Weeknight Root Vegetable Dal

Lentils were such a foreign thing to me growing up. Like I had never heard of, tasted, or even seen one until I was in college! Now I find myself making up for lost time and using them often. My favorite way to enjoy them so far is in any sort of Indian soup. This soup in particular is close to my heart because you practically throw everything in a pot and say "See ya in 40". It's seriously that easy. And the ingredients can be swapped around to accommodate what you've got going on in your produce department. I like mine best with carrots, but if you're a fan of beets I think that could work really well too! No matter what root vegetable you decide on, this soup is packed full of nutrients and will keep you feeling all the cozy vibes this winter. 

Weeknight Root Vegetable Dal 

slightly adapted from The First Mess Cookbook 

• 1 cup red split lentils, rinsed
• 1 cup carrots, finely diced 
• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes 
• 4 cloves garlic 
• 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced 
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 
• pinch of dried chili flakes 
• 3 1/2 cups water 
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can of coconut milk 
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil 
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds 
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped 
• lemon wedges for serving 

First let's cook the coriander. In a small skillet heat the coconut oil on medium. Once the coconut oil has heated, add in the coriander seeds and cook until fragrant. Remove from the heat and set to the side. 

Now you can begin making the soup. Add the lentils, carrots, onion, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and chili flakes to a medium pot. Pour the water into the pot and stir it around and then place the pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 40 minutes, whisking often. Stir in the can of coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with the spice oil and coriander seeds from step 1, parsley, and lemon. 

Notes: The original recipe does not call for coconut milk. I love the creaminess and sweetness that it brings so I always love adding it, but if you're not into coconut milk or don't have it on hand, I'm sure it will be super tasty without it! Also, you don't have to use carrots, feel free to use any root vegetable you have on hand (celery, beets, etc.). 

January Sugar Detox Diaries (Week 3)

Hey guys! 

Here we are. We've made it three weeks into the sugar detox! 

How are you guys feeling? Are you ready to be done? Have your cravings vanished? Are you feeling on top of the world? Are you feeling like you've sold your soul and you're dreaming of eating donuts? I've felt all of those things this week. Literally ALL OF THEM. Some days I felt like I was totally in this and I was totally done with this bad habit. Then there were other days where I felt like I would literally sell my kidney for a butterfinger like RIGHT NOW. I think if I'm being honest, this was the hardest week so far. I don't know if it was the added stress that was going on in generally for me this week that left me seeking comfort in food or what it was, but my body was kind of an emotional mess. There were so many up and down feelings and evenings left feeling so snacky for no reason, BUT nonetheless, here we are. I'm reminding myself that change doesn't come easy and often not in a linear path. This week was a certain demonstration of that. It feels a bit dramatic to write that I'm thankful to have just made it out alive, but that's kind of how this week left me feeling. Still I am holding my head high as I roll into the last nine days of the January sugar detox and focusing on the positive results I've seen. More to come on those soon! 

How I’m feeling  

Day 15 - This is the first day I’ve been able to meal prep for real since I’ve been home and it felt so good! My body is feeling great (minus the whole hand thing). I do have a slight attitude still related to my inability do things normally, but I still managed to get my to-do list done and stay on track with food. 

Day 16 - The biggest non-scale victory I have experienced so far is that my skin is clear! I have always struggled with bad skin and it feels encouraging to have made progress towards finding the cause of the issue.Something I also read this week though, related to skin, was how big of an emphasis society puts on having perfect skin and how unattainable and destructive that is.  Maybe I can share more thoughts on that later. I got outside for longer than I had in forever and gave Henry a good walk, which I know he appreciated and the fresh air felt so nice! I had a great workout at orange theory and I feel fabulous! My hand is still an issue, but I am getting some of that tiger blood that everyone talks about. The regulated energy has been so amazing! This day I definitely did not even miss sugar at all, which is nice to be able to say when you're just a little over halfway through a detox. It's super encouraging! 

Day 17 -  Today all I want is spaghetti and meatballs. In my normal non-whole30 or non-sugar-detox life this would never make it to the top of my favorite meals, but today it sounds so good! I made the huge mistake of going without eating for most of the day and then having coffee on an empty stomach. My energy just totally crashed, but now I’m hyped up on coffee and I feel jittery, but somehow exhausted. It's horrible! Josiah and I ended up eating dinner at home, but even though I was starving, nothing sounded good. Then after dinner all I wanted to do was snack. This was probably the hardest day so far. It was possibly an inevitable crash after feeling so great yesterday! Good news, my hand situation seems to have resolved for the most part! 

Day 18 - I woke up with a major headache and zero motivation to get out of bed. Today I have a doctor appointment and a dentist appointment, which would normally leave me wanting to treat myself to a special latte or a pastry, but that is not going to be an option. I made a hair appointment for Monday, which should feel like a good non-food reward. I think I would have given my right arm for a cookie before bed. I ended up snacking on an apple with almond butter and calling it a night, but these late night snacky feelings are really annoying! 

Day 19 - I slept so deeply last night! I think I’m feeling the tiger blood? We’ll see how things go as the day goes on, but this AM I am feelin’ good. We went to a fancy dinner with one of our good friends and the waiter was the most accommodating man in the world. He made sure that my meal was prepared completely free of all of the things I am currently avoiding and then apologized profusely when he realized the dessert menu didn't have anything on it that would accommodate all my restrictions. His thoughtfulness can not be overemphasized and made eating out while on an elimination diet not feel high maintenance or unattainable! 

Day 20 - The steroids that I am on for my hands are still screwing up my sleep, but hey NO MORE HAND PAIN! The doctors think that it is rheumatoid arthritis so it's something I'll deal with forever moving forward, but for now, the pain is gone and I am so thankful. Because the steroids disrupted my sleep, I'm not feeling as tiger-blood-ish as I was yesterday. I got up at 5am and got a good workout in, which made me feel amazing! Then I waited too long to eat breakfast so I had a major energy crash. I had a hard time focusing on a paper I'm supposed to write, but I think it's because I'm tired and not just related to whole 30 or the sugar detox, but who knows. We are hanging out with my little brother this weekend and he showed up with a plate of cookies in hand and I had to restrain myself from shoving them in my mouth. He said "Jenna, you can just have one! I promise one won't make you fat." I tried to explain to his eleven year old mind that it had nothing to do with getting fat, but had everything to do with breaking a bad habit. I don't know if he understood or not, but I was pretty bummed to be turning down a cookie he baked specially for me. They were oatmeal, coconut, and chocolate chip and I'm so not thinking about them at all anymore. Except I totally am. We went and got smoothie bowls for dinner and that totally made me forget about the cookies. I <3 smoothie bowls! I brushed my teeth right after we got home and had no cravings after that. I should probably adopt this habit more regularly. 

Day 21 - Wow, this feels so insane to be able to say that I have made it this far. Three weeks of doing anything is a for sure feat, especially cutting out a super addicting substance. Today I wanted so badly to justify a small bite of a donut or a little sip of a gingerbread latte, but I didn't and I'm glad. I slept super poorly again last night, which made me not feel my best today, but nonethelesss I had a great day! 

WHAT I'M EATING

Two sunny eggs + a kiwi 🥝  

Spaghetti squash with a creamy almond pesto sauce + chicken topped with nutritional yeast 

golden butternut squash soup with roasted butternut squash seeds and crispy pork belly pieces  

Hash made with mushrooms, green peppers, Trader joe’s Apple chicken sausage, and pre-cooked potatoes topped with two sunny eggs  

Basically everything I had in the fridge was thrown in a bowl and I called it lunch

 Lettuce + grapefruit + sauerkraut + sunflower seeds + avocado + chicken + tahini sauce  

Whole30 Chicken Alfredo with broccoli  

sautéed cabbage with tahini + sunny eggs with everything but the bagel seasoning  

Half an avocado + grapefruit slices + scrambled eggs + half of a Trader Joe’s chicken apple sausage  

Coconut kefir mixed with chia seeds and topped with almond butter + banana + a matcha coconut fat bite  

A bunch of random items from Whole Foods hot bar: green beans with walnuts, potato wedges, chicken thighs, and broccoli bacon salad. (This was likely not 100% perfectly compliant, but I was in between appointments and starving so I made do and didn't necessarily have time to spend 30 minutes reading food labels!) 

Green chicken chili with kale topped with diced avocado 

Scrambled eggs with everything but the bagel seasoning, avocado, and grapefruit. I completely forgot how delicious and refreshing grapefruit can be! 

Steamed broccoli + roasted chicken topped with tahini sauce  

Sweet potatoes + brussel sprouts + quail with a mustard sauce from Lula Cafe (my favorite restaurant in Chicago!) 

Berries blended with coconut milk and topped with walnuts, bananas, strawberries, and goji berries from Fruit Paradise . This particular bowl usually comes with granola, but I just asked to add walnuts instead and they were super sweet about it. Their smoothie bowls are only like $6, which is a bargain! Josiah and I liked to come here often in the summer. We've come so much that we're practically on first name basis with the owner. 

Spaghetti squash and Trader Joe's spaghetti sauce with homemade grain-free meatballs and a ton of greens topped with Tessemae’s green goddess dressing . 

I also snacked on these matcha coconut butter fat bites all week and they were so great to have on hand for between meals. I used this recipe and just added in a touch of matcha for color and some health benefits. 

a Greek salad with gyro meat on top (I tried to eat around all the cheese)  

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Dried Cranberries + Sunflower Seeds

Are you a brussel sprout fan or do you push them to the side of the plate and do everything in your power to avoid putting them in your mouth? I used to be the later. The problem though, I disliked brussel sprouts, but had never even put them in my mouth. Brussel sprouts get such a bad reputation so I just assumed that I wouldn't like them and never tried them. A few years into my health journey I decided to try roasting brussel sprouts as a side because there were so many bloggers that were doing it (trend follower obviously) and it was love at first roast! What I had formerly thought of as a soggy, unpleasant way to consume nutrients was actually a crispy and delicious side dish that I started to crave. Although I'm always down for some classic roasted brussel sprouts, I love to mix things up and add in different ingredients to keep things interesting. The combination of sweetness from the cranberries and crunch from the sunflower seeds make this dish something worth craving. 

roasted brussel Sprouts with sunflower seeds + cranberries

• 16 ounces of brussel sprouts, halved 
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• pinch of salt 
• 2 TBS sunflower seeds 
• 2 TBS dried cranberries 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Place the brussel srpouts on a baking sheet. Drizzle the coconut oil over the brussel sprouts and toss. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the brussel sprouts. Place the coconut oil covered brussel sprouts in the oven for 12 minutes. 

While the brussel sprouts cook, cover the dried cranberries with two tablespoons of boiling water to soften them. Once the brussel sprouts are done baking, toss them together with the cranberries and sunflower seeds and enjoy. 

January Sugar Detox Diaries (Week 2)

Hey there, friends!

Here is the second update on how things are going for me on the sugar detox and Whole30. Overall I would say things are going great! There were much more ups and downs this week than last week, but the sugar cravings are decreasing. I was still traveling days 8-12 and am happy to report I stayed on track despite not being in my own element. I'm happy to be back home and using my own kitchen and pantry to prepare some super delicious meals that fit into my plan, but a lot of these meals are super random! I mainly wanted to share them to let you know that it is possible to stay on track with your goals even while traveling, but sometimes you might be eating a salad with hot dogs and saurkraut if that's all that's left in the fridge. And that's totally cool! Random lunches that nourish you are always winners. 

Also, not necessarily Whole30 or sugar detox related other than the intense effect it has had on my attitude, I am currently struggling with an unknown hand pain issue that has made it very difficult for me to do every day tasks like dress myself or cut up vegetables. I am hoping to get more answers on that this week, but in the meantime I have modified my activity level to do some lower body exercises at home and go on some walks outside rather than heading to an orange theory workout (which generally requires lots of hand use). If you know me, you know I HATE sitting still so being restricted on my ability to move as I please has elevated my stress level, which would normally lead me to seek comfort in food. However, knowing I am on the Whole30 and sugar detox I have to find another outlet to ease that stress. I hope that this encourages you all to keep going, even when random health issues pop up and to not seek comfort in food (especially sugar!). Almost halfway there guys! We've got this. 

HOW I'M FEELING

Day 8 - I had a major energy low this afternoon. I picked up some more stuff from trader joe's to try to keep meals interesting though. Hoping this low energy thing doesn't continue because it's hard to get anything done when you're exhausted! I managed to make it to an orange theory class and felt like I got a good workout in. 

Day 9 - I went for a long walk because I wasn’t really feeling the gym. It's only noon and I am so tired.  I felt super snacky and sleepy all afternoon. Tried to move around a lot, but I ended up grabbing an afternoon cold brew coffee to keep myself awake. I know managing caffeine is not necessarily apart of the sugar detox or whole 30, but I definitely don’t want to cut off some unhealthy food relationships only to create others, so I am trying to stay in tune with any potential increased caffeine dependency. 

Day 10  - This is the day that most people quit so I am really trying to set myself up for success today.  I pulled my groin muscle yesterday so I’m feeling super bummed about not being able to workout like I normally would. I did a modified weight workout for like 30 minutes to at least get a sweat in, but i was bummed that I couldn’t do what I normally do. I felt like I had good energy all morning, but the afternoon was an energy rollercoaster and I ended up getting coffee in the afternoon again. Partially because I love having iced coffee on the beach and partially because I so needed caffeine. Making the choice to eat a whole30 compliant meal is becoming easier for me most of the time. (Although I totally wanted some of my nephew’s pizza tonight once I smelled it.) Randomly my hands have suddenly started hurting to the point of not being able to pick things up. I don’t know if this is related to my Whole30 or sugar detox in any way, but it is freaking me out. I took some ibuprofen, iced them, and am hoping to sleep it off. 

Day 11  - My hands are still hurting really badly. My anxiety level is at like a 7 because of it. I’ll be the first to admit that I might be a little hypochondriac-ish, but this is reaaaally freaking me out. This is the second most likely day that people quite so I am trying to keep my head in the game.  I feel like I’m thinking about food less and less, but that could be mostly because I’m thinking about my hands potentially having to be cut off. (I always assume the worst!) Good news though, the groin injury has resolved itself completely and I am no longer walking like a duck. 

Day 12 - I ended up flying home early from Tampa to go to the doctor and get my hand situation figured out because I couldn’t use my right hand at all. I didn’t hardly think about food, but manage to keep things compliant with a bunless turkey burger and fruit at the airport. Turns out my hands really needed the medical attention to manage the insane swelling, redness and pain. The cause is undetermined, but they’re thinking an allergy or an autoimmune disorder. I’m getting lab work done this week to get more answers. Praying it was kind of a fluke because an autoimmune disease would be awful. A reminder that even when life happens, it’s still possible to stay on track with your goals and not use food as comfort.  There were multiple times in the evening that I really wanted to use food as comfort, but managed to withstand those cravings. And I feel super good about that! It was eye opening to see how easy it would have been to convince myself to reach for a candy bar or bowl of ice cream had I not been committed to the whole30 reset and sugar detox. The emotional attachment I have with food was very evident in those moments. 

Day 13 -  Still having hand pains and feeling super bummed about it. All I want to do is go to an orange theory class and get a good sweat in, but I can’t zip up my coat much less get on a rower or do a push up. I’m going to do some modified lower body things tonight to try to stay in a rhythm. The meds that I am on now have really left me without an appetite, but I’m making sure I eat and keep things compliant. I ended up having an evening snack of stewed apples with chia seeds and almond butter and it was so tasty. Crawling into bed feeling satisfied by my choices today not to mention the accomplishment of getting a gallery wall hung without my husband and I killing each other.  I haven’t had any of the junk food dreams that I’ve been warned about, but there are two more potential days for that to occur. The doctor prescribed me some steroids, which can make you super bloated and I am really feeling that today. Knowing that it’s the meds and not my food choices is keeping me continuing on but gosh this feeling suck especially when I know all the food choices I made were good! 

Day 14 - Being home has been so nice! It's been great to have my own coffee, collagen, ghee, and creamer in the morning. I am very attached to my morning routine and it's been so nice to find my way back into it after being gone. Even while I am away from home though I always stick to routine during the time I am gone, even if it is different than the one I have when I am home. It keeps me grounded and eases the transition between traveling and being home. Today I had a constant energy level. My hands are still hurting, but I have been able to do most things for myself today with the exception of cutting up some of the vegetables we used for breakfast. My sugar cravings are under control which is a very welcomed change from my normal daily life. Josiah and I are going on a date to the movies, which will be a fun reward for making it almost halfway through the sugar detox and whole30. 

WHAT I'M EATING

bacon + scrambled eggs + spicy guac from Trader Joe's  

golden butternut squash soup with toasted squash seeds (recipe coming soon!) 

Apples and almond butter  

Spring greens with primal kitchen ranch  + taco meat + plantain chips (compliant ingredients, but not necessarily in the spirit of Whole30, but you do you) + guac from Trader Joe's

roasted sweet potatoes + bacon + sunny eggs   

buffalo chicken + spaghetti squash + spring greens with ranch   

Applegate grass fed hot dog + sauerkraut + spring greens + tahini + sweet potatoes  

Sausage + scrambled eggs + sundried tomatoes  

Jimmy Johns turkey unwich with lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and mayo (which I would have to guess is not whole30 compliant, but I'm not 100% perfect and mayo is hella good so I don't super much care!) + bare cinnamon banana chips (picked these up at target before we picked up our Jimmy John's order) 

chicken, green peppers, bacon, and spinach omelet with Hot sauce and avocado. This might be one of the most delicious, random dinners I have ever had! 

airport lunch of bunless turkey burger with sundries tomato aoli and avocado with fresh fruit  

Korean bibimbap (a mix of raw and fermented veggies with beef) no rice. This is one of Josiah and I's favorite cheap date night meals! It's like $10 for a gigantic bowl of delicious veggies and meat. It's typically served over a bed of rice, but we opted to go without. The restaurant is called En Hakkore in Chicago and I will probably go there until the day I die. I will also happily sport at "I <3 Bibimbap" t-shirt if I ever find one. 

First lunch back home! Swai fish with a mustard glaze + cabbage with tahini sauce  

blueberry balsamic glazed salmon, kale salad (lemon juice + olive oil + salt) , and roasted garlic potatoes 

pork belly + green pepper hash with sunny side up eggs. Trader Joe's sells pre-cooked pork belly that is whole30 complaint and it is changing my life! 

Trader joe’s Turkey burger with sautéed peppers, mushrooms, and onions on a bed of lettuce with tahini sauce. One of the more random lunches from this week. 

A bunless burger with bacon, tomato, onion, and an amazing garlic aoli from a little place in our neighborhood. They were so accommodating and made eating out and pursuing goals feel attainable!