Omigosh! I wish you could smell my kitchen right now!!!!
We had a very busy day today! Between our workouts, my radio show (be sure to check out the show – Sammy Giammalva was fantastic!), voting, editing, and food prep there was little to no downtime.
Emma has been furiously working to get her latest episode of Queen of the Kitchen online. She finally got it uploaded and sent off to her producer late this afternoon. Be sure to watch, especially if you’re going to give her Roasted Butternut Squash Salad a try – she demonstrates her technique for chiffonading and marinating the kale, which is really helpful! As soon as the new episode is live, I will post a link here as well as on the ParentingAces Facebook and Twitter feeds.
NOTE: The latest episode of Queen of the Kitchen is now online. Click here to view!
Matthew is traveling this week. Last night, Emma packed up his lunch for today plus some snacks to take on the road. She also gave him a detailed primer on what he should look for on the menu when he (inevitably) goes to restaurants while he’s gone. I’m sure she’ll ask for detailed de-briefings when he gets back.
And, don’t forget about the awesome discount offer from ClassPass (click here)! I’m not sure how long the deal will run, but getting $20 off your first month of classes is a bargain for sure!
I’d love to hear if you’ve made any changes to your own family’s eating plan as a result of our 21-Day Challenge. Please share your experiences in the Comments box below. 🙂
Day 12 Menu
Pre-Breakfast: 8-12 ounces of water plus 8-12 ounces of Green Juice
Breakfast: Smoothie (for my husband: gluten-free toast spread with fresh almond butter & sliced apple)
Mid-morning snack: Organic blackberries
Pre-Lunch: 4-6 ounces of Green Juice
Lunch: Queen of the Kitchen’s Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
Afternoon snack: Apple slices with almond butter
Pre-Dinner: 4-6 ounces of Green Juice
Dinner: Queen of the Kitchen’s Lamb Vindaloo with brown rice & organic baby kale
Queen of the Kitchen’s Roasted Butternut Squash Salad (serves 2)
Ingredients:
1/2 bunch of kale (about 4 leaves)
1/2 butternut squash
Seeds from the squash
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 avocado, diced
1/2 batch Emma’s Sauteed Chickpeas
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Olive oil
Pinch pink salt
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of turmeric
Directions:
At least two hours before you want to eat the salad (or even the night before), de-stem and chiffonade the kale (check out the latest episode of Queen of The Kitchen for a demo on this technique!). Place kale in a container, drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, and sprinkle with salt. Massage the kale, then cover and store in the fridge.
Place squash seeds on a cookie sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and sprinkle on a dash of pink salt. Roast at 400 until crispy, checking on them every few minutes (they go from done to charred very quickly).
Peel and finely dice the squash. Sautee it over medium heat with a little bit of olive oil (just enough so it doesn’t stick to the pan), and a dash each of nutmeg, turmeric, and pink salt. Cook it until the squash is soft – some of the pieces may caramelize…this is a good thing! Let the squash cool.
Prepare the chickpeas according to Emma’s recipe, and set them aside to cool a bit.
When you’re ready to serve, plate the marinated kale, top with the squash. Then add the avocado and chickpeas. Finally, sprinkle on the pomegranate seeds and roasted squash seeds, and enjoy!
Queen of the Kitchen’s Lamb Vindaloo (adapted from BBC Food)
Ingredients:
NOTE: We cut this recipe drastically, using only 1/3 of the amounts listed below
3lb boneless lamb shoulder, cut into roughly 1¾in chunks
3½fl oz red wine vinegar (NOTE: We substituted apple cider vinegar)
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tsp sea salt flakes
1lb 2oz potatoes, peeled and cut into roughly 1in pieces (NOTE: We substituted cauliflower for the potatoes)
For the sauce
4½fl oz sunflower oil (NOTE: We substituted grapeseed oil)
4 onions, 3 finely sliced and 1 chopped
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3 long red chillies (do not deseed), roughly chopped
1oz fresh root ginger, peeled, roughly chopped
1 tbsp English mustard powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground paprika
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp sea salt flakes
2 bay leaves
Directions:
Trim the lamb, discarding any really hard lumps of fat and sinew. Mix the vinegar, vegetable oil and salt in bowl until well combined. Add the lamb and turn to coat in the marinade. Cover and chill in the fridge for two hours.
Preheat the oven to 350.
For the sauce, heat three tablespoons of the sunflower oil in a large heavy-based frying pan and cook the sliced onions very gently over a medium-low heat for 15 minutes until softened and lightly browned, stirring occasionally. While the sliced onions are cooking, put the remaining chopped onion, garlic, chilies, ginger, mustard powder, cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, cayenne pepper and cinnamon in a food processor and blend to a purée. Stir the purée into the fried onions. Add two tablespoons of oil and cook together for five minutes, or until thickened and beginning to color. Remove the mixture from the pan and place into a casserole dish.
Drain the lamb in a colander and reserve the marinade. Return the frying pan to the heat and add two tablespoons of the remaining oil. Fry the lamb in four or five batches over a medium-high heat, turning occasionally until lightly browned. Add a little extra oil if necessary. Add the lamb to the casserole.
Pour the reserved marinade and 17fl oz water into the casserole dish. Add the salt and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Cover the surface of the curry with a piece of parchment paper, then cover with a lid. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes.
Remove the casserole from the oven and stir the potato (cauliflower) chunks into the curry, re-cover with the parchment paper and the lid and continue to cook for a further hour or until the lamb and potatoes (cauliflower) are very tender. Season, to taste, with salt.
Serve with spoonfuls of yogurt, chopped coriander and rice or warmed naan bread. NOTE: We left off the toppings and naan!
Helpful Links
Click here for Chef V’s website
Click here for the Queen of the Kitchen website
Click here for a Google list of Green Juice recipes
Workout of the Day
TRX at FitWit (Lisa)
Barre at Solstice Urban Retreat (Emma)
Hot 60 Yoga at Evolation Yoga Atlanta (Lisa & Emma)
