Come to me, sweet sleep

When I wake up, it’s officially a go. However, I have to fall asleep first. I think my insomnia stems from a combination of:

  • My first grain-free day since I was four months old (and almost dairy and sugar-free). I wanted to ease myself in, so I kind of started today, but I feel ravenous, and it’s not yet day one!
  • Nervousness about going back to reality with school and work tomorrow. I’ve got the normal stuff, plus a few more new commitments I’ve added this semester.
  • The delicious smelling chicken broth simmering on my stove over-night. The smell is intoxicating. Perhaps that is why I feel so hungry?

The restlessness cannot stem from feeling unprepared, I’ve done my prep work. Yesterday, after tossing condiments from the fridge that expired before Obama’s second term and trekking those that didn’t but weren’t Whole 30 compliant down to the basement (along with two laundry baskets full of pasta, lentils and the like), TJ and I managed to spend a large chunk of change at Whole Foods stocking up for the week. We returned with almost everything on our list, though I had to chuckle when I asked a worker bee where I could find spaghetti squash and he replied, “It was the strangest thing. We ran out in less than a half hour.” I’m not alone in following the sample week of meals from the Whole 30 book.  Go Omaha!

Today I wanted to make some of the items recommended to have ready to go, like salad dressings. My first two attempts were failures. The mayonnaise called for light olive oil, and I didn’t use it. I didn’t even put it on the shopping list. My thoughts were, “Oh, no. I’ve done the “lite” thing. I am getting full fat, baby. I’m not scared.” It turns out extra virgin olive oil simply doesn’t work. It won’t emulsify quite right (emulsify is a new word I learned today. It basically means mix two items that don’t want to be mixed). It also turns out that light doesn’t mean “lite”. Light olive oil refers to a lighter, more neutral flavor and has nothing at all to do with calories or fat. (Side note: it has a higher smoking point, so it’s the one you want for sautéing, grilling and frying – and mayonnaise too evidently. We have been doing this all wrong for years). That meant I had to dump out 1¼ cups of EVOO and a range-free egg. Damn. Efficiency and waste are triggers for me. I am working on both of them. I took a deep breath and tossed my not-quite mayo and started a new shopping list with ‘light olive oil’. I then thought I’d try my hand at a vinaigrette, given I have three large tubs of greens in my fridge. As indicated in my Whole 30 bible, I poured three parts EVOO to one part apple cider vinegar. Then I read the label. The particular cider I had in my pantry was made from rice, a W30 no-no. How could they even call it apple cider vinegar? And, how many times had I read in the blasted book to read all labels? I dumped this concoction too. I started in on the “how could you be so careless, so MINDLESS?” routine. Then, I remembered that part of being mindful is being non-judgmental and practicing loving kindness. More deep breaths. I added apple cider vinegar to my list and decided it was time to take down the Christmas decorations.

A quick run later to Hy-Vee landed me everything I needed to remake the mayo turned into ranch dressing for lunch tomorrow and a vinaigrette too. TJ made a delicious W30 meal of roasted chicken with veggies and we all devoured it. Consuming none of the wine we’d normally have with such a delicious dinner allowed the two of us to save an almost “we give up on you, get to your rooms” night into a family game night. Not a bad day T-1 day.

 

5 thoughts on “Come to me, sweet sleep”

  1. Love this post! Sounds familiar to my last week when I made the mayo and Ranch. I will say, Nick and I love the ranch…tastes nothing like Ranch but is delicious! Can’t wait for Nick to read this because I used up all our light olive oil for 1 batch of mayo and he came home to tell me there is no such thing. We (he) will continue to educate ourselves and be with you soon!

  2. Avocado oil and/or Walnut oil are great options for paleo mayo. Or the Light Olive Oil as you mention. Side note, light or otherwise, olive oils should never be used to cook with at high heats. Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat and therefore is very unstable at even medium heat (will oxidize/rancidize easily) Try to stick with saturated fats for high heat cooking only: coconut oil, ghee, lard, tallow, butter and keep your olive oils for cold dressings or low heat cooking only.
    You could always just buy the Paleo Mayo and save yourself the headache! 🙂 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZWKI0MS?ie=UTF8&creativeASIN=B00ZWKI0MS&linkCode=xm2&tag=greplakat06-20

    1. Thank you Katie! This is great advice. We are loving the ghee for cooking salmon and steaks on the stove. I think we are converts. What about using olive oil to roast veggies in the oven? What is considered high heat? Thank you GPK!

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