I’m on Day 5 of my 21-day resolution not to eat added sugar or white flour and it’s going pretty well. Honestly, it’s been better in some ways and worse in some ways that I had imagined.
The good stuff: I don’t have to agonize over the “should I or shouldn’t I?” of certain eating choices. If someone brings bagels or cookies to school, I can simply tell myself that I’m not going to be able to have any this time and remind myself that bagels and cookies will still exist in 3 weeks. It simplifies things and I haven’t felt too deprived yet. Then again, it’s only day 5 and I have raided the kitchen pantry for handfuls dried cherries and walnuts the last several nights in a row.
The not so good stuff: It can feel socially isolating to completely avoid any food category. My resolution is definitely not as restrictive as it could be, but it can still be difficult to navigate certain social situations. For example, I know my boyfriend is going to be a little put out when we go to our favorite wood-fire pizza restaurant later tonight and I just order some olives and a salad. He’ll get over it, but this shows how sharing food is an important part of many intimate relationships. Also, it’s hard to learn how to stay fueled and full when the majority of “empty” calories are taken away!
And I’ve been unusually tired all week. I don’t know why.
Luckily, there are a great many meals that one can enjoy when avoiding sugar and processed flour. In keeping with my recent french obsession, I made Salmon en Papillote for dinner a few nights ago. I cannot even begin to describe the delicious smells coming out of my oven as it cooked. It was simple to make but came out looking quite impressive. I also made Parmesan-Crusted Asparagus to round out the meal.
Again with the grainy iPod photos. I promise I’m getting my real camera back soon.
Layers of goodness.
Lovely asparagus.
A perfect spring meal.
As always, enjoy!
Salmon en Papillote
serves 2
Ingredients
– 1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
– 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
– about 3/4 lb fillet of wild-caught salmon, cut into 2 pieces
– 8 large basil leaves
– salt
– pepper
– 1 lemon
– 1-2 green onions, white parts only, finely sliced
– 2 sprigs thyme
Heat oven to 425F. Cut two 12″x12″ pieces of foil and set aside.
Start by cooking the tomatoes. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat and add washed tomatoes. Cook just until their skins are beginning to wrinkle, 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Prepare the salmon packets. In the middle of each piece of foil, place 3 basil leaves side by side. Drizzle them with a little olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Place the salmon on top of the basil leaves, skin side down (if they have skin). Spoon the cooked tomatoes onto the foil next to the salmon. Drizzle the salmon with a little more olive oil and sprinkle some more salt and pepper. Sprinkle the packets with a little lemon juice and lemon zest (about 1/4 tsp zest per packet). Scatter green onion slices over the salmon and tomatoes and place a basil leaf and thyme sprig on each piece of salmon.
Now, close up the packets. You’ll want to seal them tightly enough that steam does not escape during cooking but you’ll also want to “tent” them so there is a bit of space above the salmon.
Place packets on a baking pan and bake for 7-10 minutes. I left them for 10 minutes and felt they were almost overdone. I will try 8 minutes next time.
When they are done, remove the salmon from the tin foil and plate along with the tomatoes.
Parmesan-Crusted Asparagus
serves 2
Ingredients
– 1 lb asparagus, woody stems removed and peeled, if desired
– 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
– a few pinches coarse salt
– 3 Tbsp almond flour (finely ground almonds)
– 3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
Heat oven to 425F. In a small bowl, combine almond flour and parmesan cheese.
Place asparagus in a shallow baking dish and toss with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and top with cheese mixture. Bake for about 10 minutes, until asparagus is tender and topping is just beginning to brown. Serve immediately.
dishes and dishes 