The Washington State Diet: Week 3

 

Week 3.... Yes, I am still on this diet, and I'm going a little bit insane with it. I was so happy that first day when I had that first berry. I was so happy when I got to have salmon for dinner. So happy. And now, I'm so blindingly bored with this diet, I can't wait until next week when I get to switch over to the next one. This diet is certainly healthy  - there is no denying that. However, there isn't a lot that I can work with. And given the fact that I've stopped eating Jerusalem Artichokes (they were kind of a natural laxative, and not particularly in a fun way), and I've stopped eating the Mustard Greens (they were okay, but not really my cup of tea), and I've stopped eating the Dandelion (I'm never eating that again)... I'm super limited at this point.

And because things are so expensive these days, it's hard to justify spending $25 on 8 oz. of crab meat. So that's not happening.

Nevertheless, I did manage to come up with a couple of new recipes this past week and you can find them below.

      Venison Burgers with Baked Carrots

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. 100% grass-fed ground venison

3-4 cloves garlic, diced

a handful of watercress 

salt to taste

about 1/4 cup organic sunflower oil

4-5 organic carrots, peeled, cleaned, stems removed

1-2 heads of garlic, unpeeled

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F

2. Once the carrots are peeled, cleaned and trimmed, place on a baking sheet with tin foil, along with the 2 heads of garlic

3. Drizzle a small amount of sunflower oil and add salt to taste if desired

4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until carrots are soft to a fork

5. In a medium size bowl, mix together diced garlic, venison and salt to taste; form into patties

6. Heat pan with sunflower oil and add the patties

7. Cook them evenly on both sides approximately 7 minutes each on medium-high heat or until thoroughly cooked.

8. Add some watercress on top for garnish into the pan, and let the flavor become absorbed before removing the patties from skillet 

*Serves two (I also made the butternut squash fries as before to go along with this meal)

Salmon Dip

This might be a little dry for some, but it's still very tasty and delicious if I do say so myself.

Ingredients:

5 oz. salmon fillet; to give it a little extra flavor I added about 2 oz. of char as well

3 heads of garlic

3 lemons

organic sunflower oil 

salt to taste 

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F

2. Add lemon to salmon fillets, and bake on a foiled baking sheet for 25 minutes, or until fish is cooked thoroughly adding the juice of 1/2 a lemon top; On the side add 3-4 heads of garlic, unpeeled and add a small amount of sunflower on top of heads of garlic

3.  Once fish is done, remove the garlic (carefully) from it's skin, and place in a food processor (this will take several minutes, and it will be extremely hot, so either wait a while for the garlic to cool down, or alternatively run under cool water so as not to burn your hands)

4. Add fish to food processor, and then the juice of 2 and a half lemons and salt to taste 

5. Set to low, and then high until creamy and smooth. This may take a few minutes to find the right balance of salt and lemon

6. Use carrot chips for dipping

I did try my hand at duck this past week, and that is not happening again. I even followed Gordon Ramsey's instructions, and yet it still didn't turn out the way that I wanted... I would say that I like duck just fine in a restaurant, but unless I am able to give it another go some other time, I'm not real keen on trying to perfect the taste of Huey and Duey again....

(Salmon with sauteed asparagus and garlic - that is all. Oh, and a little lemon, salt and watercress)

My dinners and lunches were pretty much the same as usual. Salad at lunch (and when I say "salad" I mean plain watercress) with char/salmon fillet and a little garlic and lemon; followed by dinner which was either char or salmon...

Breakfasts have remained entirely the same for the past three weeks: berries and nuts.

I got so bored that the last two nights have just been salmon, with berries and nuts on the side. It's kind of sad. But I do have to say...my clothes are still fitting better. And that's why I started this odyssey to begin with.

I came real close though, two nights ago, to giving in and eating an entire jar of Nutella. I was desperate for chocolate. I was last night too. But I resisted. Instead, if and when I get those urges for the things I'm not supposed to have, I reach for some raspberries and call it a night. It's hard. I'm not going to lie. I'm sure the Indians were used to it - but were they really that satisfied with the same boring thing every single day? I suppose it's a reminder that when you're hungry this is what you have available to you, and instead of being picky, you should be grateful that you have food.  And not only that but, food should not be the one thing in life that gives us our meaning or purpose. Food is meant to keep us alive, not necessarily happy.

The only real substance of life is Jesus.

"But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about." - John 4:32