Day #13...Boom! Football Food!

Another weekend is coming to a close. I can't believe that we are almost 1/2 way though our Whole30 experience. I also cannot believe that we have made it through another weekend chalk full of healthy food (and no takeout!). It is so rewarding to see my kids plowing through this experience and actually enjoying the journey. We were up and at it early again this morning (this is pretty much a trend in our house...gone are the days of toddlers and no place to be) for church. I had a quick "Monkey Salad" (sliced banana with a handful of cashews and raw coconut) for breakfast. I had meetings after church that kept me there longer than normal, so I was STARVING when I got home. For the first time during the last 2 weeks I was actually experiencing a sweet tooth. There are really very few ways to address this (aside from fruit), so I just decided that I really wasn't craving sugar. I made a great green, veggie salad topped it with the turkey that I cooked up yesterday and threw in some dried apricots that I picked up from Trader Joe's yesterday and a few blackberries. The apricots did the trick! They were so sweet and delicious with the balsamic vinegar.

All week I have been thinking about "football" food. Food is such a part of my lifestyle and the culture of my family. We WILL order pizza again and we WILL go to Five Guys for burgers again, and I believe that those events should occur. What I am working to tweek is the culture of food that surrounds my family right now. There is an entire season of football, there is an entire season of summer BBQ-ing, there is an entire winter of snow days...there is a "Friday" night every week. If my family is always celebrating an "occasion" with "less than healthy" food, then they will always be consuming and this will all be for naught. So since we are in the thick of Whole30 I was determined to do it! Determined to provide a football "spread" that was deliciously amazing and Whole30 compliant. I did it! I made "Potato Nachos" which were diced red potatoes roasted in some EVOO until crispy. I topped those potatoes with Mexican seasoned venison, peppers, tomatoes, chives, black olives and avocado. I made a big veggie platter and made some garlic and dill homemade mayo (just for some light "dipping"). I also made some crispy eggplant discs. I peeled the eggplant, sliced it thin, dipped it in egg and then in an almond flour mixture (salt, pepper, Italian Seasoning). I baked these "discs" in a 425 degree oven (flipping once) and they were awesome! I had some sweet onion marinara sauce in the freezer that I made a few weeks ago that I heated up and we dipped away! It was so rewarding to see that I don't have to change entirely, I just have to make small and subtle changes. ~Jen