It is 8:01 pm, and I survived Day 28 of the Whole30. However, I still haven't eaten dinner because it is still in the oven. I made the roasted butternut squash, brussel sprouts, red onion, balsamic reduction thing, and I'm waiting on the walnut crusted pork tenderloin to finish cooking. The vegetables taste good, better than I expected.
Before we get back to the review of dinner, I will say we had a board meeting at work today, and that involved chicken alfredo pasta, lasagna, pizzas, and a mango tres leches cake. So yeah....I made a grilled chicken salad with really good balsamic vinaigrette and had a side of apple with pecan butter. I was satisfied and had plenty of lunch to tide me over without feeling like I wanted to eat the Italian smorgasbord. The pizza did smell really good, though. Really, really good.
Ok...the dinner bell is ringing. I'll go check the pork loin and let you know how it goes. I will also discuss coconut oil. Yes. It merits a discussion.... (chew, chew, chew.....)
...Dinner is over and the dishes are clean at 8:48 pm. It's a little late for me for dinner, especially since I like to be asleep by 9:30 or so. The pork loin was delicious. I ended up broiling it in the oven for the last 5 minutes or so, which made the walnut crust kind of crunchy. I will be eating pork loin for days.
The vegetables started off tasting good, but the more I ate them, the more I didn't like them. The brussel sprouts were bitter, the butternut squash was blah, and the red onion was ok but the whole dish just didn't do it for me. I would rather eat just straight up cabbage or asparagus or just about anything else. So, that was a bust, but at least I know. Now I have to decide if I want to choke down mediocre vegetables for another 3 meals or if I can try it one more time, become disgusted, and throw the leftovers away. Maybe tomorrow I'll like them for some reason.
Another problem with the vegetables is that they have a little bit of coconut essence. I used coconut oil as the fat for roasting them, and somehow the essence of coconut lingers. I am trying to find out when best to use coconut oil so that it compliments the food and doesn't turn me off with the smell or essence or whatever it is that I detect. Months ago I attempted to fry eggs with coconut oil in the skillet. Something about it made me gag. Ick. No coconut oil with eggs. I can't explain it. Anyone else have a good reason why sometimes coconut oil is gross? And what types of foods do you use it with that you really like the results?
Tomorrow is a new day, and I will be waking up at 3:45 am to get to the pool by 4:45 am for a swim. Ouch. It's early.
nice post, thanks for sharing
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