Easy Salmon Cakes with Steamed Asparagus

September 12, 2017September 10, 2017Leave a comment

Sometimes you need dinner to be simple.

Simple dinners are winning dinners.

After a weekend full of travel and hours in the car, I was ready for a real meal. Not something I threw together. But something easy and planned.

The awesome thing about this dish is the convenience aspect of it.

What you need:

2 cans of wild caught pink salmon
2 eggs, whisked
1/4 cup almond flour
A dash of coconut flour
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried dill and dried parsley, to taste
1 bag of frozen whole asparagus spears

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk eggs in a large bowl.

Open cans of salmon and drain off any excess liquids. Stir into eggs. Add almond flour and coconut flour. The consistency should be well combined and hold its shape when formed into patties, but the mixture should not look dry. If dry, add a splash of water or avocado oil. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley and dill.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form patties out of salmon mixture. Bake for 15 minutes.

While the salmon cakes cook, open the bag of asparagus. In a microwave safe dish, steam asparagus until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain off excess liquid, and season with avocado oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

When cakes are ready, plate the asparagus. Top with the salmon cakes.

I served my salmon cakes with a drizzle of Primal Kitchen Ranch and Chipotle Mayo.

Very tasty. Super easy. Low maintenance. Happy bellies. This is one you definitely want to make.

What are your favorite ways to used canned salmon?

Whole30 Parmesan Chicken

September 9, 2017Leave a comment

I’m a big fan of Italian food, but I don’t eat it very often. Pasta does weird things to my blood sugar.

On a rare occasion, I will whip up something inspired by Italy. But when you’re on Whole30 and the Italian craving hits, you have to improvise.

And so was born this Whole30 version of Chicken Parmesan.

After throwing the chicken in an egg wash, I breaded the chicken in a mixture of almond flour and coconut flour with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Heated up a jar of Thrive Market tomato sauce.

Sautéed some Veggie Noodle Co. butternut squash noodles.

And called this dinner.

And it is spectacular.

Full of flavor and texture. We loved every bite.

What are your favorite weeknight dinner shortcuts?

Roasted Apple Chicken Sausage and Broccoli over Cauliflower Rice

September 8, 2017September 8, 20173 Comments

I love a sheet pan dinner. Throwing everything on one pan and roasting it all in the oven is the ideal (lazy) way to create a delicious meal when you would rather be doing something else.

This sheet pan dinner was originally suppose to be served with a baked sweet potato. But one of my pre-baked potatoes was kind of yucky looking on the inside so I had to improvise as dinner was coming to a close. Thankfully, I had some cauliflower rice in the freezer.

With the broccoli and apple chicken sausage ready to do, I didn’t have to wait long for the cauliflower rice to heat up in the microwave.

I seasoned the cauliflower rice with avocado oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. The roasted broccoli and sausage was seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes.

I topped my sausage and veggies with a little Cholula Hot Sauce and Primal Kitchen Ranch Dressing. Both are Whole30 approved. And I can’t live without Cholula. It’s the absolute best.

What are your go-to weeknight dinners?

Prosciutto Egg Muffins

September 6, 2017September 5, 2017Leave a comment

Weekday breakfasts on the Whole30 can get boring. Usually I make hard boiled eggs with a little bit of Wholly Guacamole. It’s the best I can do most days.

But some days I feel adventurous (and obviously tired of hard boiled eggs) so I whip up some egg muffins.

And these beauties are perfect in every way.

You don’t need much to make it happen. Just a package of Applegate Prosciutto (check your labels), eggs, coconut oil, salt and pepper. You could add in tomato and basil. Or peppers and onions. But I just went classic.

Everybody likes eggs and ham.

Line the muffin tin with a piece of prosciutto. Crack an egg into the muffin tin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Not much salt since the prosciutto is pretty salty. But you need a little to season the egg.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

The end result are gorgeous egg muffins with a crispy prosciutto cup. That’s pretty hard to beat. I bet we will have these egg muffins a few times during this round of Whole30.

What are your favorite breakfast treats?

Crockpot Vegetable Beef Soup

September 5, 2017September 4, 2017Leave a comment

The key to being successful with Whole30 is to prepare. If you don’t prepare, you will have a terrible experience. Don’t get me wrong, you can still do it and be successful, but you will stress about preparing food on the fly. Trust me. I’ve been there.

Part of my meal prep and planning success happens because I always try to make enough dinner for lunch the next day. After my first Whole30, I realized I need to double my dinner so we could eat it for lunch.

Whole30 lunches are the toughest thing to prepare. We live off sandwiches or wraps for lunch, but I know bread isn’t the best for my tummy so I try to limit it as much as possible.

This round of Whole30 I am trying to simplify even more. That’s where my trusty Crockpot comes into play. I love the convenience of the Crockpot, but I usually forget I have one.

But I woke up Sunday morning feeling extremely terrible. Had a bout with my reactive hypoglycemia, and worked through my low blood sugar issues with a fresh peach and a little bit of scrambled eggs. Cooking was the last thing I wanted to do. So I ventured into the depths of my cabinet for the Crockpot. I knew I had the makings for a delicious Vegetable Beef Soup, and the goal was to throw everything into the Crockpot so we could eat a nice, hot dinner. (And I was off the hook for standing over a hot stove/thinking up what to make).

What you need:

Crockpot
One bag of frozen root vegetables (mine had sweet potato, red onion, parsnip and turnips in it)
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
2 zucchini squash, sliced into half-moons
5-6 baby red potatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 bag frozen okra
1 box of beef bone broth (I used Thrive Market brand)
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 lb. grass fed ground beef (I get mine from the Farm at Barefoot Bend)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Italian seasoning, to taste

Directions:

Brown the hamburger meat in a skillet. Season with salt, pepper and Italian Seasoning. Once the hamburger meat is brown, throw all ingredients into the Crockpot. Turn it on high and cook for six hours. Check the seasonings, and add more salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, if needed.

We both really enjoyed this hearty soup. It’s full of simple ingredients, but it doesn’t lack in flavor. You can add whatever veggies you have on hand, and I bet it will be just as delicious.