Oh the joys!

Why is it that you never lose weight in the areas you want first? I think the 16-17 lbs I've lost so far have all been in my legs and face. I'd prefer to lose the fat in my arms and waist first! I've got about 3 lbs to go to hit my first goal, lose 20 lbs before I cruise. I'm in the final stretch! 5 more days to go!

I spent most of the weekend prepping for this last week of doing the 21dsd. I made chicken salad with celery and green apples which I'll wrap in lettuce for lunch this week.

I made Paleo friendly apple fritters. These are made with coconut flour, which I've never used before. They tasted awesome but I didn't like the texture. They were very grainy and they didn't crisp up. I'll have to tweak the recipe a bit.

I also made these Paleo swedish meatballs! They were yummy! Hope they reheat well for lunches next week.

We're celebrating my dad's birthday and St. Patrick's day tonight with corned beef and cabbage. My dad always asks for the same thing for his birthday day dinner every year, corned beef, and mom always refuses to make it for him because we have it two days later for St. Patrick's Day. So, the running joke in our house is that dad is the only person to never get whatever he wants for his birthday. I wouldn't have a problem eating it twice in one week! But mom doesn't really like the meal.

It IS fine to eat on the 21dsd though! Except for the potatoes, which is fine with me. I'll reheat leftover rutabaga instead. Yum! I love mashed rutabaga! So, here's a recipe for you if you want to try it. It's yummy!


Mashed Rutabaga with Sour cream and dill (recipe and pic from Simply Recipes )

Ingredients 

• 2 to 3 pounds of rutabagas, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream (more or less to taste)
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill or chives

METHOD

1. Cover the chopped rutabaga with about 1 inch of cold water and bring to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt and boil until tender, about 30-40 minutes. Drain and return to pot

2. Reduce the heat to love and let rutabaga steam for a few minutes. Mash with a potato masher. Add butter, sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, mix in chopped dill or chives. 

What to eat for breakfast!

I hate breakfast foods! Ok, maybe that's a little harsh. But I really dislike most of it. Oatmeal, yuck. Cereal, don't like the milk. Eggs, one of my very least favorite foods in the whole wide world. Can't eat pancakes, though I DO love those. I also don't particularly like to eat leftovers for breakfast. My palate just isn't ready for the heaviness of leftovers. So, pretty much, I drink smoothies and protein shakes for breakfast nowadays. Until I found this recipe...

It's awesome. I can stand the eggs in it because I can't really taste them and they don't have an eggy texture. It's easy to make, very versatile, and cheap! A bonus, because my food budget has tripled recently. Sigh. I know you're thinking, turnips? Really? Seriously, you'd never now they weren't hashbrowns. They have the EXACT same texture! It's amazing! When you're peeling them and shredding them, they smell like horseradish. Don't let this sway you from making the dish. They don't end up tasting like horseradish. Mix it up with different meats, veggies, cheeses (if you eat cheese). The original recipe didn't call for cheese because it was a paleo recipe but I don't have a problem with cheese. The first time I made this recipe, I used the sausage it calls for. This time, I used ham. I also added onions and red peppers. You could try turkey sausage, regular sausage, bacon, or ham. Try chicken sausage too. That's always yummy.

Breakfast Casserole (original recipe from Mark's Daily Apple: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-breakfast-casserole/#ixzz2vhBqfErG)

Approximately 8 servings

• 1 pound ground breakfast sausage or other breakfast meat
• 3 turnips, peeled and grated (a food processor works well for this)
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 c chopped vegetables (whichever float your boat. Onions, bell peppers, leeks, mushrooms, etc)
• 1 cup shredded cheese (again, whichever. I used Old Croc's all natural extra sharp cheddar) 

Instructions:

Sauté sausage, breaking it up into small pieces with a spoon or spatula, until almost cooked through.

Mix the sausage with the rest of the ingredients.

Spoon into a 9X16 greased baking pan.

When ready to cook, heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes  Let cool 15-20 minutes so the casserole sets before cutting into it.

P.S. This freezes perfectly! Cut it into squares, place it on a cookie sheet and freeze. Then, when you want to eat it, pop it into the microwave for 1 minute or so. It's great!