Gumbo

Gumbo

adapted from several recipes

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cooking Time: 4 hours, 15 minutes

Makes: 2.5 quarts (8-10 servings)

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 1 rotisserie chicken, pulled apart

1 lb smoked sausage

1 lb smoked ham

1/2 cup bacon grease

6 TBS coconut flour

6 TBS almond flour

2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 cups)*

1 large green bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)*

1 large celery rib, chopped*

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 - 32oz boxes Kitchen Basics Unsalted Chicken Stock

3/4 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Hot cooked cauliflower rice

Directions

Cut the chicken, sausage and ham into bite sized pieces. Cook the chicken over medium heat in a large dutch oven until browned.  Put into a separate bowl and wipe out the dutch oven. *You can skip this step if you use rotisserie chicken.

Heat bacon grease in dutch oven over medium heat. Gradually whisk in the coconut and almond flours. Continue whisking constantly until the roux is a deep mahogany color. It will almost look like really dark peanut butter. 

Stir in onions, celery and green peppers. Cook about 5 minutes and add in garlic. Cook another 5 minutes or until tender. Gradually add the chicken stock while whisking. Add the meats, thyme, red and black pepper. 

Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 3 hours. Serve over hot cooked cauliflower rice. 

*I make my life easier by buying a cajun mirepoix mix in the vegetable freezer section at my local Kroger. 

**You can omit the chicken and add 2 lbs medium raw shrimp (peeled and deveined) in the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe Bowls

These were sooooo good! Especially if you are craving some comfort food. It may seem super weird to put sloppy joe meat over zoodles, but I promise you it's a perfect match. Now hubby does not eat zoodles, so I put his on a whole wheat bun. Regardless, its delish both ways. Plus you aren't getting all those weird ingredients like you would with the stuff from the can. 

Sloppy Joe Bowls

adapted from Jay's Baking Me Crazy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

2 lbs lean ground beef (grass-fed if Whole30 or Paleo)

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1.5 tsp onion powder

2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup coconut aminos 

1.5 cups homemade ketchup

2 TBS tomato paste

Before you get started, make up your homemade ketchup!

Put your ground beef in a medium sized dutch oven over medium-high heat. (I love my Le Creuset!) Once the meat is mostly browned, toss in your garlic and turn the heat down to medium. Toss in the onion powder, salt and pepper. Cook for about 1-2 more minutes. Add coconut aminos, ketchup and tomato paste. Stir to combine and turn the heat to low. Allow the mixture to simmer for 20 minutes. 

While your sloppy joe meat is simmering, make up your zoodles. I use a Paderno vegetable spiralizer to make my zoodles. It's amazing. It has several different blades. I've used it on other veggies too, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes and parsnips. 

Once your zoodles are ready, top them with the sloppy joe meat and eat!

Enjoy!

Crockpot Pork Carnitas

I won't lie. I googled the word "carnitas". I took French in high school and college so shoot me. I just didn't want to look like an idiot by titling this "pork carnitas" if carnitas meant pork. You feel me? Good. Now that that is out of the way, I did learn that carnitas actually means "little meats" and it's meat that's been braised in oil or lard. I did nothing of the sort here. So I guess I can't technically call these carnitas, but whatever. They are darn good. You are also welcome for the Spanish lesson. 

PS - You can see from the pic below that I used this in Pork Carnitas Bowls with Cilantro Lime Caulirice!

Crockpot Pork Carnitas

adapted from The Recipe Critic

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 8-9 hours

Servings: 10+

Ingredients

4 pound pork shoulder roast

1 TBS chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1.5 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 oranges, juiced

2 limes, juiced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

In the bottom of your crockpot, put the last 4 ingredients. Place your roast down in the crockpot. 

In a small bowl, combine your dry spices. Sprinkle these over the roast. Set the crockpot for 8 hours on low. 

Once it's done, I shred mine right in the crockpot and left it sitting in the juices for another 30-45 minutes on low. 

Now if you really want to be fancy, take the meat out of the crockpot after it's been bathing in those juices in the crockpot for the last 30 minutes and place it on a sheet pan. Put it in the oven under the broiler for about 5 minutes. This will make some of the bits a little crispier. 

Enjoy!

Cilantro Lime Caulirice

I have to say that this is such a great substitute for rice if you are Whole30, 24 Day Challenge or just trying to clean up your diet. Now I made my own cauliflower rice, but if you are short for time or don't have the right tools, I have seen "cauliflower crumbles" or "riced cauliflower" at Trader Joe's and Target. Anything you can do with rice I'm pretty sure you could do with caulirice. The only thing I will say is that it's pretty stinky while it cooks!

Cilantro Lime Caulirice

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

A head of cauliflower
Bunch of cilantro, chopped
4-6 limes, juiced
Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

Remove the leaves and stem from the cauliflower. Chop the florets into uniform pieces about the size of a tangerine. Toss into the food processor and pulse until evenly chopped. It should have a "rice like" consistency to it. Put your riced cauliflower into a sauté pan over medium heat. You could drizzle a little olive oil in the pan if you aren't using a non-stick pan. Sauté for about 10-15 minutes depending on how soft you want it to be.

Dump your caulirice in a bowl. Now I like mine pretty limey so I would put the juice of all 6 limes in there. It's really to taste. Toss the cilantro in there too. Lastly, sprinkle a little kosher salt over it to help bring out the flavors. 

Enjoy!

Whole30: Days 21-27

Day 22

Meal 1: One of my favorites! Roasted sweet potatoes (tossed in olive oil, paprika, garlic & onion powders), homemade breakfast sausage, 2 fried eggs. 

I honestly can't remember what else I ate this day. I guess that is what happens when you wait a week to post! Haha

Day 23

Meal 1: Same as yesterday. This meal is so good.

Meal 2: Snacks/Finger foods at my parent's house to celebrate my dad's birthday. I did not follow Whole30 for this meal. I actually regretted it the next day. My stomach was very upset. 

Day 24

Meal 1: Are you surprised? The same thing as the previous days, except I used Yukon Gold potatoes because I ran out of sweet potatoes and added a third egg for extra yolk yumminess.

Meal 2: Tuna mixed with avocado and guacamole seasoning & Pan-Fried Plantains 

Meal 3: Beef brisket, pulled chicken and baked sweet potato from a local bbq place. So yummy!

Day 25

Meal 1: Omelet with avocado, mushroom, onions and spinach with a side of roasted root veggies at the delicious local restaurant called Sleepy Bee. As a side note, I didn't eat the toast! 

Meal 2: I got creative at lunch! Baked salmon and a side of sauteed shaved brussel sprouts with pork belly, dried bing cherries and toasted pecans in a balsamic reduction. AH-MAZING! I mean the brussel sprouts stunk while I was cooking them, but it tasted yummy. 

Meal 3: Baked salmon with a side of broccoli. I had already eaten the salmon. Oops!

Day 26

Meal 1: Sweet and Savory Blueberry Tortilla. Another of my favorites. No veggies (I know, I know), but I had just got off work and was going to sleep all day. I wanted something to curb the hunger and was quick to make.

Meal 2: Chipotle carnitas bowl - the rice I added was definitely not Whole30!

Meal 3: Baked salmon with mashed sweet potatoes. Trader Joe's sells the sweet potatoes in little pucks and you just warm them in the microwave. They are so yummy!

Meal 4/Snack: 2 Aidells Chicken & Apple sausages. I was a little hungry, but I didn't want to eat another meal since I knew that I was going to breakfast with my sister in just a couple of hours.

Day 27

Meal 1: Harvest Hash with dressed green at First Watch. I actually wish that they had roasted their sweet potatoes. They tasted like they had been microwaved. They were slightly bland and mushy. 

Meal 2: Dinner at my parent's house after Trick-or-Treating. I had a big salad and nibbled on a little of a calzone. Once we got home I had 2 Aidells Chicken & Apple sausages. 

Whole30: Days 19 & 20

Day 19 

Meal 1: Sweet & Savory Blueberry Tortilla. It was so good that I had to make it again. It looks weird, but I promise that it is good! I left out the pepper this time. Made this on my way in from work. I was too hungry to go to bed without anything in my belly. 

Meal 2:Woke up hungry after sleeping all day, but it was too close to dinner for a full-fledged meal. Roast beef and a handful of almonds.

Meal 3: Salad with grilled chicken, capicola ham, pepperoni and salami. 

Day 20

Meal 1: 2 Aidells Chicken & Apple sausages, almonds and baby carrots

Meal 2: Leftover kitchen sink soup. 

Meal 3: Um well, we sorta went to Skyline. I stayed within the guidelines and did a potato with chili on it. Those 3 ways and coneys looked good though!

Whole30: Day 17 & 18

Day 17

Meal 1: Sauerkraut with 2 Aidells Chicken & Apple sausages

Meal 2: Tuna mixed with avocado, a couple tablespoons of homemade mayo & guacamole seasoning mix that I got at Findlay Market and fried plantains from Melissa Joulwan's blog The Clothes Make the Girl.  

Meal 3: Italian sausage with sauteed peppers and onions, Rao's marinara and zoodles. 

Day 18

Meal 1: Sweet & Savory Blueberry Tortilla from Stupid Easy Paleo. OMG this was AH-MAZING!! The picture totally looks gross. I think I cooked it a little too long. Also the tupperware is because I was saving the other half for the next day. Totally did not happen!

Meal 2: Kitchen Sink Soup. Made this one up on the fly. I was freezing and really wanted some soup to warm me up. I used leftover chicken stock that I had, added some potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, kale, oregano, thyme, black pepper, kosher salt and chicken. Delish!

Meal 3: My tuna-mayo-avo concoction

Meal 4: Leftover italian sausage, marinara and zoodles

Whole30: Days 15 & 16

Day 15

Halfway there! I can't believe that the 30 days is half over. I have definitely had fun trying new things and like I said, will continue to eat Paleo/Whole30 as much as I can. I do want to incorporate some diary back in - really just mainly butter because it's easier to cook with then making ghee or clarified butter. It would definitely still be grass-fed though. Also the occasional latte from Starbucks would be nice. 

Meal 1: Ground pork with breakfast sausage seasoning (from this recipe here - minus the sage because I didn't have any), topped with 2 fried eggs and one plantain sliced, sauteed in clarified butter and sprinkled with cinnamon. 

Meal 2: Irish sausage from Kroeger & Sons at Findlay Market (ah-mazing place if you live in Cincinnati!) and left over Skillet Chicken Divan (the last of it - finally!).

Meal 3: Dinner at my uncle's house. It was unavoidable to stay on Whole30 for this meal without being rude. It would have been awkward to bring my own food. I know most Whole30-ers would say that I should have done that, but I did not want to be that person. So I ate roasted turkey, scalloped potatoes, corn casserole and broccoli-cauliflower salad. I might have also eaten some delicious deviled eggs and nuts as "appetizers". It is what it is. 

Day 16

Meal 1: Leftover sausage and plantains from yesterday.

Meal 2: Must not have been that awesome because I don't remember! My daughter was sick this day so I'm pretty sure that lunch was something whipped up quickly.

Meal 3: Grilled chicken wings with this sauce (minus the Worchestershire and clarified butter instead of regular butter), oven fries and homemade ranch dressing (recipe to come!).  

Weekly Menu: October 19-25

WEEK 3!! I can't believe next week is the last week of Whole30. I've made the decision that I am going to do a modified Whole30/Paleo diet. I say this because Paleo doesn't really include squash as an "allowed" food, but I think squash is delicious and I don't really see a reason to leave it out. I'm definitely going to keep eating Whole30/Paleo as much as I can.

On a side note, I went out to lunch with hubby and our daughter this weekend. I have to admit that I cheated and ate a small piece of bread. It just looked so good and I know that this restaurant has yummy rolls. Um, yeah it tasted like glue. No joke. It's crazy how your taste buds change in just a couple of weeks. I seriously took a little nibble and had no desire to continue eating it!

Grilled Buffalo Wings

Ranch Dressing

Italian Sausage with Zoodles

Kielbasa with Sauerkraut

Herbed Chicken Salad

Whole30: Days 12-14

Day 12

Snack: Running out the door to take my daughter to school I ate 2 hard boiled eggs and a handful of almonds. I knew I was going to brunch with my sister so I didn't want to eat too much.

Meal 1: Market Hash (minus the cheese) from First Watch. I had brunch with my sister and cousin. It was delish! I obviously did not eat the english muffin on my plate. 

Meal 2: Leftover Skillet Chicken Divan

Meal 3: Orange Chicken with cauliflower rice -sooooo good! 

Day 13

Meal 1: I don't even remember! I'm sure it was eggs and some sort of veggie.

Meal 2: Oriental Chicken Salad - meh. needs a lot of work. I'm not sure I'm even going to post it until I rework it. The original recipe was either wrong or misleading.

Meal 3: Burger with guacamole, lettuce, tomato and pickles

Meal 4: Leftover Skillet Chicken Divan - eaten quickly at midnight or something. It was a long, long night at work.

Day 14 

Meal 1: 2 Hard boiled eggs, handful of macadamia nuts and some dried apricots. 

Meal 2: Omelet with local ham, mushrooms & onions and crunchy skillet potatoes

Meal 3: Antipasto Salad with capocolla ham, prosciutto, salami and grilled chicken.   

Orange Chicken

Overall, this was very good. I would make a few changes though - swap out the thighs with breasts. Unless you are really into thighs. Simmer the sauce longer until it's thicker OR maybe lightly coat the chicken in coconut flour? Not sure about the last suggestion. I'm not on the up-and-up with flour substitutes. Hubby ate it over white rice and I ate mine over cauliflower rice. Our 2 1/2 year old took a bite, but declared it "too spicy". Hubby doesn't like spicy stuff at all and he didn't think it was spicy so...  

Orange Chicken

adapted from Health-Bent

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes

Servings: 2-3

Ingredients
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
juice of 2 oranges
zest of 1 orange
1 tsp fresh ginger
3 TBS coconut amino (like soy sauce, but different - if using soy sauce 1/2 the amount)


Directions
In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice, orange zest, ginger and coconut aminos. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce it down to medium-low to simmer. It may take 10-15 minutes to thicken the sauce. While the sauce it thickening, saute your chicken in a couple of tablespoons of your fat (ghee, clarified butter, olive oil, coconut oil). Once the sauce has thickened, add it to your chicken and cook together for a few minutes, just enough time for it to soak into the chicken. Serve over rice, cauli-rice or your other favorite veggie (broccoli would be yummy!). 

Enjoy!

Skillet Chicken Divan

This was very good! I do have some changes that I would make - add paleo mayo, reduce the curry, add more broccoli. The flax meal on top was a nice addition and give it a good crunch. My 2 1/2 year old took a bite and like the broccoli, but I think the chicken had too much curry on it.

Skillet Chicken Divan

adapted from Popular Paleo

Prep Time: 30 minutes (plus overnight soaking)

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup raw cashews

cloves garlic

cup white or yellow onion, large dice

cup chicken stock

tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp fresh black pepper

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

Directions

The night before you plan to make this, soak your cashews in 1 1/2 cups of water. Before you use them, just drain the water off. 

Add the soaked cashews, chopped onion, garlic cloves, curry, salt and black pepper to a food processor. Pulse it a few times to break up the cashews. Turn the food processor "on" and use the small feed tube to continuously stream the chicken stock into the cashew mix. Let it run for another minute or two after the chicken stock has finished streaming into the bowl. Set your sauce to the side.

Heat a skillet on medium high heat with olive oil, ghee or clarified butter (I used clarified butter). Once hot, put your chicken in the pan and cook until golden brown. Toss the broccoli on top, cover the pan, reduce heat to medium and cook for 3-4 minutes. 

Uncover and add the cashew-curry sauce to the chicken and broccoli. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until sauce thickens. 

Before serving, sprinkle the pan with the flax meal. 

Enjoy!

Whole30: Day 10 & 11

Chugging right along! I definitely feel like it's getting easier. I don't feel as overwhelmed by the prep. I do find that it is helpful to have a big batch of something to eat throughout the week. Today I made an Oriental Chicken Salad that I will eat for the next week or so. Since I prepped late this week because of my work schedule, some of my meals will probably run into next week. 

Day 10

Meal 1: Um can I count meal 4 from day 9? I didn't eat much this day because of my schedule. I got home at 10:30 am and slept until 4. We had dinner around 6. I did have a snack of an apple and a handful of cashews because I was hungry and stuck at my parents house waiting on a delivery for my dad. 

Meal 2: Grilled grass-fed filet mignon, baked sweet potato topped with ghee and cinnamon, and sautéed green beans drizzled with olive oil. 

Day 11

Meal 1: Scrambled eggs, sweet potato leftover from the night before and bulletproof coffee (ghee and MCT oil blended with coffee). The coffee sounds gross, but so yummy. I prefer butter to the ghee (it's too nutty) so I'll make a batch of clarified butter this week in hopes that it will be better. 

Meal 2: Leftover grass-fed filet mignon on lettuce leaves topped with guacamole and a side of steamed broccoli drizzled with olive oil. 

Meal 3: Skillet Chicken Divan 

Whole30: Days 8 & 9

Day 8

Meal 1: sautéed zucchini and steamed broccoli drizzled with olive oil - this was a couple of hours after the sausages before I went to the football game. 

Snack: Blueberry Muffin Larabar - ate this at the football game

Meal 2: Mom's Beef Chili with avocado

Meal 3: 2 Mulay's brats

Day 9
Meal 1: Scrambled eggs and oven roasted potato wedges with onions

Meal 2: Tuna mixed with homemade mayo and avocado & large salad with lemony dressing

Meal 3: 2 Aidells chicken & apple sausages and the remainder of the salad from meal 2.  

Weekly Menu: October 12-18

We are on to week 2! My first week of Whole30 was interesting. I noticed that I felt less stiff during this night when I got up to use the bathroom or first thing in the morning. I also have not taken any ibuprofen for my back since day 2! I don't know if this is placebo effect or what, but I think it's pretty crazy. Now the headaches have been pretty bad and I think that is mostly due to not eating enough carbs/starchy veggies. I also get the headaches when I haven't eaten in a while and have been too busy to eat. Can't wait for this week's meals!

Chinese Chicken Salad

Chili Garlic Sauce

Skillet Chicken Divan

Orange Chicken