Also, just because I told all of you...I must confess, I said "screw this" to another Whole30. I did make it a Whole15 prior to Mother's Day and then my birthday that same week. I've always had body image issues and am really trying to find a good balance of being obsessive about what I eat and nourishing my body with real food the majority of the time and being relaxed about enjoying things I love too...it's such a fine line for me before I am eating ice cream 3-4 times a week and feeling like a slug with low energy levels and achy joints.
Sunday:
- Greek Chicken Stew with Cauliflower Rice and Roasted Artichokes: This is very similar to another recipe that I make regularly and I always wish there was more glorious sauce to soak into my cauliflower rice and so this stew was PERFECT in my opinion (I loathe sun dried tomatoes so I left them out...). I love these greek flavors and usually roast asparagus to go with this meal, but when I saw a recipe for roasted artichokes I thought I would give that a whirl...it was one of the most unsuccessful attempts I've ever had in the kitchen. I'm not sure if it's because the artichokes weren't super fresh (they had been in the fridge for 5 days) or what. I'll try again, but if anyone out there has a favorite fool-proof recipe comment about it b/c I would like to try again!!!
Monday:
- Burrito Bowls: I was really excited about these. We like spicy food and this was a great straight forward recipe that the hubs was going to fix because I was working later and would be home right at dinner time....too bad it might have been the grossest Paleo recipe I've ever picked out. With all the spices it was still bland and lacked any real flavor. The hubs wants me to try making it again because he isn't sure he did it right, but I'm not sure I want to waste the grass fed beef on it. We didn't eat it for dinner and he said he would eat it for lunches, but honestly I'm not even sure that happened!!! The ingredients are listed below...don't say I didn't warn you :-)
Tuesday:
- Burgers and Roasted Broccoli: This is a work day staple for us. I make the burgers up the night before or in the morning and it's all set to go when I get home. The flavors of the seasonings I use also meld nicely with the meat during this time too, I like to add some shakes of my homemade onion soup mix. I also always chop all my veggies on grocery store day so when I'm ready to roast some they're already prepped.
Wednesday:
- Cilantro Lime Chicken with Green Beans: This day made me sad, I put this is the crock pot on Tuesday to cook so I could pack some for my lunch on Wednesday as I was working a 24 and didn't have any leftovers after our huge burrito bowl debacle....But we happened to forget about it and left it out on the counter all night so it was all ruined....this wasn't a great food week in our house. I hate wasting food, especially when it's grass fed/organic/free range/$$$$ food!!!!
Thursday:
- Lisa's Sauce with Spaghetti Squash: So, my bestie is an amazing lady. She's smart, funny, beautiful, Italian, the most amazing photographer I've ever met, and the best friend a girl could ask for....and she's a pretty damn good cook too! We went over to their house a few weeks ago and she had "whipped up" this tasty sauce to go over spaghetti squash. The funny part is that the hubs isn't a fan of spaghetti squash at all, but with this sauce on it he not only ate a large first portion, but went back for seconds too!!! I also tried cooking my spaghetti squash in the microwave this time and it was sooooo easy, not sure I'll ever cook it in the oven again. I just put the whole thing in and zapped it for 3 min, then cut it in half (watch out for the steam), scooped out the seeds, put it in a pan with a lid partially covering it and continued cooking in 3 min increments until done...for real, 10 min MAX and NO crazy heat from the oven...I'm sold!
- Ingredients (don't be scared of the long list, it's totally worth ALL of them):
- 28 oz fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 14 oz tomato sauce
- 4 spicy Italian pork sausages (casings removed)
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 jar quartered artichoke hearts
- 1 yellow onion
- 5-8 garlic cloves
- 1/2 package of cherry tomatoes
- 1 fennel
- 3 handfuls Power Greens (I couldn't find them so I just used spinach and it was still good)
- 1 package basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 1-2 T Italian seasoning
- Directions (from Lisa):
- I am a weirdo and I just had a few with pockets of time during the day to prep dinner because I have a 4 year old and a baby and a hardworking husband who had a hair appointment... So this is how I made it :)
- Warm a nice big cast iron skillet over medium high heat and pour in a few glugs of olive oil. Once hot, throw in half of a chopped onion and about 3 cloves of minced garlic. Sauté until the onions start to get translucent. Throw in all the meat and cook with the onions and garlic. Once it's done, drain on a paper towel if desired. ( I think the pork sausage can get greasy, so I always drain mine)
- Pour in a bit more olive oil and throw in the remaining half of the chopped onion. Sauté for a bit and then throw in the 3 more minced garlic cloves, cherry tomatoes and sliced fennel root. I sautéed them all together until the tomatoes were soft, but next time I think I might pop them in the oven (this is what I {Nicole}did and it turned out well, I actually put mine under the broiler)or just let them sit undisturbed on the stove so they get a bit blackened
- Dump all the cans of tomatoes (diced, crushed, and sauce) into a big pot over medium high heat. Add in the cooked and drained meat, tomato/onion/ fennel mixture, chopped basil, artichoke hearts, power greens, Italian seasoning, and salt/pepper. Stir together and adjust seasonings if needed. Bring the sauce to a boil, then simmer for about an hour with the lid on.
- This makes enough to feed an army. For at least two days.
Friday:
- Fire Roasted Meatloaf, Peas, and Baked Sweet Potatoes: This is one of my favorite meatloaf recipes, it's got great flavor and anything with bacon in it is good by me! The ingredients list what is needed for the sauce also.
Saturday:
- Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Grilled Prosciutto Asparagus: After cutting the chicken into cubes I seasoned it with Penzy's Forward seasoning before skewering it with mushrooms, bell pepper, pineapple chunks, and onion.
Staples:
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Clarified Butter
- Greek Seasoning (I get mine at Penzy's)
- Oregano
- Chicken Stock
- Chili Powder
- Ground Cumin
- Smoked Paprika
- Cilantro
- Homemade Onion Soup Mix (I don't add the sugar)
- Cayenne Powder
- Italian Seasoning
- Eggs
- Almond Flour
- Beef Stock
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Dijon Mustard
- Paprika
- Forward Seasoning (from Penzy's)
Fruits:
- Lemons
- Lemons
- Fresh Pineapple
Veggies:
- Onions
- Garlic
- Broccoli Slaw
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Fennel
- Power Greens
- Spaghetti Squash
- Green Beans
- Peas
- Sweet Potatoes
- Red Onion
- Bell Peppers
- Mushrooms
- 3 Tomatoes
- Asparagus
Meats:
- 8 Boneless Chicken Thighs
- 5 lb Ground Beef
- Whole Chicken
- 4 Spicy Italian Sausages
- 1 lb Bacon
- 2 lb Chicken Breast
- Prosciutto
Etc:
- Fresh Tarragon
- Pitted Kalamata Olives
- Roasted Red Pepper
- Capers
- Sun Dried Tomatoes
- Petite Diced Tomatoes
- Small Can Diced Chiles
- Fresh Cilantro
- 28 oz and 14 oz Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
- 28 oz Crushed Tomatoes
- 14 oz Tomato Sauce
- 1 Jar Artichoke Hearts
- Basil
- 6 oz Tomato Paste
- 1 Can Diced Pineapple (in juice)
