The nutrition class went well. I think it is going to be a great experience working with people that want to make changes. I get asked questions a lot, but that is about as far as it goes sometimes. It’s pretty great to know that those listening now, are listening with the intention to really use the information.
I wonder sometimes if people ask questions about my nutrition and workouts purely out of curiosity, because they want to make some changes, or maybe because it’s a good conversation starter. Whatever the reason might be, I am always eager to talk to someone about macro counting, tracking, meal prep, etc. I don’t think I could ever turn someone down wanting to know more about being healthy. My goal is to help people reach their goals and if I am unwilling to share my knowledge with them, no matter their intent, then I am standing in their way.
I would love in the future to just do one on one sessions and some meal prepping cooking classes! I don’t think meal prepping is difficult, but meal prepping and tracking can be really time consuming, especially with the meals I cook. If I ate the same thing all week, like you see on every typical meal prep picture, it would not take much effort at all. Alas, I am a lover of food and can’t bring myself to eat the same thing day in and day out.
One of the most difficult parts of meal prepping for me is incorporating my tracking into it and making sure I have the proper balance of macros in our meals. It is daunting, but I love it. When we go on vacation or out of town for a long weekend, I am always eager to get back into my routine and back to tracking.
Tracking is life (ha)…but seriously. It’s not a diet, it’s just part of my daily routine and how I choose to keep myself accountable.
Menu
Pork Loin Chops + Broccoli Soup
Sirloin Steak + Beet Salad
While I was teaching my nutrition class, Josh was goose and duck hunting. Not many people like to cook goose and duck the way I do around here. Usually if someone is cooking one of the two they are most certainly either frying it or wrapping it in bacon. No, no, no. In my humble opinion, they are ruining the meat.
The first time I ever cooked duck, I was so proud. You expect this bird to be extra tough and “game-y”, but it isn’t. Before we cook any wild game, we let it bleed out for a few 2-5 days. With the duck and goose, we clean the breasts, put them in a bowl of salt water and leave them in the fridge.
I am a huge fan of this recipe but I have made a mushroom cream sauce recipe before that is a close second. The exact recipe I made 4 years ago is no longer available, but I did some digging and found a few others that compare. The original recipe I used had mushrooms, bacon, and a cream sauce. I am going to see if I can’t dig it up, how can a recipe just disappear from the internet? If you do try the mushroom sauce, it will take you over on the macros! It would be great on top of the cauliflower mash too or make regular potatoes if the cauliflower isn’t up your ally.
I am going to stick to the orange zest and herb rub. It is so good. Don’t be shy on the seasoning for the goose or duck. There is no such thing as to much of this rub on the wild birds. If you don’t have goose, I would make a good beef stew to put over the cauliflower mash.
Josh accidentally bought me the wrong yogurt when he went to the store the other day. I meant for him to buy Anderson yogurt but he bought me the non-fat greek yogurt that I use to make the sauce for these sandwiches. I can’t let it go to waste, so enter the steak sandwiches on the menu.
If you are lucky enough to have any cubed steak still, ours has been gone and the season just went out, use that for these sandwiches. I prefer to use the deer meat. There is little to no fat, it can’t get much more organic than wild meat, and it tears apart a lot easier than any store bought steak when you bite into the sandwich.
These can be as spicy or mild as you like them, depending on how many pickled jalapenos you put in the sauce. I don’t typically put avocado on my sandwiches anymore, but it is a nice touch of creaminess. Don’t get the prepackaged hamburger buns for this. Go to the bakery at the store and get some fresh baked buns. I toast ours in the oven before we eat them and it adds a nice little crunch.
Pork Loin Chops + Broccoli Soup
It is supposed to stay pretty chilly throughout the week and drop back down on Friday, which means fires in the fireplace and soup on the menu. I love the simplicity of this soup and it’s macros. The last time I made this soup, it was six servings of 101 calories, 2.7 grams of protein, 16.9 grams of carbohydrates, and 2.4 grams of fat. I used 1 Tbsp of olive oil, an 11.9 ounce potato, 4 cups of broccoli, 4 cups of vegetable broth, and 1 cup of chopped onions. I like to add a little bit of hot sauce to each serving, just for a little bit of extra flavor.
Everyone has their go-to meat and if you have been reading my blog long enough, it is easy to see that pork loin chops are my go-to meat. I can’t handle just a dried out chicken breast. Pork has more protein per gram and does not dry out like a chicken breast can. Smoked bone-in pork chops are easy, but I like to buy a pork loin and cut our own chops. This allows us to buy in bulk (save some money), make our cuts the size we want them, and save a big piece to stuff. I cook my pork chops on 425 degrees, spray them with olive oil, and typically season them with Tony Chacheries.
Sirloin Steak + Beet Salad
In the hopes of not boring you with the same meat all week, I planned for steak one night. We used to get rib eyes, but ever since we started tracking and cutting back more on our fat, we started buying sirloin steaks. They don’t have as much fat on them, but don’t dry out like you might think they would. We prefer to use Pike’s Peak Seasoning on our steaks, but you can make your own by using black pepper, sea salt, white pepper, red bell pepper, garlic, minced green onion, and parsley.
We had a ton of spinach left over from the pork loin last week, so I need to use it up. I am not a fan of scallops, so this salad is strictly for the beets. I skip the oil in the dressing, because there is plenty of liquid and I like the taste of vinegar and honey mixed together. If you are tracking, make sure you are weighing out the amount of honey you put into your mason jar and divide it evenly among your salads.
It has been quite a while since I have made these! Josh got our last deer in all in ground meat. At first I all I could think of was spaghetti, burgers, and chili. Then I remembered these great roll-ups. If you aren’t a fan of cabbage I encourage you to try these. It doesn’t taste like pan fried cabbage or stewed cabbage. This dish has some amazing flavors and really compliment the napa cabbage so well.
I don’t think you could substitute the cabbage with lettuce and it still turn out equally as tasty. Maybe cook the filling as directed and then put it inside the lettuce, don’t cook the lettuce like they cook the cabbage. I don’t use a whole cup of cooked jasmine rice, just because it doesn’t need that much rice and I don’t want it to be carb heavy. I made 12 cabbage rolls the last time I cooked this dish. Each roll had 186 calories, 16.9 grams of protein, 10.5 grams of carbs, and 8.9 grams of fat. I use the oil that the recipe calls for, but much less than what is listed. Make sure you measure out the hoisin sauce because it is very carbohydrate filled.
ENJOY!
