Category: Supper

Shrimp and Broccoli 

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So I’ve been on a downward spiral of terrible food choices this past week. 

Pizza. Wine. Cookies. Cheesesteaks. Chips. 

The true killer was a delicious plate of cheese ravioli with pink sauce. I’ve been in constant pain since yesterday afternoon. 

Dairy and gulten are my enemies. 

In a desperate attempt to heal myself, I’ve reached into my Whole30 bag of knowledge to restart my body. 

My craving for Asian food has been out of control since I got the boyfriend takeout yesterday. One thing on the menu stood out. 

Beef with broccoli. 

As I grocery shopped in pain from the ravioli lunch, I decided to make my own Whole30 version of Shrimp with Broccoli.


My take is a little different. Instead of adding the broccoli to the sauce, I used it to make rice. Amazing. 

What you need:

  • One head of broccoli 
  • One pound of shrimp, peeled 
  • One onion, sliced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • One pack of mushrooms, sliced 
  • Two cloves garlic, minced
  • Coconut aminos, to taste
  • Salt and pepper
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Avocado oil

Chop the broccoli into florets, and put in a steamer basket on the stove. Steam until fork tender

In a large pan, heat the avocado oil.  Add the onion, red bell pepper and garlic. Sauté a couple minutes. Add the mushrooms. Cool on medium high heat until vegetables soften and start to get a little color on them. 

Add the coconut aminos. This is your Whole30 approved soy sauce. It’s a game changer. Cool until sauce begins to thicken. Add the shrimp, and cook until pink throughout. 

In a food processor, add the steamed broccoli and pulse for a couple seconds. This will make broccoli rice. 

This was super easy. And very much delicious. I was surprised by how much I loved broccoli as rice. I didn’t feel like I was giving anything up. And it’s Whole30 approved. 

Tell me what you do to get out of a mindless eating rut. 

Asparagus Lemon Chicken 

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This recipe is a knock-off of one on the Whole30 Recipes Instagram page. 

Instead of broccoli, I used asparagus because it’s what I had in the fridge. 


Thinly sliced lemon, cherry tomato halves and coconut milk take this to the next level. 

So much goodness. I can’t even tell you how much I love this. 

I even remembered to remove the lemons from the pan. Last time, the boyfriend thought the lemon slices were squash, and he didn’t enjoy this meal. In his defense, it did look like squash. 


What’s for dinner at your house? 

Chicken Noodle Stir Fry

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If you crave Asian food like I do, then you need this in your life. It is like take-out, but you know exactly what’s in it. Plus, you can use whatever you have in the fridge. 


What you need:

  • Three chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
  • Two packages of Ramen noodles, seasoning packets removed
  • Riceland Rice Bran Oil
  • One Napa cabbage, sliced into thin strips
  • 1/2 cup matchstick carrots
  • One onion, thinly sliced
  • One clove garlic, minced
  • One pack of shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
  • 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Red pepper flakes, to taste
  • Garlic powder, to taste

Heat a large pan on medium high heat. Add the rice bran oil. Slice the chicken into bite size pieces, and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Sauté the chicken pieces until golden. Remove from pan, and set aside. 


In the same pan, add a little more rice bran oil. Add the onion, garlic, cabbage, carrots and mushrooms. Season with pepper and red pepper flakes. Sauté until cabbage starts to wilt. 


Add the teriyaki sauce. Add the chicken back into the pan. Cook on low until noodles are ready. 

In a large pot, heat water to boil. Add Ramen noodles. Do not add the seasoning packet. Cook until noodles are al dente. 

Add noodles in with the veggies, chicken and teriyaki mixture. Stir until well combined, and let the noodles soak up the sauce. 


This is my new favorite dinner. The rice bran oil cooks the chicken and veggies to perfection. Very high smoke point allows everything to sear up nicely. And I love any excuse to use teriyaki sauce. 

I highly recommend you get yourself some rice bran oil. Check out the Riceland eStore, and get it shipped right to your door. 

The Journey of Whole30

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It’s July. We’ve successfully completed Whole30. Only one minor hiccup during the whole process (Worcestershire sauce made it into some mushrooms on night). 

Major takeaways:

  • More energy
  • No breakouts
  • No headaches
  • Regulated blood sugar levels 
  • Less tired

The list seems small, but those are major wins. And they were sustained after the first 10 days of Whole30.

I definitely think this program will teach you how you don’t realize how bad certain foods made you feel. 

I don’t think I lost weight, which wasn’t my goal. But the Boyfriend says his pants fit different. Better. 

How will be change our food lives:

  • Less takeout
  • Better food choices when eating out
  • No food deprivation, but practice mindful eating
  • Whole30 weekdays, and free weekends

Personally, I will probably eat less gluten and carbs. Less processed foods. Less sugar. But cheese is coming back, and half and half in coffee is happening as I write this. 

For those of you who plan to start Whole30, I do have some advice. 

  • Buy the book. It will answer lots of questions. And it gives you recipe ideas to get you started. 
  • Your psychological attachment to certain foods is strong. Good moods, bad days, anger, stress and sleepiness all make you reach for certain foods due to the emotional connection. Being from the South, my connection to certain comfort foods was very strong. It’s a part of your upbringing. Notice those things. Note the emotions that send you into a craving frenzy. 
  • Make sure you find good people to encourage you. Lots of people won’t understand why you actively chose to give up all the “best” foods. But stick to your guns. Especially the first 10 days. 
  • Meal plan. Map out, at least a rough draft, what you will eat each week. This helps you not overspend at the store. Plus you know what main dish goes with what veggie sides. Don’t be like me, and try to wing it. 
  • Make enough dinner each night to pack your lunch for the next day. You will be cooking a lot. So the less prep you do after cooking dinner, the less you will resent Whole30. I cooked 88 meals during the month of June. My life would have been considerable better if I made sure dinner covered lunch every day. 
  • The weekends are you saving grace. Prep veggies. Cut fruit. Grocery shop. Make the fancy meals you won’t make during the week. The weekends always made me feel free to be creative. Plus I didn’t have to make meals back-to-back-to-back. 
  • You will get angry. Eliminating things you like will make you feel bad. Cooking all the time will be annoying. It’s ok to be angry. The Boyfriend endured lots of complaining about cooking every single meal. But he always thanked for my efforts during my rageful moments so that helped A LOT. Gratitude is a major anger kicker. 
  • It will get easier. The cooking. The planning. The not eating certain things. It will get easier. Know that I didn’t believe either during the phase of detox. But clarity and ease will come. Don’t. Give. Up. 

When you complete your Whole30, let me know and we will celebrate. 


I celebrated with a Whiskey Fix from Heights Taco. But if you choose to not have alcohol after your Whole30, we will cheers over unsweetened tea with lemon. 

Day 27: Almost. There.

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I really can’t believe it’s almost over. So much work is finally coming to an end. The amount of time I spend cooking will go down considerably. I do want to make sure we continue to eat well for lunch and dinner. But I miss eating breakfast in the cafeteria of my office, and the Boyfriend doesn’t really like breakfast. He usually saves his breakfast for lunch time.

Tonight’s supper was a pan fried pork chop seasoned with a garlic, sea salt and peppercorn rub and a side of roasted broccoli and sautéed mushrooms. 

I was weary the pork chop would be weird since it wasn’t dredged in flour, but the rub made it delightful. And those crispy edges were a highlight for me. 

The thing I wanted to share with you is my night time snack. 


Every night I enjoy a cup of decaf black coffee with a sweet Whole30 compliant treat. 

Some nights it’s a Larabar. Tonight, it was a sliced banana with a smear of almond butter and sprinkle of allspice and cinnamon. Tasted like a delightful spice cake. Just what I needed to round out my savory meal. 

The Whole30 encourages you to kick you sweet tooth habits. And I have for the most part. But sometimes you need a treat, and this is what I’ve been choosing. 

Main thing is I’m not going to feel guilty for loving an almond butter smeared banana. Or a Larabar. Whole30 has taught me I control whatever I eat. Nobody else. Just me. I choose bananas over cake. Or grilled chicken over fried chicken. Or sautéed veggies over French fries. 

My relationship with food hasn’t changed. I still love it. But I definitely respect it more than I did. I’ve always known the food I eat fuels my body, but Whole30 has given me a clear view of what life without certain things can be like. 

I can say confidently there will be Whole30 approved meals in our weekly routine. I can also say I know we will incorporate things we haven’t eaten in 30 days. The occasionally sweet treat. The celebratory beverage. The vacation foods. But we will have the knowledge that we can do Whole30 choices anytime we want. And do it well. 

I feel empowered to be in control of what I’m eating now that Whole30 is ending. There will probably be a few days of no-so-good choices, but then we go back to what we know. 

Meat. Eggs. Vegetables. Fruits. Nuts.