Whole30

Whole 30 Sheet Pan Supper

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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This is super simple, and super delicious. In fact, I loved this and will make it over and over again. I mostly took the recipe directly from the NY Times, you can find the original there, but I Whole 30’d that sh*t UP and twerked a couple other things and now it’s here.

YUM!

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes (2 medium potatoes)
  • 2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves, plus a small bunch of thyme sprigs
  • ¼ cup whole-grain mustard
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon ghee
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks (or a mixture), patted dry
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • ⅔ cup coarse almond flour
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound broccolini
  • Pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1/3 cup coconut yogurt
  • coconut oil, for drizzling

Preparation:

  1. Prepare the sweet potatoes: Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch-thick slices. Reassemble the slices so they look like intact potatoes. Insert a sprig of thyme between each of the slices. Wrap each potato in 2 layers of foil and place on a pie tin or directly on oven rack (seam side up). Bake until very tender, 60 to 75 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, make the mustard ghee for the chicken: In a small bowl, combine the whole-grain mustard and chopped thyme leaves. Mince 2 garlic cloves and stir into the bowl. Take out 1 tablespoon of the mixture; reserve. Add ghee and Dijon to remaining mixture in bowl and stir to combine.
  3. Prepare the chicken: Season chicken with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Rub mustard ghee all over chicken. Place almond flour in a wide, shallow bowl. Coat the chicken evenly with almond flour. Transfer to a baking sheet and drizzle with coconut oil.
  4. Once the sweet potatoes have baked for a half-hour, add the pan with chicken to the oven and bake until chicken is golden and no longer pink, 35 to 40 minutes. At the same time, undo the tin foil on the sweet potatoes and lay them out evenly so they can roast up a little.
  5. As the chicken cooks, prepare the broccolini: Toss with olive oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes. Smash remaining 2 garlic cloves and toss into broccolini. Spread on another sheet pan. Add to the oven with potatoes and chicken for the last 10 minutes of cooking time. (The chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli rabe should all come out of the oven at more or less the same time.)
  6. To serve, combine the reserved 1 tablespoon of mustard mixture with coconut yogurt in a small bowl. Serve chicken with broccolini and sweet potatoes on the side, dolloping the potatoes with the yogurt-mustard sauce.

** If you can’t find coconut yogurt ** Don’t worry, this will still be delicious without the sauce.

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Shrimp and Cauliflower “Grits”

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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This is so easy, and also, so delicious!!! Also, I’ll give a basic recipe for the cauliflower grits but think of it more as a cauliflower puree, and therefore you can change up herbs, etc., and eat with anything.

Ingredients: 

  • 1 lb wild shrimp, unpeeled
  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 4 slices bacon, chopped into slivers
  • 3 tbls. ghee
  • pinch of red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

Preparation:

  1. Heat broth in a large covered pot until it boils.
  2. While it’s heating, chop cauliflower into small pieces. Don’t worry about appearance.
  3. Add cauliflower pieces to pot and re-cover. Turn heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is very tender.
  4. Add bacon to a skillet and fry until cooked to your liking. Transfer to paper towels. Do not discard bacon fat from skillet.
  5. Transfer cauliflower and broth to a food processor. Add 2 tbls. ghee, rosemary, salt and pepper and blend until smooth.
  6. Meanwhile, de-shell shrimp (and set shells aside to make stock.)
  7. Add a tablespoon of ghee to the bacon skillet and heat along with excess bacon fat.
  8. Once heated, add shrimp to skillet, sprinkle with red pepper flakes, and cook until done, about 2 – 3 minutes a side.
  9. Portion the cauliflower mash into bowls and top with bacon and shrimp. Eat immediately.
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Whole30 Fish ‘n’ Chips

~ tracyshar ~ 1 Comment

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Really, can you Whole30 anything? I think, more or less. Well, maybe not bread related things. But certainly many things. And fish and chips, for sure. This was simple and delicious.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb Haddock or other white, flaky fish
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 2 tablespoons ghee
  • 4 large russet potatoes
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • a few sprigs of thyme and oregano, removed from the sprigs and chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 F.
  2. Cut potatoes into fries, by hand, making them as thin or thick as you like them
  3. Toss with olive oil and spread on baking sheet
  4. Sprinkle herbs, salt and pepper on top and place in the pre-heated oven.
  5. Spread almond flour onto a plate, placed next to a large bowl with the beaten eggs.
  6. Dip each fillet into the eggs, and then into the almond flour.
  7. Heat ghee in skillet over medium heat
  8. When melted, add fillets to skillet, giving each one plenty of room. You can make them in batches if need be.
  9. Cook about 2 – 3 minutes on one side; flip and 2 – 3 minutes more on the other side.
  10. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fries, salad, Whole30 ketchup and Whole30 mayo.

Just realized I haven’t posted Whole30 ketchup and mayo recipes!! I will redeem myself and link to them.

 

Mint Chip Homemade Larabars

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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Well, I’m a convert and I’ll never go back to store bought. I mean, that’s pretty much always the case, right? But in this case for sure. First off, I’m only sort of a larabar fan. Some flavors, sort of. But, I had this bar at Juice Press that was the same sort of ingredients as a larabar, but delicious. It was a mint chip bar. But, I think it was $4? So, I looked up what it was made of and made up a version. They are delicious. And all those bars cost about the same as 1 in the store, plus it took approximately 5 minutes to make and wrap the bars.

Also keep in mind that these are totally adaptable — swap out the cashews for almonds, swap nuts for oats, swap flavors, etc. For example, I’ll give you the recipe of what I did, but I think next time I would experiment with a higher date:cashew ratio. But here’s the gist:

Ingredients: 

  • 1 cup dates
  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
  • 1/2 cup cacau nibs

Preparation:

  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and mix until it forms a ball.
  2. Press mixture onto a parchment covered baking sheet, and press down with hands to about 1/4″ – 1/2″ thickness throughout.
  3. Slice bars.
  4. Individually wrap.

Mine are doing really well in the fridge, it adds a little sturdiness to the bars. I’m way into them. Make them!

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Whole3o Beef Stew

~ tracyshar ~ 1 Comment

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Stews are so perfect this time of year. This stew is no exception. It can be done in a slow cooker, but really if you’re geeky like me and have the time, I recommend just stewing it old school slow and steady style. Also, you can easily double or triple this recipe if you want some leftovers to bring in to work (excellent idea).

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup almond flour
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1 pound beef stewing meat, trimmed and cut into inch cubes
  • 5 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 4 ½ cups beef broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
  • 5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
  • 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • herbs to taste

Preparation:

  1. Combine the almond flour and pepper in a bowl, add the beef and toss to coat well. Heat 3 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot. Add the beef a few pieces at a time. Cook, turning the pieces until beef is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch.
  2. Remove the beef from the pot and add the vinegar. Cook over medium-high heat, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the beef, beef broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.
  3. Cover and cook until the beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add the onions and carrots and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Season with salt, pepper, and herbs. Ladle among 4 bowls and serve.

Project: Buy an Apartment and Move: Completed!

~ tracyshar ~ 1 Comment

So, I have been missing for an instant while I…bought an apartment and moved!!! Yay! Anyhow, that’s been my main project for the last few weeks. Here’s an image of our first meal in our new home:

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Not too shabby for being not completely moved in and no grocery store trip since moving in. On the menu: crispy pork belly and purple brussels with an apple pork condiment and apple butter. YUM!

Anyhow, moving has brought it’s own set of eating challenges, even though I waited until the last minute to pack my kitchen and it’s almost completely unpacked already! And, we’re away this weekend, plans we made long before we knew we were moving. So, once we get back the plan is to go back on Whole30 for a month. You can expect some more of those recipes and, of course, words of wisdom.

And then…at least as of right now, I’m planning for my next project to be the Pok Pok Cookbook. So, keep posted, it should be an interesting project and it will definitely be a delicious one.

Reintroductions: Non-gluten grains and dairy

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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Okay, I’m a bit behind. Please forgive me…the holidays are suddenly upon us, I’m trying to close on an apartment, I was in these neighborhood kids shows last weekend, and I’ve been cooking for Umi Kitchen, which is new and a lot of work for the moment! So, I’m a little slower than usual on the blog. But you watch, they’ll keep coming!! Just let me do some holiday shopping and buy this apartment, too.

So, non-gluten grains! We did great with them. I felt a-okay with everything, oats, brown rice, even white rice. It was really, really nice to have a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, it’s the right season for it and I’ve missed it. Although I do admit to really wanting a spoonful of brown sugar in there, as well. Next week!!! Also it was great to be able to buy something for lunch instead of bringing everything:

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This was my delicious lunch from Dill & Parsley. The sauce is just chili peppers and olive oil, so calm down. I think not having to prepare this made it more yummy.

Dairy, on the other hand, was not as successful!! I was so, so excited to have half and half in my coffee…I even went out and bought the good stuff, the farm half and half that’s not homogenized, and I couldn’t wait. And, it made me feel really gross, right away. I also cooked up an omelet with cheese, in butter:

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…and I could actually smell the butter as I was cooking, and my stomach was turning a little. It was okay, but I only ate about half my breakfast, and then I had a salad for lunch, in hopes of feeling a little better.

I did have some success later in the day with a wheel of camembert and slices of apples. But I’ll tell you, I think it was the apple that made the cheese more delicious, and not the other way around.

Maybe just my tastes have changed.

Anyway, I think dairy will take some more experimenting. It’s possible we’ll be fine with some things and not with others. It’s impossible to try every type of dairy in one day.

For now, I think I’ll stick with almond milk.

 

Reintroduction: Legumes

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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So, SO happy to eat some legumes. Firstly, I am madly in love with soy sauce, and happened to luck into some albacore tuna for this week’s fish share. That was a no brainer! I was also thrilled to discover that the soy sauce I had at home was tamari, and therefore gluten free, and THEREFORE good to go on legume day. Woot!!

Even looking at that picture now is making me drool.

Was also jonesing for some lentils, and we had a few leftover in the part of the cupboard that I shoved everything non-whole30 compliant before we started. So I whipped up some red lentil soup, yum yum yum!

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Oh, legumes! How I’ve missed you.

Lastly, I’ve been cooking for a service called Umi.Kitchen. I knew this was legume night, so I scheduled one of my favorite meals that I haven’t been able to eat: Sweet and Sour Eggplant with Tomatoes and Chickpeas. You can get the recipe from an old post of mine.

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It’s way, way good. I was so psyched to eat it.

All in all, I viewed legume day as a success. I maybe was a little gassy at the end of the night, but otherwise felt just fine, and today am fine as well. Also, I generally don’t eat so many legumes all at the same time…and also I’ve definitely been gassy while on the Whole30, so who knows really if it was the legumes. Further testing, necessary. Got up this morning and felt strong and good, did my run, back on the plan. What a delicious day!! Next up: non-gluten grains. (!!!) Coming Thursday.

Sous Vide Scallops with a Grapefruit/Red Onion Salsa served with Collards and Bacon; Prosciutto and sage wrapped Chicken Breasts with Sweet Potato Waffle Fries and Salad; Hake and Sweet Potato Curry

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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I know, I know, this took forever. So? I took a little break for the holiday. Sue me. Side note: Whole30 Thanksgiving was super successful. Blog post to come. Maybe in a few weeks. 😀 hahahahaha!

Anyhoo. Here’s these recipes.

Sous Vide Scallops with a Grapefruit/Red Onion Salsa served with Collards and Bacon

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. scallops
  • 1 medium red onion, chopped
  • 1 ripe grapefruit, segmented
  • olive oil
  • ghee
  • 1 head collard greens, chopped
  • 4 slices of bacon, sliced into 1/2″ strips
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

  1. Set the sous vide to 123 F. (Alternately the scallops can be cooked in a skillet, 2 – 3 minutes per side. Set aside and skip ahead to step 3).
  2. Salt and pepper scallops and place in a bag. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil over them and seal the bag. Place into the sous vide and cook for 30 minutes. Drain and dry the scallops.
  3. Meanwhile, add 2 tablespoons of ghee to a skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add grapefruit and stir to incorporate. If you want the segments to remain intact be gentle…I messed them up and ended up with a relish-like substance…which was also yummers, (hey, it all tastes the same going down) but still. Reduce heat and continue cooking for another few minutes.
  4. Add the bacon to another skillet and cook through. Once it’s cooked, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, and then add the collards. (Do not remove the bacon fat!!) Cook collards through for about 2 – 3 minutes.
  5. Add the scallops to the pot with the grapefruit/red onion mixture and sear on each side, about 1 minute per side.
  6. Plate, and eat.

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Prosciutto and sage wrapped Chicken Breasts with Sweet Potato Waffle Fries and Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 14 oz. (or so) prosciutto slices
  • 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes
  • ghee
  • avocado or coconut oil
  • fresh sage
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Salad ingredients (I’ll let you create your own. I use Ume Vinegar generally to dress unless I feel like getting fancy)

Preparation:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
  2. With a mandolin on the curvy setting, slice sweet potatoes to 1/2 inch slices. If you don’t have a mandolin, they just won’t be waffled.
  3. Spread sweet potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and three or four tablespoons of avocado or coconut oil. Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes or until browned to your liking, flipping once midway.
  4. Meanwhile, lay prosciutto slices on a cutting board and lay sage leaves on each. Place chicken, one fillet per slice, atop each. Salt and pepper each, then wrap the chicken in the prosciutto slices.
  5. Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the prosciutto-wrapped chicken and cook 4 – 5 minutes on each side. Garnish with some chopped sage and serve with salad and sweet potatoes.

Hake and Sweet Potato Curry

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Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. hake, chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 1 sweet potato, chopped
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1/2 pound tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
  • ghee
  • coarse sea salt and pepper to taste
  • fresh cilantro for garnish

Preparation:

  1. Add 2 tablespoons of ghee to a skillet over medium high heat. Once melted, add onion and cook until soft and slightly browned, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add tomatoes to skillet. Salt and pepper the mixture, stir, and cook through until the tomatoes are fragrant and dark, about another 10 minutes.
  3. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer the whole shebang to a blender. Blend at high speed until the mixture is smooth.
  4. In a deep, heavy pot like a dutch oven over high heat, add a tablespoon of ghee. Once melted, add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and cumin seeds and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Add the tomato and onion mixture and the can of coconut milk and stir. Bring to a boil and add the cumin, paprika and tumeric. Add the sweet potatoes and cook until potatoes a fork goes through one easily, about 10 or 15 minutes.
  5. Salt and pepper the fish, and then add it to the pot. Cover and cook for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow to sit for another 6 minutes. Top with cilantro and eat immediately.

Broiled Bluefish with Eggplant Chips and Bacon-y Collards

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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This was an outstanding meal. For all you haters of bluefish, which I think are many (!), I say to you, you’ve either been eating bad bluefish or you just don’t know how to cook it. It’s true, bluefish doesn’t last as long as some other fishes, but it is delicious. Find it fresh, and eat it that night. I’ve had success with many-a bluefish preparation, but this one was extra yummy and also super easy.  Don’t take my word for it; get out there and find you some bluefish.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. bluefish fillets
  • 1/2 bottle of red wine vinegar
  • 1 large eggplant, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly
  • 1 head of collard greens, chopped
  • 4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • avocado oil; can also use coconut oil or olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of ghee
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

  1. Marinate the bluefish in the red wine vinegar for at least 1/2 hour, but can be for several hours.
  2. Preheat oven to 35o F
  3. Spread eggplant slices on a tin foil lined baking sheet. Generously drizzle oil over the slices and salt and pepper them.
  4. Cook at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and fold the tin foil over itself so that it creates a little packet. Set the eggplant packet aside and allow it to steam in its own juices for 15 minutes or so.
  5. Once the eggplant is out of the oven, raise the heat to broil. Remove the bluefish from it’s marinade and place on a baking sheet; then place in the broiler and cook for about 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 300 and place the fish in the oven for an additional 10 minutes until the fish is almost caramelized.
  6. Meanwhile, add the ghee to a skillet. Once melted, add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the collards and cook through for about 2 minutes and then add the crumbled bacon. Continue cooking for a minute or 2 more.
  7. Plate it all up, and eat.

Simple. Effective. Tasty.