Looks like you’re on your way to joining the ranks of Whole30 success stories. HIGH FIVE!
And because, really, you can never have too many high fives...
The Ninja came and is unpacked. I am so excited to go home tonight and cook. ( without distractions )
Meatballs and Zoodles on the menu tonight.
Turkey Meatballs
Author: paleofoodiekitchen
Recipe type: Main Dish
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground turkey
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large onion
- 1 cup fresh parsley, loosely packed
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- ½ cup almond flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 jars of marinara sauce ( I make sauce from scratch )
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a food processor, add onions, parsley and garlic. Pulse until finely chopped.
- Add this in a big bowl, with the ground turkey, eggs, almond flour, salt and pepper.
- Mix to combine everything.
- Form into 1½ – 2 inch sized meatballs and arrange them on a foil lined baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes.
- In a big pot, add the marinara sauce and the cooked meatballs.
- Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sauce has slightly thickened.
- Serve with zucchini spaghetti!
My Easy Marinara Sauce
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 (14 ounce ) cans of tomato sauce ( No Sugar Added )
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1-2 tablespoons fat of choice (I used bacon fat)
Instructions
- Heat up a large saucepan over medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of fat of choice then add minced garlic cloves, the bell peppers and onion along with a little salt and pepper to the pan.
- Move vegetables around until onions become translucent.
- Add the spices.
- Pour in the two cans of tomato sauce.
- Salt and pepper once more, then reduce heat and let simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- When all the flavors are well mixed, add the chopped fresh basil, mix well, and serve!
- Easy peasy! Put on mushrooms, brussel sprouts, spaghetti squash, eggs, acorn squash, really anything you want. Or eat it cold. It’s pretty damn good cold.
The Ninja came and is unpacked. I am so excited to go home tonight and cook. ( without distractions )
Meatballs and Zoodles on the menu tonight.
Turkey Meatballs
Author: paleofoodiekitchen
Recipe type: Main Dish
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground turkey
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large onion
- 1 cup fresh parsley, loosely packed
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- ½ cup almond flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 jars of marinara sauce ( I make sauce from scratch )
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a food processor, add onions, parsley and garlic. Pulse until finely chopped.
- Add this in a big bowl, with the ground turkey, eggs, almond flour, salt and pepper.
- Mix to combine everything.
- Form into 1½ – 2 inch sized meatballs and arrange them on a foil lined baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes.
- In a big pot, add the marinara sauce and the cooked meatballs.
- Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sauce has slightly thickened.
- Serve with zucchini spaghetti!
My Easy Marinara Sauce
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 (14 ounce ) cans of tomato sauce ( No Sugar Added )
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1-2 tablespoons fat of choice (I used bacon fat)
Instructions
- Heat up a large saucepan over medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of fat of choice then add minced garlic cloves, the bell peppers and onion along with a little salt and pepper to the pan.
- Move vegetables around until onions become translucent.
- Add the spices.
- Pour in the two cans of tomato sauce.
- Salt and pepper once more, then reduce heat and let simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- When all the flavors are well mixed, add the chopped fresh basil, mix well, and serve!
- Easy peasy! Put on mushrooms, brussel sprouts, spaghetti squash, eggs, acorn squash, really anything you want. Or eat it cold. It’s pretty damn good cold.
We’ll admit it—by this point, you may feel like the Whole30 is consuming your day. You have to think about your food choices in much more detail, read more labels, prep and cook and clean far more than your order-takeout-microwave-meal-
But here are two things to remember: First, you are only one-third of the way through your program! By the time you hit Day 30, things will be clicking along like clockwork. Grocery shopping will feel like a breeze, work lunch preparation will be an established part of your weekly routine, and choosing Good Food off a restaurant menu will be second nature.
Second, there are tons of time-saving tips we can still teach you! (And in the next few weeks, you’ll probably come up with some awesome timesavers of your own, too.) So today, let’s focus on all of the ways you can streamline your new, healthy lifestyle, and give you a little more time in your day to enjoy all of the benefits of being happier, healthier, and more energetic!
Have a great Day 10!
Our #1 Super Time Saver
Post your menu. A whiteboard (or blackboard) in the kitchen can make your Whole30 and post-Whole30 life more manageable. You want three lists going at all times.
- List 1: The first list should include 3 -5 “go-to” dishes you love to eat—easy meals that require little prep and not much brain power. Take a picture of this list and keep it on your phone or iPad, so you can easily grocery shop after work for a quick, delicious, healthy meal.
- List 2: The second list should include the foods you have ready to eat in the fridge: leftovers, cooked and raw vegetables, defrosting meat, sauces and salad dressings. This list serves as inspiration when it’s time to make lunch or dinner.
- List 3: The third list is for things you’ve run out of (or are almost out of), so you know to stock up the next time you visit the store. It’s easy to remember what you need for the meal, but dishwashing liquid always seems like an afterthought!
Finally, if you’ve got any room left over on your board, write down some inspiration to see you through the next 20 days! A compliment someone has paid you recently, one of your goals from Day 0, a few of your motivating factors… whatever you need to keep your motivation front and center!
Fast Food
We asked some of the top Paleo chefs to share their best kitchen tips and tricks with us. Here’s some of what they said… and few tips they’re sharing just with you, our Whole30 Daily subscribers.
- From frozen to feasting. When I just can’t bear to pack one more work lunch (and I’m feeling really lazy), I don’t even bother to cook my food. Just put two big servings of frozen vegetables in a microwaveable container then drizzle them with olive oil and a good shake of garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add a microwaveable protein (grilled chicken, frozen cooked shrimp), cram on the lid, and shove the container in your bag. At lunchtime, microwave the whole shebang for three minutes, and voila! Instant lunch with no real cooking time. (From Melissa Joulwan, The Clothes Make the Girl.)
- Speedy spinach. Here’s an effortless way to include more leafy greens in your meals. Step 1. Get some baby spinach. Step 2. Put a handful of spinach in the bottom of a bowl or plate. Step 3. Spoon delicious, hot food containing meat and vegetables over the top. Step 4. Allow the residual heat to lightly wilt the spinach leaves. Step 5. Nom nom nom. This works great with stir-frys, sautés, chili, stews, and soups.
- Ready veggies. Having trouble keeping enough veggies on hand? Melissa Joulwan from The Clothes Make The Girl serves up tips for keeping your fridge stocked with ready-to-go veggies for Whole30 success.
- Choppity chop. Anytime you’re chopping veggies, chop extra. So, if you have the cutting board out and you’re chopping onions, peppers, broccoli, etc., chop up extra, and store the extra in the fridge for future use. That way, when you want to create a quick dish, you already have things chopped and ready to go. (From Julie and Charles Mayfield, of Paleo Comfort Foods.)
- Ripen your avocados with magic! OK, it’s not really magic… it’s the ethylene that naturally occurs in certain types of ripe fruits. Just place a banana or apple in a closed brown paper bag with an under-ripe avocado, and 24 hours later, your avocado will be guacamole-ready.
- Learn to chop an onion. The Whole30 can mean spending a fair amount of time in the kitchen, and most savory dishes worth their salt start with aromatics like onions and garlic sautéed in luscious fat. This video on how to chop an onion will make you the fastest chopper in your household (and, of course, be sure you know how to use your chef’s knife first).
- Freeze now, use later. Boost veggies, stews, and stir-frys by adding some homemade bone broth. Pressed for time? Fill a few ice cube trays with chicken or beef broth. Dump the frozen cubes into a freezer bag. Then grab a few cubes to add to your piping-hot dish before serving. The same works for leftover lemons or limes. Squeeze them and freeze the juice in an ice-cube tray. Once they're frozen, store the cubes in zippered plastic bags and use them for recipes that call for fresh lemon or lime juice. (One cube equals about one tablespoon of juice.)
For more “fast food” tips, read Get Out of Good Food Jail: Kitchen Tips & Tricks.
Fast Cooking
- Slow Cooker: With a slow cooker, you can roast meats, make stews, and prepare complete one-pot meals… while you’re at work, running errands, or relaxing with a good book. What’s not to love! Let Real Simple magazine help you pick out the best slow-cooker based on features like programmability, timer, and price.
Our friend and Whole30 Envoy Extraordinaire Tom Denham has a ton of slower cooker recipes on his site, Whole Life Eating. The best part? Every single one of his recipes is Whole30 approved! You can also check out PaleoPot, dedicated to healthy crock-pot meals. (Just check your ingredients, as they’re not all 100% Whole30.) - Pressure cooker: Pressure cooking is a method of cooking in a sealed vessel that does not permit air or liquids to escape below a preset pressure. The higher temperature causes the food to cook faster; cooking times can typically be achieved in one-third of the time of conventional cooking methods. (Sweet potatoes go from raw to mashed in about 12 minutes!) In addition, as the foods get cooked quickly with very little liquid, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients are better preserved than with other cooking methods.
Pressure cooking is best for stews, broths, and tougher cuts of meat, like oxtail and cross shanks. (Read more from Harold McGee, author of Keys to Good Cooking, as he outlines his pressure cooker recommendations.) And Good Housekeeping has a nifty comparison of pressure cookers, including “budget buys” and “fastest cookers.”
Looking for pressure cooker versions of your favorite recipes? Try Nom Nom Paleo’sQuick Pressure Cooker Bone Broth, Paleo Spirit’s Barbacoa Beef, or our ownPressure Cooker Cacciatore.
Still a little intimidated? Check out our friend and Paleo expert Robb Wolf, who runs you through using a pressure cooker in this fun little video.
Martha Stewart Approved
Just because you’re eating Whole30 doesn’t mean you have to make everything from scratch. Here are a few timesavers you can implement around mealtime, on-the-go time, and every time in between.
- Frozen vegetables. Stir-fry mixes (like peppers, onions, and carrots) make for easy mixed veggie side dishes, and can be dumped still frozen into your curry or soup to cook.
- Pre-made salsa and guacamole. All that choppin’ can take a while, but most grocery stores and health food markets made “clean” versions of both of these toppings, turning Mexi-salad night into a 15 minute meal. (Just remember, always read your labels.)
- Canned sweet potato , pumpkin, or butternut squash. Roasting these veggies can take time. Sometimes, a vegetable side can be as quick and easy as open can, dump into pot, heat, and serve. Look for ingredients that are only the vegetable—pumpkin pie filling is not the same as mashed pumpkin!
- Baby food. Yep, we said it… prepackaged baby food can be your best friend while hiking, biking, or during those busy post-workout periods. We like Plum Organicsbrand, but the key is reading your labels to make sure they aren’t adding cereal grains, corn, or rice.
- Broth. While making your own bone broth is worth the time and effort (and it’s really not that hard), sometimes you just need half a cup for the recipe. Imagine Brandmakes a Whole30-friendly organic chicken and beef broth, and comes in small sized containers too.
One Step You Should Never, Ever, Ever Skip
We know this day is about saving time, but if the step you skip takes away from the quality of the meal (and your eating enjoyment), what’s the point? Brining, a process of marinating meats in salty water, is an excellent technique to cure meats and season them uniformly. The soaking process allows the meat to absorb a great deal of liquid prior to being prepared, and retain that moisture. Brined meat is generally more tender and flavorful.
That is an understatement.
We’ve made Melissa Joulwan’s Best Chicken You Will Ever Eat, Ever recipe a few times, but despite her warnings not to skip the brining… we always skipped the brining. Until one day, we decided to try it. AND CHICKEN WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.
It was so moist, tender, and flavorful, we just about fell out of our chairs. And since that day, we have never, ever skipped brining our chicken, irrespective of the recipe or cooking method. It requires a little more planning, sure, but a) it’s cheap, b) it’s easy, and c) it’s been scientifically proven to make your chicken 274% more delicious.
Brine, people, brine. (And make Melissa’s chicken recipe, because you will not disagree with her title once you take your first bite.)
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