Weekend Update (Days 5-7)

The weekend came and went And I once again had a lot that came up. I may have lost a few battles over the weekend but I feel like I won the war.

Both my husband and I felt the keen draw of alcohol and (for him) tobacco. I found myself making some long term realizations and decisions about my hobbies and who I spend time with. As the weekend progressed, I realized I didn't have much in common with this group of people anymore. We both came to realize we've gone as far as we want to with this hobby and iit's time to move our focus and enthusiasm in other directions.

I spent a great deal of time battling my emotional eating and then paying the physical costs of that. The one and only thing I was clinging to was that I was still on the Whole30, I was just eating a whole lot of nuts. Part of that is hormonal, but nut butter is one of my kryptonites (tortilla chips run neck & neck). I have no idea if this is grain detox or what, but I've been having crazy cravings (no I am not pregnant!). Anyway, I made it home, but I realize that being away from home while doing Whole30 is not advisable, and especially when there are tempting foods of any kind around.

I have to give huge props out to Shasonta, a fellow blogger and my Paleo/Crossfit hero. She posted her Whole30 experience and shared a cracker recipe that I fell in love with and that saved me from diving head-first into a bag of potato chips that someone had brought into our camp.  Of course, I made my own tweak, adding apricots instead of raisins and substituting macadamia and hazelnuts instead of almonds in the crackers, but enjoy her post at Shazzy's Sass.

I also took some of the mole chili made earlier this week and used it as a cold celery dip late one night. I call it 'Mole Chili' , but the original recipe is actually named 'Chocolate Chili' in the Well Fed cookbook, by Melissa Joulwan, and part of the Whole 30 genre. My version went like this:

2 T. grass fed butter
2 med onions (about 2 c.)
4 cloves garlic, minced (a heaping Tbsp.)
2 lbs. ground turkey
1 t. dried oregano leaves
2 T. chili powder
2 T. ground cumin
1 1/2 T unsweetened cocoa
1 t. allspice
1 t. salt
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 16 oz can fire roasted chopped tomoatoes
2 c. beef broth
1 c. water

On low, start the butter melting, as soon as it's melted, add the onions. Stir and cook until translucent. Add garlic and ground turkey and blend until meat is almost cooked. Add spices and blend for about 20-30 seconds, until the spices are heated, then add tomato paste and 1/2 c water. Keep stirring until blended, then add tomatoes and broth. Turn to low and simmer 30 minutes to 2 hrs, adding a little water every few minutes until it's the right consistency. Remember, it thickens as it cools.

If you add shredded veg (like carrot, celery, zucchini) or diced sweet peppers, it'd give it even more bang for your buck., but add only about 2 c. maximum before the spices have to be adjusted.