DAY 1 #Whole30

Trader Joes has been a life saver during the Whole 30, you can’t beat the prices. Today was kind of hectic we had bacon for breakfast and LaraBars for lunch, for dinner Scott was able to throw something extra delicious together!

PAN- ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS & SQUASH

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/2 pound Brussel Sprouts, trimmed and cut in half

• 1/2 red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3 cups diced peeled butternut squash

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed

 

HEAT the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot, add the Brussels Sprouts and onion and season with the pepper and salt. Cover and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the sprouts begin to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn the sprouts and add the squash and cook everything until the squash is fork-tender, an additional 7 to 10 minutes.

OVEN ROASTED skip cutting the Brussels Sprouts in half- just trim the ends me and leave them whole. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the Brussels Sprouts, onion, and butternut squash. Add the olive oil and stir or toss until all the vegetables are well coated. Spread the vegetables on a parchment paper lined baking tray and sprinkle with the pepper and salt. Roast in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes until the vegetables are fork tender.

 

 

OVEN ROASTED TURKEY BREAST

Ingredients:

• Turkey breast

• Salt

•Pepper

• Olive Oil

 

PREHEAT the oven to 450 degrees F. Debone turkey breast before or after cooking based on preference. Rub turkey breast with olive oil, Salt and Pepper.  Line a baking tray with tin foil, place your turkey breast on the tray. Right when you place Turkey breast in oven turn oven temperature down to 350 degrees F. Cook around an hour based on Turkey Breast size, check internal temperature for doneness.

 

Whole 30 challenge

So my fiancé and I are taking on the Whole30 challenge, for those who have no idea what I’m talking about ill give you a brief description. “It’s basically pushing the reset button with your health, your habits and your relationship with food. Certain food groups could be having a negative impact on your body composition, health, and quality of life without you even realizing it.” So here is what you are allowed to have and what you should steer away from when trying to reset your body.

NOT ALLOWED

• Alcohol (nearly twice as calorie dense as sugar, gram for gram!)

• Whole Grains; wheat, oats, barley, corn, rice, millet, buckwheat, quinoa, and the like. (Both refined and whole grains promote overconsumption, which creates hormonal and metabolic disruption, they also contain inflammatory proteins and fermentable carbohydrates)

• Peanuts, Beans & Soy; legumes, beans, lentils, peas, soy and peanuts. (Contain fermentable carbohydrates that can disrupt your gut bacteria, and commonly cause gas, bloating, cramps, pain and other digestive issues)

• Milk, Cheese & Yogurt, from a cow, sheep or goat. (The lactose in milk together with the milk proteins produce a surprisingly high insulin response, which could be inflammatory in our bodies and further promotes disorders like obesity and diabetes)

• NO ADDED SUGAR OF ANY KIND REAL OR ARTIFICIAL.

• NO MSG, sulfites, & Carrageenan

• NO PALEO BREADS OR CEREALS

•Protein shakes

 

ALLOWED

• Meat,  meats with preseasoning or cured meats read the labels for added sugars in the ingredient lists to make sure it’s #whole30approved!

• Seafood, check your labels!

• Eggs

• Vegetables

• Fruit

•Chai

•Dates

•Green Beans

•LaraBars

• Natural Fats

•Salt

•Sesame Oil

•Snow peas and Sugar Snap Peas

•Tapioca

• Tahini

• Some vegetable oils (when eating out)

• Clarified butter or Ghee

• Best to make your own dressings #whole30recipes has some great ones!

•Almond Milk, read your labels

• Coconut water

•Coffee, no sugar or milk.

•Fruit juice, preferred to use as sweetener to cook with.

•Vegtable Juice

 

Now that we have outlined the basic Guidlelines we are going to be following you can help keep us accountable and join along if you feel like it!

 

 

Prosciutto, Goat Cheese, Feta, and Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast

Hello everyone!

Today I made a stuffed chicken breast. I gotta say this is one of my tastier recipes of late, and if you can pause the video at the end… you know when the cheese oozes out you did something right. The title pretty much says it all, and all the ingredients are in the video but I’ll post them here too:

Spinach

Chicken breasts

Goat cheese

Feta cheese

Prosciutto

Salt

Pepper

Butternut Squash and Shallot Soup

Ahhh the leaves are changing, the temperature is dropping, and snow is on its way…. not if you live in Florida! Although it may not feel like fall, this recipe is bound to make you want an open fire, or at least a pumpkin spice candle.

Around 8 cup of cubed butternut squash

2 tablespoons of olive oil, or more, just cover em all up before you put them in the oven.

1/2 teaspoon of salt although I definitely used more than that too

8 shallots – peeled and halved

bout an inch of fresh ginger

chicken broth to the consistency you want, buy 2 containers just in case (it also gives you an excuse to make more later on)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

any other spices you want to throw in there

Carnitas

Hey everybody! Here’s another old video that I remembered to upload on youtube but forgot to post it here. I’m not remember the recipe I used, or if I even followed a recipe, but it’s pretty simple. You can use any kind of spices you want, and with carnitas it’s hard to add too much spice. These are great if they pack a bit of a punch! Once they’re done you can use them in about anything, but I think they’re best stuffed between two carbs of some kind. Ex. bread, taco shells (hard or soft), rice, couscous, anything you want really.

Mushroom Soup

Hey everybody! I did this video a while ago and forgot to upload it but its pretty straightforward. The best thing about this recipe is that it is amazing on its own, but is a perfect base if you want to branch out and try to add in some other flavors.

Shredded Chicken

Just thought I would post a quick easy way to make shredded chicken! I usually use it in tacos or salad, but it can be put in pretty much anything!

Lamb Chipotle Chili

Hey everybody!

So I decided on a chili recipe because I wanted something that I could cook at the beginning of the week and then have it for lunch a few days and freeze the rest for another time. I used lamb in the recipe because… why not use lamb? Most recipies with ground beef can use a little lamb for more flavor. Also, if you get heartburn, like me, you might want to use less of each spice that’s thrown in there. I probably should have, but it’s worth it. Anyways, here’s the recipe:

1 lb ground beef

1lb ground lamb

1lb hot Italian sausage

5 tbls chili powder

1 tbls ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

2 cloves of minced garlic, or if your like me, 3 or 4

1 large onion diced, but I think I just used a few yellow onions I had from the chicken hearts

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 15 oz can of tomato sauce

1 14 oz can of kidney beans

I think I used a teaspoon or two of chipotle powder I got from the grocery store

1 6 oz can of tomato paste

salt and pepper to taste

Hearts Are Good For The Soul

Chicken Hearts

Hey Everybody!

I’ve uploaded a video on how to make one of my favorite recipes that I always come back to when I want a home cooked, comfort food, meal. While most, if not everyone, on this blog probably doesn’t think of chicken hearts when they think of comfort food, I’m asking everyone to just give it a try. My girlfriend didn’t want to try it at all, but once she did she loved it! A few of my friends have tried it as well, and everyone who has tried it is converted into a chicken heart lover. As I said in my first post, I’m a college student who is on a budget, and one of the best things about chicken hearts is that a big pack of them are less than $2!. While I don’t give amounts for different spices, you can see about how much of each spice I used in the video. If your apprehensive of just throwing spices in your meal, it just takes practice! Just add a little in, taste, add more, taste, etc. until you end up with the perfect amount of spice for you.

In this recipe I used:

About 1 pack of chicken hearts (around $1.50 at publix)

5 small yellow onions

2 packs of mushrooms

cayenne, smoked paprika, garlic/garlic powder, curry powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and just about anything you want to throw in there! (although this is my favorite combo of spices in chicken hearts).

Welcome to Embree’s Eats!

Hello everyone,

My name is Embree Dowling, and I love to fish, surf, hang out with my girlfriend, play with my dog, etc. etc. But, one of my many passions, that I actually get to do on a daily basis, is cooking. I want you to think of your favorite food dish, or one you have been wanting to make, and tell me to make it! I haven’t met a food I didn’t like to cook yet, so I’ll try anything (as long as it doesn’t break my bank -hint- no lobster). I’ll post a video of the cooking process, my recipe for the dish, and descriptions/jokes/history.

I’ll be making a video later tonight that will show you how it looks! Leave your comments below, or if you haven’t thought of any yet post them on my upcoming video blogs.

Thank you I hope you enjoy!