Whole 30 Week 2 Day 4

Breakfast

Sausage, Peppers, and Eggs

1 red bell pepper; sliced, 1 green bell pepper; sliced,  1/2 onion, sliced, 4 links Italian kielbasa. 

Saute onions, peppers and sausage together in a skillet until sausage is cooked through. Cook eggs however you would like. Top peppers, onion, and sausage with eggs and enjoy! 

Lunch

Tuna Salad in Avocado Boats

4 cans tuna; drained (be sure to look at the ingredients list since most canned tuna includes soy junk in it), 2 boiled eggs; chopped, 1/2 c. Paleo mayo, 1 stalk celery; chopped, salt and pepper to taste, 2 avocados

Mix all ingredients together until blended. Cut avocado in half and remove the pit. Use a spoon to scoop each half of the avocado from the skin. Fill each half with tuna salad and enjoy!

Yeah! I kinda dug in before taking the picture. My bad.

Dinner

Sun-Dried Chicken Bake w/ Roasted Cabbage

I got this recipe from the Everyday Paleo Family cookbook. I love sun-dried tomatoes and I've never actually bought them and used them in a recipe, so I thought it was high time to do so. This turned out fantastic and will definitely be on the "regular" eating rotation. I LOVE how stinkin' easy it was!

2 lbs. Chicken Breast; butterflied, 1 (8.5oz) jar julienned sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, 8 cloves garlic; thinly sliced, 2 Tbsp. dried basil, salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Beat chicken until it's fairly thin. Spread chicken on the bottom of casserole dish. Mix jar of tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt and pepper in a small bowl until well combined. Top chicken evenly with the mixture. Seal tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil, and bake another 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve with Roasted Broccoli.

 

  Roasted Broccoli

1 large bunch broccoli chopped into bite-sized chunks, a couple tbsps. olive or coconut oil, salt, pepper, or seasoning of choice. 

Coat broccoli with oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, or seasoning of choice. Bake in a 400 F oven for about 20-30 minutes or until broccoli starts to brown.

 

Whole 30 Week 2 Day 3

Breakfast

Breakfast Skillet

I got the inspiration for a breakfast skillet here. However, when I woke up on the floor of a jr. high school gymnasium, I had different plans. I had taken an apple and a handful of raw almonds with me for breakfast since I knew everyone else would be eating bagels with cream cheese and drinking OJ. I ate them pretty early and was hungry again when I got home. I really LOVE the egg and sweet potato combo and I was itchin' for some. Instead of shredding the sweet potato, I sliced it VERY thin to sort of mimic chips.

I melted about a tsp. of ghee in a fry pan and added the potato slices so they didn't overlap. I sprinkled them heavily with pepper and lightly with salt. I let them cook on medium for quite some time before flipping. Then, I let them cook until they started to brown just a bit. Be careful because they burn quickly. Once done, lie them on paper towels to drain. Add a little more ghee to the pan and fry two eggs however you like them. I like mine over-medium. I love a runny yolk, but if the whites aren't fully cooked, YUCK! This was fantastic! I liked to dip the "chips" in the egg yolks. This hit the nail on the head with my cravings.

 

  Lunch

Jen's Chicken Salad

Like I had previously mentioned, I am attempting to make meals easier in the coming days. We are eating a lot of chicken, tuna, and egg salads for lunch in the next three weeks. I'm just going to post a link to find them in the blog where I wrote the recipe previously. So, check out Jen's Chicken Salad here. 

I forgot to cook the chicken ahead of time, so when it was two hours after lunchtime, I decided to have a little snack. I made these little ants on a log. Spread Sunflower Seed butter on a stalk of celery and top with organic raisins. Yum! 

I really have been good about not snacking or really consuming much fruit at all during this Whole 30. I don't know why I've been hungry enough to have an apple with almonds AND celery with sunflower butter today, but I'm not going to be too hard on myself. I didn't end up eating lunch, so there ya go.
 

Dinner
Salmon Patties with Garlic Kale Chips

This is something my son asks for often, but I don't make it too much because the hubs isn't a salmon fan. It's funny though because every time I make them he is surprised that he likes em, and he always goes back for seconds.

4-4oz cans of Wild Atlantic Salmon packed in water, 1/2 cup almond flour, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp. Penzey's Sunny Paris seasoning, or a Whole 30 approved seafood seasoning, 1 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, Ghee for Sauteeing. 

Throw all ingredients except for ghee in a mixing bowl. Mix with hands or food mixer until everything is well combined.  Form into small patties. Melt Ghee in a pan over medium heat. Saute salmon patties until they start browning on each side. I love to eat mine with lemon aioli AND hot sauce, but the kiddos like paleo ketchup or lemon aioli with them.

 Garlic Kale Chips

 

You can find the recipe here. Just use garlic powder in place of seasoning.  

Whole 30 Week 2 Day 2

Breakfast

Fauxtmeal

1 medium acorn squash, 1/2 can coconut milk, strawberries, and cinnamon.

 I found this recipe at CupcakesOMG and tweaked it a little.

Slice squash in half and scrape out seeds. Lay in casserole dish or roasting pan, flesh-side down. Add water to cover the bottom of the pan. Roast on 400 F for about 30 minutes or until flesh is tender. 

Scrap flesh out of squash and dump into a medium pan. Add 1/2 can coconut milk. Turn burner on to medium heat. Use potato masher to smash up squash.  Add several sprinkles of cinnamon and cook until heated through. 

I made this the night before and simply heated it up the next morning. Once heated up, I added a little cold coconut milk, 4 sliced strawberries, and I sprinkled it with a lot more cinnamon. 

I thought this was pretty good, but not sure if I will make it again or not.  

 

Lunch

BLT Spinach Salad

2 cups fresh spinach, 2 boiled eggs, 2 slices of bacon, 1/2 avocado, 5 grape tomatoes; cut in half, 1/2 can artichoke hearts, 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/4 c. olive oil, salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes. 

Mix olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste in a small cup. Set aside. 

Throw spinach into a decent sized salad bowl. Add all other veggies on top. Drizzle with oil and lemon mixture. Sprinkle with crushed pepper if you want an extra little zing. Dig in! 

  

Dinner

Hungarian Beef Stew

2lbs Stew meat, 2 carrots; chopped, 1/2 onion; chopped, 1 green bell pepper; chopped, 4 cloves garlic; minced, 1 can tomato paste, 4 tbsp. smoked paprika, 6 cups beef broth, ghee or coconut oil for sautéing meat. 

Sauté the stew meat in ghee or coconut oil until browned, but not cooked through. Add onion, garlic and carrots and cook for a few more minutes. Add paprika and stir to coat. Add tomato paste and coat everything really well with it. Cook for 3 minutes. Add beef broth. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 1 hour. Add sweet potatoes and simmer for another 1-1.5 hours. Serve with a nice salad. 

I feel like this picture doesn't do it any justice. This was REALLY good. I think it'll go in the non-Whole 30 rotation! I actually threw this in a thermos and took it with me to a me he jr. high school cheerleading lock-in with my daughter. It was TOUGH watching everybody else scarf down some of my favorite pizza, but the stew was good enough to take my nose elsewhere. 

Whole 30 Week 1 Day 7

We ended up with so many leftovers this week that I decided to take a break from cooking and have what I call a "fend for yourself" day. The kids and hubs chose what they wanted to eat for each meal. I packed lunches with leftovers AND we had leftovers for dinner. I really needed this in order to clean out the fridge since it was grocery night. I think I prepped a little too much food this week, but I'm glad my family could help take care of the extras on a much-needed night off from cooking. I'm looking forward to making the next few weeks a little more simple, and to incorporate more leftovers throughout the week instead of at the end.

Whole 30 Week 2 Day 1

Breakfast

Scrambled Eggs with Zucchini and Tomatoes

2 eggs; scrambled, 1 small zucchini; chopped, 1 small tomato; chopped, and olive or coconut oil to saute the veggies in and keep eggs from sticking to the pan.

Today's breakfast was SIMPLE and delicious. The menu title says it all. I scrambled two eggs with zucchini and tomatoes. 

I chopped the zucchini into quarter chunks, then threw them in the pan with a little coconut oil until tender-crisp. I then added the whole chopped tomato, and let cook for about one minute. Finally, I added the eggs and cooked until the eggs were done. I topped it with quite a few sprinkles of hot sauce and salt and pepper.

Oh yeah! I forgot I found this lonely slice of turkey bacon and threw it in with the Zuccs. 
 
Lunch

 Chicken Salad

This was the leftover chicken salad from Week 1 Day 6. It's one of our faves! I had a few slices of cucumber and a few sliced strawberries on the side as well.

Dinner
Speedy Chicken Thighs

This dinner was seriously fantastic. In fact, if you have a large family, I would suggest doubling or tripling this in order to have leftovers. I bought a pack of thighs that only had six thighs in it. With five people eating, we definitely could have used more, but everyone was satisfied nonetheless. This recipe was derived from Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook.

6 skinless (bone-in) chicken thighs, 1 onion; diced, 4 carrots; diced, 3 cloves garlic; minced, 1 cup broth of choice (I used veggie), 1/4 c. coconut oil; melted, 1 tbsp. EACH dried thyme and rubbed sage, salt and pepper to taste.

In a large pan, cook carrots and onion in olive oil for 3-4 minutes, add garlic and stir for about 1 minute more. Sprinkle raw chicken thighs with salt and pepper and add them to the pan with veggies, moving the veggies aside so each thigh is directly on the skillet. Cook thighs until they start to turn a little brown, the flip and do the same to the other side. This creates a little but if crispness on the top and bottom of chicken in the finished product. In a small bowl, mix together the melted coconut oil, broth, thyme, and rubbed sage. Pour mixture over chicken and veggies. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook on medium low for about 30 minutes. We ate this with Roni's Cucumber Salad.

Roni's Creamy Cucumbers 
Derived from the Well Fed Cookbook

2 cucumbers, cut in half then sliced, 1/4 c. paleo mayo, 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 tsp. dried dill, and 1/2 c. grape tomatoes; cut in half.

 
Throw cucumbers and tomatoes in a medium bowl. In a smaller bowl mix mayo, garlic, and vinegar until blended well. Add mayo mixture to the veggies and stir well until veggies are coated. Sprinkle with dill. We ate this right away and it was fantastic! I'm sure, like most things, this would taste even better after spending a little time hangin' out in the fridge.

Whole30 Week TWO Meal Plan

We did it! We made it through week one. I'm definitely feeling deprived, but I'm down 7 pounds, so I can't complain too much. I'm hoping to simplify our meals for the duration of this Whole 30. I feel like week one was a bit much. We had so many leftovers and not everything was something to write home about. So....here goes week 2.

Day 8

Breakfast: Paleo Breakfast Bowl

Lunch: Chicken Salad

Dinner: Speedy Chicken Thighs and Cucumber Salad

Day 9

Breakfast: Fauxtmeal with berries

Lunch: Easy Spinach Salad

Dinner: Hungarian Beef Stew

Day 10

Breakfast: Breakfast Skillet

Lunch: Tuna Salad

Dinner: Salmon Patties

Day 11

Breakfast: Sausage, Peppers, and Eggs

Lunch: Chicken OR tuna salad

Dinner: Sun-dried Chicken bake with Roasted Broccoli

Day12

Breakfast: Leftovers

Lunch: Leftover Fire-roasted Chicken (YUM!)

Dinner:  Beyond Easy Pulled Pork with Spinach

Day 13

Breakfast: Egg Salad with Celery Dippers

Lunch: Fancy Pear Salad with chopped chicken

Dinner: Collard Wrapped Cod

Day 14

Breakfast: Fiesta Breakfast Bowl

Lunch: Leftover Egg Salad

Dinner: Brined and Sauced BBQ Ribs with roasted broccoli

Whole30: Week 1 Day 6

Feelin' a little tired on day 6 over here. At least I had some yummy food today. Still not too sore from X3, but I'm definitely feelin' it a little. 

Breakfast

Sweet and Savory Quiche

I got this recipe from Kate Updates.

9 Eggs, 1/2 lb ground beef, 2 C Spinach, 1/2 Onion, 1/2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder,  1.5 tsp. cinnamon; divided, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small pan over medium heat, saute onions in coconut oil until tender. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Mix in only 1 tsp. of the cinnamon and all of the salt. Then, mix in the cocoa powder. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, remaining cinnamon and the vanilla extract together. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with coconut oil and throw the spinach in. Pour egg mixture onto the spinach. Be sure to wet all of the spinach by stirring and moving it around with the spoon. Finally, pour the meat/onion mixture on top of the eggs. Spread the meat out evenly. Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes or until the quiche starts to lightly brown on the top. 

 

We really liked this. My oldest daughter kept going to the fridge and grabbing hunks of this out of the dish all day. She just munched it down cold. This is a great pre or post-workout snack, and is great cold out of the fridge. I threw it together while I made last nights dinner, and didn't heat it up before eating it this morning. I love how quick and easy this is! It seriously reminds me of french toast! I will definitely be putting this on the make "again list".

 

Lunch

Jen's Chicken Salad

This is a hard recipe to type up because I really don't use measurements. It actually does end up tasting pretty much the same every time. And every time, the kids fight over it. I can't seem to make a big enough batch. You can add in all sorts of things, or even remove a thing or two and you'll still get a tasty dish here.

4 cooked chicken breasts, 1 apple (I've used both red and green), 1 stalk of celery, 1/2 cup paleo mayo, salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes I also add in 1/4 cup or so of chopped pecans, slivered almonds or walnuts.

Chop up chicken, apples, and celery to your desired sizes. Add mayo, salt and pepper and mix well. This is much better if it can sit overnight to let the flavors mingle. 

I seriously don't have a clue how much mayo I use so this is my best guess. I feel like sometimes the chicken can be dry and it needs more mayo. You just kinda have to look at it and see if the mayo coats everything the way YOU want it to. Don't be afraid to play with this recipe a little. Add bacon, grapes, or raw zucchini or take away the apples and add paleo ranch dressing instead of mayo. You really can make it to fit your taste buds.

I ate this with celery sticks as dunkers and a small side salad.

I forgot to take a picture, but I'll post one soon.
  

Dinner 

Paleo Spaghetti Sauce over Spaghetti Squash

 

This is another one of those recipes that I make different each time. The funny thing is, it ends up tasting quite different sometimes. This one was very good and I actually wrote down measurements for once! 

1 onion, 1 tbsp. coconut oil, 1lb. grass fed ground beef, 1 zucchini, 1/2 chopped roasted red peppers, 4-5 cloves garlic, 3 tbsp. Italian seasoning, 1 cup baby bella  mushrooms; sliced and halved,  1 26 oz. box of crushed tomatoes, 1 25 oz. jar of Whole Foods 365 pasta sauce. 

Saute onion in coconut oil until tender. Add zucchini and garlic and stir until garlic is fragrant. Throw in the mushrooms and sprinkle with 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning. Saute until the veggies are tender crisp, but not soft. In a separate pot (the large pot you'll end up cooking everything in together), cook beef with a tbsp. Italian seasoning until the meat is no longer pink. Add the tomatoes and the pasta sauce with the last tbsp. Italian seasoning. Dump veggie mixture in with the meat. Bring to a gentle simmer and simmer, stirring occassionally for about 30 minutes. Serve over spaghetti squash.

Roasting spaghetti squash is simple. I normally have my 13 year old take care of this part while I am at karate with my son. 

Just cut the squash in half, and scoop out all the seeds. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Prepare  a casserole dish by adding water until about an inch deep. Place squash in dish, flesh side down. Roast on 400 F for about 30 minutes or until tender on the inside. Use a fork to test. Scrape all flesh out of the shell with a fork. It will automatically look similar to spaghetti.

Be sure to look closely at the labels of pasta sauce. This particular one of free of the junk like canola oil,

and soy crap. However, a lot of the other sauces of the same brand do. Check to be sure.

Here are the boxed tomatoes