My Whole 30 Adventure comes to an end

Today is my last day on The Whole 30 (it's an extra day so it's really The Whole 31 for me).

On the whole it's been a great experience.

Here's some of the things I discovered along the way:

• Eating strictly is not as hard as I expected. I eliminated all added sugar, alcohol, caffeine, dairy, processed foods, grains, legumes and take away foods. I thought I might struggle with a few of these. I admit that the first week was tough but that was a habit thing. As the month comes to a close I do not feel any cravings although I am looking forward to a more relaxed way of eating.
• I'm not addicted to caffeine. I've still been drinking coffee but it's been decaf. The number of coffees I've had each day has climbed but the amount of caffeine has dropped. The ceremony of coffee is of great interest to me. I like hitting a cafe for time out. I will really enjoy having a short macchiato tomorrow.
• I had no sugar cravings or withdrawal. Being a chocolate freak, I really thought I might suffer a bit of sugar withdrawal. No. Not a problem at all. I didn't even have to check myself walking down a confectionary aisle in the supermarket. There just wasn't the desire. I will be eating chocolate again though. Life's too short.
• Cooking Paleo is easy. Most people complain that Paleo cooking is too restrictive. Well, The Whole 30 takes it to a whole new level and we - my wife and I - found it easy. We ate curries, BBQs, salads, roasts and they were all awesome. We didn't have a did meal all month. Moving back to standard Paleo with a few off the reservation additions will be easier again.
• I'm not an alcoholic. I never thought I was but I do like a glass of wine with dinner and am partial to a single malt. This is where I thought I'd have my biggest problems but again the habit was broken in the first week.

So, it's all drawing to a close. From this point on I will still follow The Paleo Diet but I think I'll take a page out of Timothy Ferriss's book and free myself on the weekends. A bit of indulgence can't hurt (as long as it's sensible). I'll stay gluten-free unless I visit Naples again, I'm not missing out on the pizza there!

Scott, my business partner at Firebrand Fitness, is doing 90 days. You can read about his adventures on his blog.

Roast cauliflower & pomegranate salad.

This recipe is corker. So many flavours, textures and several different types of awesomeness all combined into one salad. There is quite a few components to this salad but its worth it. You'll understand once you make it.

Also just quickly this photo was taken at bar Hoo Haa on chapel street where i currently work and produce some seriously tasty treats. Not exactly all gluten, egg and dairy free like this recipe however.

Ingredients:

• 200grams of cauliflower.
• 20grams of spring onions, also called shallots.
• 20 grams of flat leaf parsley.
• 20 grams of pepito's.
• 20 grams of sunflower seeds.
• 20 grams of pine nuts.
• 1/2 a pomegranate.( de-seeded)
• Cumin spice.
• 1/2 a garlic clove, diced finely.
• 50 mls of macadamia oil.
• Thick Coconut cream. 80 mls.
• Watercress (optional) to garnish and make look fancy.
• Raspberry vinegar(optional). 20mls.

Method:

• Firstly were going to combine all the pine nuts, pepito's, and sunflower seeds and lightly toast them, either in the oven or in a frying pan until there lightly golden in colour. Set aside to cool once there done.
• De-seed the pomegranate by smacking the back of the skin with a wooden spoon, set aside the seeds.
• Pick the cauliflower off the stem, so there florets. As in the picture it's best if you slice them thinly and flat so we can pan fry them each side. Once there sliced heat a skillet and get it hot so the oil starts to lightly smoke. Pan fry the cauliflower each side until its really golden brown and at the end add the cumin spice and the diced garlic. Take off the heat and set aside.
• Roughly chop the parsley and shallots.
• Grab a large mixing bowl and combine all the ingredients.
• Garnish with some of the coconut cream and watercress around the plate.

Makes: 2 to 3 serves.

Prep time: 30 minutes.

Notes:

• Gluten free.
• Nightshades free.
• Egg free.
• Dairy free.
• Anyone who eats this salad will be impressed.
• The title says roast cauliflower. Technically were pan frying it. However roast sounds better. ( Chef grammar)

Green Sauce!

So this recipe is for salsa verde, which in Italian means simply green sauce. The beauty of salsa verde is it's versatility. Throw it on everything, all meats, sea foods , garnish for salads and plain vegetables. It's also quick and easy to prepare too.

Ingredients:

• 1 Bunch of flat leaf parsley.
• 1/2 a bunch of mint.
• 50 grams of capers or baby capers.
• 3 anchovies.
• Zest of 1 lemon.
• Roughly 200mls of Extra virgin olive oil. (enough to bind the mixture)
• 1 garlic clove.

Method:

• Wash and pick parsley. Then chop until its shredded.
• Chop the rest of the ingredients to the same size as the parsley and combine.
• Add the oil and its done.

Makes: 4 to 5 serves.

Prep time: 10 minutes.

Notes:

• Gluten free
• Dairy free
• Nightshades free
• Egg free.

A quick, easy dessert. Paleo-style

Apples stewed in coconut cream

It doesn't get any easier or tastier than this. Ready? Go:

• Grab 4 Granny Smith apples, peel and roughly dice.
• Open a can on high quality coconut cream.
• Put the apples and cream in a saucepan.
• Simmer until apples are very soft.
• Remove from heat.
• Mash together.
• Pour mixture into a bowl.
• Place in fridge to set (takes about 60 minutes).
• Devour.

Fennel salad with celery and oranges.

Summer time is here and fennel is in season. This salad is really fresh and light, fennel has a real sharp aniseed like flavour similar to licorice and the celery and orange balance out that strong taste. Fennel is best served with seafood and chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1 large bulb of fennel.
• 1 stick of celery.
• 1 orange.
• Light mayonnaise to coat the salad.
• Seasoning if required.
• Optional but fresh herbs like dill, spring onions and chives.

Method:

• Grab a sharp knife, mandoline or a grater and were going to finely shave the fennel and celery so its paper thin. Having big chunks of fennel is a little overpowering. ( A mandoline is plastic board with a razor attached to it. Makes shaving vegetables quick and easy, and there fairly cheap to buy. On some graters there is that side panel that has just one slit.)
• Peel the orange of its skin. You can either segment it like in the photo or just cut it into rounds.
• Grab all your ingredients and mix in a bowl . Add seasoning to you're liking and enjoy.

This salad is pretty easy to make. If you're having some friends over and you want to add a little extra fanciness then add some Bottarga. It is tuna roe eggs that have been dried and compressed into a little block and to shave a little on top of this salad is amazing. You can pick it up from specialty food stores like Thomas Dux or some gourmet deli's.

Makes: 2 to 3 serves.

Prep time: 10 minutes.

Notes:

• Gluten free
• Nightshades free

Also to store fennel once it has been shaven and if you do not intend to cook it. Place it in a container with some water and squeeze the juice from 1 lemon and then throw the lemon skin in with the fennel. It should keep for a few more days until it goes brown.

Grow your own!

DON'T buy herbs anymore! grow you're own. Herbs rule. They add taste, variety, there healthy and taste( I've said taste twice, but really they do). Put them in everything. If you have a favourite food or recipe, add a herb you haven't used before.
Growing them is so easy. I didn't realise until 2 weeks ago when i potted my own. My girlfriend and I went to bunnings to get some plants for our place and we stumbled past the herb section.
Ok perhaps i got carried away but i bought 2 large rectangular plastic pots, some potting mix and now 2 weeks later i am the proud owner of rosemary, chives, dill, basil, thyme, sage and parsley. All up it costed $50!!
I've watered them everyday and now there so big i literally don't know what to do with all of them and honestly all it took was 2 weeks.
As i said at the start , throw herbs in everything.
Some examples i use are:

• Chives- Scrambled eggs, salads, sea foods, mayonnaise.


• Dill- Seafood, lamb, salads, chicken, canned tuna.


• Basil- tomatoes, stir-fry's, salads, soups.


• Thyme, rosemary- Slow cooked meats, stews, soups.

So experiment and see what you come up with. Another bonus is that it's one less thing to think about when you're out doing shopping next.

Baked chicken with zuchinni,peas and mint.

This is a quick and tasty one. Hmm maybe even to good to give away! These ingredients all go together really well. We have some good textures with this dish, the soft zucchini which were going to pan fray and then add our peas at the end to give it some pop.

Ingredients:

• Chicken breast or thigh. 150 grams
• Zucchini, 100 grams. Cut into rounds.
• Peas, 80 grams. You can also use snow-peas or sugar snaps if you don't want to use frozen peas.
• Half a bunch of mint, roughly chopped.
• 2 garlic cloves chopped up finely or grated.
• 2 tbs of oil.

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees. Chicken breasts take longer to cook than thighs, so you can either butterfly it through the middle or cut it into smaller pieces. Cook in the oven for roughly 15 to 20 minutes. Also to speed up cooking time in the oven, before hand sear the chicken each side in a hot pan with a little oil. Chicken should be cooked above 75 degrees or if you do not have a thermometer, clear juice should start to come out.
• While the chicken is cooking heat a skillet with some oil, once it starts to smoke place zucchini in and toss quickly. Let the zucchini get a little brown in colour , then place the peas garlic and mint and toss in the pan so ingredients are all combined.
• Cooking time for the zucchini garnish should be nice and quick, so no more than 4 to 5 minutes.
• Place all ingredients on a plate and devourer.

Makes:2 to 3 serves

Prep/cook time: 30 minutes.

• Gluten free
• Dairy free
• Nightshades free
• Egg free

My decaffeinated adventures

I never thought I'd do it. But it's come to pass. Not only am I off the booze for the month of January, I'm off caffeine. It's a test for me. I'm not addicted but I do love my coffee. No withdrawal headaches. No other issues. It's an interesting test.

I can't say whether I'm sleeping better or not (due to having a one month old in the house). I don't really feel any different. It's tough to tell exactly what's going on. I was expecting more of a noticeable difference. I am leaning out, maybe the reduced caffeine is having an effect on that?

There's a lot written about the evils of caffeine. I just don't seem to notice them. Maybe I've not exceeded the critical dose. Or perhaps I need to measure things more scientifically. Perhaps I'm too subjective in my testing. Maybe an expert would see a difference in my cortisol levels right now as compared to "normal."

Anyway, I think I'll hedge my bets once the month is over. I'll be back on the real stuff when I'm out on the town but at home it might be decaf.

Have you got anything to add about your (de)caffeinated adventures?

Leftovers curry

A couple of nights back I bought two huge rib eye steaks. I cooked the suckers on the BBQ. Nice. Alas, there was just too much meat for my wife and I. We had to leave some for later.

But, fear not, the steak didn't go to the dogs. I ended up whacking together a tasty beef curry with very little effort for lunch the next day.

Now, truth be told I may have stretched the Whole 30 rules just a little but bear with me. I think I've done okay. You see I did use a curry paste that I didn't make myself. However, I intently studied the ingredients and it would have been no different to what I'd use at home.

The ingredients:

• leftover steak, sliced
• eggplant, 1/2, diced
• zucchini, diced
• coconut cream
• water
• massaman curry paste

All I did was mix the curry paste, coconut cream and a splash of water in a wok until combined then whack in the steak and veg and simmer for 30 minutes.

More about the curry paste: I used Valcom Massaman Curry Paste. Check it out at your local supermarket. It's good stuff and not full of crap.

Some Whole30 inspiration

Read these great Whole30 testimonials to get an idea of what this month of detox is all about.

Portuguese-style BBQ chicken

My darling wife, Erica, made prepared a cracking main last night. All I had to do was whack it on the BBQ. She got the recipe from Australian Women's Weekly. I know, amazing, some decent content in that rag!

Here's what you need:

• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1kg of chicken (we used breast but thigh would be good too)
• olive oil

The method is easy:

• Mix the powdered ingredients in a plastic bag
• Slice the chicken evenly
• Throw the chicken in the bag and coat it evenly
• Cook on the BBQ (I sealed it on the plate then grilled it for a little more flavour)

We ate it with a salad. Lots of avocado as the chook was a tad spicy.

Note: you could remove the salt if you really wanted to.

Post-Christmas eggs - an easy breakie

Okay, all you need is your left-over ham, some eggs, olive oil and pepper.

Dice the ham, mix the eggs, heat some oil in a pan.
Throw the ham in, give it a sizzle, throw the eggs on top, season with pepper. Cook until ready.
Eat (and give half to your 2.5 year old son if you have one - seems to be mandatory).

There ya go.
Stop complaining that breakfast is too hard.

You could also consider throwing in roast vegies, other roast meats and so on.
A big egg-based mix-up, very simple.

January is detox month

Many people do a no alcohol detox in February. No doubt this is because it is the shortest month of the year. Those extra few days could kill ya.

At Firebrand Fitness, some of the members and staff are taking part in the Whole 30 in the month of January. It's a dietary detox par excellence. Effectively, you get to eat real food for the month and no crap. Pretty simple.

So, in order to assist those souls who are wondering how the heck to stay fed without all the garbage that can be consumed, we will be providing some help. Paleo Brothers style-e.

I'm starting with my dinner for day 1. Tonight, my wife - who is joining me on the Whole 30 adventure - and I will be eating a chicken salad. Here's how it breaks down...

Grab:

• enough mixed leaves to amply feed two
• cherry tomatoes (one punnet)
• an avocado
• some olives
• three small chicken fillets
• pepper
• a lime
• olive oil

Then:

• slice the chook
• marinate it in the olive oil, lime and pepper for about 30 minutes
• slice and dice the salad goodies and mix them together
• fry (or grill) the chook
• pop the chook ato the salad and serve
• eat
• relax

We haven't eaten yet but I'm really looking forward to it.

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