whole30: week 3 + parsnips and potato mash
Another week, another weekly re-cap.
From top left.
1. I’ve actually never been to Bonefish Grill, but I do know about their Bang Bang Shrimp. I used a copycat recipe to create this version and served it over some salad. It was tasty, even though it doesn’t look very pretty. I’ll post the recipe later this week.
2. I made another egg casserole for the week – this time with sweet potatoes as the base instead of potatoes.
3. Grant took me out for a date last week – we went to one of our favorites, The Local. This Brussel sprout salad was to-die-for. I’m sure the dressing wasn’t Whole30 compliant, but I don’t really care because I resisted ordering one of my favorite beers on draft while I was there.
4. I had some nasturtium pesto (without cheese) frozen in the freezer, so I plopped it into some mushrooms and put it under the broiler for about 20 minutes. When I freeze pesto, I usually like to do it without the cheese, and then mix in the cheese when I thaw it. We ate a lot of this in the summer and loved it, but this time around, it was a bit strong tasting for me. I’m thinking it needs some Parmesan to cut the bitter flavor maybe. Grant and Maeve liked it though!
5. I made chicken wings for the big Colts game (sad). It was really tasty, and I didn’t even notice the difference (I subbed out coconut flour for my usual flour or breadcrumbs).
6. Grant smoked a big picnic roast, so I smashed up some potatoes and parsnips (recipe below). This will definitely become a staple side in the winter time around here – so easy and delicious.
7. I don’t usually snack, so this Whole30 has been weird for me because I’ve been feeling hungry around 4ish most days. I’m getting sick of regular nuts, so I’ve been toasting them just a bit to spice things up – it brings out the sweetness in them and tricks my brain into thinking they are something different.
8. My dad’s birthday was last week, so we had him over for birthday brunch. I made some more egg casserole, but put Manchego on 2/3rds of it for the rest of the family. It was an easy way to modify things without much extra work; however, their side did look much better than mine.
9. When I’m roasting stuff in the oven, I try to think of ways to maximize the energy, which winds up saving me time in other ways too. I roasted about ten pounds of sweet potatoes over the weekend and used half of them for some more curried soup (yes, I’m addicted), and I still had 4-5 pounds left as an easy side for the rest of the week.
Ingredients
- 3-4 potatoes (any variety works), peeled
- 3-4 large parsnips, peeled
- 2-3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 1/2 cup coconut (or almond) milk
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Chop the potatoes and parsnips into large chunks. If your parsnips are really large, you may need to cut out the stem because it gets a little tough.
- I love my pressure cooker for stuff like this, so I throw in the parsnips and potatoes, cook them for about ten minutes in a cup of water in the pressure cooker. If you don't have a pressure cooker, bring the vegetables to a boil in a large pot with enough water to cover them until the parsnips soften up - about 20-25 minutes.
- Drain the water, leaving about a quarter cup of water in the pot. I usually just do this with the lid of the pot - it isn't an exact science.
- Add the garlic while the pot is still warm and stir to combine.
- Add the ghee and coconut milk, and stir to combine.
- Mash the potatoes and parsnips to your desired consistency.
- Taste. Salt and pepper as necessary.
- Chives or green onions would make a great addition if you have them.
