Whole30 Vegetarian Days 2-3: Coconut Curry with Zucchini Noodles (Vegan, Paleo).

Day two of the Whole30 diet (with me trying it as a vegetarian) and things are still looking good. So far I'm not feeling restricted at all, if anything, I am eating more food than usual (which, honestly, kind of freaks me out). For breakfast we had sweet potato hash, poached eggs and avocado. My usual fare: toast. I'm not usually hungry in the morning and eating within 30 minutes of waking has been challenging. Yummy, but challenging.

Lunches have consisted of totally delightful, and HUGE salads topped with whatever we can get our hands on, from tomatoes, to fruit and nuts. It's been really nice actually. I'm a fan. And so far I'm not having any food cravings. I don't eat much in the way of sugar, and can do without grain for a while, at least. I can see missing beans in the long run, and haven't ruled out allowing myself a portion here and there.

The first night we had a TOTALLY scrumptious variety of veggies and fruit, including a baked sweet potato, roasted cauliflower with tahini sauce, apple,walnut and kale salad in a grapefruit vinaigrette, and fresh pineapple. All Whole30 approved foods. Doesn't feel like deprivation to me!

A few insights about Whole30 so far. First: I am not going to be paleo forever. I am sure of that. But I can see eating this way a majority of the time. Second: so far it's not that hard. It's not that far off of how we usually eat, and I'm enjoying eating so much fresh fruit and veg. Plus, it's been great to see my husband consume so much of it himself. I can imagine that if your normal diet consisted of a lot of processed food, that this transition would be exponentially difficult. Like today I brought 40 cupcakes to my son's school for his 5th birthday, but wasn't tempted to eat one. But then again, I'm not normally tempted by sweets, particularly baked goods, so no real shocker there.

So far the transition has been pretty easy, if not a little exciting, because I have even more reason to try new things. Like the "Vegetti."

Last night I made coconut curry with this new-found gadget. It's a contraption that turns veg into noodles. Well, kind of. It just spiral slices them. I'm up for anything, especially if it will get us through the next 30 days without eating each other's faces off.

The sauce I made came out top-notch and really made the whole dish. We would eat this again, and definitely the sauce is going to make a comeback!

Ingredients:

1-2 cups mixed vegetables of your choice. I used broccolini and carrots

3 large zucchini, spiralized

1 small onion, chopped

For the sauce:

1/2 can coconut cream

1 cup water

1 tsp each curry and turmeric

salt to taste

1/2 to 1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne

1 inch of ginger, peeled and chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanche your vegetables for a few minutes, until bright and to desired softness. Drain, set aside.

Then "spiralize" or shred your zucchini.

In a sauce pan, saute the onion until soft, about 5 minutes or so. Then add in the spices, ginger and garlic, and cook 1-2 minutes more. Stir in the salt and coconut cream. Bring to a simmer and cook about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, blanche your zucchini for 2-3 minutes. Drain. Top with your blanched vegetables and curry sauce. Enjoy!



Sweet Potato Coconut Curry and Homemade Chapati

I love curry. Red, yellow, green, Thai, Indian, it doesn't really matter. All of those spices leave my tongue tickling and my belly happy.  It was this meal that had Cole (my pickiest eater) proclaim his love of sweet potatoes. We had it with homemade Chapati, an Indian yeast-free flat bread (recipe below) and a mango chutney.

Curry Ingredients:

2 diced onions
1 inch of ginger, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. of coriander seed, crushed
1 tsp  red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 can coconut milk
1 cup of water
2 medium sweet potoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup fresh peas
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 cinnamon stick
juice of one lime
salt

In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil over medium heat. Add in the onion and saute until tender. Add in the ginger, garlic, coriander, red pepper, curry and cumin powder, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add 1 tsp salt, sweet potatoes, cinnamon stick, coconut water, regular water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Stir in lime juice and adjust salt and spices if necessary. Add in the fresh peas and bell pepper and cook, uncovered,  until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and remove from heat.

Serve over brown rice and garnish with cilantro.



Chapati Ingredients:

1 cup of flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup of hot water

Mix the flour, salt and olive oil in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Slowly add in the hot water until the dough forms into a soft, not sticky, ball.

Divide the dough into 5 balls and let them rest for 10 minutes.

Flatten each ball and roll them out on a floured surface into very thin, 6-8 inch diameter pancakes.

Heat an oiled cast iron skillet to be HOT on the stove.

Cook each chapati, one at a time, in the hot skillet, for about 30 seconds. When the bubbles start to form on the top, it is time to flip. Cook 30 seconds on the side. Repeat for each bread.

Curry Rice with Garbanzo Beans and Spinach

Ahhh the end of the month. When the fridge is bare and making dinner feels a bit like MacGyver, except instead of diffusing a bomb with an apple, a bit of twine and a rock, I'm trying to make dinner out of 6 seemingly incongruent ingredients.

Plus, I have to get my kids to actually eat it. Right.

After some time spent in the kitchen scratching my head and wracking my brain, I came up with this and let me tell you, it was both delicious and a HUGE hit with the kids. And yes, my kids do actually eat like this. Hard to believe, I know. I could regail you with all the things they don't eat, but let's just get to it already.

Ingredients:

Rice:
1 cup jasmine rice
1 tsp yellow curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 cups water

Garbanzos and Spinach:
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste
3/4 cup of fresh spinach, chopped
1 to 2 cups garbanzo beans, cooked or canned
dash of water or veggie broth

Combine all of the ingredients for the rice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute the onion and garlic in a large skillet for about 2 minutes. Add in the cumin and stir, cook over medium-low another two minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the garbanzo beans and a dash of liquid to deglaze the pan and heat the beans through. Stir in the spinach, cook another two minutes.

Serve with the rice.

Bombay Potatoes

The perfect dish to accompany Chana Masala (see previous post).

Ingredients:

about 6 red or white potatoes, scrubbed (I like to leave the skin on, but you can peel them if you like)
1 tsp turmeric or curry powder
1/2 tsp chili paste or chopped red chilis (optional)
2 onions, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
(you can also add in 1/2 tsp mustard or fennel seeds, if desired.)
1 cup chopped cilantro

Boil the potatoes until fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, saute the onion, turmeric or curry powder, chili (if using), cumin and coriander seeds until soft and fragrant, being careful not to burn the spices. Drop in the whole potatoes and using a potato masher, roughly mash the potatoes into chunks and fold into the onion/spice mixture. Add in 1/4 cup (or less) of water and stir to roughly combine. Stir in chopped cilantro and season with salt to taste.

Curried Pumpkin Stew

I love, love, love fall. Pumpkins, squash, orange leaves, halloween costumes...is there anything better?? Capture the taste of autumn with this savory pumkin stew.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 tbsp. garam masala

1 tbsp. curry powder

2 whole pods of star anise

1 whole stick of cinnamon

3 cloves of garlic, minced

6 cups of veggie broth

2 russett potatoes, scrubbed and chopped

1 sugar pumpkin, peeled, cleaned and cubed

1 small bag of frozen corn

1 tbsp salt

1 cup of cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Saute the onion, celery, spices and garlic until soft and aromatic, about 3-5 minutes. Add in broth, potatoes and pumpkin and simmer until soft. Puree 1/3 of the soup in a food processor until smooth and stir back in. Add in corn and heat through. Stir in salt. Ladle into bowls and top with cilantro.

Curried Tofu Salad

Curried Tofu Salad

1 (12 oz) package of extra firm tofu, drained and cubed

1 large carrot, grated

1 chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped peanuts (or other nut)

1/4 cup chopped dates (or other dried fruit. Raisins work well too)

1 glove garlic, minced

1 green onion, chopped

Sauce:

1 tsp curry powder

1 Tbsp mayonnaise (or vegannaise)

1Tbsp white vinegar

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1Tbsp soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tofu on lightly greased cookie sheet. Cook tofu, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes. Then remove and cool.

In the meantime, mix the sauce ingredients with a fork until smooth. Set aside.

Combine salad ingredients: carrot, tofu, green onion, fruit and nuts. Top with sauce and stir thoroughly. Chill in the fridge for an hour before serving.

You can use this as a sandwhich or wrap filling, or simply enjoy with crackers!

This recipe was added, by me, to allrecipes.com and you can find it there too!