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Paleo Ranch Dressing

Paleo and Whole 30 approved Ranch Dressing recipe

I have been eating a lot of salads lately (thank you, Whole 30). A lot. They are easy to pack for lunch are just about the only thing I can order when I am out at a restaurant. Now I don’t mind a good salad, but they get old without a good salad dressing. Since just about all the good salad dressings are not on the Whole 30 approved list, and the ones that are are about $10 a jar, I decided I should just try making my own. 

Now I have made my own salad dressings – typically just oil and vinegar. But ranch dressing is in a whole other league. It’s a creamy dressing, which for some reason has intimidated me so much I have never tried to make my own before. But now trying to make ranch dressing on a paleo diet is even more intimidating.

It was the thought of a dry, bland salad gave me the motivation I needed to get over it and give it a shot. 

Chive, parsley, dill herb mixture for ranch dressing.

A majority of the flavor in ranch dressing comes from the herbs: chives, parsley, and dill. Sometimes you will see tarragon or other herbs in there too, but I stuck with these three.

I chopped up all the herbs as finely as possible and then tossed them into the bottom of a glass jar. Then, on top of the herbs I spooned in some Paleo mayonnaise, coconut milk, lemon juice, garlic powder, mustard, and paprika. I played with the proportions of the mayo, coconut milk, and the lemon juice until I got just the right amount acidity and texture. 

Paleo Ranch Dressing

All that’s left to do from there is shake that jar up until everything is combined! After that, it’s ready to be poured onto a salad or to have a carrot dipped into it. 

It’s not just good for salads and veggies, I also used this to dip my (Paleo) Buffalo wings into and it was delish! 

Paleo Ranch Dressing

If you are on a Paleo diet, or just avoiding dairy for any old reason, I encourage you to try this dressing. I know you are missing ranch dressing as much as I was. This will change your life!

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Paleo Avocado Toast

Paleo Avocado Toast

Is anything trendier than avocado toast in the food world right now? I can’t think of anything. First it was cupcakes, then macarons, now avocado toast.

Well, I have a confession. I have never had traditional avocado toast! I can hear my Californian credibility slipping away as we speak. I love avocados, I love toast, how have I never put the two together before?

Leave it to me to wait until I can’t actually have toast to try my very first bite. Since bread was out of the question, I turned to my trusted friend, the sweet potato, to take it’s place.

I know what you are thinking, sweet potatoes can never replace bread, and you’re right. But the sweet potatoes, once baked and toasted under the broiler, are as good as you are going to get on a Paleo diet. Trust me, the avocado still tastes heavenly on top of the sweet potato. And since the slices are charred a little bit, you still get that toasted flavor.

I think the key to making  Paleo avocado toast is finding the biggest sweet potato you can get your hands on. That will give you the most real estate to pile on the avocado and any other toppings you want. I decided to add bacon on one and an egg on another. All were excellent on their own, but do you know what’s even better? Stacking the bacon and egg toasts together to make a sandwich!

Sweet Potato Breakfast Sandwich

Ya’ll, it was AMAZING. I had to put it down after one bite and take a picture. That’s why this picture is so random because it’s definitely not styled or staged. This is literally what it looked like seconds after my first bite. 

Avocado Toast on Sweet Potato slices

I can already tell you that Paleo avocado toast is going to be my go-to breakfast, weekend lunch, snack, you name it for the rest of my Whole 30, and probably afterwards. It’s perfectly filling and a great way to start my day or to give me the energy I need for a grueling workout. 

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Paleo Lemon Bars

Paleo Lemon Bars with Chia Seeds

Friends, let me tell you, whether you are on a Paleo diet or not, you must make these lemon bars! They are so freaking good. They were a pain in my butt to get right. But once I figured out the magic recipe, they turned perfectly!

Also, on a quick side note – while I was spending my afternoon baking these bad boys, I binged watch Fuller House. It is so bad it is good. It is just like the Full House of old, but even cheesier! Maybe it’s because I am older so it seems cheesier, but that is what makes it so great. So you need to go out and watch this immediately! Also, Jodie Sweetin needs her own show. The end. 

Okay, back to the lemon bars.

I did a lot of research for this recipe;  looking up other Paleo lemon bar recipes, as well as your typical (sugar-, gluten-, dairy-filled) lemon bar recipe to find the perfect combination of lemon topping to crispy crust. 

The crust was actually the easiest part for me to master. I knew I wanted it to be light and flaky, so I made something that was a mix between a shortbread and a pie crust. I mixed together almond and coconut flours with some coconut sugar, egg, and fat. The mixture of the two flours made a big difference. I tried it the second time with only almond flour and it turned out terribly. 

The lemon topping is what gave me so much trouble. In your typical lemon bar recipe, the lemon topping is baked on the crust. I tried that method twice with very bad results (as you may or may not have seen on Snapchat). I finally found a recipe that used a different technique: making a lemon curd and pouring it on top. No baking needed! Which is exactly the solution I was looking for. 

So I went about making a Paleo lemon curd, which was a lot easier than I anticipated. I replaced the sugar with honey and the butter with ghee/coconut oil. Literally a 1 to 1 substitution. Soooo easy. But I knew that the lemon curd wasn’t going to set up like I wanted since it would be a bit too runny. To solve that problem, I turned to my old friend the chia seeds!

Chia seeds to the rescue!

I only used a tablespoon of them, but it was just enough to soak up some of the moisture and help the lemon curd firm up a bit. 

So I poured the crazy looking lemon curd over the baked crust and set it in the refrigerator to let the chia seeds work their magic.

Sugar-free and grain-free lemon bars

I found that the lemon topping was firm enough to cut through after about 2 hours, but I left it in a bit longer just to make sure. I actually didn’t take these out of the fridge until the next day. 

Healthy, Paleo lemon bars

 

All I can tell you is that they were totally worth the wait. They were so good you would never know that they didn’t have any sugar, flour, or butter in them at all. I took them to my Small Group on Sunday night and all the girls asked for the recipe. None of them realized these were Paleo until I told them so. 

If that isn’t the mark of a successful Paleo baked good, I don’t know what is!

Enjoy!

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Cinnamon Roll Chia Seed Pudding

Cinnamon Roll Chia Seed Pudding

 

Without fail, regardless of the diet, I will start craving things I would normally never eat just because it is now “off limits”. I am like a teenage girl when the boy she kinda likes starts ignoring her: OBSESSED.

Which is why breakfast was the hardest meal for me while I was on the Whole 30. I like my breakfast so sweet that it could be confused with dessert. I put up with eggs for a few weeks, but towards the end I had to indulge a little. Enter my cinnamon roll chia seed pudding. A creamy, sweet pudding with a touch of cinnamon and a butter-cinnamon swirl on top. Just enough sweetness to squash any cinnamon roll craving I was having. 

If you aren’t familiar with chia seed pudding, its this the kinda funky, questionably looking, paleo-friendly dessert. Despite how it looks, it is an amazing substitute for things like yogurt, pudding, or ice cream. The chia seeds themselves just act as a thickening agent and all the flavor comes from whatever you soak them in. The resulting texture is almost exactly like pudding. 

Making it is pretty easy, too. I use almond milk as my base, but coconut milk or cows milk would work too (if you are’t paleo). To the milk I add some honey for sweetness (a mashed banana works too), vanilla, and cinnamon then mix it all together. Once all the flavors are evenly mixed into the milk, I stir in the chai seeds. That’s pretty much all there is to it! 

The pudding has to refrigerate overnight so the chia seeds can plump up and soak in all that flavor. Once it’s ready, just spoon it into a bowl and top with a little bit of ghee mixed with honey and cinnamon for that butter-cinnamon swirl that makes a cinnamon roll a cinnamon roll. 

Cinnamon Roll Chia Pudding

For a little extra nutrition, I also like to top mine with some chopped pecans and blueberries. I always have frozen berries on hand, so that’s what I used. But any berry would be delicious!

Cinnamon Roll Chia Pudding

How about that for a healthy cinnamon roll substitute!

Enjoy!

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5 Minute Cauliflower Rice

5 minute cauliflower rice | Follow the Ruels

I have been using cauliflower rice as a substitute for rice for years! But I hadn’t perfected it until recently. 

In the early days, my cauliflower rice (or cauli-rice) would turn out watery and a bit mushy. Everyone seemed to have a different method for making rice. One popular method says to make cauli-rice just as you would normal rice, by boiling the pulverized florets in twice as much water or broth. Well cauliflower isn’t rice and it isn’t going to soak up all that water so instead I would end up with mushy cauliflower soup.  

Regardless of the method, I found that just about every recipe took longer than anticipated to prepare. Chop the cauliflower, rice or process the cauliflower, boil or saute the cauliflower. It was very labor intensive for a side dish. Maybe I am just lazy, but this seems like a lot of work when I am trying to prepare a whole other dish.

Finally, I decided to take matters into my own hands and do things my way. After thinking it through, I realized the end result of cauliflower rice is just small pieces of steamed cauliflower. So why couldn’t I steam the cauliflower and then process it? That’s how I would make mashed cauliflower, why should it be different for the rice? 

It shouldn’t!

So here’s what I do:

First, I buy the cauliflower that has already been separated into florets. This saves me about 5 minutes I would spend hacking away at the cauliflower. Of course, if there is a good deal on a full head of cauliflower, I will buy that and put in the extra work. I’m a sucker for a good deal.

Then I steam the florets with a bit of water, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, which only takes 2 to 3 minutes. 

Finally, I toss in the florets (making sure not to add in any water that may be left from steaming) into my food processor and pulse about 15 times (more or less) until all the florets have been chopped down into itty bitty pieces. I watch this part carefully, because if I process too much, I will end up with mashed cauliflower. Which is perfectly fine, but that’s not what I am after.

5 minute cauliflower rice | Follow the Ruels

And 5 minutes later I have myself a nice big bowl of cauliflower rice. Soooo much easier, right? Dare I say easier than actual rice?

I will never hassle over cauliflower rice again! I am just trying to make a healthy choice, so why not make it as easy as possible. 

And for those of you who have never tried to make cauliflower rice, I hope this shows you how quick and easy it can be. And just like rice, it takes on the flavor of whatever you pair it with, so top it with teriyaki chicken, chicken tikka masala, carne asada, or whatever your little heart desires!

TIkka Masala-8

Enjoy!

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Paleo Chicken Tikka Masala

TIkka-Masala-12b

As I sit here writing this post I am laying in bed. It’s 8:00pm. I have been here since 5:30pm. I am not sure if it’s the fever, the cough, or just the lack of inspiration, but I have no idea what to write about this Paleo Chicken Tikka Masala. 

I guess I could write that I had very little exposure to Indian food until grad school. That definitely does not make me an expert on it, but I think that makes me the best person to tell any of you who are afraid to try Indian food to give this recipe a try! Chicken tikka masala is the best gateway into Indian food you can find! This dish has quickly become one of my favorites and can easily be made a bit healthier with just a few tweaks. 

At first I was a little intimidated to make Tikka Masala at home because of all the fancy spices. Then I realized, I already had just about all of them in my spice collection. But despite the exotic name, I found that it’s almost like making a classic meat sauce!

 I started by marinating the chicken in coconut milk and spices overnight. Then I broiled the chicken just to get it a bit charred and added it to the simmering tomato sauce. Once the chicken is cooked through and the flavors have melted together, it’s ready to go! Easy right?

TIkka Masala-10

Chicken Tikka Masala is typically served with rice and/or naan bread. To stick make this extra Paleo, we served ours over cauliflower rice. But, if I am being perfectly honest, we also had some naan bread with it. Don’t call the Paleo Police. It was Friday night and we wanted to go a little crazy, okay? If you are Paleo, I don’t have to tell you to skip the bread and stick with the cauli-rice. 

TIkka-Masala-13b

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10 Products You Need to Survive Whole 30

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Now that I have completed my first Whole 30 I would love to tell you, “oh, it wasn’t that bad!”. I could tell you that, but I won’t. Because it wasn’t easy. It is definitely doable, but I’m sure I contemplated quitting and just eating a piece of bread about twice a day. It took some trial and error, but I was finally able to find some things to help me survive Whole 30. 

What makes it so difficult are those times when you need to grab food in a pinch, on the go, or just for a snack. Of course, snacking in general is discouraged on Whole 30, but try telling my stomach that at 4:00pm (hint: it won’t go well). It’s also difficult to try to maintain some normalcy in your life, like having a morning cup of coffee or socializing with friends. Both are difficult when you can’t have cream, sugar, or wine. 

It took me just about all 30 days, but I think I figured out how to get through just about all of those situations, like what to have for breakfast when you are running out the door, what snacks to keep in your purse when hunger hits, and how to feel like you are drinking without actually drinking (the most critical, right?). 

Here are the 10 products that helped survive Whole 30 through those situations (and then some!). Sure, you can survive Whole 30 without them, but I promise they will make your Whole 30 so much more bearable. 

Whole-30-Products-2numbered

1. Nut Milk Bags – As you know if you have even considered Whole 30, dairy of any kind is a big fat no-no. To add insult to injury, so is commercially processed nut milk (and non-canned coconut milk). The good news is it is SO EASY to make your own! I recommend buying commercial grade reusable nut milk bags if you plan on making your own, consistently. They don’t break and are easy to clean making them a much better value. You can also buy disposable bags at Whole Foods.

2. La Croix – If you are a big soda drinker, you will need to jump on the La Croix bandwagon ASAP. Even though I am not anymore, I needed something other than water and tea to drink to mix things up. Don’t expect a big flavor punch, these are flavored naturally and aren’t sweetened, but the sparkling water adds just enough to make your liven up your beverage choices. My favorite is the cherry limeade flavor!

3. A Paleo Cookbook (my favorite: Against the Grain) – Even though I had a copy of the Whole 30 book which had a whole meal plan and recipes inside, I needed some other recipe options to keep myself from getting bored. I had a copy of Against the Grain and turned to it frequently for inspiration (she inspired this Paleo Lasagna recipe). Since you basically have no other options other than to cook at home, having lots of options and variety will help ensure that you are successful.

4. Lara Bars – I had never had a Lara Bar before, but they were a life saver. I kept one in my purse, at my desk, in my pantry at all times. You never know when you will be stuck out running errands, not able to grab lunch, or running late to work when you need something quick and easy. Even though Whole 30 considers these “as close to a candy bar as you can get”, I say it’s still better than grabbing a bag of chips! Just be sure to read your labels, not all Lara Bars are Whole 30 compliant. My favorites are apple pie, cashew cookie, and cherry pie. (UPDATE: I have recently been turned onto RX Bars and they are my new favorite Paleo snack bar! My favorite flavors are the Salted Chocolate and Apple Cinnamon.) 

5. Kombucha – This one may be a bit controversial. Kombucha is a fermented drink that is actually made with sugar. But the sugar gets eaten up during the fermentation, so according to Whole 30, its fine. What’s great about the ‘booch, besides it being another water alternative and having probiotic benefits, is that it is naturally, mildly, alcoholic. And at least for me, it was a great substitute for wine or beer when we had friends over or I knew I was going out where people would be drinking. You won’t feel  the alcohol, but at least you can trick yourself into think your drinking. 

6. Epic Jerky Bites – Even though snacking is discouraged, you are probably going to do it anyways. My primary snack choices were nuts, apple and nut butter, and carrots. BORING. I probably ate my weight in almonds. Because I craved some variety in my snacks, I turned to jerky. Turns out about 99% of all jerky is made with sugar! UGH, sugar is EVERYWHERE! Fortunately, Whole Foods sells Epic brand jerky which is made with absolutely no sugar and is 100% Whole 30 compliant. By favorite is the bison jerky.

7. Justin’s Almond Butter packets – As I mentioned above, apples with almond butter was one of my go-to snack options. I probably had that combination at least once a day. But lugging around a jar of almond butter is cumbersome, so I turned to these almond butter packets which were must more convenient. If I’m being honest, Justin’s isn’t my favorite almond butter, but I haven’t found any other brands that have more portable packages. (UPDATE: Other brands are starting to sell nut butter packets like Barney’s and Artisana, which also does some other things besides peanut and almond butter! I haven’t tried either, but I plan to!)

8. Ghee – Ghee is essentially butter with the milk solids removed, making it the closest thing to butter you can get. It is great to cook with. You can slather steamed veggies in it. It is a must buy when you start your Whole 30. Fortunately, it was pretty easy for me to find. They carry it at Trader Joe’s near the olive oil and now I see it at just about every major grocery store near the oil or with the butter.

9. Chia Seeds – Yes, I am pretty sure these are the same seeds that you can make a Chia Pet with. Who knew they are actually pretty good for you. My favorite way to use chia seeds is making chia pudding (here’s my recipe for Cinnamon Roll Chia Seed pudding, which technically isn’t Whole 30 compliant). When the seeds are soaked in liquid overnight, they expand and form this gelatinous mixture. It might sound and look a bit unappetizing, but they have no taste and the texture is a lot like jello. When added to banana sweetened almond milk, they make a delicious dessert!

10. Acai Packs – Breakfasts were the hardest meal for me during the Whole 30. I can only eat so many eggs. So when I found these Acai packs at Whole Foods, I was thrilled! I started making acai bowls a couple times a week, which not only made breakfast more enjoyable again, but probably helped me see all 30 days through. I was this close to breaking down and having oatmeal a couple mornings. (Update: The Sambazon packs that I used now have soy lectin in them. I have re-linked another brand that is just acai and a bit of citric acid. If you want 100% pure acai, also try this freeze-dried powder and blend with some frozen berries, or try your local Trader Joe’s! They now sell frozen acai packets in their freezer section!

For those of you who are on or considering the Whole 30 challenge, I hope this helps you! Even if you aren’t or you are stick to a Paleo diet, I hope this has given you some great Paleo snack options to keep at home or work. Even though I am technically no longer doing the Whole 30, I will still continue to keep all of these things around to ensure I have healthy options when hunger strikes!

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and buy the product I receive a small commission. Everything I earn goes back into this blog!

 

Paleo Beef Stroganoff

Beef-Stroganoff-7title

I grew up with a working mom who rarely had anytime to make big fancy dinners. In fact, one of my favorite meals as a kid was something we liked to call “meat pie”, which is essentially Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough pressed out in a pie pan, ground turkey mixed with tomato paste and spices, then baked under a layer of cheese. Sounds kinda good, doesn’t it? Maybe I will make it for the blog sometime. 

This blog post isn’t about meat pie, unfortunately. It’s about Beef Stroganoff. When my mom did have some time to cook up something other than meat pie (she actually cooks a lot of other things, don’t get the wrong idea), she would make up her version of a healthy Beef Stroganoff. Healthy is sort of relative. It was loaded with butter, sour cream, and noodles. It can definitely get healthier. 

Which is exactly what I attempted to do during my Whole 30 challenge. It did seem a little daunting when the key ingredients are sour cream and noodles. But I have become so accustomed to substituting in coconut milk and spaghetti squash, it was a no-brainer.

I started this off by roasting the spaghetti squash since that was going to take the longest. While the spaghetti squash was in the oven, I seared the beef then cooked the onions and mushrooms. Since I wasn’t using a heavy cream or thick sour cream for my sauce, I wanted to thicken up my coconut milk a bit. Fortunately, coconut milk is already pretty thick, so I just used a bit of agar agar powder to get it a bit thicker. I then poured the sauce over the beef, onions, and mushrooms, and let the flavors marry and sauce thicken. 

Beef-Stroganoff-4b

To serve, I just spooned a healthy portion of the beef stroganoff right on top of the spaghetti squash, which I had already pulled apart with a fork. 

Beef Stroganoff-6

It may not look it, but the resulting Stroganoff is rich, creamy, and has a hint of heat from the red pepper which my husband and I both liked (our personal twist to the recipe). It was definitely one of his favorite recipes during my Whole 30 and I have even made it since completing the diet because it was that good. 

If you are not on a Paleo diet, but are looking for a healthy alternative to Beef Stroganoff feel free to use Greek yogurt instead of coconut milk and agar agar. You can also serve over zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice. 

 

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Paleo Nutella

Nutella-title

After 30 days on the Whole 30 Challenge and 12 days reintroducing foods back into my diet, I learned two things: sugar and dairy do not agree with me. 

Do you hear that? 

That’s just my world shattering around me.

Almost ALL of my favorite things have dairy and sugar in them:

Chocolate

Ice Cream

Chocolate Ice Cream

And above all else….NUTELLA!!

That’s right folks, the days of enjoying Nutella without a care in the world are gone. Oh, don’t worry. I will still eat Nutella if I have to (i.e. I happen upon an open container and a spoon – shoot, who needs a spoon, I have 10 clean fingers). 

Nutella-8

So what does this girl do to remedy the situation? Learn to live without the heavenly chocolate-hazelnut spread? Oh hellllls no! She makes her Paleo Nutella.

It’s actually quite easy. You see, there is this magical plant out there that solves all of our problems – the coconut! I subbed in coconut sugar for granulated sugar and coconut milk for the milk that you would find in a bar of chocolate. The result: a creamy, chocolatey, sweet, nutty, Paleo Nutella that would make a piece of cardboard delicious. 

Nutella Collage

It all starts with some hazelnuts (and a few almonds because hazelnuts are expensive!). First I toasted them, then I roughed them up a bit in a dish towel to get as much of the skins removed as possible. Then I ground them up in a food processor until I got something akin to hazelnut butter. From there I added in the cocoa powder, coconut sugar, coconut oil, and salt. I kicked the food processor back on, and drizzled in the coconut milk until its smooth and creamy. Too little milk and you will have a ball of hazelnut dough. 

Nutella-9

I wasted no time spreading this on about everything I could find. An apple, a cracker, a banana slice. Man this stuff is good. And I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t made it myself that there isn’t any sugar or milk in it at all. 

Maybe there is hope for me after all!

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Paleo Almond Joy Bites

Paleo-Almond-Joy-Bites-4b

This will not be a surprise to anyone, but the hardest part about the Whole 30 for me was the lack of sweets. I have a major sweet tooth, so eliminating all sweets was near impossible. The good news is that I did it! I made it 30 days without sugar. The bad news is that I found ways to skirt the rules and made my own sweet treats without the sugar. 

Case in point: these almond joy bites that I made the last week of my Whole 30 when I was desperately craving something sweet. This was as close to a candy bar as I had in the last 4 weeks, and it was delicious!

Paleo Almond Joy Bites-1

 

To be honest, these were a total experiment that turned out to be a hit. I was rummaging through my pantry trying to find anything sweet. I had plenty of dried fruit, including the dates which will make anything sweet, so I threw those in the food processor. Since I hadn’t had any chocolate in weeks, I knew I wanted to add some cocoa powder. Tossed that in, too.  To bind everything together, I turned to my trusted almond butter. 

I could have stopped there and had a wonderful paleo no-bake cocoa-almond cookie, but why not add shredded coconut to really make these sweet. Now what do you get when you combine coconut, chocolate, and almonds….an Almond Joy! 

Paleo Almond Joy Bites-3

These came about as close to an Almond Joy as I was going to get, and I really didn’t miss the sugar at all. These were perfectly sweet, a little nutty, with just a hint of chocolate. I devoured them, of course. I hadn’t had a cookie, candy, cake, or anything remotely close to that in weeks! Do you blame me??

 

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Whole 30 Week 4 Recap and Meal Plan

Whole 30 Week 4

Today is day 30 of my Whole 30 Challenge!!! Excuse me while I go do my celebratory dance in the corner.

Now that that is taken care of….

A lot of people have been asking me, “what is the first thing that you are going to eat when you are done?” Well, I am going to go pretty crazy. I am going to have coffee….with sugar in it! Crazy right!?

Unfortunately, the Whole 30 folks recommend that I don’t jump right in to all those delicious foods that I have been avoiding, and instead slowly reintroduce some things back in. I am starting with sugar, so I plan on having some sugar in my coffee tomorrow. Maybe some honey on chia seed pudding. And maybe, just maybe, I will have some ketchup or barbecue sauce. Living life on the edge here, people. 

I am sure you are wondering how week 4 went. After making such a big deal about how terrible it would be last week, it actually wasn’t that bad. I didn’t have any major cravings, but I did break down and made some bon-bon type goodie with dates, coconut, and cocoa powder. Just like the cookies from last week, anything remotely resembling a treat is strictly forbidden. 

Almond Joy Bites-1

Those bon bons were delicious by the way and I plan on sharing the recipe sometime soon!

The worst part about week 4 was that I just got lazy. I didn’t make breakfasts in advance so I had to scramble (no pun intended) in the morning to whip up some eggs or just grab an apple. I also got kinda lazy with meal planning. I really had to dig deep to motivate myself to make something creative. I turned heavily to my Against All Grain cookbook. 

And since we are on the topic of meals, here is what I had this week:

Monday:

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Tuesday:

  • Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and ham
  • Lunch: Leftover dinner
  • Dinner: Paleo Beef Stroganoff (recipe to come)

Beef Stroganoff-1

Wednesday: 

  • Breakfast: Apple with almond butter
  • Lunch: Leftover dinner
  • Dinner: Baked chicken with steamed vegetables

Thursday:

  • Breakfast: Chia seed pudding with pomegranate seeds
  • Lunch: Leftover dinner
  • Dinner: Went out – ordered smoked chicken with a side salad

Friday:

Whole 30-2

Saturday:

  • Breakfast: Lara Bar
  • Lunch: Rotisserie chicken and green beans from our favorite, Viva Chicken
  • Dinner: Paleo chicken tenders with steamed vegetables

Sunday: 

  • Brunch: Ate out – Egg white omelet with roasted turkey and vegetables
  • Dinner: Bagged Salad kit with chicken

Monday: 

I would tell you would I am eating tonight, but I honestly have no idea. It will be a game time decision. 

See…so lazy!

Unfortunately the I will have to keep planning for the next couple weeks. Like I mentioned, even though the Whole 30 is over, it’s not really over. They suggest that you introduce one item every three days. So, if I were following this to a “T”, I would introduce sugar on day 31, eat a normal Whole 30 diet on days 32 and 33, then introduce a new food item on day 34. 

Since I am so impatient, I am only doing it every 2 days, unless I eat something that really doesn’t agree with me. Here is my reintroduction schedule:

  • Wednesday – Sugar
  • Friday – Legumes (beans)
  • Sunday – Corn (this is very intentional so that I can have chips and salsa on Super Bowl Sunday)
  • Tuesday – Non-gluten grains (rice, quinoa, etc.)
  • Thursday – Dairy
  • Saturday – Gluten

That means that Valentine’s day will make the first real day of my post- Whole 30 experience. Actually, that works out pretty well! Maybe I will make my husband take me out to a nice dinner after all!

So you guys can look forward to a couple more Whole 30 updates for the next couple weeks. I know you guys are so excited to hear that. 

 

Paleo Lasagna

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For any of you who have tried the Whole 30 or have done any diet for any length of time know that nothing can truly replace those classic comfort foods. You can replace butter with coconut oil, spaghetti with spaghetti squash, and beef with turkey, but those altered dishes will never live up to their original.

This Paleo lasagna may be as close to an exception as you can get. Of course I missed the cheese. I mean, who wouldn’t!? But it was totally satisfying and as comforting as your classic lasagna. 

I have made Paleo “lasagna” type dishes before, but what sets this one apart is the faux ricotta cheese. The ricotta “cheese” is made from cashews and was much easier (and better) than I anticipated. I found the recipe in the Against All Grain cookbook I have been turning to a lot the past month. Her recipe says to soak the nuts overnight, then process with some salt and lemon juice. I didn’t plan ahead, so instead I boiled the nuts while I prepped the rest of the meal, then processed them. Boiling helped soften the nuts in a lot less time and I think it turned out just as well as if I had soaked them all night.

Paleo Lasagna-1

The classic lasagna noodles were substituted by slices of zucchini, which I sliced 1/4″ thin with a mandolin, blanched in boiling water, and then let drain on some paper towels. The result was almost like having pasta noodles, just with a slightly different flavor. 

-Paleo-Lasagna-2b

Of course, since this is a Paleo lasagna, there is no salty, gooey, and crunchy cheese topping. There is no Paleo alternative that can truly replace cheese (I don’t care what anyone tells you!). But there is something you can do to get that salty crunch you might get from Parmesan cheese.

To get some sort of crunchy topping, I mixed together almond meal, ghee, salt, and garlic powder to form a paste like consistency. Then I sprinkled small dollops all over the top of the sauce. 

Paleo Lasagna-4

The end result is something that is so much more than passable for lasagna. It was delicious! My husband cleaned his plate and I had coworkers asking me what I was eating at lunch the next day because it looked and smelled so good. 

I would definitely make this version of lasagna even after the Whole 30 is over because it is so filling and satisfying without making you feel bad for eating all those carbs and cheese!

I hope you give this recipe a try! Definitely let me know if you have any good tricks or tips for making a Paleo lasagna.

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Whole 30 Week 3 Recap and Meal Plan

Whole 30 Week 3

As I sit here and write this I am eating a cookie. Ok, it’s barely a cookie. Almost none of it resembles a cookie. There’s no sugar, flour, butter, or chocolate. Regardless, the #1 rule of this Whole 30 thing is no fake baked goods. Really, it’s more like rule #143. But it’s still a rule. 

After 21 days, the last 3 of which were cooped up in the house thanks to storm Jonas, I broke down. If it’s any consolation, they weren’t very good cookies and everything in them was Paleo- and technically Whole 30-approved (Whole 30 just doesn’t doesn’t approve of putting them all together into anything that resembles a treat). 

I feel like this story serves as the perfect metaphor for week 3. I am starting to get a little sick of the restricted eating and some of the cravings are back in full force. But I am also a little bit afraid to go back to total unrestricted eating and I definitely want to see the 30 days through. 

I am now really looking forward to day 31 when I can start introducing certain foods back into my diet. Not just so I can eat all those foods I have been missing, but so that I can actually find out if I do have any sensitivities or allergies that I was unaware of before.

Other than that, there isn’t much I can add about week 3 that I haven’t said in previous weeks. I am still feeling great. There have been a couple days where my stomach didn’t totally agree with me, but I probably wasn’t eating enough vegetables and too much meat and nuts. And while I am not weighing myself, a friend of mine who is doing the Whole 30 with me had lost 5 pounds at the end of week 2, so that’s promising!

This week, the meal plan went a bit out the window. I had a 2 day training that involved a catered lunch, Wednesday my husband was out, Thursday I had book club, and on Friday we had a snow day. I also tried to mix up the breakfasts more since I am getting so sick of eggs. 

Paleo Lasagna-4

Paleo lasagna

Monday:

  • Breakfast: scrambled eggs with salsa and avocado
  • Lunch: leftover butternut squash soup and Traders Joe’s Just Roasted Chicken
  • Dinner: zucchini noodle lasagna (recipe to come)

Tuesday:

  • Breakfast: leftover lasagna
  • Lunch: leftover lasagna (that’s how much I’m sick of eggs)
  • Dinner: Slow cooker pork carnitas topped sweet potato. Altered this recipe. 

Wednesday:

  • Breakfast: Acai smoothie and chia pudding bowl (recipe to come)
  • Lunch: Steak and chicken fajitas with no tortillas (catered)
  • Dinner: Leftover butternut squash soup
Chia Pudding-4

Smoothie bowl

Thursday:

  • Breakfast: Acai smoothie and chia pudding bowl
  • Lunch: Garden Salad with chicken (catered)
  • Dinner: Classic Greek Salad with chicken (ate out)

Friday:

  • Breakfast: Sweet potato fritata
  • Lunch: Salad topped with smoked turkey (ate out)
  • Dinner: Paleo Chili

Saturday:

  • Breakfast: Acai smoothie and chia pudding bowl
  • Lunch: leftover salad
  • Dinner: Naked turkey burger (ate out)

Sunday:

  • Breakfast: Sweet potato hashbrowns with a fried egg
  • Lunch: Cucumber Tomato Salad
  • Dinner: Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps (inspired by the Against All Grain cookbook, similar recipe here)

I only have 1 full week left. This week may be the hardest. The first week was full of excitement and I planned every little meal. The second week I was feeling great, like I could do this forever. The third week was just more of the same, feeling good, but getting bored. As I go into the fourth week, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I can feel my self control and motivation slipping. 

9 days and counting.

Baba Ganoush

Baba-Ganoush-Title

One of the hardest parts about this Whole 30 Challenge are the snack options. If I were following the book to the letter, I wouldn’t be snacking much at all. But that’s just now how I function. I need a few snacks to get me through the day. 

Typically I would reach for some Greek yogurt, string cheese, or carrots and hummus for a healthy snack option. Unfortunately all of those are strictly forbidden on the Whole 30. Instead I have been turning to almonds and apples with almond butter as my snack, but honestly that is getting SO old. I needed to spice it up a bit. 

Babaganoush-4

Enter, baba ganoush! “What the F&#$ is baba ganoush?” you ask? Well, I had no idea what it was until a couple years ago. After my first taste I was totally hooked! It is a roasted eggplant dip that is creamy and savory like hummus, but has this added sweetness since it is made from eggplant. 

Babaganoush-2

If you are like me, eggplant totally intimidates you. Every time I try to cook with it, the eggplant ends up rubbery and tasteless. But baba ganoush is very different because you don’t have to do much with the eggplant. All you have to do is roast it either on the grill or under the broiler until it is totally shriveled and soft. I was trying to save a bit of time, so I sliced my eggplant then roasted it, and it worked just fine. You are just aiming to get the eggplant to be totally soft and caramelized

Babaganoush-3

Once the eggplant is roasted, the rest is as simple as tossing all the ingredients into a food processor and processing until nice and smooth. Easy enough, right?!

Baba ganoush has been a wonderful change of pace to my apples and almond butter. Now I can add veggies and baba ganoush to my list of allowable snack options! Trust me, I will take all that I can get!

Babaganoush-7

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Slow Cooker Hawaiian Pulled Pork

Hawiian-Pork-3b

I discovered a VERY similar Hawaiian pulled pork recipe on the Skinny Taste a couple years ago, and have been making it on a regular basis ever since. Not only is it healthy, it is so stinkin’ easy. I know I say that about a lot of things, but this really has to be one of the easiest dishes I make. It requires 3 ingredients only: pork, smoke flavoring, and stock/water. Do you know of any other recipe that only require 3 ingredients? 

As one might imagine, the Whole 30 diet doesn’t make my life quite so easy that I can turn to an old standby and make the recipe as is. No, some adaptation will be needed, but fortunately there are only 3 ingredients, so I won’t have to change very much. 

Hawiian Pork-1

To make this recipe Whole 30 compliant, I used smoked salt instead of liquid smoke. I found the hickory smoked salt at a local spice shop. I am fortunately to have one right down the street from me, so it wasn’t an inconvenience. But I know not everyone has a spice shop near by, so instead of using smoked salt, you could instead use bacon to get that smokey flavor I am after. 

Hawiian Pork-2

I did add a couple other variations: I lined the bottom of the slow cooker in collard greens before putting in the pork. The inspiration behind this is from how traditional pig is cooked at a luau. They dig a hole, fill it with hot coals, wrap everything in palm leaves, and let it smoke for hours. So I added the collard greens hoping that they imparted some of that earthy flavor you might get from the palm leaves. 

The other difference is that I added a touch (about 2 tbsp) of pineapple juice to the slow cooker before cooking. I like the sweetness and acidity it adds to the pork to balance the fattiness and the smokiness. 

Hawiian Pork-4

Then to compliment the smokiness of the pork and to draw similarities to the Southern pulled pork variety, I paired it with some collard greens that had been wilted in bacon grease and tossed with bacon bits. That’s the wonderful thing about this Whole 30 challenge…there is no limit to the bacon!

I highly recommend this recipe for anyone trying to eat a bit healthier. If you are not on a Paleo diet, serve this with a side of rice or beans. You could even put this stuff on a taco with some pineapple and jalepeno! Oh man…the wheels are turning now!

Hawiian Pork-6

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Whole 30 Week 2 Recap and Meal Plan

Whole 30 Week 2

I am officially half way through the Whole 30. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Compared to week one, week two was a breeze. The sugar cravings I had in week one were deafened down to a faint whisper. I even did some baking this weekend and didn’t lick a bowl, spoon, or my cookie-dough covered fingers.

So this is what will-power feels like….

But really, I actually felt really good during week two. The most noticeable difference was in my energy levels. Instead of fluctuating between exhausted and some-what energized multiple times per day, I was pretty stable throughout the day during week 2. I wake up feeling pretty refreshed. I don’t need a morning cup of coffee (which I can’t really have anyways since I require sugar in my coffee) and don’t have any mid-day slumps.

Baba Ganoush recipe coming soon!

Baba Ganoush recipe coming soon!

The other big difference is in my…how should I say it?…digestion. Previously, I always thought that I had a sensitive stomach. Eating certain things or even flying would give me a stomach ache, but I thought that was just normal for me so I dealt with it. For the past two weeks, I’ve haven’t had any stomach aches, I’ve been a lot less bloated, less gassy, and generally less hungry. It’s been amazing!

Now the big question is “have I lost any weight?” Honestly, I don’t know. I didn’t weigh myself before this started and I don’t plan on weighing myself after. I am almost positive that I haven’t gained any weight. After the holidays, my clothes didn’t have a whole lot of room left for me to expand and they all still fit me. At the very least, I think I have lost some of the holiday weight, if not more. 

And now that I am half way through, I finally feel like I know what I am doing. Cooking, snacking, and eating out have all become second nature. It’s still a bit cumbersome to eat out, but it’s doable. 

Here’s what I ate this week:

As usual, for breakfasts I had egg muffins with prosciutto and broccoli, except for Friday, when I just couldn’t do eggs any more. I had a Lara bar instead.

And like last week, lunches were just leftover from dinner the previous day, which were:

Naked Turkey Burger - b-7

Monday: Naked Turkey Burger with Sweet Potato Chips

Tuesday: Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers

Wednesday: Bagged Asian chopped salad with chicken

Hawiian Pork-6

Thursday: Slow Cooker Hawiian Pork with Collard Greens (recipe to come)

Friday:  Ate out – I had a steak with asparagus and baked potatoes. 

Saturday: Ate out – I had a salad topped with lots of chicken and homemade salad dressing

Butternut Squash Soup-2

Sunday: Steak and Butternut Squash Soup (this recipe, but subbed Greek Yogurt with pureed cauliflower)

Now on to week three! I feel pretty confident about this week. I am finally getting the hang of it, plus I have some fun new snacks I am working into the rotation including homemade Lara bars and chia seed pudding. Sometimes I feel like I could keep this going for another 30 days….

…then I go out to eat and am reminded how much of a pain in the butt this is. 

Read about Week 1 here. 

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