Happy Friday and TGIF x1,000. This week was pretty much a wash for me as I spent hours upon hours dealing with car issues.
It ended with me and my car taking a trip to the dealership in a tow truck this afternoon. After the repair on Tuesday it was still not starting consistently and still cutting off while driving. Since the check engine light isn’t on, the dealership told me there was “nothing they could do” unless there was a code telling them what was wrong and that “Hundreds of things could be causing it.” Their advice was to drive it over the weekend and see what happened. Very comforting.
Well, the engine shut off again while I was on the way to teach today and we could never get it started back consistently. (The issue before was that it would do this and then act fine and you couldn’t replicate it.) Tanner had to start my class for me and one of our managers came to pick me up on the side of the road. We had to push my car down a hill and over to the sidewalk. Awesome. I was able to get it the 1/2 mile back home after class but then it died again in the driveway and would never restart. I called my service manager and told him I was bringing the car in and they could drive it over the weekend and deal with it.
I’m not looking forward to getting the call about what’s wrong with it but I’m also just not on board with driving and having my car die. It feels so unsafe.
So that’s that.
Let’s talk about this breakfast fail. I thought I would actually try to switch up my breakfasts and try this “three ingredient pancake” that I’ve been hearing about for years. I blended together two eggs, a banana and some pumpkin pie spice and then cooked it in a pan with coconut oil. First, it kind of fell apart when I flipped it and then it tasted like scrambled eggs with bananas. I did hate on chia pudding the first time I tried it so I’m open to giving this another shot. Anyone have pointers on what I could do better next time?
Now for some food that was definitely NOT a fail!
Heart eyes emoji for these sweet potato “nachos.” Someone in my Whole30 group shared these and I had to give them a try. I layered baked sweet potato rounds with sauteed broccoli slaw, defrosted salsa chicken, guacamole and a lime. Yum.
I have decided that I should rename my blog, “Salads and Sweet Potatoes.” This is arugula, roasted kabocha squash, avocado, pecans, dried cherries and deli turkey.
Leftover roasted potatoes with chicken Italian sausage and sauerkraut. Topped with two fried eggs. Avocado and fruit on the side.
I had to make that spiced chicken roasted dinner again this week because it was so good. This time I roasted the chicken on top of some sliced fennel.
Massaged kale with toasted pecans, dried cherries, strawberries, avocado and sliced turkey.
I was going to make stuffed spaghetti squash but ran short on time so I made a quick sauce of sauteed Italian sausage, Whole Foods Organic Tomato & Herb marinara sauce and mushrooms.
Salad with baby kale, avocado, pears, pistachios and a can of pink salmon.
My mission next week is not to eat salad every day for lunch. I need to make a soup or a stew this week. The problem is that I don’t love leftovers for lunch. Today I looked at the spaghetti in the tupperware and it did not speak to me. Still missing my sourdough. I was thisclose today to breaking down and just having avocado toast but I stayed with the program. Only 10 days left. (And I am feeling really good other than my desire for sourdough.)
Put this snack on your must try list. I made this on a rainy day when I didn’t want my regular apple and almond butter. I was craving something a little more warm and comforting. I diced and apple and microwaved it with raisins, cinnamon and a splash of water for 2-3 minutes (until soft) and then topped it with almond butter.
That’s all I’ve got for you today.
How was your week?
Worst car story?
Have you tried the 3 Ingredient Pancake?
For the 3 ingredient pancake, I highly recommend NOT treating like a pancake, and instead eating it like oatmeal. I mash a banana and saute it on the stove for 1 minute, then add in two scrambled eggs and mix together until all is cooked through. Right before it’s done, I add in a ton of cinnamon (helps mask the egg/banana taste), flaxseed meal and chia seeds and mix that all together until incorporated. Put in a bowl and top with almond butter and nuts or granola for crunch. I absolutely love it!
I had the exact same thing happen to me with my car. Not sure what kind of car you drive, mine is a Honda Accord. Absolutely terrifying. The dealership said the same thing, they could not duplicate it and I should keep driving until it happens again. I refused to take the car back due to safety fears until they diagnosed the problem. It turned out to be a loose connection at the ECM (not sure what that is exactly). Very quick, cheap fix ($160). I’ve never commented before, but had to share this just in case it helps. Your situation was too similar to mine and I know how scary it can be. Good luck!
The 3 ingredient pancake needs a scoop of chia seeds too. I pour mine onto an ungreased griddle in small cakes (makes about 7) – good luck! I’ve had many fails trying to make one big cake!
Add a tablespoon of flaxseeds to the mixture. I was having the same problem with the pancake not staying together but this really helps
Sorry about your car drama! What kind of car is it?
i used to love making the 3 ingredient pancake! You have to really grease the pan and really let it cook on one side (not too high heat) and then carefully flip. It can come out perfect – keep trying!! hope everything works out with your car
I add about 1-2 tablespoons of coconut flour to my pancakes!
I have read you have to let the pancake cook for 10 minutes. Yikes, seems like a long time! Is that a BMW you have? I really want one but my husband keeps telling me about all the problems they have and how costly the repairs are. Keep us posted on the outcome!
The same thing happened to my Nissan Altima years ago. It would shut off while I was driving. I remember a recall issue with it so you may want to look into that before accepting any repair costs. Unfortunately, despite two repair attempts, it kept shutting off. I ended up trading it in for another car.
Anne at Fannetastic Food is my go-to for the high protein pancake. Her recipe is foolproof and tasty!
Sorry about the car troubles! They are the WORST – and doesn’t make it any better when dealerships refuse to help you?! Hope it turns out alright and isn’t expensive… I’ve had car battery issues in the past and had my car completely shut off at a major road at a traffic light – luckily a kind police officer helped me out and thank goodness for AAA!
Ughh car troubles. I don’t have my own car but had borrowed my mom’s car yesterday. Ended up backing it into my gate and busting her back light. $200 in repairs which isn’t as bad as I thought … But what a terrible way to start the weekend!
For the pancake add a couple tbsp of bobs red mills paleo flour. 🙂
I’ve been having leftovers every day for lunch during Whole30- I think it’s the only way it will work for me!
I use one egg and one banana and it comes out a lot sweeter. Use lots of coconut oil, and re-apply every time so the pancakes do not stick. Don’t make them too big either. You’ll get the hang of it eventually!
Where did you find your Whole30 compliant italian sausage? I was looking for it at Whole Foods yesterday, but their italian sausage in the meat case had an added soy preservative.
Oh ours did not, maybe they are different recipes? I got the bulk sausage not in a casing?
We LOVE the 3 ingredient pancake in my house! I have found that the recipe works perfectly when I make them a little bigger than silver dollar size. They flip very easily and don’t fall apart at all.
Thank you for the tips! I have definitely had better success with smaller pancakes.
I hope your car is okay. It reminds me of something that happened with my old car. One of the wires that connects the battery was corroded so it would slip off (at random moments when I was stopped) and my car would die. My car died three times in three days before it was fixed. That included one time in interstate traffic where I was terrified that if my car stopped it would die so I would hit the gas and break each time I had to stop so my battery wouldn’t kick it (and sure enough when I parked at home my car wouldn’t turn back on). Hope they are able to figure out what’s going on! I understand how terrifying (and annoying) it can be to have car issues.
Hi Rachel –
Thank you. Unfortunately, there is still no answer on it and it’s STILL at the dealership. It’s been there all week. 🙁
Oh my gosh, your car story sounds AWFUL! 🙁 I”m glad you were okay.
I’m sorry you’re doing with this. you have the right attitude though!
Which brands of deli meat are whole30 compliant?
Thank you Hillary. It’s a pain but what can I do?
RE: deli meat. Some of the Applegate turkey is Whole30 friendly from the deli counter where they freshly slice the meat. Also, Whole Foods does their own in-house roasted turkey that is also compliant.
Ugh.. the same exact thing happened to my car. It would randomly turn off all the time while driving. Super safe, right? It was a volvo. What brand is your car, if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve heard BMWs do the same thing. They told me I’d have to replace my entire transmission. It wasn’t even worth it. So I just traded it in and went with a different more reliable brand. What a pain!
Hey Laura,
My car is an Audi and so far there is still no word on what’s wrong with it. It’s still at the dealership. CRAZINESS. I am praying they can get to the bottom of it because I do not even want to deal with car buying right now.
Just had to ask – I’m on the hunt for some good salad bowls and I really like the size of yours from photos – do you mind sharing where they’re from?
My father-in-law’s car was doing the exact same thing and no one could figure out what was wrong, either, for weeks. But! He just figured it out himself last week that it was the ignition switch (some kind of glitch where your keys/keychain are essentially too heavy and cause the ignition to switch off randomly and sometimes not stay started). I’m not fluent in car speak at all, but that’s his explanation and since he got it fixed last week, he’s had no issues. Anyway, reminded me of your post and just wanted to comment in case it still hadn’t been resolved and it was remotely helpful :).