Whole30 Superbowl Eats

I seriously love football. One of my earliest memories is staying up "late" on Monday nights as a kid so I could hear the Hank Williams Jr. "Are You Ready For Some Football" intro to MNF. {Because to a 3 year old, that was one rockin' song}

Now Hank may have said some things that didn't go over too well and was replaced by the leggy likes of Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood, but my love of the game remains. I love it even more when it gives me the excuse to eat insane amounts of food. Because pizza. And wings. And velveta-chili dip. And beer.

Sadly, all of the aforementioned awesomeness is not allowed on Whole30. Now while some may choose 'The Big Game' as an excuse to cheat, I'm way too competitive to give up challenge points for one day of heartburn {If there's something to win, I want to win it}.

So I need to get a little creative with my Superbowl feast this year. Here's what's on my menu:

Buffalo Wings with Dairy-Free Ranch from Against All Grain

Inspired by these Loaded Sweet Potato Skins from Fit & Fed, I'm going to do BBQ Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins

Then the inside of the potatos left-over from making the skins are going to go into Bacon and Sweet Potato Jalapeno Boats from Virginia is for Hunter Gatherers {Instead of mixing bacon in with the sweet potato, I'm going to wrap in prosciutto, since I can't find Whole30 compliant bacon}

Last but not least, I think I might try to whip of some of this Rotel "Cheese" Dip from Plaid and Paleo to go with some veggies and sweet potato chips

And if all things go as planned, I'll have some home-brewed peach mango kombucha to enjoy it with :)

What's on your menu??

Apple Cinnamon Protein Bar

There's a great company out of Chicago that makes 100% Paleo, 100% Whole30-approved high protein energy bars. They only use fruit, nuts, clean egg white protein powder, and spices. They're awesome!

Unfortunately {like the rest of the paleo world} clean, whole food equals expensive food. 10 RxBars will run you about $30. I'm sorry, but $3 a bar for a post-WOD snack is a bit much for me. However, clean, whole food also equals ingredients that I have on hand and can easily replicate.

So I got to work. RxBars are basically a Larabar with protein powder, and since I've made a homemade version of brownie batter Larabars, I figured an RxBar wouldn't be too hard to master.

And luckily I was right. The original has 7 ingredients: dates, egg white protein powder, almonds, figs, apple powder, cinnamon, and apple oil. Mine only has 5- I left out the figs and apple oil {because I have no clue what apple oil is...} and for apple powder, I processed freeze-dried apples into a powder {no idea if that's actually what apple powder is, but it worked :)} I was even able to match the nutritional context almost exactly.

Apple Cinnamon Protein Bar

What You'll Need:

{for 1 bar}

• 10 Almonds
• 3T Egg White Protein Powder {I used this}
• 5g Freeze Dried Apples {I used Target's Simply Balanced}
• A few sprinkles of Cinnamon
• 4 Dates, pitted {not medjool}

{for 5 bars}

• 60g Almonds
• 1 cup Egg White Protein Powder
• 1-28g pkg Freeze Dried Apples
• 1/4 -1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 20 Dates, pitted {not medjool}

What To Do:

1. In a small food processor {I used my mini Ninja when making only one, but the 5 bar batch required a regular sized one}, blitz the almonds, protein powder, apples, and cinnamon until finely ground.
2. Add dates and process until uniformly broken down.
3. Add very little water {seriously, a few drops} and process. Continue to do this until the mixture starts to stick together. I added probably less that 1 tsp over the course of 3 iterations for 1 bar and about 1.5 Tbsp for the 5 bar batch. 
4. Form into a bar or roll into bite-sized balls. I pressed into a small ramekin I had to make disks. Refrigerate in an air-tight container.

Day 3 and 4- More Of The Same and Antipasto Snack Pack {Recipe}

It's probably a good time to mention that these challenge posts might get a little monotonous. Mostly because between the hours of 6am and 6pm, I eat the same thing every day, all week long. This isn't a rule of the challenge or the Whole 30 program. This is just a Sarah-ism.

Personally, I just find it easier to cook a lot of one thing than lots of different little things. So all this week, breakfast has been {and will continue to be} eggs with sausage and sweet potato and lunch is a tasty bowl of italian sausage with roasted brussels sprouts. Snacks consist of almond/cashew/date trail mix and my antipasto snack, an idea a stole from Melissa of The Clothes Make The Girl and the Well Fed books. But since I've been referencing it enough and I plan to make it a regular {read: until I get sick of it, which I doubt will happen because I really love it}, I figure I'd do a post on it. {See recipe (and I use that term loosely) down below}

Day 3's dinner was left over spaghetti squash pizza pie from Day 2 and tonight I made Asian Chicken Thighs with green beans. {The green beans were frozen which I steam cooked in the microwave with some salt and lemon-pepper}.

I'm doing better on limiting fruits after dinner. My tooth brushing trick seems to be working :)

Antipasto Snack Pack
From Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 Red Bell Pepper, cut into strips
• Handful Black Olives
• 1-2 Mini Dill Pickles 
• 2-3 slices Deli Chicken Breast
• Salt

What To Do:

This really isn't much of a recipe. I sprinkle the red pepper strips with a little bit of salt and combine in a small plastic container with the olives, pickles, and chicken. Makes a great snack full of veggies, protein, and healthy fat.

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

I have a confession to make.  I’m a serious snacker.  I’d be embarrassed to show you my cabinets at work.  Granola bars, mixed nuts, apples, boxes of cereal (I’m weird and eat it dry…), a bag of caramel Hershey kisses.  When people around the office get the munchies, they know who to go to. 

 

I have no less than 4 snacks a day.  Mid-morning, mid-afternoon, after-work, and after-dinner (sometime two after-dinners if there’s ice cream in the freezer calling my name).  It’s probably a bit excessive.  I rationalize by telling myself it’s better for my metabolism if I eat small things throughout the day instead of just 3 large meals.  Well, that and I’m like a 3 year old and get cranky if I’m not fed every 3 hours.  Naps help the crankiness too.  Unfortunately the government frowns upon sleeping on the taxpayer’s dollar.  

But back to the snacking obsession.  I’ve noticed a huge recent movement towards roasted veggies as snack foods. OK- maybe the word “movement” is a bit of an overstatement.  It makes it sound like snaking is some big socio-political thing that I won’t even try to understand (Umm….I like it when brownies Occupy my Oven….)  My point?- people left and right are baking themselves kale chips.  And others are going crazy for dried edemame.  And some have roasted chickpeas.

As a self-proclaimed hummus enthusiast, I had to get on the roasted chickpea train.  (All aboard?)