Whole 30 on

Well, the November Whole30 is over.  It was (after that first week anyway) much less painful than one might suspect.   The major cravings have gone away.  I don't wake up in the morning requiring Diet Pepsi.  I also don't require it at regular intervals throughout the day.  Unfortunately I also have not replaced it with water or anyone similar wholesome appropriate beverage but that is neither here nor there.  

On average the gut feels better.  There are still terrible days but they are less frequent than they were before.  I suppose that is something. As far as food goes though I seem to be hitting my stride.  I'm not missing grains or dairy.  Soy is harder not because I just love soy but because it's so ubiquitous in American food.  It's nearly impossible to eat out or even buy a lot of canned or frozen vegetables because they're laced with the stuff.  That is one area where I've been a little more lenient just for convenience sake.  Otherwise, all is good.  I'm tweaking recipes and learning what my new "staples" are.  Nothing too exciting got made in this weekend's rotation but a smattering are below.  Another batch of baked fajitas - these are awesome on top of salad for work lunches.  I've done seafood, chicken and now made my way back to steak.  Another quiche which has become a weekly endeavor - this time pumpkin 'crust' with broccoli, mushrooms and eggplant.  Babaganoush.  And sweet potato chips.

I'm sure new recipes will come eventually - especially with a vacation in a few weeks - but I seem to have settled into a pattern here and lost my inspiration for new cooking adventures.  

 

Pumpkin Sweet Potato Gnocchi

A twist on sweet potato gnocchi with the addition of pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spices.  I topped it here with a warmed pumpkin butter which amped up the pumpkin but doesn't really let the gnocchi flavor itself shine through.  Also delicious with a browned butter sauce which lets you get more of the pumpkin flavor in the gnocchi.  This did also require a great deal more flour than sweet potato gnocchi traditionally would because the pumpkin was so wet but still worked out just fine.

Makes: 12 dozen
Calories: 200/dozen

Ingredients:

24 oz sweet potato (about 3 med-large potatoes)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3T egg whites (or 1 large egg)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3-4 cup flour

Directions:

- Bake potatoes in over at 375F for approximately 1 hour or until soft.
- Remove from oven and cut in half.  Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes
- Scoop potato insides into bowl and mash or puree.  Add pumpkin and mix thoroughly.
- Slowly add flour to thicken.  Knead dough continuing to add flour until about 80% of the moistness has been removed.  The dough should have give to it and retain an indentation when pressed but not hold the indentation perfectly.
- Divide dough into manageable portions (I split into 4).  Place on floured surface and roll into lengths 1" in diameter.

- Using a blunt knife or fork cut off 1" segments
- Drop segments into pot with boiling water and boil for approximately 5 minutes or until gnocchi begin to float.

- Top with your desired sauce and enjoy.