Everyday Food for Busy People
So I found out that this healthy diet may not be the healthiest for me. I’m not usually one to share my personal medical history (aside from my battle with migraines), but since I invited all of you to join me on the Whole 30 and now I’m dropping out, I thought I’d tell you why. [Read more…] about Why I Have to Jump Off the Whole 30
How is your Whole 30 going? At the beginning of the month I published a menu for the first 15 days. This is what my family has been eating from. Our dinners have been great! I struggle a bit with lunch and snacks, but dinner is good.
I hope this list of meals and sides will help you finish out the month if you’ve been doing Whole 30 too. Some of the recipes are new ideas that I plan to try. If they work out, I’ll be sharing the recipes on the blog. If not, I’ll spare you!
16. Pineapple Chili, salad
17. Dijon Tarragon Tilapia, broccoli, baked sweet potatoes (either leave out the dijon or find one with acceptable ingredients)
18. Italian Chicken and Tomatoes in the Slow Cooker, green beans, spaghetti squash
19. Mediterranean Chicken in the Slow Cooker, acorn squash, salad
20. Pork Chops Topped with Green Pepper, Pineapple and Onion, butternut squash skillet (recipe coming soon!), broccoli
21. Rosemary and thyme round steak with parsnips, carrots; cauliflower
22. Hamburger Veggie Soup, salad
23. Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore, spaghetti squash, salad
25. Tilapia with Veggies Baked in Foil, broccoli, butternut squash skillet
26. Chicken Curry in the Slow Cooker, baked sweet potatoes, broccoli (this is a repeat from the first half of the month, but we love it!)
27. African Pulled Beef, acorn squash, skillet greens
28. Beef Stew
29. Lemon and parsley roasted chicken, butternut squash skillet, broccoli
30. Hamburgers with Onions in a Skillet, Sweet Potato Fries, cucumber and tomato salad
I hate to tell you this, but I was a bad blogger with this recipe. I completely forgot to take a photo of the finished dish. We were all so hungry and ready to dive into dinner that it didn’t even cross my mind until we finished eating.
The other thing about this “recipe” is that you really don’t need a recipe at all. You’ve probably made it yourself. But, sometimes we forget about the simple ideas, so I’m sharing it with you anyway.
Generally, I’m not really a fan of hamburgers cooked in a skillet. I prefer them on the grill or even the indoor, George Foreman grill. But my original thought with this was to cook them in the skillet and then make a mustard-butter sauce from the pan drippings.
I didn’t end up following that plan entirely though. The dijon mustard has several ingredients that aren’t allowed on the Whole 30, so I didn’t use it. Instead, I cooked the hamburgers in a bit of olive oil and ghee (clarified butter). The onions were added when the burgers were nearly done.
One thing that really made these extra good was the good quality beef I bought. I usually just buy ground beef from Walmart. But the flavor in this beef from Whole Foods was a huge step up. For a dish like this one where the beef is the main star, it makes good sense to buy a little better quality. Laura’s Lean Beef is also a good brand to buy and it’s available in most grocery stores. (This isn’t a sponsored post, just sharing what I’ve found.)
The kids ate their hamburgers on buns, while Jim and I had ours on a plate with the onions. Sweet Potato Fries and tomato and cucumber salad rounded out the meal. It was all delicious!
Keep reading for the recipe. [Read more…] about Hamburgers and Onions in a Skillet – Simple Paleo/Whole 30 Meal
Are you joining me for the Whole 30? Yesterday I posted 31 Family Recipes that will work for Whole 30. Today, I’ve got a meal plan for the first 15 days.
Next week, I’ll share some lunch ideas and my breakfast (along with a giveaway!).
I promise it’s not going to be all Whole 30 all the time on the blog. I’ve got another new series that I’ll be sharing tomorrow. We’re going to spend the month focusing on meaningful meals. More on that later.
And, of course we still have Slow Cooker Soup Fridays. And more recipes will be coming your way, although I admit to not doing a lot of recipe creation over the holidays, so I need to get busy with that!
Most of these recipes are already on my blog. Those that aren’t linked are either simple ideas or recipes that I’ll be creating. Hopefully, they’ll turn out well and I’ll be sharing them with you soon.
1. Chicken with Summer Vegetables in the Slow Cooker
2. Beef Shwarma with cucumbers and baked sweet potatoes
3. Italian Sausage with peppers and onions over baked acorn squash.
4. Garlic Chicken with More Garlic in the Slow Cooker, cauliflower, salad
5. Garlic Lime Tilapia, broccoli and baked sweet potato
6. Hamburgers in skillet with mustard sauce, sweet potato fries, tomato and cucumber salad
7. Dijon Pork Chops and Apples in the Slow Cooker, butternut squash skillet
8. Chicken Curry in the Slow Cooker, baked sweet potatoes, broccoli
9. Slow Cooker Meatballs (made with almond meal), spaghetti squash, salad
10. Slow cooker garlic and rosemary chicken with acorn squash, broccoli or skillet greens
11. Asian Salmon (subbing beef broth for soy sauce), Roasted Broccoli and Red Peppers, baked sweet potatoes
12. Zesty Crockpot Chicken, cauliflower, butternut squash skillet
13. Pan fried chicken topped with tomato and basil, skillet greens, roasted parsnips
14. Italian Seasoned Salt Pork Roast, mashed sweet potatoes, broccoli
15. Lemon Chicken on a Bed of Sauerkraut in the Slow Cooker, roasted carrots, broccoli or greens.
Before I start listing recipes, I feel the need for a few disclaimers. First, I’m no expert on the Whole 30 or on a paleo diet. In fact, I don’t know what the real difference is between paleo and Whole 30, only that one is stricter than the other and only lasts 30 days.
Second, from what I can tell, these recipes are “allowed” on the Whole 30 plan as long as you use the modifications stated with the recipes. But again, I’m not an expert at all. I’ve read through the book, It Starts with Food and that’s where my info comes from. However, it’s a lot of info to digest, so I may be mistaken about a few things. Feel free to educate me kindly if I’ve gotten something wrong.
And finally, my plan is to do my best during my Whole 30 (starting Jan. 2). If somehow, soy sneaks in, or dairy disguises itself and I miss that ingredient on a product, or I forget myself and grab something I shouldn’t have, I am not going to worry about it. I have no intentions of cheating. But I do have the intention of being kind to myself and realizing that making big changes like this in the midst of busy family life is a challenge. It’s okay for it not to be perfect.
Be sure to read labels when you’re shopping. Soy sneaks into everything! I even found it in a tea I wanted to buy.
And a note on the meats: The Whole30 book suggests you buy grain fed, free range, high quality meats. I’ll probably be using a mix of meats that I buy in the grocery and some better quality. I’m not feeling like I need to do perfect on this point.
No adaptation needed.
No pita or yogurt sauce with this one, but you can easily have those available for your family. Serve it with baked sweet potatoes.
Substitute parsnips instead of white potatoes. I think tapioca is okay for Whole 30. For me, it’s close enough. I don’t plan on downing a bunch of tapioca as a thickener, but it works so well in this stew that I’ll probably still use it. It’s such a small amount (1/4 cup maybe) for the whole batch of stew. (update: The instant tapioca has soy lecithin in it. I’m still going to eat this dish though. I’m not planning to have beef stew more than once or twice the whole month. You may feel differently about having that soy though.)
This is a recipe I created in preparation for Whole 30. I’ll add more meat next time I make it though.
Leave out the wine in this wine and you’re good to go.
Again, no pita or yogurt sauce. Serve it with cucumbers, baked sweet potatoes and other veggies.
You can either make your own mayo or search for one without soy in it. I think there are some good ones available if you’re willing to do the label reading.
This is such a flavorful recipe. Serve it with squash or sweet potatoes or other veggies.
You’ll have to leave out the sugar in this. Try a bit of apple juice instead. And serve it with roasted chicken.
I love this recipe! Just skip serving it over rice. It’s really good with baked sweet potatoes.
Use clarified butter and you’re good to go for this one!
Leave out the honey. Use a little unsweetened apple sauce or apple juice instead, or just skip the honey/substitute altogether.
You’ll have to substitute good quality beef broth for the soy sauce in this.
Use clarified butter.
Use clarified butter and read the labels on the seasoning to double check.
Read the labels on the lemon pepper or your seasoning of choice.
Use this for the meat and the broth.
Leave out the cheese.
Serve it with something other than couscous. Try lots of veggies and a salad.
Skip the wine. If you use the slow cooker, you won’t need it anyway. If you use the oven for the pork, try a bit of water or apple juice.
This one if just fine to fix! No adjustments needed.
Another recipe that’s good as written.
No adjustments needed.
Have all the fixings for your family, but have yours on a plate or in a lettuce wrap. Serve with lots of guacamole (keep the chips at the other end of the table!).
No alterations needed.
Leave out the wine. Serve it with pasta for the family and spaghetti squash for you.
Another good one to make meat and broth.
Watch the labels on the broth or use your own. Leave out the wine.
I’ve put together a dinner menu with main dishes and sides for the first 15 days of Whole 30. You can find it here.
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