Day (Whole) 30 or How I Learned to Make the Best Damn Potato Salad Ever

Well, he did it! Jordan finishes his Whole 30 today.

I never had any doubts he could do it. This man can be the most determined person ever. He's gone a full 30 days without sugar (save accidentally licking Ransom's dripping fruit popscicle), legumes, all grains, soy, and dairy. I, on the other hand, have enjoyed a steady diet of queso and mini M&Ms.

No, really, I've stayed on the wagon for the majority of our meals - maybe adding a condiment or slice of cheese; but my snack life has been a little (ok, a lot) more lax.

And even as a two-time Whole 30 drop out (aren't you proud, mama?), I have to say it is a pretty good plan. Strict, yes. Time consuming, hell yes. But the food is good and REAL and the results are obvious.

I want to share a few quick positive observations with you before I share what might be our new favorite recipe in the whole world (not just Whole 30, but all of recipe-dom).

• You don't have to go hungry. There's no counting - carbs, calories, fats, nothing. There aren't limits on how many times a week you can eat x. You're actually listening to your body and if your body feels hungry, you eat. Given, you need to eat something good, but you're not denying yourself food in general. This is a big deal for a "diet" - I don't do hangry well.

• You're not eating bizarro "health" food. We didn't eat a single piece of kale, a chia seed, or fake noodle made out of mushroom powder. Sure, you might lose weight from the cabbage soup diet or the one where you just drink water with lemon juice and cayenne pepper but who cares if you're skinny if you're a miserable jerk?

• You can make delicious meals that people wouldn't even realize were Whole 30 - like the recipe below. Meat + vegetables + fruit is really all you need. And when you fully utilize your spice cabinet and lovingly cook things, not just microwave them, you can make tasty food.

So, speaking of delicious meals, here's our Friday night feast. Yes, we've made it every Friday night; it's THAT good.

I found this potato salad recipe right as we were getting started and we made some minor modifications to make it Whole 30-approved, but also, more delicious. If you want to follow the original recipe, you can view it HERE.

We pair this with a juicy, medium grilled steak; which, if you do it right, needs nothing more than salt and pepper - no A1, no clarified butter, just perfectly seasoned beef. But it would be great with any protein and I think it would be perfect for a potluck or picnic. It's also great cold, assuming you'll ever have leftovers.

* Whole 30 mayo recipe HERE

It's been a hard month, no doubt (see: my breakdown on Day 5 HERE). But it's not been un-enjoyable and the results are easy to see. J's got more energy, he's looking all svelte, and we haven't had a single "where do you want to eat" fight!

I really would recommend Whole 30 to anyone seeking a change or even just a re-set on their digestion and metabolism, if for no reason than you'll actually enjoy the food you're eating and the way you feel.

For more information on Whole 30, consider buying the affordable cookbook and reading through the process and trying some of the recipes. You're supposed to do this 100% and take it on as a lifestyle change, but even just starting out with making healthier decisions and home cooked meals is a step in the right direction for anyone.

Tasty Tomes: Favorite "Food Books"

We are a reading family. J and I are both voracious readers independently, but enjoy books so much, and with such varied tastes, that we share them with each other by reading our personal favorites out loud to the other.

There's just something about summer that intensifies my desire to read. It may be that it's too hot to exert yourself more than turning a page, that it's easier to escape to other worlds in the whimsy of "summer vacation" despite being tied down with full-time jobs, or that one of our culture's last vestiges of enjoying reading is the "Beach Reads" checklist at bookshops. Regardless, I've had an insatiable appetite for books as the weather has warmed up.

J enjoys science fiction and fantasy books - from The Gunslinger to the Wheel of Time Series to Michael Chrichton's books - he enjoys the fantastical, magical worlds. And I have enjoyed him opening my eyes to these books that I would have hardly noticed on my own, but have come to enjoy.

I have a much less exciting, and almost haphazard, taste in books. As an English major, I'm willing to (attempt to) appreciate any effort at writing an entire book, regardless of the subject. I'll pick up just about anything at a used bookstore that sounds halfway decent or has really nice cover art; but mostly I like stories about the everyday. I know that's vague, but what I mean is stories like The Great Gatsby, that aren't about magic of technology or space or other dimensions, so much as the pieces of regular peoples' lives falling into place. The books that are good stories above all, but that could happen to anyone, that describe the most common of occurrences but in such a way that you can relate and empathize.

And in this somewhat reckless collection of books that I've read, I've come across some great works about food. A few are non-fiction, and biographies, even; but most are works of fiction where food is a main character in the drama. A lot of the books are able to portray, far better than I could ever imagine doing, how important a meal can be between friends, how special memories are of late-night snacks, how your emotions are portrayed through the foods you serve, and more.

If you're a reader, hungering for something to sink your intellectual teeth into, consider giving these books a shot. I've enjoyed each of them and hope you will, too.

Each title includes a link to the Goodreads.com book review page which includes a brief synopsis, reader reviews and more. If you read a lot, I highly recommend setting up a Goodreads account; it keeps me straight on what I've read (and if I liked it) and what I want to read next. I'd be lost in a bookstore without it.

Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child  - This bio of the late, great, Julia Child offers so many insights about her personal life that I'd never known. For example, in her 80s she loved picking up young men in bars; her and her husband had the most wonderful romance; and despite being the pre-Martha Stewart of perfection, she had an incredibly dysfunctional family.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - An Eric Carle classic that taught us all the basics of counting, colors and binge eating. I have snack cravings just like this little guy all the time.

Like Water for Chocolate - I just finished this book (in a day!) and loved it. It has an incredibly unique format of monthly installments including recipes for traditional Mexican dishes. As they describe how to make the meals, they describe why, when and by whom they're cooked. This book describes my exact feelings about food - that it can bring memories to the forefront, embody all the chef's emotions, and be the most powerful connection to our loved ones. (It's also been made into a movie, if you want to cheat and watch it instead. It's available on Netflix streaming).

Chocolat - Another romantic, chocolate-filled book. The story wraps more around the politics of a French village and its strange characters, but the descriptions of the sweets are exciting and completely cravable. (And the movie version casts a very lovely Johnny Depp).

Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen: How One Girl Risked Her Marriage, Her Job, and Her Sanity to Master the Art of Living - I will say the movie for this book is just as delightful as the book, and so, I will endorse you skipping the book for Amy Adams and Meryl Streep. This covers a young woman stuck in a crappy job, in a teeny apartment who works out all of her disappointments by cooking every dish in Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. It features vignettes about Child's real adventure writing Cooking and Julie's attempt. If you've ever felt daunted by cooking, this book (or movie) will put you at ease and encourage you to give it a shot.

Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter - I mentioned this on my "Recipe Resources" post and it's a little-known winner. I found this book at a library overstock sale for 50 cents.It covers the adventures of working in Thomas Keller's uber-fancy Per Se restaurant. I learned a lot about working in kitchens, and how I should act as a diner. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in food and especially those who want to live their Michelin star dreams vicariously through an insider.

Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins - Technically, food is a minor character in this book, but if you have young children, this book is a must-have. It is about the infamous lunch counter sit-ins started by NC A&T students, from a local girl's perspective. All she wants is to eat milkshakes with her family at the shiny Woolworth counter and doesn't understand the implications of the changing world around her.

Eat, Pray, Love - I feel like this has become a cliche title for any woman undergoing a melodramatic crisis, but it really is an influential book. I read this book right after graduating college and being unable to find a job, moving back in with my parents and seemingly taking five steps backward. To me, it was exciting to see a woman dropping everything and figuring her life out one plate at a time.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - Another children's classic. I always loved this series recounting the snowballing effects of snacking with animals, and Mouse was the original installment. I'll defend it as a necessary text because it teaching kids about making solid decisions and dealing with consequences...or something.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe - I grew up watching this movie and can actually quote it almost line-by-line, and I'll admit Mary Stuart Masterson's portrayal can't be put back on paper. If you haven't seen this movie about the importance of chosen family, read the book first! Fannie Flagg does a great job, but you can't top the screen version. And I know it's English Major sin to offer that suggestion. Lord, help me.

Recipe Resources - books, magazines and more!

I've mentioned time and again that I'm not the best improvisational cook but I do love and excel at following recipes. I love to perusing periodicals to find good-looking recipes to test out.

This may be a genetic affliction because my mother is a first-class cookbook hoarder. She loves looking at all of the beautiful pictures, imagining the dishes and making a to-do list of recipes for my dad to make;  every year we have to sort through them to clear space on the bookcase.

Right now, I've only commandeered one shelf (of our 5+ bookcases) for cookbooks, but I also subscribe to two cooking/food magazines, listen to culinary podcasts and regularly review a foodie website. Here are a few recommendations of my favorite recipe resources that provide relevant, interesting and delicious information on cooking (and eating)!


- From Julia Child's Kitchen & Mastering the Art of French Cooking: I've read two books about Julia Child's life and adventures in becoming one of the forefront starts of cooking and one of the first famous female chefs and I've come to idolize her and her cookbooks. Her recipes are timeless and reading the biographies of her that I have, I know how much work - including tinkering, testing and reformulating - she puts into her cookbooks to make sure the recipes are precise and work perfectly. I do find her recipes hard to read sometimes because they are so detailed (partly because of the nature of French cooking itself) but the results are nothing short of remarkable. Her cookbooks inspired how I present recipes here, with a list of ingredients followed by a detailed "method" timeline.

- Taste of Home magazine: TOH is a great magazine for beginners or those who need to make quick, inexpensive, crowd-pleasing meals (don't we all?). The majority, if not all, of the featured recipes are submitted by readers (who can win competitions for cash!) and are tested by their staff and editors. I love the personal quality of the recipes - each reader-submitted one includes a 1-2 line intro from the home cook - that shows someone out there actually makes this recipe for people they care about! This mag relies heavily on Crock Pots, make ahead and easy-to-freeze meals. 

- The Hungry Girl series of cookbooks and website: I've found this product line to be the most accessible and successful series of healthy, diet recipes. Unlike other lines, such as the super witty but overdone Skinny Bitch In the Kitch books, Hungry Girl uses common, inexpensive ingredients to create figure-friendly recipes that taste as good, if not better than the full-fat, high calorie versions. For example, the recipe for rich, pumpkin chocolate muffins  is amazing and is so customizable. The website offers weekly updates about new grocery products and helpful suggestions so users can make informed, healthy choices at home, at the store or in restaurants. 

- Food Network Magazine: I didn't buy this subscription myself, but my mother got so tired of me stealing her back editions that she opted to make sure I had my own copies. I love this magazine. After working on a newspaper for my whole college career, I have an eye for good layout and engaging content - this magazine pulls you in. The food artistry is great, they have stories about current trends in kitchen supplies and menus, and great features like "He Made She Made" which pits two Food Network cooks against each other making a simple dish. Unlike Taste of Home, Food Network seems to assume its readers aren't novices, but are at least watching Food Network shows and know the basics. They include more complicated and exotic recipes with less common ingredients; but it's all do-able. This might be right between Taste of Home and Bon Appetit. 

- The Salt: This is the quirkiest of my recommendations. It doesn't offer a regular, standardized product but is merely the grouping of all food-related NPR material. That includes audio clips (and transcripts) of their stories from shows like All Things Considered, Fresh Air and Morning Edition, infographics and a "For Foodies" section that includes weekly features like "Sandwich Monday" where staff members of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me try random meals that could loosely be described as sandwiches and provide a satirical play-by-play. It often features recipes (usually in "Found Recipes"), but I appreciate the up-to-date news about food issues including issues of hunger, climate change affecting produce, diet trends etc. 

- Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2: I don't know how this happened but my family ended up with two copies of this cookbook and no one has the first. However, judging by the recipes in the sequel, I imagine TSRR 1 is pretty good too. This book if full of restaurant secrets - either ripped off by former employees or tested and tweaked to be mirrored meals of franchise favorites. I can attest that some of these recipes are just as good as you'd get in a brick-and-mortar location, including the Red Robin fry seasoning that we now use on a number of things. For me, it's also helpful for figuring out "what is that flavor?" in restaurant dishes and gives a good starting point for improving on your favorite dishes. My only complaint is the organization of the book. All recipes are grouped according to original restaurant (Chilis, PF Changs etc.) which is helpful if you know an exact dish you want to duplicate (like Chili's molten lava cake) however, if you just know you want to make chicken salad you have to do some searching. 

- Better Homes and Gardens' New Cookbook: According to the Amazon description, the New Cookbook (now on its 15th edition) has been a staple in American households since 1930. I know that the red-and-white plaid book has been a constant feature of our home since the early 80s (but our ragged copy looks even older than that). Like Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the recipes in New aren't actually new - they're classic dishes that teach you basic techniques and meals that are always enjoyable. We had a children's version that I used when I first learned to cook and I was so proud when I could graduate to the big three ring copy. This is a great cookbook to get started with - you're making fancy dishes but it talks you through it as a learner.

- The Splendid Table: A staple of public radio, TST is a wonderful hour-long show hosted by Lynne Rosetto Kasper who has a voice made for NPR - soft and quiet with a descriptive vocabulary that brings the food to your own home. They feature great stories from journalists around the world, interviews with chefs and an awesome segment where callers name a few items in their fridge and Lynne suggests a recipe. Lynne makes food accessible and callers are able to get a personable answer to their most pressing cooking queries. The show airs weekly but podcasts and recipes are available online.

- Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter : This book isn't a cookbook, doesn't include any recipes or many helpful cooking tips. However, it is a non-fiction book about the adventures of working in Thomas Keller's uber-fancy Per Se restaurant. I learned so much about working in kitchens, and how I should be acting as a diner from this book. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in food.