the salad, in case you really want to ditch the fork and eat it like a taco! It's a pretty portable meal either way - carry it in a glass container and enjoy a fresh burst of flavors and textures either eating with a fork or getting adventurous and grabbing your lettuce taco by hand! This was done as a Whole30 meal, hence the brand of marinade I used, but you can always choose another brand or make your own marinade if you're not following this specific food elimination program. Either way this step of marinating the meat you'll make for a super tasty chicken that will, in itself, elevate this simple chicken salad to the next level. There is nothing worse than plain, boring chicken breast meat, right?! I hope you get to try this because it is delicious, simple and easy to make. It's a perfect meal for summer days and if you choose to carry it out don't forget to pack some ice packs around your container to make sure that everything stays safe on warm weather days. The textures and falvors go perfectly together and the crunchiness from the celery is the perfect complement for the creamy mayo and the sweet grapes. What a perfect flavor/texture combo! Write down your grocery shopping list and get this recipe on this week's menu for the whole family! Ingredients:Boston living lettuce leaves (trimmed and thoroughly washed) 1 lb chicken breast 1/3 bottle of "The Primal Kitchen" classic marinade or cooking sauce 1 carrot 3 small celery sticks 1 tsp garlic powder 1 + 1/2 cup seedless grapes 1/2 cup walnuts 1 cup Primal Kitchen avocado mayo (you can substitute for your favorite brand) salt, pepper at taste 1 Tbsp olive oil (to cook the chicken) Preparation:1 - Start by marinating the chicken in "The New Primal Kitchen" classic marinade and cooking sauce. If you're using whole chicken breasts, like I did, cut them in smaller bite-sized portions and place them in a glass container, covering with the marinade so that the whole chicken gets covered. Close the lid and keep in the fridge for about 2 hours. Alternatively you can buy the chicken strips instead of the whole breast in order to save some time with the prepping. 2 - Grill the chicken in some olive oil, adding the rest of the marinade as you go. Reserve the cooked chicken in a bowl, letting it cool down completely in order to start making the salad. You can also do this two first steps a day ahead so you can have everything ready to go when you want to make your salad. 3 - Peel and shred the carrot, wash and roughly chop the celery, adding them to a big bowl where you're going to build your salad and mix all the ingredients. Add the cooled chicken pieces. 4 - Wash the seedless grapes, pat them dry and cut them in half. Add these to the salad bowl with the walnuts. Add the mayo to the bowl and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and freshly chopped dill. Mix everything together and taste it so you can see if you need to make any adjustments at this time. 5 - Platting - I love serving salads like this over lettuce leaves and I used Boston living lettuce because of its broad and large leaves which are perfect for this! Serve the salad on a plate, over the lettuce leaves.  I also prepared the rest of the salad in glass meal prep containers so I could have extra meals prepared and ready to grab and go. There's nothing like meal prep to make you feel prepared for a healthy and pretty good tasting week of meals!  In this particular case I ended up sharing my chicken salad with some friends. I mean, it's one of the things that makes me feel better - to share what I cook with others and see their reaction. My love for food is closely tied too my love for sharing my passion for cooking and healthy habits so the best thing to do is to share! This is an example of a very simple meal and, of course, you can always add some other ingredients that you fancy or use other seasonings. From the basic recipe build up your chicken salad and make a super refreshing meal to your whole family over this next week!  .Breakfast! The first meal of the day and, as many say, the most important one. After having been without food for a considerable number of hours our body needs nutritious biological fuel to start waking up our metabolism and to give us energy to kick start a new day with a positive mindset. While I was on the whole30 I had to rethink my idea of "breakfast". It was no longer the meal filled with cereal, bread or milk to what I had been accustomed to. For me it was relatively easy to change my perspective and try to face this meal as any meal out of the other two I would have during the day - it was a meal that, according to the whole30 plate template, would necessarily have to include protein, vegetables, a plated healthy fat and the occasional piece of fruit. The first instinct is to choose eggs and, believe me, I LOVE eggs! Having a couple of beautiful, organic, deep orange yolked eggs in my plate seems like the perfect start to any weekday! But the idea of having the same thing everyday, over and over again, can become really old and give room to "food boredom" which is one of my worst enemies! It makes me feel like I no longer enjoy food and while I do eat healthy and try to always make good choices I love a filled plate of gorgeous food for breakfast as you've probably noticed if you have read any of my food journals, like this one: whole30-week-2-food-journal.html. A lot of people who I talk to come to me with the same question: What can I have for breakfast that doesn't include eggs? I can't stand eggs anymore! Well, the quick answer is to tell you that you can have ANYTHING for breakfast, it doesn't have to be eggs! I used to have leftovers from dinner or lunch from the previous day but I know that ii's also good to have some "recipes" that you can get into your Sunday meal prep and feel more organized during the week, just in case you end up with no leftovers from your meals. The last thing you want if you're doing a whole30 round is find yourself unprepared and with no compliant options. Having to grab something quick that may not be satiating enough might lead to mindless snacking or poor choices which is precisely what we want to avoid during this reset program. So, I came up with a bunch of links to delicious and mouth watering breakfast options that don't include eggs. Enjoy and take a look at these delicious and colorful suggestions to start your day right and full of nutritious food! 1. Sweet potato skillet, by "Confessions of a Clean Foodie"  Credit: Confessions of a Clean Foodie I've been following this blog for a while as well as the author's Instagram account and I am a confessed huge fan! I so identify myself with her values and her looks on healthy food and eating clean. You will need a spiralizer for this recipe but if you haven't bought one already it's the perfect time to do it! It's one of the kitchen tools I use the most and makes including veggies into your meals even more easy and practical. Zoodles are a favorite of mine and I'm getting the kids on board too, sometimes I'm switching pasta by zoodles and everyone loves it. It's a super easy recipe that gets everything in the same pan which is perfect - one utensil to clean up and I'm pretty happy about it! You can prepare this over the weekend and even double the recipe, depending on the number of people who you're cooking to and then keep it refrigerated to use as you go. 2. Spinach, mushroom and cherry tomato fry up, by "Eat Drink Paleo"  Credit: Eat Drink Paleo This is a combo that I love! Spinach and mushrooms really do belong together and I'll try to add the tomatoes next time I do something like this because it looks absolutely stunning! You can always add some more veggies, if you like, and add a piece of fruit like an apple with almond butter for the platted fat. 3. Kale, sausage and pepper skillet, by "Primal Gourmet"  Credit: Primal Gourmet Just take a look at those sausages? Doesn't that make you want to have a full plate of wholesome food for breakfast?! Sausage and peppers are a great combo and pairing them up with some leafy greens is perfect to get part of your daily dose of vegetables in the first part of the day. I would definitely add some chopped avocado on top for extra creaminess! 4. Whole30 breakfast hash, by "Tasty Thin"  Credit: Tasy Thin This kind of breakfast hash is the most common option and useful one if you have a lot of veggies and root vegetables that you want to cook up in just one skillet. Add your protein, choose your favorite healthy fat and finish with a small piece of fruit. Adding different colored veggies makes it fun to the kids to get involved in the cooking process and in trying new flavors! 5. Breakfast Pot Pie, by "The Castaway Kitchen"  Credit: The Castaway Kitchen I did not know about this recipe when I was still on my round but now that I've found it I will absolutely make it because it looks absolutely delicious and comforting! This is another blog that I follow, mainly through Instagram, and it's always a source of inspiration and excellent healthy recipes and ideas. It is a bit elaborate and you have to make the cashew or the cauliflower cream (see notes by the author) but I bet it's absolutely worth it! Once again, you can always prep ahead and have this done for the week. It's just a matter of organization and meal prep! 6. Paleo Bison Plantain Breakfast Bowl, by "Fed+Fit"  Credit: Fed+Fit I love breakfast bowls! In fact, I tend to prefer eating from a bowl than from a plate...since finishing my whole30 round I notice that I eat less and the size of a regular bowl is perfect for a meal, at least for myself. My husband would take two bowls, for sure! As for the meat you can use whatever compliant ground meat you have available and substitute the bison. It really looks yummy and makes you feel hungry just by looking at the picture, right?! 7. Zucchini and sweet potato latkes, by "I Breath I'm Hungry"  Credit: "I Breath I'm Hungry" I know, I know! When you click on the link and start reading through the recipe you see an EGG on top of the latkes! Forget about the egg, since we're on a egg-free recipe journey and substitute it with another protein of your choice. Smoked salmon would work perfectly here alongside with some fresh and peppery arugula. Doesn't that sound better? Usually we think sausage, bacon, ground meat but forget about the smoked salmon and it is such a perfect protein source. Just give it a try and you might be surprised! 8. Butternut squash breakfast sausage, by "Real Food with Dana"  Credit: "Real Food with Dana" I love combining fruit with meat and this combo just looks perfect for a breakfast dish! Add some grilled or sauteed veggies from your Sunday meal prep (yes, I'll keep insisting on meal prep because that is ESSENTIAL to make you stay on track and always have healthy options available!). Particularly apples work great with turkey or chicken and give that sweet/sour contrast that goes perfectly with the meat flavors. I love Dana's recipes and views on whole30 and she is also another blogger that I follow and admire. 9. Collard green wraps, by "The Castaway Kitchen"  Credit: The Castaway Kitchen Wraps are a great option, either for breakfast, lunch or dinner! They are also very versatile because you can really utilize whatever ingredients you have on hand and it's also the perfect use for those "cleaning fridge" days - whatever vegetables you have left, grilled chicken or salmon, just throw everything together and make it a wrap! Also, I've seen a lot of collard greens wraps made with the raw leaves and it always seemed kind of hard to assemble that way: getting them in boiling water and cooling them sown afterwards seems like the perfect solution. 10. Egg-free paleo breakfast bowls, by "Simone Miller's Zenbelly"  Credit: Simone Miller's Zenbelly This bowls are so easy to put together and it's one of those recipes that you can make them your own by replacing some of the veggies by the ones you have sitting in the fridge before they go bad! Use different proteins and seasonings to have variety do you don't get stuck with the same breakfast every day for a week. Stay away from food boredom! 11. Yam, celery root and bacon hash, by "Rubies and Radishes"  Credit: Rubies and Radishes I love skillet meals! I don't know what it is that fascinates me but a round pan filled with good veggies and tasty bacon sounds like the perfect breakfast option right now! Just make sure to choose a whole30 compliant no-sugar bacon to stay on program. I love green veggies so I would definitely add some chopped kale or Swiss chard to this beautiful root vegetable skillet! 12. Mango chicken breakfast sausage, by "HeartBeetKitchen"  Credit: HeartBeetKitchen Making your own breakfast sausages is a great Sunday meal prep idea! Aside from the fact that you can add your own seasonings and add-ons, you can also double batch and freeze the patties so you can use them as you need them! This sound absolutely delicious with the diced mango and simple ingredients. Have them in the morning with a salad and 1/2 avocado for the healthy plated fat portion. 13. Sausage and sweet potato Paleo egg-free breakfast, by "Paleo Bailey"  Credit: Paleo Bailey Another great skillet meal and this comes with the suggested plated fat, avocado! That creaminess from the avocado with the richness of the sausage and the freshness of the green onions seems like the perfect combo! Give this a try and you'll be surprised at how easy this recipe is and how tasty your mornings can become. Get this all prepped on Sunday and reheat during the week. 14. Sausage and cabbage, by "Life Made Full"  Credit: "Life Made Full" Is there anyone who doesn't like sausage and cabbage? t's such a comforting dish! Just make sure to use compliant sausage and serve this up with some cheery tomatoes and olives! A different but truly indulgent way to start any day! 15. Pumpkin breakfast apple bake, by "Wholesomelicious"  Credit: Wholesomelicious This recipe is last on the list for a specific reason. We all know that whole30 discourages the recreation of baked goods and I can see that this looks just like one of those cases. I also know that, sometimes, we just really need something different to get through another day and it's just not about giving into the sugar dragon, it's about needing to have something different that day or something that it's more convenient to eat on the go. It's funny how I've discovered this recipe. Actually I didn't! Through my whole30 I met someone on the Facebook group and we went on helping each other out and supporting each other through our journey. When I went through my first gum surgery I was really demoralized during my post-op weeks and was so fed up with soups, smoothies (I had to take them because of my restricted soft food diet - even though discouraged if they are compliant it's still a whole30) and scrambled eggs that I really didn't feel like eating...at all! So, my friend sent me the link to this recipe and I did it with shredded apples and no nuts because of my post-op restrictions. I can only tell you that this was a life saver for my 8 weeks of restricted soft food diet and I think it might help other people that are also looking for alternatives for whatever reason that may be. I hope everyone finds these suggestions helpful and I would love to know if you tried to cook some of them at home. Don't forget that whether you are doing a whole30 or not, MEAL PREP is essential for a healthy diet and allows you to make the right choices for yourself and for your whole family. Spending a couple of hours on Sunday cooking up for the majority of the rest of the week may also free you up from that daily stress of figuring out what to cook! If you are struggling with this issue go back to my blog post about meal prep, here, and read it thoroughly so you can get into the right mindset. Also, the post about whole30 essentials is a must for anyone starting a whole30, just to get the basics of the program. You can look it up here. Let me know if there's anything you would like to see posted here on the blog and keep me on your saved links because sharing is caring and we can all use some advice from one another. Any questions you may have just drop me an email or comment on this post! 
I've been wanting to try the Virgin Bay Seafood Co. salmon burger since the moment I got it! With the gum surgeries recovery time it got hard to try new recipes with the products I had but now that I can eat everything again I'm getting to try some new and delicious recipes and sharing them with all of you once more!
I had two 1 lb packages of salmon meat to use and I decided to make salmon cakes. A very simple and easy recipe that you can whip up with wholesome ingredients that only bring out the natural flavor of the salmon, which is the star of the dish. It was done as a Whole30 meal because I've become accustomed to using only natural foods and condiments - it really makes cooking such an easy and fun activity! Just choose some tasty seasonings, add some fresh herbs and I assure you you'll have a pretty tasty and nutritious meal for yourself and for your family! I cooked the cakes in some avocado oil on a ceramic pan and I got them with a nice golden crunchy crust! I first cooked the plain salmon cakes which I did for the kids, since they don't fancy peppers, and then I cooked the pepper salmon cakes which got so yummy with that brown and tasty outside coating! This is the perfect recipe for a relaxed weekday dinner - you can prep everything ahead of time and then freeze the cakes/patties to have them on hand and cook them whenever you need to! I used my Tupperware accessory that I bought when I was still living in Portugal. It's funny because I bought it to make homemade hamburgers but just used them once for that specific purpose! Now that I remembered to pick it up for this salmon recipe I'll use it again for sure. It is super practical and it allows me to freeze up to 5 individual portions; I can then take and cook portions as I go and leave the others in the freezer. Convenience at its best! 
As I've mentioned before, I did two variations of the salmon cakes: one plain (just with the salmon meat, almond flour and seasonings such as salt, pepper and garlic powder) and the other with peppers which turned out really flavorful and aromatic.
It's a very costumizable recipe too because you can really add any ingredient, seasoning or fresh herb you prefer! In cooking these kind of dishes there are no rights or wrongs! Just pick your flavors and start making your own salmon cakes recipe! Also, I used a package of frozen rainbow peppers because I had it in the freezer but it's perfectly fine to use fresh peppers, just use whatever you've got available. I always try to make sure that I have, at least, four different varieties of frozen vegetables in the freezer to make sure that I don't run out of veggie options. Some Whole30 habits remain forever and I consider them a plus! Ingredients:
2 lbs salmon meat (I used the Virgin Bay Seafood Co. which you can findhere)
juice of 1 lime fresh herbs (I used basil and parsley) 6 Tbsp almond flour salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced 1 small package of rainbow peppers 1 tsp red pepper flakes 1 Tbsp olive oil Avocado oil to cook the salmon cakes (about 1 Tbsp should be enough) 
Preparation:
1 - Start by defrosting the salmon meat and the pepper mix overnight in the fridge.
2 - Prepare the pepper mix for the pepper salmon cakes. Cook the sliced onion in a pan with olive oil and when it gets softened add the strained rainbow peppers trying to remove as much of the water as possible to prevent the mix to become soggy in the pan. I did this by pressing the peppers though a mesh sieve and pressing a bit to remove all the excess liquid. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and let the vegetables cook for about 10-15 minutes or until they start to get a brownish color which means that their flavor is really coming out and they're ready. 3 - Reserve the pepper mix on a plate and let it cool to start making the salmon cakes. 4 - Place the salmon meat on a bowl and season with salt, garlic powder and the freshly chopped herbs. Separate into two smaller bowls, one for the plain cakes and one for the pepper ones. 5 - Add 3 Tbsp of almond flour to the salmon meat and form balls using your hands. If you see that the mix is too wet add a bit more of almond flour until you can form the balls and they retain the shape. Place them on a plate and flatten them a bit. Reserve. 
6 - Place the pepper mix on a chopping board and using a sharp knife cut them pretty finely or at your desired size. Don't over chop to prevent excess liquid. Add the peppers and the lime juice to the salmon meat and add 3 Tbsp of almond flour adjusting this amount, if needed. I also added some extra red pepper flakes to this ones because I just love a bit of heat on my salmon!
7 - First I filled my Tupperware containers with these salmon mix and pressed down on each compartment to make sure that I would have well defined patties. I used a small spoon to make sure that I was able to press down every single bit of salmon mix. With the rest of the salmon mix I formed small balls and did exactly like I had done with the plain salmon patties. 
After having these perfectly shaped and pressed down I pilled them up on top of each other and finished with the plastic lid to seal them up. Ready for the freezer!
8 - To cook the salmon cakes heat up some olive oil in a non-stick pan and place them on medium heat until they're cooked on one side which takes about 3 minutes and flip them over to finish cooking on the other side. The cooking time will also depend on the thickness of the patties, the thinner they are the faster they'll cook up. Don't overfill the pan to make sure that the temperature stays pretty constant.
9 - Remove the cooked salmon cakes from the pan, add some more olive oil, if needed, and continue cooking all your salmon cakes. 10 - Serve the salmon cakes with grilled veggies or a fresh and colorful salad and enjoy! A bit of lime juice on top is also perfect for a final touch of freshness. 
This delicious meal pictured below was amazingly refreshing on a warm spring day! Coleslaw with roasted potatoes, Brussels sprouts, roasted garlic sauerkraut and an amazing and quite spicy pepper salmon cake!
And you know what the best part of all this is? I have four more delicious salmon cakes in the freezer for a lazy day when I don't feel like cooking but still want to have a healthy and satisfying meal. 
What about you? Do you like salmon?
What are your favorite ways to cook it up and serve it at your house?  At our house we love fish and seafood and try to have it, at least, 2 times a week. When we were living back in Portugal we had a much more fish based diet - fish is very abundant and cheaper also, which allows people to have a higher access to fish. We used to have mainly cold water fish, from the Atlantic because that's what we get over there. A lot of grilled salmon, steamed whitening, grilled sword fish and sardines, in the summer time! When we moved to the US I really got hit with the reality that we had to cut down, maybe by half, the weekly fish based meals due to the higher buying price. There are cheaper varieties and I used to buy them once in a while but now that my perception of food has changed I really try to make good food choices, like buying wild-caught fish instead of farmed varieties. The quality of the food we eat really impacts our health and well being and, if making better choices gets us having a couple of great quality fish meals a week that's perfectly fine by me. I'm still looking for a local fish market to buy sustainable and wild-caught fish so if anyone from around Scotch Plains has a regular place where they use to go and recommend, please send me a message or write down a comment on this blog post so I can check the place out and maybe even feature it on the blog, on the "local businesses" section. For this recipe I used the Virgin Bay Sea Food Co. wild-caught rock fish and it worked out perfectly! A firm white fish, sturdy enough to incorporate in a stew without loosing shape or flavor. This kind of dish really is a hearty and healthy meal - incorporating potatoes and peppers allows for you to have the vegetables along with the meal and cooking everything in just one pot makes it a winner for any home cook, right? Keeping things simple during the week is my most precious motto for weekday meals. Don't complicate and use simple but great quality ingredients and you'll do just fine and won't have to stress about cooking that much. I cooked the stew in a big pot and used 4 big portions of rock-fish which was enough for 8 individual servings.  Ingredients:1 big sweet onion, diced 3 grated garlic cloves 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 celery stalks, trimmed and diced 2 carrots, peeled finely chopped 4 large ripe tomatoes 1 small orange bell pepper, washed and diced 1 Tbsp tomato paste * 2 Tbsp parsley 2 bay leaves salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and garlic powder * 1/2 fennel bulb, washed and thinly sliced juice of half a lemon 4 large rock fish fillets 1 lb frozen wild-caught mussels * 2 large white potatoes, washed and diced in big chunks 2 sweet potatoes, peeled, washed and diced in big chunks bone broth * to cover the vegetables (I used about 4 cups) Dill to season at your discretion * To make this dish Whole30 complain just make sure that this ingredients are compliant by reading the ingredient list on the package/can. Preparation:1 - In a big pot add the olive oil and when it gets to a good temperature add the onion and the garlic to cook them lightly. Add the bell pepper, the carrots and the celery and give it a good mix to combine all the vegetables. Let this cook in medium heat for about 8 minutes or until the vegetables get soft. 2 - Add the washed and diced tomatoes, the tomato paste, the bone broth and the thinly sliced fennel. Give this a stir and add the seasonings and the herbs - salt, pepper, garlic powder, red pepper flakes (I used 1 tsp), the bay leaves and the freshly chopped parsley. Let this cook in slow heat and with a lid on, for about 25 minutes. 3 - Add the chopped potatoes and cook for an additional 8 minutes and after that add the fish cut up in big chunks and the mussels. Season the fish with some salt and lemon juice. 4 - Cook with a tightly closed lid to get the fish cooked, around 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the chopped dill on top of the stew. 5 - Let the stew cool down a bit for a couple of minutes without the lid (so it doesn't overcook!) and serve it in individual soup plates with some of the broth. If you you're not doing a Whole30 round feel free to have a sliced baguette to go with the soup, it'll go amazingly with the broth!  This is the absolute warm weather comfort food for me! I love salads and cold food too but a fish stew will always get to me! The combination of flavors is just mouth watering and, honestly, I can not wait to cook a batch of this scrumptious stew again! As a plus, my kids loved it which makes it even better since cooking two different meals, one for us and one for the kids, was never an option around here!  Give this amazing meal a try and let me know how it went and if the whole family enjoyed it as much as I did!  I've got this thing with butternut squash - I love it when it's cooked by me but whenever I ask for it when I'm eating out it seems to never come out quiet as good! I do love to play with different flavors and textures and I think that's what so amazing about cooking - you can always try something out of the ordinary, think outside the box: in most cases it works out pretty darn well! This was a side dish that I tried while I was still on my Whole30. It goes perfectly well with meat, either grilled or roasted and, as a plus, the kids had the apples and walnuts as a dessert and it was a hit! They are not fans of squash but they tried it, as I always make sure they do every time I cook up something new and different. It's extremely important to expose them to all kinds of foods and ingredients and they will only know if they like it by trying it, right? Ingredients:1 butternut squash 5 medium apples 1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans juice of 1/2 lemon 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon salt and pepper to taste 1 tsp garlic powder 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley Preparation:1 - Preheat the oven to 450 F. 2 - Start by preparing the butternut squash: cut it in half with a well sharped knife. Peel the squash and hollow the inside of each half and discard the seeds. Put the squash in a baking tray and cut some deep cuts (not going all the way through) like seen in the pictures. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and finish with the freshly chopped parsley. 3 - Evenly distribute the olive oil between the two squash halves. I use the spray bottle which makes it a lot easier to control the amount of fat I'm using in my cooking. It''s my usual way of getting the fat in my roasted veggies too, the spray is wonderful and you won't get too much fat in your cooking. 4 - Prepare the apple mix: wash the apples and cut them in quarters. Take off the seeds and stems and cut in big chunks or slices, whichever you prefer. Place the apples in a bowl and drizzle the lemon juice to help prevent the oxidation on the apple. Add the cinnamon and the chopped pecans and mix everything really well. 5 - Place the apple mix on the baking tray alongside the squash and bake for about 35 minutes or until the butternut squash gets golden as well as the apples. Don't cut the apples in small pieces or you'll end up with burnt apples! Not good!  As you can see, this recipe is extremely simple and can serve as a side for so many dishes or as an add-on to a simple salad and turn it into something completely different! If you're not doing a Whole30 round you can also drizzle some honey right at the end of the cooking time to give it a sweet natural touch and it'll turn out perfect too!
Next time I'll add some more nuts and apples to make sure that I have enough to eat this as a side and to have enough dessert for my kids! They went through this like crazy - better have the sweet tooth satisfied with some fruit and nuts than with some high sugar candy, right?  Wow! A lot has been happening around here and, unfortunately, I haven't had the time to update the blog as I had liked to but...that's life. Sometimes we get everything under control and sometimes we just have to roll with what we've got! I've been cooking up some delicious recipes which have made up for the endless weeks of soft food diet that I had to go through, after my gum surgery! How I've missed REAL food! To be able to chew and to savor, really savor, every bite of a perfectly balanced dish is amazing! I've finished my Whole30 experience and I've got a lot of conclusions to draw from it. I'll be writing down all my findings on a future blog post which, I hope, will be helpful to anyone interested in getting to know a little bit more about their body and its reaction to the different kids of foods. I will say this: I expect to keep my way of eating very similar to what I did for these past couple of months because it just showed me that it is exactly what I need to do to feel good about myself and about my body. Everything tastes grate, I feel amazing and, honestly, I don't miss much. The only thing I do miss, and I'll have it occasional, is a cup of oatmeal with fresh fruit, nuts and honey or a dairy-free yogurt (yes, I figured out that dairy is a major source of inflammation!) . As for the rest, when I feel like having it I will but, right now I'm feeling great and ready to enjoy food freedom!  Ingredients:1 large sweet onion 3 garlic cloves 5 slices of no-sugar bacon (I used the Applegate brand) 2 carrots 2 celery stems 1 bunch of spinach (about 100g) 1 lbs ground meat (I used "Verde Farms" 100% grass-fed beef) 3 plum tomatoes 1 small can of tomato paste 1 cup homemade chicken broth (it's perfectly fine to use store bought, as long as you pay attention to the ingredients, stray away from artificial ingredients, if possible) 1 Tbsp red pepper chilli flakes Basil and parsley (I always love fresh herbs and I can keep track of the amounts! I took a picture in the "preparation"section so you can have an idea of how much I used) 3 large sweet potatoes 2 Tbsp full fat coconut cream 1 tsp ghee Salt and pepper 1 Tbsp garlic powder Preparation:1 - Prep your veggies so that when you start cooking everything is ready and set to go into the pot. Peel the onion, garlic cloves, celery stems and carrots. Dice the onion and the carrots and mince the garlic. 2 - Wash the spinach thoroughly, to make sure that they get a proper rinse.  3 - Peel the tomatoes and dice them, reserving any and all juice that may come out. That's all needed to flavor up the meat sauce! 4 - Get the sweet potato mash going: peel and cut the sweet potatoes and steam them on the Instant Pot for about 10 minutes. While that is going start making the meat sauce.  5 - I love to cook on my Dutch oven because, in dishes like this, it deepens the flavors and keeps the temperature of the food up for a longer period of time which always adds up on the flavor scale! Dice the bacon slices and cook them in the pan with no other grease except its own! This is a great way to get a more flavorful dish - bacon!!! 6 - After the bacon is cooked, add the ground meat and let it cook until it changes color, maybe about 6-8 minutes. After that time, remove the meat and bacon mixture from the pan and reserve them. Saute the onion and the minced garlic in some olive oil. Let that cook up for a couple of minutes and add the carrots, the celery and the chopped up tomatoes. Give the sauce a big stir and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. 7 - Add the tomato paste, the chicken broth and the freshly chopped herbs - parsley and basil. Let the meat sauce simmer for about 40 minutes on low. On the last 5 minutes add the spinach and let them cook on those last minutes. 8 - By then, the sweet potatoes have steamed and it's time to move on to the mash. Remove the sweet potatoes from the Instant Pot and transfer them to a pan. Add the ghee, the coconut milk and mash, very carefully, with a potato masher. Take enough time to make it smooth because the texture will be crucial for the final texture of the dish. When everything is well incorporated and smooth, turn off the heat and reserve. 9 - Assembly time! When you have your meat sauce and sweet potato mash ready it's time to get this dish ready! I used big souffle dishes which worked out perfectly for this kind of pie! The size is perfect and the shape is also great for this kind of dish with sauce. First, place the meat sauce in the bottom of the souffle dishes.  10 - Cover the meat with a thick layer of sweet potato mash and, if you feel like it, decorate it! I just did a simple pattern with a fork, to make a texture like effect.  11- Add some coconut flakes on top of the mashed potatoes and heat each serving in the oven, at 450 F for about 15 minutes, just enough time to get some crunchiness on the coconut flakes and some browning on the mash.  This is a great tasting dish and, if you want to make the most of your time, you can make a double batch and freeze individual size portions to save for those hectic days when dinner time suddenly shows up unannounced! I hope you f=give this recipe a try because it really is a delicious meal with wholesome ingredients that will please the whole family. If you do try it let me know how it turned out! |
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