Cook Day

One thing that can really help with eating healthy and managing a full schedule is planning ahead and having a "cook day". I'll often choose a recipe or two that will yield me 4-6 servings so that I can have meals for the week. This makes packing lunch much easier, and is awesome for coming home after a particularly long day not wanting to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen. Even though I woke up feeling a little blah, I wanted to make the most of my day so I decided to go to the grocery store and prep myself for the week. 

Here's what I came home with. A bunch of fruit, including organic blueberries and a dragonfruit (which I had never tried. It tastes like a bland kiwi if anyone wants to know). I also got some Ontario raised, hormone free ground pork and beef, more green cauliflower and heirloom carrots. Tucked in the back is some canned coconut milk, frozen raspberries and haricots verts, raw mixed nuts and a blend of various unsweetened dried fruit. There's some other stuff tucked away in there as well. (Go ahead and ignore the daiquiri mix and rum in the background. They are unfortunately not mine), I also managed to stop for a perfectly made double americano from a tiny café on the walk home, while lugging all this. Here's what I made:

A big bunch of mixed roasted vegetables. I love having a big container of roasted vegetables in the fridge. They can be warmed up for a side dish for dinner or lunch, topped with an egg for breakfast, or mixed with kale, spinach, and greens for a salad. They are also just about the easiest, lowest effort thing to do. I just chopped up some carrots, sweet potato, beet, and cauliflower and tossed it all with some olive oil and mixed seasoning. I put it all into my baking pan and added a few cloves of garlic and a handful of haricots verts. Then I popped the whole thing into the oven at 375 for about an hour. 

I also made some breakfast sausages. The recipe is from Paleo Comfort Foods: Homestyle Cooking for a Gluten-Free Kitchen by Julie & Charles Mayfield. This book is awesome and has lots of great recipes for freezing and eating through the week. These sausages are perfect in the morning. I can just put two in the microwave while my eggs cook. Here's the recipe:

1 lb ground pork

1 tsp kosher salt

3/4 tsp ground pepper

2 tsp fresh chopped sage leaves

1 tsp fresh chopped thyme

1/4 fresh chopped rosemary

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients and form into 2-inch patties. Cook in a skillet heated to medium until browned, then flip and cook until cooked through. 

I also made chili. This one is pretty bare-bones, I'll admit. There are no beans here which I'm fine with. It's really just onion, ground beef, bell peppers, a few chipotles with adobo sauce, and canned tomato. I've made chili so many times, so many different ways, that I never really use a recipe anymore. That said, the chili recipe in Paleo Comfort Foods is pretty good, and inspired the pot I made today. If you want to do something special with your chill, add some bourbon, maple syrup, and roasted sweet potato. If you're not a caveman, add some black beans and maple baked beans to the mix. So, so good. 

Last but not least, in addition to making a bunch of fruit salad (awesome for a snack, to go along with breakfast, or as a side dish) I wanted to make some chia "pudding" for a quick, sweet, cold breakfast. In the old days (pre- paleo) I loved making muesli to eat in the mornings. It's cold, sweet, hearty, and most importantly - takes no time in the morning. Since I'm not eating oatmeal right now, I used this recipe. My toppings are a bit different (sliced apple, orange, blueberries, frozen raspberries, unsweetened coconut, and raw mixed nuts). I also stirred some hemp hearts and coconut milk into the mix. I'm really looking forward to this one, and I have a feeling I'll be making it more often. 

All right. That's it for now. I'm finally going to sit down. The funny thing is, that after all that cooking I have absolutely no appetite. At least when I'm ready for dinner I'll have lots to choose from.