Spicy Fermented Tomatillo Salsa, by Diane

A coworker recently made us jars of this salsa for holiday presents, tied with a little bow. I hadn't tasted fermented salsa before, and I had my doubts, but let me tell you that one bite of this stuff led to me eating almost the whole jar in one sitting- until I remembered it was fermented and full of good bacteria, which made me stop and save some until the next day to be safe (nothing happened!). This is so easy to make and customize. The flavor is delicious, even though I typically don't love tomatillos. What makes it fermented is the salt, so it doesn't have a typical sour fermented taste like other items (kombucha, kimchi, etc). The recipe calls for red fresno peppers, which are smokier than the green version, but after 5 grocery stores with no red fresnos I got so desperate to have more salsa and knew I already had to wait a while for it to ferment that I just made it without (but it looks prettier with the pop of red, and festive for the holidays!). This batch makes about 9 1/2 pint jars, but trust me you'll want it all for yourself :)

Note: this tastes AMAZING with salted corn tortilla chips, but also would go really well as a topping or condiment in Mexican dishes! It would go perfect on my chicken al pastor egg bake, which is what I plan to try next!

Ingredients:

2 28 oz. cans tomatillos (keep the liquid)

6-7 jalapeno peppers, halved with seeds removed (you can reserve one pepper's worth for extra heat)

2 fresno (red) peppers, halved with seeds removed

1 large onion, rough chopped

4-6 cloves garlic

1+ bunch cilantro- discard stems, rough chop

juice of 2.5 limes

2 tablespoons salt Directions: 1. Place the peppers, onions, garlic, salt, cilantro, lime juice, and tomatillo liquid in a blender and blend at high speed until desired consistency (I made them small). 2. Add the tomatillos, blend until desired consistency (small chunks). Taste and adjust for salt and heat. 3. Pour into mason jars up to the neck, then top with a pre-measured circle of wax paper. Flatten the paper onto the salsa ensuring no air bubbles, then place the lid on tightly. 4. Store on a counter away from light for 2-14 days. Refrigerate after fermenting.

Sloppy Joes, by Cheryl

These are a family hit!!! The recipe is from 100 Days of Real Food and is a very tasty and very healthy version of an otherwise heavier dish. I also put spinach in the food processor and added it in so that not only is everyone getting some yummy carrots in there, but some greens as well. We ate these with whole wheat buns, but it can easily be eaten on it's own or on top of a salad. Yum!

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 lb. ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can tomato sauce, 15 oz
1 tbsp honey
1.5 tsp chili powder
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp yellow mustard
1/4 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and cook 2-3 minutes.

2) Add the ground beef and garlic and cook. Season with salt and pepper. Brown the meat and then drain the excess fat.

3) Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer over low heat until it thickens, about 10-15 minutes. Serve warm with whole wheat buns or on its own.

Baked Asian Turkey Meatballs, by Diane

This recipe comes from @realsimplegood's Instagram, and they were so tender and delicious! So easy to make, they bake in the oven so no browning in a pan, and a great flavor combo! I think they tasted great with Trader Joe's everything bagel seasoning sprinkled on top. Yum!

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground turkey
1 shallot, diced finely
1 bunch scallions, green and white parts chopped
2 inches ginger, shredded on a microplane
1/3 cup soy sauce or coconut aminos
1 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, and toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp. fish sauce
Toppings: sesame seeds (or the everything bagel seasoning) and more scallions


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400, and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

2. Mix all ingredients well in a bowl, form into 1.5 inch balls (should make about 24).

3. Bake for 20 minutes, then sprinkle with toppings to serve.

Sweet Potato Pancetta Tots, by Diane

I found this recipe from @thewonkyspatula's Instagram, and it looked like a great new healthy side dish for the week. These were fairly easy to whip up together, but the recipe had a lot of flaws. The seasoning was way off (fortunately I tasted the batter first!), and the process of roasting then hand-mashing the potatoes was way too time consuming and hard. I wound up using more seasoning and using a food processor, which was way easier. I had some applewood smoked bacon sea salt that tasted great in these! I've included the recipe as I would recreate it below. These are good alone, but the recipe suggests a dipping sauce, and I think a chipotle mayo would be good!


Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes
EVOO/coconut oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 small white onion, diced finely
1/2 green bell pepper, diced finely
100 grams pancetta
1 egg
1/2 tsp each cumin, cayenne, smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Shred potatoes in a food processor, toss with oil and oregano, spread evenly on a greased baking tray and bake at 400 until soft and browned.

2. In a large pan, combine oil, pancetta, onion, and green pepper until the onions brown.

3. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl along with remaining spices, season to taste, and form into small disks.

4. Bake for 10 minutes on a parchment paper lined tray at 400, flip and bake another 7-10 minutes until browned on both sides.

Sweet Potato Egg Muffins, by Cheryl

I had a lot of extra sweet potato that I had grated for a different recipe and I was trying to figure out what to do with it. In come the sweet potato egg muffins! These were super duper easy to make and are good for an on the go breakfast (unless you like your eggs runny like me, then it might be a little messy!) or for a quick meal at home. You can store them in some tupperware for about 5 days in the fridge and just pop them in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds when you're ready to eat them. Yum!

Ingredients (for 6 muffins):

1 cup grated sweet potato
eggs
olive oil spray

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375.

2) Spray a muffin tin with olive oil spray or put in silicone liners. Scoop a couple of tablespoons of sweet potato into each muffin hole.

3) Crack an egg into each hole. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, longer if you want the yolks fully cooked.

Eggplant pizzas, by Cheryl

These mini pizzas are really quick to whip up and are delicious! You can put whatever toppings you want on them - the picture here shows a pulled pork topping, a hot soppresatta topping, a veggie (spinach and sweet potato) topping, and a regular topping of just cheese. We paired this with a delicious salad, Autumn Glow, which I'll post soon. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant
tomato sauce
cheese
olive oil
assortment of toppings

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350.

2) Slice eggplant into circles. Arrange in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for an hour to let the juices come out. Pat with paper towel.

3) Spray a baking pan with olive oil. Arrange the eggplant on the pan and brush some olive oil on top. Bake for about 10 minutes.

4) Add a spoonful of tomato sauce to each eggplant. Add various toppings, then add cheese. Bake for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Hamburger Skillet, by Diane

WHOA this is amazing. I could have literally eaten this whole skillet!!! I found this recipe on Instagram for Whole30 and it looked interesting! It was easy, healthy, and did I mention DELICIOUS?!? It tastes like a big bite of a juicy burger minus the bun, and each bite has the exact right amount of sauce and toppings. It has it's own recipe for thousand island dressing, which is also easy to make and a lot healthier than store bought versions. I made this for lunches this week with a big batch of baked sweet potato fries and I was a seriously happy camper. The only things I changed were to add in nutritional yeast for a cheeseburger flavor, omit the oil, and I drained the meat before continuing with the recipe (I don't get why recipes call for browning beef in extra oil, let alone continuing with the recipe before draining it). Recipe posted with changes below.


Ingredients:

1.5 lbs ground beef (I used 2)
1 red onion, diced small
1 cup dill pickle chips, quartered
1 tomato, sliced thin (I don't like these so I left them out)
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. mustard powder
3 tbsp. coconut aminos (sub in soy sauce here if needed)
1 tsp garlic powder
Chopped romaine lettuce (I also omitted this)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup thousand island dressing (whisk together 1 cup mayo, 2 tbsp. tomato paste, 1 oz chopped dill pickles, 1/2 minced shallot, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp dried parsley, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
Optional: nutritional yeast

Directions:

1. Brown meat in skillet with the onions and drain.

2. Add the meat and onions back into the skillet, and mix in tomato paste, mustard powder, coconut aminos, and garlic powder. Stir well and remove from heat. Salt and pepper to taste.

3. Add in pickles, tomato, and lettuce, and top with dressing.

Blistered Peppers with Tahini Sauce, by Diane

I had these as an appetizer at a restaurant this weekend and was obsessed with them. The actual appetizer used shishito peppers, but I switched to mini sweet peppers in a pinch. Any pepper will do! The shishito peppers were fun though, because they had a mild heat, and every 1 in 10 are a pop of high heat. I baked mine because it was easy and I was roasting a bunch of things that day, but the actual recipe calls for a screaming hot pan (see below). They make a great, healthy snack! The tahini sauce was WAY better in the restaurant, as it was nutty and sweet with a hint of soy and garlic, but this recipe used too much vinegar. I'll keep trying to modify it, but for now, here's the recipe below:


Ingredients:


2 tbsp. tahini
2 tbsp. hot water
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. agave
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. sesame oil
Kosher salt
12 oz shishito peppers
2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Blend the top 6 ingredients until smooth, salt to taste.

2. Bring a heavy pan or skillet to smoking hot, add the oil and peppers, stirring often for about 2 min until blistered on each side and slightly softened.

3. Top with flaky salt and dip in sauce.

Tamale Pie, by Diane

This one was a winner! I wanted another new recipe as we are heading into our second trial of Whole30 this Monday. I made a few changes here (added garlic and onion), and would make a few more after tasting this (needed more enchilada sauce, and the sauce would have been better mixed through instead of poured on top), but it was really delicious and a good hearty meal for the week! I made it with corn, but it could be Whole30 with cauliflower (as the original recipe calls for). Posting the recipe with changes below.

Ingredients:

2 small sweet potatoes
1 cup corn meal
1 4oz can diced green chiles (I got fire roasted)
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp. oil
2 lb ground beef
1 small white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp each cumin and chili powder
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
1 tsp each of oregano, garlic powder, and cumin
2 tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne (I used Tony Chacere's here, about 2 tsp)
4 tbsp. nutritional yeast (or regular cheese)

Directions:

1. Cook sweet potatoes until soft, combine in a food processor with corn meal, chiles, eggs, and salt and pepper to taste.

2. Preheat oven to 400.

3. Grease a cast iron skillet, spread the mixture evenly across the bottom and sides of the pan to form a crust. Bake for 25 min.

4. While the crust cooks, brown the beef in a skillet with onions and garlic. Drain, then add back into the pan with the 1 tsp of cumin and chili powder. Set aside.

5. In a bowl, whisk tomato sauce, oregano, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne/Tony's until combined. Mix well with the beef mixture.

6. Pour the beef/sauce mixture into the crust, top with nutritional yeast, and bake another 10 minutes.

Pan Seared Chicken w/ Tomato-Olive Sauce, by Cheryl

Sooooo I signed up for Blue Arpon. I've been in such a cooking rut lately and needed some inspiration. I like cooking, but just couldn't put forth any more brain power trying to figure out new things for us all to eat. We're only on the second week, but so far it's going well! The recipes have been great and everything is spelled out for me to do. So far this has been my favorite recipe though I feel like there could be more ricotta cheese at the bottom. The dish is creamy, filling, and healthy. Yum!

Ingredients (serves 4):

4 boneless chicken breasts
1.25 cups fregola sarda pasta (israeli or pearl couscous would work too)
1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes
1oz pitted nicoise olives, roughly chopped
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
0.7 oz grana padano cheese, grated
1/2 lb sweet peppers, stems and cores removed, medium diced
1 yellow onion, medium diced
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp capers
1 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

1) Boil the pasta and cook for 14-16 minutes, or until tender.

2) While the pasta cooks, pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.

3) Heat 2 tbsp olive oil on medium high until hot. Add the chicken and cook, occasionally pressing down with a spatula, 6-8 minutes per side, or until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board. Keep warm.

4) Add the diced onion and peppers (add oil if needed). Season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium-high stirring frequently, 4-5 minutes, or until slightly tender.

5) Add the chopped garlic and cook, stirring frequently, 30seconds to 1 minute.

6) Add the tomatoes, chopped olives, and capers; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 4-5 minutes, or until sauce is slightly thickened.

7) Transfer to the pot of cooked pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and stir to combine, season with salt and pepper to taste.

8) While the sauce cooks, in a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, oregano, and a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

9) Slice the cooked chicken crosswise.

10) Divide the seasoned ricotta among four dishes; spread into an even layer. Top with the finished pasta and sliced chicken. Garnish with the grated cheese.

Almond Hummus, by Diane

This week I made some almond-based hummus for lunches, rather than using chickpeas. I combined two recipes, and it turned out really good! It's nutty, smoky, salty and a little spicy- highly addictive!


Ingredients:

1 cup almonds
8 tbsp tahini
4 tbsp EVOO
1/2 tsp salt (I used black truffle sea salt, but regular salt would work too)
1/4-1/2 tsp pepper, cumin, chili powder, and paprika (adjust to your taste level)
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 lemon, juiced
1/2-1 cup water (depending on thickness)

Directions:

Soak the almonds in warm water for at least 2 hours. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Deviled Egg Salad, by Diane

This week for lunches I wanted to try something different. I love egg salad, and I love deviled eggs, and I thought why not combine the two? I found a recipe online and it was easy and delicious! I subbed apple cider vinegar for lemon juice for extra health benefits, and omitted chives because I didn't have any on hand (I added a pinch of onion powder instead).


Ingredients:

12 eggs, hard boiled and chopped/smashed
2/3 cup mayonnaise
6 tsp apple cider vingear
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
3 tsp paprika
4 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp onion powder (or 1 tbsp fresh chopped chives)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients well in bowl and adjust seasonings as needed.

Tomato Bean Salad, by Cheryl

I've been slacking on new recipes lately. I used to make this recipe all the time while we were living in Italy and I just recently got a hankering for it and make it today. It's a super easy snack or side and can be eaten alone, on some crackers, or a be topping for bruschetta. Today I added diced red and yellow peppers to the mix and it added a nice crunch. Yum!

Ingredients:

A can of cannelini beans, rinsed
Tomatoes, diced
One small red onion
Olive oil
Salt to taste

Directions

1) Mix everything together!

The Best Italian Meatballs, by Diane

These are one of the best things I've ever made!! This recipe is Whole30 from @bazaarlazarr,  entitled Lazy Girl Whole30 meatballs. Meatballs are my favorite food, because they are quick and delicious and so this title caught my eye immediately! However, I quickly found there is nothing lazy about this recipe (you have to brown them individually which I hate bc it's so time consuming!), and my Speedy Weeknight Meatballs are way faster (just throw them in the oven). BUT- the recipe is so flippin' delicious that I'll make it over and over on repeat, it's definitely the best meatball recipe I've tried. What makes them so good is the flavors which taste incredibly authentic (Cheryl is our resident Italian judge and I think she'd agree?!) and the cooking process (turns out browning and baking is the way to go!). Not to mention the sauce I used, Rao's, is delicious. Hooray!

Note: The original recipe calls for half a pound of veal and half a pound of Italian sausage, but there is no compliant Italian sausage for Whole30 so I doubled the veal to one pound and added in paprika and onion powder (I didn't have fennel on hand or I would have added that too).


Ingredients:

1 lb grass fed beef
1 lb veal
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 large egg, lightly whisked
1 tbsp dried oregano
3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced (I used 4!)
Salt and pepper (use a pinch more salt than you'd think)
1/4 cup almond flour (sub in breadcrumbs if keeping it traditional)
1 24 oz. jar tomato sauce
Fresh basil, torn, for garnish


Directions:

1. Combine ingredients through almond flour and mix well, careful not to over mix so the meatballs stay tender. Form into balls, about 1.5 inches in diameter (this recipe yielded 20 for me).

2. Heat a cast iron skillet on medium high, brown the meatballs on all sides and set on a paper towel lined plate.

3. Preheat oven to 325.

4. Drain the oil from the pan, place the meatballs back in and top with sauce. Spread evenly and bake for 30-40 min (I did 40).

5. Remove from oven and top with basil.

Rosemary Chicken Salad, by Diane

Wow!!!! I made this for lunches this week, another Whole30 week, and I have never had a better chicken salad recipe! This was the best lunch I've had in a very long time! I got this recipe from Instagram @therealfoodrds, it was originally for a blueberry chicken salad but the blueberries I got for this week went bad so I subbed in currants. I also subbed in pecans for walnuts since that's also what I had on hand. What makes this so delicious is the fresh rosemary – usually in recipes I use dried herbs since it's cheaper and that's what I have in my pantry but I am so glad that I picked to use fresh rosemary for this recipe because the flavor in combination with onions and sweetness of the currants makes this salad so addicting! Make this now.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1/4 cup diced red onion
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup chopped pecans
4 tbsp currants
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup mayo
Bibb lettuce cups

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, place into lettuce cups to eat.

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry, by Diane

I made this for dinners this week, it is another Whole30 recipe from Instagram (@thewoodenskillet) but you could easily adapted if you didn't want to follow the rules. The recipe was for beef and broccoli, but I was already having burgers for lunches that week so I switched it up to chicken and added extra veggies. This was really good, pretty easy to throw together, and lasted a long time. I even turned it into a really good soup by adding broth and rice noodles the other night! My only complaint was that the ginger taste was very strong and there was not enough sauce, so I would make some extra sauce next time without adding extra ginger.

Ingredients:

Sauce:
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp sesame oil
Pinch of salt

Chicken/Broccoli:

1.5 lbs cubed chicken
4 heaping cups broccoli florets
1 pint sliced mushrooms
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 shallot, sliced thinly
5 springs scallions, sliced (green and white parts)
Sesame oil, coconut aminos

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine the ingredients for the sauce with a whisk and set aside.

2. Heat a large pan over medium high heat, add in 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and the chicken. Cook until white on all sides and cooked through, place in a bowl and set aside.

3. Add two more tablespoons of sesame oil and 1 tbsp of coconut aminos to the pan, then sauté carrots, shallots, and scallions until the shallots carmelize. Place in the bowl with the chicken and set aside.

4. Add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and 2 tablespoons of coconut aminos to the pan, add broccoli and mushrooms and cook through. If the ingredients start to burn you can cover the pan to expedite the cooking process of the broccoli.

5. Combine all ingredients back into the pan including the sauce, stir until the sauce starts to thicken about five more minutes.

Chicken Al Pastor Egg Bake, by Diane

This week I decided to combine two recipes that I had saved on Instagram from the Whole30 feed- chicken al pastor and carnitas breakfast bake. I liked the chicken al pastor recipe but couldn't figure out what to eat it with, and I liked the carnitas breakfast bake but had just finished off pork from this week and wanted a change. I thought the two dishes would perfectly complement each other, and I was a fan of using the crockpot this week since my gas bills have been insanely high from using the oven so much in the past few weeks of summer when I've been baking everything from scratch for lunches and dinners. This turned out really good!!

A note on the marinade for the chicken- I tasted it and thought it was disgusting and got pretty upset that the flavor of this whole dish was going to be off on the first step. However, I decided to let it go and see if cooking it changed the flavor and I was right, it did! The result after 3 1/2 hours was chicken that practically fell apart when I went to shred it and was so flavorful and delicious! This would have been awesome in tacos. Another note, this dish took way longer to cook than the posted 30 minutes, closer to an hour for me until the eggs on the top were fully cooked (there goes my attempt to lower the gas bill).



Ingredients:

For the chicken al pastor:

2 lbs chicken breast
1/2 c each pineapple and orange juice
2 chipotle peppers (I couldn't find these in my store so I subbed in extra chili powder, Tony Chachere's, and some cholula)
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp each cumin and paprika
1/2 yellow onion
1 lime, juiced
2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper (I left these out be I had already used Tony's)

For the egg bake:

12 eggs
3 tbsp milk of choice
12 mini sweet peppers, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow onion
1 small can diced green chiles
1 cup pico de gallo
Salt and pepper


Directions:

1. Place all of the chicken al pastor ingredients EXCEPT chicken into a blender until smooth. Place the chicken in the bottom of the crockpot, pour the marinade over top. Cover and cook on high for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

2. Shred the chicken and return to the pot for another 10 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350.

4. Whisk together the eggs, some of the liquid from the crockpot, and milk until frothy, then pour into a large casserole dish along with the remaining ingredients and chicken. Mix well and even out the top.

5. Bake 30-35 minutes, top with avocado or guacamole and cilantro.

Sweet and Smoky Brussels Sprouts Slaw, by Diane

I made this as a side dish to go with my sausage patties for lunches this week. I have been getting so much inspiration from Instagram for healthy Whole30 recipes lately! I added the first step to get more flavor, but you can always cook the shallots separately. I also added sunflower seeds and currants for extra crunch and sweetness. This came out really good, the different flavors worked well and it was quite addictive and crunchy! The only complaint is with the title, there is nothing smoky in the salad so I'm not sure why it was called that but it's a very good side dish to have on hand.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 brussels sprouts, shredded
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
5-6 strips bacon, chopped (I subbed in prosciutto here)
1/3 chopped dates
1/3 cup toasted almonds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbsp currants
1 medium lemon, zested and juiced
1 small orange, juiced
1 date
1 garlic clove
2/3 avocado oil or evoo
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Directions:

1. Cook the bacon and shallot together, placed on a paper towel lined plate and set aside.

2. Combine brussels sprouts through currants in a large bowl.

3. Blend the remaining ingredients until combined well, pour over the brussels sprouts mixture.

Blackberry Sage Sausage Patties, by Diane

These were my lunches for the week courtesy of another Whole30 recipe I found on my feed. They were really easy to make and very flavorful! The flavor combination was really interesting, I think you could substitute berries and easily make them with ground chicken too. The only sub I made below is that blackberry seeds always get stuck in my teeth so instead of placing the whole berries into the patties I put them through a strainer and put the juice into the patties to make them more flavorful as well. I did crush one blackberry on the top of each of the patties for looks :)

Recipe by @therealfoodrds

Ingredients:

1lb ground pork
1/2 tsp each dried sage and thyme, garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup blackberries
Oil for cooking (I used coconut)

Directions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients through pepper in a bowl. I put the blackberries through a strainer and put that liquid into the bowl as well in this step.

2.  Shape the mixture into about eight patties, gently pressing a few berries into each one. I skipped this step because of what I did in step one.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, adding in oil for cooking. Place the patties into the pan being careful not to crowd them. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side until browned and cooked through.

Sloppy Joe Sweet Potato Nachos, by Diane

This recipe is another Whole30 find from Instagram. I have always hated sloppy joes, but I found two recipes both of which happened to pop up on my feed randomly and I thought if I mixed the two together it would come out well. I also liked that the "nachos" were sweet potato fries. It turned out really easy to make and it is SO good!!  I will definitely make this again, it was filling and something I looked forward to at dinner each night this week!


Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes
2 tbsp evoo/coconut oil
1 tsp salt and pepper or Goya
1 lb grass fed ground beef
1 small white onion, diced
6 small sweet peppers, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
6 oz tomato paste
3 dates
1 c water divided
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp yellow mustard
2 tsp paprika

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2. Cut the sweet potatoes lengthwise into fries, spread on a greased baking sheet and drizzle oil and seasoning, mixing well with your hands. Place the fries into a single layer and roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until tender. Set aside.

3. In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat, brown the ground beef and drain. Set aside.

4. In the same pan, cook the onions, peppers, and garlic until the onions are translucent. Add the remaining ingredients (except potatoes) and stir well.

5. Add the beef back into the pan, and bring to a low boil. Cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes or longer (the longer this cooks the better it tastes, I did about an hour!).

6. Spoon a portion of the sloppy joe mix over the sweet potato fries and enjoy!

Whole30 Ketchup, by Diane

Being on Whole30 now for about a month and a half is great, but I am really starting to miss condiments. I found a recipe for Whole30 compliant ketchup, claiming to be much better than store-bought ketchup, and the directions seemed really simple. I also happened to have everything in my pantry so I gave this a shot. I was nervous because of the mayo incident that happened early on in the Whole30, and boy was I right to be. This was terrible. My takeaway is that you can't recreate condiments at home. Honestly, don't make this.


Ingredients:

1 6oz can tomato paste
10 pitted medjool dates
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
1/2 tsp salt, garlic powder and onion powder

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan over low heat until it starts to simmer, then cook five more minutes.

2. Add the mixture to a blender, and blend well until the dates have completely mixed into the rest of the ingredients. If you don't have a blender that can accommodate hot liquid, wait until the mixture cools a bit.

Frenchy's Chicken Salad, by Diane

About 17 years ago my family and I vacationed in Clearwater, FL and we came off the beach into a casual beach shack called Frenchy's for lunch. My mom and I ordered the chicken salad pocket, which was a beachy type chicken salad with toasted coconut, grapes, and nuts in a pita pocket. We came back for that lunch about two more times during that week, and have since created this recipe at home. This week, I was really missing being at the beach and trying to decide what to come up with for lunch that would be Whole30 compliant, and I remembered this chicken salad. I could've sworn that I had posted this before, but like so many other recipes on this blog, I haven't. This is quick, easy, and a great go-to lunch, not to mention an interesting chicken salad recipe so things don't get boring.  I ate mine in lettuce cups instead of the pita pocket to make it Whole30 compliant and a bit healthier.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded or cubed
2/3 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1/4 cup nuts (I picked slivered almonds since I had those on hand)
1 cup red grapes, halved
1/2 cup mayo
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried rosemary

Directions:

1. Toast the coconut just until it browns in a small pan, watching carefully and stirring often so that it does not burn (this will happen very quickly so keep an eye on things). Set aside.

2. Toast the nuts in the same pan, with the same process. Although you will want to toast both the coconut and the nuts together, the coconut will brown much more quickly than the nuts so make sure you do this separately. Set aside.

3. Combine all of the ingredients together, stirring well.

Corn Sauce, by Diane

This is a bbq/cookout staple at our house, and we are all crazy for it!! I’ve completely forgotten to post it until now. It’s a fusion of ingredients that are inspired by Mexican street corn, not healthy at all, but totally delicious!! I listed the approximate amounts below, but honestly I just mix and adjust.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup mayo
3 tbsp ranch dressing
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp chili powder
3 tbsp grates Parmesan cheese
Sea salt
Optional: Cajun seasoning (we like fried chicken seasoning)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and adjust seasonings, slather on charred corn off the grill!

Mexican Breakfast Hash, by Diane

Since I’m continuing on Whole30, I decided to make a dish inspired by quite a few of the breakfasts that I’ve seen on Instagram Whole30 accounts. This is delicious, fairly easy to make and super filling! Not to mention, it may be one of our best photos on this blog!!!  I didn’t picture this but I added fresh sliced avocado is to this as well!  Green chilies or sauce I would also be fantastic accompaniments!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef, lean (I used grass fed)

1 tbsp coconut oil 

1 yellow onion, chopped

8 sweet peppers, various colors, deseeded and thinly sliced 

2 medium sweet potatoes, cubes into 1/2 inch pieces

2 cups greens (I used baby kale)

4 eggs

Seasoning: chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, red pepper flakes, pepper (I used my beloved Tony Chacere’s seasoning instead of the last 3 of these)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Heat a cast iron skillet on medium high and brown the beef with the seasoning to taste. Set aside.

3. Add the peppers, onions, and sweet potatoes to the skillet, along with seasoning to taste. Cover with a baking tray to expedite the potatoes cooking. Cook until the potatoes are soft.

4. Add the beef and greens into the skillet, turn off the heat, and stir well. Adjust seasonings if necessary. 

5. Make 4 wells evenly divided ( I used the back of a large cooking spoon for this and it worked well!) and crack the eggs into the wells.

6. Bake until the eggs are cooked to your preference. I had a hard time balancing the whites and the yolks because I wanted the whites to be fully cooked but the yolks to be a bit runny, so you’ll have to experiment with this until you get it right, and don’t forget that the eggs continue to cook after you take the skillet out of the oven a bit.

Salmon Patties, by Cheryl

These were really good!!! I'm not the biggest fan of cooked salmon so putting this fish into patties with some yumminess sounded good to me. This recipe is gluten-free and paleo if you happen to be following either of those. I made a couple of substitutions, which probably don't make it paleo anymore, but instead of mayonnaise in the patties and the dip I used Greek yogurt. I used safflower oil instead of olive oil since it has a higher smoke point. I had thought of baking them, but the salmon would have definitely dried out. Fresh dill really made these and the yogurt dip pop. I will definitely be making these again! Yum!

Ingredients (original recipe from here):

1 lb fresh salmon
1/3 cup olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 almond flour
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tbsp mayonnaise (or plain Greek yogurt)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
salt and pepper

Lemon Dill sauce:
1 cup mayonnaise (or plain Greek yogurt)
2 tbsp dill, finely chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 425. Drizzle the salmon with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 10-13 minutes or until completely cooked through. Let cool for 5-10 minutes when done.

2) Dice the onion and pepper, and chop the dill and parsley.

3) Saute onion and pepper with some oil.

4) Flake the cooled salmon, removing the skin, into a large mixing bowl. Add all of the ingredients and combine with your hands until well mixed.

5) Form the salmon mixture into patties. Heat several tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and cook the patties for 3-4 minutes per side. Serve with the sauce.

Paleo Salisbury Steak Meatballs, by Diane

YUM. This recipe is soooo good! I made these for dinners this week, because as it turns out my family and I love being on Whole30 so much we are staying on indefinitely (which means lots of new fun recipes!). They came together fairly quickly, and even though I hate pan frying meatballs in batches, I would totally make these again in a heartbeat! I was really skeptical about the mustard in both the sauce and the meatballs but it turned out really good. Have I mentioned these are good? Recipe from https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/paleo-salisbury-steak-meatballs-whole30/

Note: If you aren't doing Whole30 or Paleo, breadcrumbs can sub for almond flour, soy sauce for coconut aminos, and cornstarch for arrowroot powder

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs grass-fed ground beef 85% lean
1 egg
1/3 cup blanched almond flour
3/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp brown mustard 
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp coconut aminos
1/4 tsp liquid smoke optional
1 cup white mushrooms divided 
1 Tbsp ghee or other cooking fat
Parsley chopped, for garnish
12 oz beef bone broth divided (1 cup + 1/2 cup)
1 Tbsp ghee
1 med onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 tbsp arrowroot powder or tapioca
1 tsp mustard
2 tsp coconut aminos
Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together with your hands the ground beef, almond flour, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, mustard, tomato paste, coconut aminos, 1/4 cup finely chopped mushrooms, egg, and liquid smoke (if using.)
2. Form into 1.5 inch balls while preheating a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp ghee to the skillet, then brown the meatballs all around. Transfer browned but not cooked through meatballs to foil lined sheet and lower the heat to low. 
3. Add the second tbsp ghee to the pan, then the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
4. Add 1 cup of the bone broth, leaving a half cup to mix with arrowroot
5. Add the mustard, aminos, 3/4 cup sliced mushrooms and bring to a simmer, stirring.
6. In a small bowl, whisk arrowroot with the remaining 1/2 cup of broth, add to the pan and stir to combine.
7. Add meatballs back to the pan with the sauce, cover and simmer on low for 5-10 minutes until meatballs are fully cooked and sauce thickens.
8. Spoon sauce over meatballs, sprinkle with parsley and serve with mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Sea Salt Watermelon Salad, by Diane

A few weeks ago I was reading a magazine article about Meghan Markle in a waiting room, and she said that her favorite snack was watermelon with cinnamon sprinkled on it. I thought this was a weird combo, but that evening we had a family cookout and had a watermelon for dessert. We tried it with cinnamon, and WOW does the cinnamon bring out the flavor of the watermelon!! I can't eat it alone anymore.

Fast forward to this week, our 4th week of Whole30, and I am sorely missing fun summer desserts like ice cream and snow cones. I remembered the watermelon combo and created this dish with some leftover mint in my fridge. This is SO good chilled, and I don't even miss dessert! It's been a huge hit at the pool all weekend. :)


Ingredients:

1/2 seedless watermelon, cubed
1/4 cup fresh mint, diced
1 tsp coarse sea salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and chill for at least an hour. This is best fresh, but it will last in the fridge for a few days covered.

Savory Chicken and Veggie Patties, by Diane

HOLY MOLY these are amazing. They are SO healthy, uber easy to put together, and literally so addictive I'm in danger of not having enough for lunches this week! I made these for lunches for week 4 of Whole30, and got the recipe from @thenourishinghome with a few adaptations (posted below). No more need for words- make these NOW!!!

Ingredients:

1 cup spinach
1 small zucchini, cut into sections
1 carrot, cut into sections
1 clove garlic
4 scallions, white and green parts
1 lb ground chicken (using dark and white meat will make this juicier than chicken breast)
1 egg
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
Red pepper flakes (I used a cajun seasoning here that is a house staple, Tony Chachere's)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a cooking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a food processor, blend all ingredients through scallions until finely diced. Squeeze excess liquid and put in a large bowl.

3. Add in remaining ingredients and mix well, then form into patties (mine made 7!).

4. Bake for 20 minutes, flip over, and bake 20 more minutes.

Pizza Spaghetti Squash, by Diane

Unfortunately my large mixing bowl is also orange!!!

This is week 3's installment of Whole30 dinners. It is easy to throw together for a quick weeknight meal, and tasty too! Recipe from @thewholesmiths

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash, halved and de-seeded

EVOO

Salt and Pepper

1 lb. Italian sausage, cooked and sliced or crumbled

1/2 cup sliced black olives

1/2 cup roasted mushrooms

Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and nutritional yeast to taste

15 oz. can pizza sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425, roast the squash on a baking sheet skin side down until fork tender after brushing with EVOO and sprinkling with salt and pepper.

2. Shred the squash into a large bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients.

Greek Style Layered Meat and Potatoes, by Diane

This week's dinners for week 2 of Whole30 was also found on Instagram from @thenourishinghome. Instead of using a traditional meat sauce, I used my recipe (well, our Greek friend's recipe) for Greek Meat Sauce because I have had a traditional Greek dish similar to this as a version of moussaka with potatoes instead of eggplant and I loved it. Also, this sauce could be served in a shoe and I would still eat it all, so really you can't go wrong with it. I used a mandolin for slicing the potatoes which made this come together fairly quickly. THIS WAS AWESOME. Just a good, hearty, awesome can't wait for leftovers kinda meal. Like if Cheryl and I still lived close by and had another round of Best Of this would be the entree. Make it!!

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups meaty marinara sauce
8-10 medium Yukon gold potatoes
Dried parsley, garlic powder and sea salt for sprinkling
Extra virgin olive oil


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a 9"x9" baking dish (I used a 9x13). Set aside.

2. Thinly slice the potatoes using a food processor with slicing blade attachment, or carefully use a mandoline.

3. Add 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce to the bottom of the baking dish. Layer with potato slices in a single layer with the edges overlapping.

4. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt, dried parsley and garlic powder. Repeat these steps (sauce, potatoes, seasonings) to form a total of 3 layers, making sure to sprinkle each layer of potatoes with seasonings.

5. Lightly brush olive oil evenly across the final (top) layer of potato slices. Then lightly sprinkle with the seasonings.

6. Bake uncovered about 55-65 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Homemade Mayo, by Diane

I didn't take a photo of this because too many emotions were happening, so here's one from the blog.

This is week 2 of the Whole30 lyfe, and I decided to make a trio of chicken, egg, and tuna salads (bonus points, the chicken salad was Cheryl's Curried Chicken Salad!!). However, mayo isn't Whole30 complaint because it has sugar in it, and also soybean oil which isn't super healthy for you. So after some research I found a few recipes for homemade mayo, most claiming that theirs tasted better than storebought! The vast majority of the recipes called for avocado oil as it is supposed to make the best tasting mayo, so even though it's approximately one million dollars an once I bought it for this recipe.

As it turns out, avocado oil tastes disgusting ergo does this mayo. Which is unfortunate because it's a key player in my lunches this week. I used it anyway, and seasoned the hell out of all the salads. But, I gotta say, don't make this. Yeah.


Ingredients:

1 large egg
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup neutral-tasting oil, such as light avocado, olive, or safflower

Directions:

Add everything but the oil into a wide mouth mason jar, then add 1/2 cup oil. Let the egg settle to the bottom, then use an immersion blender until thick and blended. Add in the remaining oil bit by bit until it's the texture you want. 

Creamy Sundried Tomato and Basil Chicken, by Diane

I chose this as my dinner for week 1 of Whole 30. While the sauce was good, I had a few problems with the recipe. I didn't have a cast iron skillet, so that may have been part of it, but I had to bake the chicken significantly longer than the recipe stated (about 30 minutes more), and by the time it cooked through it was chewy and a bit dried out despite roasting in the sauce. I also had to add more salt and then some italian seasoning, and then burst the cherry tomatoes so they could add to the sauce too. Overall, this was a nice concept but the recipe didn't really come together.

Recipe by @everylastbite1


Ingredients:

1/3 cup almond flour 
1/4 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp pepper 
4 chicken breasts 
1 tbsp olive oil 
1 onion finely diced 
2 cloves garlic 
2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes roughly chopped 
1 cup cherry tomatoes 
1 cup almond milk 
1 cup chicken stock 
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Combine the almond flour, salt and pepper in a bowl and dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, making sure to evenly coat on all sides.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet. On medium high heat, sear the chicken breasts until golden on both sides and then transfer to a plate.
 
4. Add the chopped onion and garlic to the skillet and cook for 3 minutes until the onion begins to soften. 

5. Add in the sundried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, almond milk and chicken stock, bring to a boil and let cook for about 5 minutes so that the sauce begins to thicken.

 
6. Return the chicken breasts to the pan and place the entire skillet in the oven to bake for approximately 15 minutes until the chicken breasts are completely cooked through.

7. Once the chicken is cooked, remove the skillet from the oven and stir in the chopped basil. Enjoy!

Roasted Green Beans with Almonds, by Diane

I made these as my side dish this week for lunches on Whole30. While the ingredients here seem pretty basic, I've never thought to roast green beans (I usually have them steamed or sauteed with almonds). I was curious to try this and see how the flavors changed with roasting them- and it totally worked! These were 1000% more flavorful, and addictive! The only critiques are that they had too much garlic in them so I would use only one clove rather than 2, and that they burned in the first 15 min so I would reduce the oven to 375.


Recipe by @thewholecook

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed 
2 tbsp olive oil 
salt & pepper to taste 
1/4 cup slivered almonds 
2 tsp minced garlic

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
 
2. Spread green beans in a single layer on baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil. Roll the green beans in the oil so each one is nicely coated. Liberally salt and pepper.

3. Bake for 15 minutes.


4. Remove from oven, flip green beans, and spread the minced garlic and slivered almonds over top.

5. Bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. (Keep an eye on the almond slivers. You want them browned but not blackened.)

Sweet Potato Beef Meatballs, by Diane

Get ready, because I'm about to make up for all of my barely-there posting of 2018 in the next 30 days! I'm starting Whole30, which is a program with a lot of restrictions (no dairy, alcohol, grains, legumes, processed sugars, or caffeine to name a few). This is not TOO far off from what I normally cook, but I've been so inspired by the Instagram accounts for Whole30 recipes that I'm going to try and use a lot of new recipes this month instead of my own.

This week's lunches were these Sweet Potato Meatballs. While any of my regular go-to meatball recipes are Whole30 compliant, I was intrigued by using mashed sweet potato as the binder for the meatballs. This recipe is from @wholedailylife, and it seemed fairly easy to throw together, aside from the extra steps of cooking and then mashing the sweet potatoes. I doubled the recipe so it would last all week long, and used grass fed beef to kick the flavor up. These were the most tender meatballs I've ever eaten, and the combo of spices and sweet potato kind of made them taste like thanksgiving! I will say you need a lot more salt than the recipe calls for, but these were good!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef (or any ground meat will do) 
1/3 cup mashed sweet potato 
1 tsp each salt, dried rosemary, ground sage, garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the seasonings with the sweet potato, then add in the ground beef and mix until combined.
3. Use a 1 oz scoop (or your hands) to make approximately 16 meatballs and place on a lined baking sheet.
4. Bake at 425 for 12 minutes until internal temperature reaches 165.

Mango Avocado Salsa, by Cheryl

What a great salsa! I made this with shrimp tacos and it added the perfect amount of sweetness and spice to an already delicious dish. Yum!

Ingredients (recipe from here):

1 avocado, pitted and diced
1 lime, juiced
1 mango, pitted and diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 habanero pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
salt to taste

Directions:

Place the avocado in a serving bowl and mix with lime juice. Mix in everything else.

Sweet Peppers Poppers, by Cheryl

Yum, these are good! I passed by these mini peppers in the grocery store and had an urge to buy them. I buy peppers often, but never the little sweet peppers. You can do so much with these in terms of snacks or appetizers... today I mixed cream cheese with chopped spinach, but you could add scallions, bacon, jalapeno peppers, and much more to make these. What a great little snack, and super easy to make too! Yum!

Ingredients:

6 mini sweet peppers, cut in half lengthwise with seeds removed
1/2 cup cream cheese
a big handful of spinach, chopped into small bits
salt to taste

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350.

2) Mix the cream cheese with the spinach. You may have to soften the cream cheese a bit beforehand.

3) Fill each pepper with about one tablespoon of cream cheese mix, or until filled.

4) Bake for about 15 minutes. Serve warm or refrigerate until serving.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Turkey Bacon, by Diane

This pan of brussels sprouts came out like an episode on the food network! Everyone ate them up not only because they tasted amazing but they looked so delicious! We had these as a side at our Passover seder, and this couldn't have been easier to throw together alongside all the other cooking and prep. We even had two brussels sprouts haters ask for seconds! We will definitely be making these again! I just threw this together because I knew that brussels sprouts taste better when they a) have some carmelization to them and b) have some savory flavor added in.

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs fresh brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise and end removed
6 slices turkey bacon (or regular bacon, we just didn't feel we could serve that on Passover!), diced
EVOO
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Spread EVOO on a baking tray, then line brussels sprouts rounded side up. Brush the tops with EVOO, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the bacon over top.

3. Roast for about 30 minutes or until they brown nicely.

Passover Sweet Potato Kugel, by Diane

This is a horrid photo because everyone ate it before I could snap the pic!!

Terrible photo aside, this was a really good dish (as evidenced by the fact that it was halfway gone before I could get to my phone). The family really enjoyed this dish, and it would be good any time of year. I was afraid it had way too many onions in it (the recipe is almost 40/60 onions to sweet potatoes) but it came out good, really homey, and a classic holiday kugel taste. The recipe said to strain the potato and onion mixture with a cheesecloth, but we just added about 1/4 cup extra matzo flour and it was fine (we had too much other work to do for the seder!). Recipe from here.

Ingredients:

3.5 lbs sweet potatoes (I used 4 large sweet potatoes)
2 large onions, diced
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ cup scallions, minced
5 eggs
½ cup matzah meal (or flour if not during Passover)
¼ cup butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 tsp goya seasoning (the salt and pepper wasn't enough)


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Saute diced onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil until brown.
3. Dice sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes and mix onions and sweet potatoes in a blender until shredded or shred with a hand grater or food processor.
4. Squeeze out excess water from onions and sweet potatoes and transfer to a bowl.
5. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, matzah meal, scallions, salt, pepper and butter. Add in potato mixture and combine until well mixed.
6. Butter a 12x9x2 inch glass baking dish. Pour mixture into the dish and bake for one hour until cooked through and brown on top.