Sunday Dinner

Well, I made it to day 7 of The Whole30! So far, I feel really good. My energy levels are up, I'm sleeping better, and I feel the positive psychological impact of setting a goal and sticking to it! 

That aside, tonight I made a big old fashioned Sunday dinner :) I love drinking carbonated water as an alternative beverage and sometimes add lemon juice for flavor. 

Vegetable Soup:

Crimini Mushrooms 

Olive Oil

Vegetable or Other Stock (I used some leftover excess water/oil from my beef/cabbage dish the other day)

Canned Petite Diced Tomatoes

Diced Tomato (fresh)

Diced Celery

Diced Carrot

Diced Red Pepper

-Slice mushrooms and lightly fry over medium heat, adding a little bit of salt. 

-Put mushrooms in food processor until fairly smooth (it won't be perfectly pureed at this point). 

-Heat stock in a pan until simmering. Add mushroom puree to pan as well as 1/2 a can of petite diced tomatoes (you can add the whole can if you want).

-Cook for 10-15 minutes and then put the soup mixture back in the food processor. Blend until smooth. 

-Put soup back in the pan and add freshly diced vegetables. Cook until veggies are soft and add salt to taste. 

Baked Chicken:

Lemon

Capers

Chicken Parts (I chose legs with attached thigh)

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Finely Diced/Ground Thyme

-Slice lemons and lay flat on a pan covered in foil. Sprinkle capers on top. 

-Place chicken on top of lemon and coat with olive oil. Sprinkle herbs on top of the chicken. 

-Bake in oven at 425° for 15-20 minutes or until skin is browned and juices run clear. 

For extra sauce with chicken:

-Put chicken aside and cover in foil. Cook olive oil/chicken juice runoff with lemon and capers in a pan and allow to simmer. 

-Pour over chicken and serve. 

Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes":

One Head of Cauliflower

Chives

Clarified Butter

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

-Remove most of the stem from cauliflower and cut into florets. Boil or steam cauliflower until tender (be careful not to overcook at this stage or else the mash will be runny). 

-Drain cauliflower in a metal collander and allow to completely drain and dry as much as possible to avoid excess water. 

-Put florets in food processor and mix until smooth. If you like it chunkier, you can use a masher instead at this stage- I might try that next time around!

-Add chives, butter, and seasonings to your taste and serve! (I added the chives into the food processor so it would be distributed without)

Brussel Sprouts:

Brussel Sprouts

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

-Cut the end of the stems off of each brussel sprout and remove any outer dirty or yellow leaves. 

-Cut brussel sprouts in half and add to a frying pan. 

-Add olive oil and salt and pepper to pan and lightly fry and brown brussel sprouts. 

-Add a little bit of water and cook for 10 minutes or until brussel sprouts are cooked through.