Pork Chops w Roasted Balsamic Sweet Potato & Brussels

A quick easy dinner-

Delicious bone-in pork chops from your favorite local farm
+
2 large sweet potaotes, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 containers brussels sprouts
EVOO + Balsamic vinegar

Roast the chops with s&P& garlic powder on 425 for 45 mins -   Roast veggies approx the same amount of time in EVOO w S&P, adding balsamic for the last 10 mins.  If you don't have as much time for the veggies, pop the potatoes in the microwave for a few minutes to soften them up :)

Whole30 - Meal Template

I see a lot of pins on pinterest for "paleo" meals - a lot of time they are reincarnations of grain- or sugar- laden favorites.  Which is fine on occasion... Personally I'm currently planning on making TWO paleo friendly GF desserts to celebrate my successful completion of the Whole30 :)  But it's also important to remember the meal template... the Hartwigs know what they are talking about.  I have had great success when following the template.  I have found in these 30 days that if a meal doesn't have all the recommended elements (protien, fat, veggies often including starchy ones and sometimes fruit/nuts), you will end up hungry before it's time for the next meal and require a snack (I am not an advocate of starvation).

The Meal Template

Seems daunting at first but it's easy once you get the hang of it.  For example, my W30 compliant, template fitting lunch from yesterday:

Leftover chicken (protein)
An avocado (healthy fat)
1/2 large sweet potato (starchy vegg)
Spicy tomato and mango salsa (vegg and fruit)

+ of course a couple glasses of water

I was full till dinner :)

Whole30 Day 29!

So day 29... the time to decide what I'm going to do with myself AFTER 30 days have passed...

On Feb 1st, I plan to have a sushi date with my husband.  And drink wine with dinner.  And some cocktails after dinner.  Yum.  Other than that, I plan to stay compliant with the eating plan.  Besides alcohol I'm planning to stay compliant with the Whole30, at a minimum paleo.  Not sure if I will be compliant enough to dub it a Whole60, but I would like to.  I have some fitness / weight goals I'm looking to meet, and a month has not been enough time to get there.  I'm on a roll so I would like to keep going :)

Now to catch up on some recent meals -

Kinda Best Chicken Ever....

Who could pass up a recipe for "The Best Chicken You Will Ever Eat. Ever" ??
This was a pinterest find.  The blog it's from, The Clothes Make the Girl, is pretty awesome overall and has been added to my reader :)

I had a late gym night last night, so Chris cooked.  He followed the recipe with a couple minor modifications- we had no allspice, and he used red curry paste instead of powder (after checking ingredients to make sure it's compliant, of course).  He roasted them in the toaster oven at 400 for ~40 mins.  They were thick.  We also skipped the Dipping Sauce.  Next time!  Instead of needlessly copying the recipe here, check it out on the blog above-

It was realllly good.  The brine helped the chicken stay moist, and the spice rub was a good amount of spiciness and heat.  An avocado was perfect to cut the heat a bit, and steamed cauliflower was also a great side, as you could grab a chunk of the spice rub and eat with the cauli.  He also made a classic red wine vin salad.  Delish!

Eggs w Kale and Chicken Sausage

An easy breakfast-

Melt coconut oil in pan
Add rinsed kale to pan
Stir as kale cooks
Chop GF/ sugar free sausage and add to kale
Whisk eggs
Add eggs to kale & sausage once it's wilted and browned, respectively

Cook eggs the rest of the way and enjoy!

Whole30 Compliant Beef Stew/ Soup

Beef Stew / Soup

2 pkgs grassfed stew beef (cut into smaller cubes)
1 rutabaga, cubed
4-5 carrots, peeled and chopped
lot of kale
1 onion, chopped
GF/ Sugar Free Beef Broth (enough to cover 3/4 the way)
Water to cover the rest of the way
Bay leaves
Oregano
Tarragon
S&P

Not the most exciting recipe, but it was really good on a colllld day like we had been having here. I cooked on high in the crockpot for 4 hours, but wouldn't recommend that method as the veggies weren't very soft. I then transferred to a pot on the stove and simmered for 35-45 mins. I would recommend simmering on low for a few hours for best results. This also helped the liquid reduce to leave a nice broth with the soup.  Since flour/cornstarch are not Whole30 compliant, it was a little more soupy than stewy...but you could certainly food process some of the rutabaga or some sweet potato/butternut squash to make it thicker and more stew-like :)

I brought this for leftovers to work today, and the broth all spilled out in my bag :( So, I have beef stew minus broth for lunch. + An avocado and half a sweet potato. Should work!

Photo, with broth:

Whole30 Day 27 - Paleo Stuffed Peppers & Breakfast

So here I am at Day 27!  I feel really great and am pretty used to the "rules" of the game at this point.  I have finished reading "It Starts With Food", the foundation for the Whole30 and really enjoyed the book.  There is a lot of science to back the reasoning behind it, which is important to me.  I have started to re-read the deeper sciencey sections to have a clearer understanding :)

I plan to stick with the principles I have learned for the most part - I am feeling really great as a result of eating this way.  I don't think I will add dairy back in on a regular basis or gluten.  Definitely enjoying no processed foods - it is challenging to eat NONE whatsoever, but totally do-able.

I am more than ready for a cocktail, though!!  Bring on February 1st!

Paleo Stuffed Peppers

Made these last night, following the basic template from this blog and previous experience.  I had made these before but the peppers weren't cooked enough, so I made sure to pre-cook them this time.

Ingredients -

5-6 bell peppers

1 lb natural hot pork sausage

1 lb grassfed beef

1/2 large head cauliflower

8 oz baby bella mushrooms

1 medium onion

4-5 cloves garlic

1/2 jar strained tomatoes

Dried oregano

Dried parsley

Red Pepper Flakes (we like a lot!)

Salt & Pepper

First cook the sausage.  Use a little coconut oil/ water if needed to ensure it doesn't stick.

While sausage is cooking, rice (raw) cauli in food processor to form rice-ish-size pieces.  Transfer to separate bowl.

Once sausage is cooked, cut into small pieces and cook beef (same pan).  

Preheat oven to 400

Chop garlic and onion in food processor, move to bowl with cauli.

Slice baby bellas - I used top attachment on processor since it was already dirty.

Once all meats are cooked, transfer garlic/ onion/ cauli/ mushrooms to same pan to brown.  Add little coconut (or olive) oil if needed.  Brown veggies, add spices.

Cut centers of bell peppers out so they are stuff-able.  Put a little oil in the bottom of pan you will be using and place pepers bottom-up - cook for ~10 - 15 mins.

Add tomato paste and strained (or sugar free natural sauce if you don't have).

Mix all components together.

Stuff the peppers!  Turn heat down to 375 and bake 30 - 45 mins.

Breakfast

There was some leftover stuffing that didn't fit in our peppers - so I sauteed it this AM with some kale in coconut oil, then added a few eggs.  YUM!