June 13, 2018
So this week is my last couple of days of Whole30, and that also means it’s almost time for my trip! I can’t believe how quickly this diet has gone, and now that it’s almost over I am so close to my holiday I can almost taste it (the croissants, the cheese, the wine…all those delicious things I haven’t been eating for the past 30 days will finally be mine)! I can’t believe I’ve managed to get through 30 days of this diet, I really didn’t think I’d be able to, and I feel super accomplished knowing that I’ve managed to do this thing that I thought would be too hard. I mean as a self-confessed wine lover and obvious obsessive foodie, going on a diet for 30 days that cuts out everything that brings you joy seemed like something that would always be in the too hard basket for me. But I’ve been surprised by how easy it has actually been in practice to do this diet, and I feel so proud of myself for making it through!
I think this week I’m going to write a bit of a wrap up for you all, as I’ve had a lot of questions around what the diet is and how it works, and I’ve actually really enjoyed it so I’d love to share knowledge with you all. I must admit though, I don’t really know what to do with myself when the diet is over as I’m sort of scared by how my body is going to react to the wall of food and wine that is coming at it when we go on holidays next week!
So this week I wanted to share with you another delicious recipe I made on Whole30 that doesn’t taste like diet food. I’ve been loving trying all of these new meals and it’s really opened my eyes to how delicious food can be even if you aren’t eating any of the delicious not-so-good for you stuff. You really don’t miss it after a time, and I’ve been so impressed with the dishes I have been able to cook and eat, and how flavourful they can be just using natural ingredients. It is definitely something I’m going to keep going with once I finish this diet because cooking can be healthy and delicious if you put your mind to it! You really don’t need cheese in every meal (even if you really miss brie…like seriously miss it).
So this weekend I had my parents over for dinner for a belated Mother’s Day celebration, and I decided to cook lamb. Normally I would cook lamb in the slow cooker because I don’t have the time to do it in the oven, but because it was the weekend I had all the time in the world to try out a recipe I was inspired to cook! The original inspiration came from a recipe that was not Whole30 in the slightest, but I removed a few ingredients and changed it in a way that ended up being absolutely delicious, so I thought it was worth sharing! Although this lamb takes some time to cook, it is relatively simple and doesn’t even require that much preparation, so it’s a great dinner party option as you can pop it out of the oven when you are ready to go!
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 kilograms boneless lamb leg
- 2 handfuls fresh rosemary
- 7 cloves garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
- 4 carrots, roughly chopped
- 3 sticks of celery, leaves removed and roughly chopped
- 1 brown onion, roughly chopped
- 1.5 cans diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 700 ml water
- 3 dried bay leaves
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Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). Get a roasting dish out and set aside.
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Rub the lamb leg with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper over all sides to season. Place in the roasting dish, and make small incisions with a sharp knife all over the lamb.
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Push the chopped garlic and rosemary into the incisions, ensuring they are evenly dispersed. Sprinkle any remaining garlic into the roasting dish. Add the chopped carrots, celery and onion into the dish around the lamb, and then pour over the diced tomatoes and water. Sprinkle the thyme over the dish and place the bay leaves in the tomato mixture.
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Cover the roasting dish tightly with foil and place in the oven. Reduce the heat down to 170C and allow to cook for 3.5-4 hours.
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When you are almost ready to serve, remove the lamb from the oven and baste it with some of the liquid from the dish. Place back in the oven uncovered and turn the grill on for 5 minutes to brown and crisp the top of the meat.
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To serve, slice the lamb into slices with a knife and combine with the liquid and vegetables from the pan. Serve with roasted sweet potato and greens or a simple salad.
Like I said this recipe is super simple, and really doesn’t require that much time upfront. You just need to roughly chop the veggies which is completely my jam because you can get them on so much quicker, and they end up cooking in all the juicy flavours of the meat to become something absolutely incredible. I love the flavours of tomato with the garlic and rosemary lamb as it gives it a really Moorish taste, and almost has an italian kick to it.
I served this dish with some roasted brussel sprouts and sweet potato, but you could easily put whatever veggie sides you want with it. It would go great with a fresh garden salad to cut through the heaviness of the lamb, so I would probably try this next time. What I love most though is that you get a beautiful sauce and delicious veggies to pour over the lamb, really lifting the dish. Who needs gravy when you have something as delicious as this tomato sauce?
Honestly it is meals like this that saved me in Whole30. They are so delicious, simple to make, and they hero the natural ingredients. They make you feel like you aren’t missing out, because really you aren’t. It’s just different food, but some of the food that I have had has been better than what I would normally cook, so it’s really opened up my horizons! It’s also kept me feeling better as well, which is the main point of the diet. I will definitely be making this roast lamb again, along with basically every meal I’ve cooked!
This dish is perfect for dinner parties as it requires minimal effort before and when your guests arrive. You just need to do a little right at the end, but it is so worth it for how delicious the meal is, and how great it looks on the dinner table in all its tomatoey glory.
Until next time, happy eating!
Ella xx
