Day 2: In which variety is not the spice of life + Lemony-Carrot-Ginger Soup

I almost gagged this morning trying to force down my breakfast while it was still dark out. I am probably going to be learning and tweaking a lot over the next few (30?) days, so maybe tweak #1 will be: tomorrow I'll eat breakfast when I actually feel hungry. Noteworthy: I was not hungry this morning. I was just normal. It felt like a normal morning, but I was a little more tired (contributing factors: daylight savings, another night of somewhat elusive sleep, sore throat, perhaps Whole 30 changes but if so they weren't obvious) and my throat was still sore.

Here's what the plan was:

Breakfast: Sausage, small fruit, sautéed greens, green tea

Lunch: Roasted cauliflower "pilaf" with loads of veggies, seeds, leftover chicken and mustard vinaigrette; homemade lara bar

Dinner: Squash (or Carrot)-Ginger Soup, big colorful salad with leftover chicken and oil + vinegar, kale chips, spoonful of coconut butter/manna for dessert

Here's how the day went:

7:30 a.m. Breakfast: 2 eggs, leftover sautéed veggies with green sauce, green tea, minor gagging

9:00 a.m. Spoonful of Sunbutter (this was my lackluster attempt at trying pre-workout food)

9:05-10:45 a.m. HIIT class (it was hard and I am going to be sore tomorrow; got a little headachy in the beginning but then it cleared up and I felt better after working out than I did beforehand) / walked to and from YWCA while Beckett scooted

11 a.m. Banana (post-workout food)

12:30 p.m. "Lunch". Well. First I had a hot dog (are you disappointed that I didn't photograph that for you? - next time!), carrots, and almond butter while I started making a meal that ended up not happening. Roasted cauliflower takes forever and is not something to make when you are hungry. (Noteworthy: I was hungry this afternoon.) Then I was like, fine, I'll have a salad instead... only to discover that all my mixed salad greens had gone brown and wet on me. Wasting food is among my least favorite things, so this bummed me out, AND I was hungry, and Beckett's speech therapist was about to arrive... blah blah blah. I salvaged a few salad green leaves and also had some arugula. Tossed in some leftover chicken, a hard-boiled egg, some tomatoes, and used my green sauce for dressing. It was good but not enough, so afterwards I had a homemade lara bar and a cup of tea with coconut milk in it (next time I will just skip the coconut milk; it added nothing in terms of flavor, and I'm fairly certain my fat quotas are being met elsewhere).

5:30 p.m. Dinner was carrot-ginger soup (recipe below) and an arugula salad with roasted cauliflower, avocado, chicken, and the last of my cilantro-garlic-jalapeno dressing that I've been calling "magic green sauce". This was a satisfying meal, and a good one to end on.

As I type right now (~9 p.m.), I'm drinking a mug of warm chicken stock. My sore throat has evolved into a bit of a cough. Grrr.

Impressions:

1. I am considering the Vegetarian Whole 30, or a version of it anyway that would allow for meat or fish maybe 4 days a week instead of 7. I want to make a clear choice and not just eat some yogurt because I want yogurt (that would be cheating, as opposed to choosing), and I have my meal plan set through the week, so I'm going to think about it through the weekend, read what the book has to say about it, and then either incorporate yogurt, whey protein, and legumes next week or not. 

2. I need to make a big batch of stew or something for lunches. That's what I usually eat for lunch throughout the week, but it's usually legume-based. So I need to make chicken stew or something that I can just have in the fridge and/or freezer for quick lunches. I like a hot lunch. And so far the amount of time I've spent cooking since Sunday is unsustainable as I look forward 28 days. As my friend Amber suggested: stick with the foods I typically go to and just Whole30-ify them. I mean seriously. Lunch was such a freaking (expletive) show. So disappointing, so frustrating, so unsatisfying. And cooking is my job! The trouble is that my go-tos are cheese and beans.

3. Which reminds me: Thursday is going to be hard/weird. Cooking for 15 people and not even tasting what I give them?

4. I am proud of myself for not cheating so far. 

5. I feel kind of bloated. Wtf?

6. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post, which will showcase a cool thing to do with leftover soup a la cook once, eat twice approach to dinner. (Spoiler: thaw some cod tonight!)

Lemony-Carrot-Ginger Soup - The Whole 30 Version

Adapted from Epicurious

Yields: 6-8 servings

Note: This is one of my favorite soups; I make it a few times a year. Tonight's version was just as good as the buttery version. Sometimes ghee is too strong for me but in this, it wasn't. The canned tomatoes (more acidic than fresh ones/less sweet than the tomato paste I usually use) were a good counter to the ghee, and the lemon and ginger shine magically. You could use olive oil too. 

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) ghee

1 large onion, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1-2 tablespoons freshly minced ginger

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 lbs carrots, coarsely chopped

1 15-oz can tomatoes (diced, whole, crushed, whatever)

4 cups homemade chicken stock + some water, if needed

Salt and pepper 

Melt ghee in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt; sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add ginger and lemon peel and 1/4 teaspoon more salt; sauté 2 more minutes. Add chopped carrots, tomatoes, and 4 cups stock (plus, if needed, a little more stock or water, just enough so that carrots are completely covered). Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover partially and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly.

Puree soup in batches in blender. Return soup to pot. Mix in lemon juice. Taste and add 1-2 teaspoons salt (depending on preference and how salty your stock is) and some ground pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)