Breakfast

• A banana
• A few almonds
• An avocado with black pepper
• Sweet potato fries

I was obviously very hungry this morning.

Lunch

• Dill salmon from paleomg
• Zucchini sautéed with aji sauce
• Roasted sweet potato
• An orange

The salmon recipe was from paleomg, and it was really tasty. Don't make the same mistake as me of cooking the fish on broil, it will leave you with a really burnt top. Haha.

Dinner

• Chicken curry salad with spinach, wrapped in a paleo wrap

I made chicken curry salad for the first time last week using leftover roasted chicken breast, and I was in L.O.V.E. Everything about this salad is amazing, starting with the crunch from the celery and pecans, along with the burst of sweetness from the apples and raisins, down to the kick from the cayenne pepper. I recommend making the salad a day in advance, that way all the ingredients get a chance to mingle.

Chicken Curry Salad
Yields: 2 servings

• 1 cooked chicken breast- diced
• 1 1/2 stalks celery diced
• 1/2 small apple diced
• 1/4 cup pecans or slivered almonds
• 2 tbsp. fresh minced cilantro
• 1 green onion diced
• 1 tbsp. raisins

Dressing

• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/2 tsp. curry powder
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Toss all the salad ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and mix.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well. 
4. Place the salad in the fridge and let it sit overnight and enjoy the following day. You can try it in a paleo wrap, a lettuce wrap or just by it is delicious too!

I found the paleo wraps at whole foods, and was really excited to try them. The coconut flavor from the wrap compliments the curry salad nicely. But you can easily enjoy eating the salad all by itself.

Usually this time of year the last thing I want to eat is a salad. Soup? Yes. Tea? Yes. Stew? Yes.  Salad...mmm not so much. But I have the perfect combination of fall ingredients that will have you craving this unique salad. I tried this salad at a friend’s house and loved the idea of using persimmons in a salad. (Seeing as I have more persimmons at home than I know what to do with). I swapped out the pomegranate seeds that she used in place for pear and added the sliced almonds to add a hint of spice.

The Perfect Fall Salad
 
Yields: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 Cup organic mixed greens or baby spinach
• 1 Small roasted beet diced
• 1/2 Persimmon diced
• 1/2 Bosc pear diced
• Toasty sliced almonds

1. Build your salad and pour on your favorite salad dressing. (I used balsamic vinegar with a bit of olive oil and honey)

Like I mentioned in my last post, the toasty sliced almonds really help bring all the ingredients in the salad together. It will keep you coming back for more!    

This morning I started the day by going to farmers market. I woke up a little late and didn’t get there until 10:30 and it was packed! I usually like to go when it opens, but this morning I needed the sleep. I love going to the farmers market because not only am I supporting local farmers, but it’s also a great place to go to be inspired by all the fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables. But since today was ridiculously hot I was not feeling very adventurous, so I just bought what I needed and got out of there.


DAY 18
Breakfast

• Eggs in a cup (ovos em um copo)

Snacks: key lime Lara bar

Eggs in a cup is something that Ruben’s parents used too always make for him when he was younger. Its eggs that have been boiled until the yoke is soft medium (I use my egg thermometer for this, or you can cook over medium heat for 10 minutes). You than peel them put them in a cup and taking a spoon you go around in circles really fast to break the egg up into little pieces. Season with salt and eat up! It sounds weird, but I promise its good. Don’t knock it till you try it.


Lunch

• Chinese chicken salad

Snacks: smoothie- mango, banana, frozen cherries, coconut water ice cubes, a bit of canned coconut milk.

I know that while doing the whole30 its not recommended that you make smoothies, but it was so incredibly hot today, and I really wanted something refreshing to cool me down. 

Dinner

• Leftover Chinese chicken salad

Something I have wanted to make for the longest time is Chinese chicken salad. And since I had all ingredients and today was blazing hot this salad sounded like the perfect idea. All the recipes I found online for Chinese chicken salad use either honey or maple syrup. So to make it whole30 I used apple juice as a sweetener, and included diced apples in the salad as well.  It gave the salad the perfect amount of sweetness. 


CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD

For the dressing:

• 3 tbsp. home made mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp. coconut aminos
• 1 tsp. sesame seed oil
• 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. ginger powder
• 3 tbsp. apple juice (the juice of 1/2 an apple)
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Dash of salt and pepper

For the salad

• 2 cooked chicken breasts diced
• 2 cups thinly shredded purple cabbage
• 2 cups thinly shredded green cabbage
• 2 carrots julienned, or 10 baby carrots thinly sliced.
• 10 mint leaves chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 3 green onions diced
• 1/2 and apple shredded or diced
• A handful of bean sprouts
• 1/4 cup toasted or raw slivered almonds (I suggest toasted, it adds a nice warmth flavor to the salad)

1. In a small bowl combine all the dressing ingredients and whisk them together.
2. Take all the ingredients for the salad except for the almonds and combine in a bowl. Pour the salad dressing over the top and mixed until the whole salad is covered in dressing. 
3. When you are ready to serve the salad, pour the almonds into the salad and mix.