Oven Roasted “Fried” Okra

September 16, 2017September 14, 2017Leave a comment

Okra is a staple of Southern summer suppers. And I buy as much of it as I can while the farmers grow it. It’s my favorite vegetable.

While the South may be all about fried foods, Whole30 is not. So we must improvise.

Meet Oven Roasted “Fried” Okra.

What you need:

As much okra as you want to roast, sliced into circles
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cayenne, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
Coconut oil, to drizzle
A sprinkle of almond flour, enough to cover and coat the okra.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine okra, salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, coconut oil and almond flour.

Stir until okra is evenly coated. Spread evenly on baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until your desired crispiness.

It’s the closest thing to fried okra. And it’s amazing.

Whole30 Eggless Breakfast Hash

September 13, 2017September 10, 2017Leave a comment

This could be my favorite breakfast creation ever. Eggs or no eggs. It’s delicious.

So much of Whole30 breakfasts are centered around eggs. And after ten days of nothing but eggs for breakfast, I just couldn’t do it. Not another egg. (I’ll go back to eggs tomorrow.)

The beauty of this dish is the variety of veggies. It is truly a rainbow.

What you need:

2 apple chicken sausages, cut into half-moons
1 small yellow squash, cut into half-moons
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large handful of spinach
1 sweet potato, mashed
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions:

Bake your potato the night before and put in fridge.

Heat a medium skillet with avocado oil to medium-high heat. Add in the onion, squash and bell pepper. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add in the garlic, red pepper flakes and sausage. Stir well to combine. Make sure the mixture evenly covers the pan. Cook on medium-high heat without stirring for about 5-6 minutes. This will give your meat and veggies a nice crust on the one side. Stir in spinach until it starts to wilt. Remove from heat and set aside.

Take your sweet potato from the fridge. Remove skin. Mash with a fork, and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Top with breakfast hash.

Enjoy.

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?

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?