Category: Whole30

I miss Asian flavors the most during this Whole30 mess but I’m learning to love salt, pepper, and red chile flakes as marinade and seasoning–as bare as they can get. A squeeze of lemon or lime juice brighten things up before serving and is a good substitute for my Sriracha cravings.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast fillets, patted dry with a paper towel
1 head of cauliflower, chopped in small florets
1 bunch of asparagus
2 large tomatoes, quartered
olive oil
salt, pepper
red chile flakes
avocado, sliced
1 egg, fried
lime juice

1. Preheat oven at 350º while you prep the chicken and the vegetables. Line a small baking sheet with foil. Put chicken breasts and drizzle with oil and then season with salt, pepper, chile on both sides.
2. Then line a larger baking sheet with foil and arrange all the vegetables on it. Drizzle with oil and then season with salt, pepper, chile as well.
3. Roast at the same time: the vegetables for 30 minutes and the chicken for 45 minutes, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking. Slice the chicken in bite-size pieces and cut the asparagus in 3 parts.
4. Scoop, divide, and arrange everything in serving bowls. Feel free to drizzle more olive oil. Top with avocado and a fried egg. Squeeze a little bit of lime juice for some brightness.

These barbecue ribs will fall apart with just a gentle prod of your fork. The best thing is that it cooked while I was at yoga class; I simply reheated my oven while I was getting ready to work out, put the meat in the oven before I left the apartment, and by the time yoga was finished and I had walked back home, the meat was ready!

Ingredients:
half a rack of pork ribs
5 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
salt, pepper
paprika

1. Dry the ribs with a paper towel. Rubs the garlic cloves all over the meat. Keep the garlic to line your container. Brush the meat with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle and rub paprika all over.
2. Transfer to a sealable glass container that’s been lined with the garlic. Keep in the fridge for up to 2 days to marinate.
3. When ready to cook, let the ribs sit in room temperature while you preheat the oven at 275º. Transfer the marinated ribs to a sheet of aluminum foil, large enough to fold over, cover and seal. Put on a foil-lined baking sheet (the juices will leak) and bake for 2 hours.
4. When done, remove from oven and open the foil to release remaining heat and serve.

Are you now getting a hang of Whole30 meals? When you plan a little ahead of time, you can make multiple meals out of the same batch of ingredients. This is now the third meal I’ve created out of the chicken and turkey ground meat I bought from the same trip to the market.

Ingredients:
scant olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 pound ground chicken meat
1/4 pound ground turkey meat
salt, pepper
red chile flakes
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 sprigs of mint, finely chopped
1 scallion
lime juice
1/4 cup coconut flour
ghee
2 eggs, soft-boiled

1. Put all the ingredients together in a bowl except the coconut flour, ghee and eggs. Mix well and incorporate. Scoop a generous tablespoon and gently roll them like meatballs between in your hands.
2. Put the coconut flour in a separate plate and roll each meatball until slightly covered. It provides a nice thin cover unlike regular flour.
3. In a skillet, heat a tablespoon of ghee and fry the meatballs in medium-low heat, about 2 minutes per side, until most of the ball is golden brown to ensure that it’s cooked inside. Feel free to add more ghee if your pan is burning too fast. Serve with soft-boiled eggs.

Recommended:
The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom
I bought this tub of ghee from Organic Valley Purity Farms from Whole Foods
I picked the least expensive coconut flour because I know I won’t be using it as much

I had leftover meat stuff from the Whole30 larb dinner that I made the night before so I rolled them into balls to make a completely different meal out of them. I needed a binder to dry them up so they can retain their shape, so I used a little bit of coconut flour before I fried them with ghee.

Ingredients:
scant olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 pound ground chicken meat
1/4 pound ground turkey meat
salt, pepper
red chile flakes
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 sprigs of mint, finely chopped
1 scallion
lime juice
1/4 cup coconut flour
ghee
2 eggs, soft-boiled

1. Put all the ingredients together in a bowl except the coconut flour, ghee and eggs. Mix well and incorporate. Scoop a generous tablespoon and gently roll them like meatballs between your hands.
2. Put the coconut flour in a separate plate and roll each meatball until slightly covered. It provides a nice thin cover unlike regular flour.
3. In a skillet, heat a tablespoon of ghee and fry the meatballs in medium-low heat, about 2 minutes per side, until most of the ball is golden brown to ensure that it’s cooked inside. Feel free to add more ghee if your pan is burning too fast. Serve with soft-boiled eggs.

Recommended:
The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom
I bought this tub of ghee from Organic Valley Purity Farms from Whole Foods
I picked the least expensive coconut flour because I know I won’t be using it as much

I’m going to miss Asian foods the most while I’m trying this Whole30 meal plan. While you can substitute soy and fish sauces for Whole30 compliant brands, I’m just going to skip them altogether because I don’t want to buy any more stuff. (I recently Marie Kondoed my pantry and I’m not about to add new things!)

The idea of larb is easy: take some ground meat and mix it with fresh Asian herbs. It’s like making Italian meatballs only with spices your Italian grandma would dismiss.

Ingredients:
scant olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 pound ground chicken meat
1/4 pound ground turkey meat
salt, pepper
red chile flakes
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 sprigs of mint, finely chopped
1 scallion
lettuce
lime juice

1. In a skillet, heat oil. Saute garlic and onions until onions are translucent. Add ground meats and cook for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Make sure you lightly crush and separate the meats while mixing so they’re not clumped in large pieces.
2. Season with salt, pepper, and chile. Mix in bell pepper, mint, scallions, and lettuce. Continue cooking the meats until a tad crispy and the lettuce well-incorporated. Sprinkle with lime juice for a little acidity. Alternatively, don’t cook the lettuce so you can scoop the meat in them and eat them as individual wraps.

Recommended:
The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom
I bought this tub of ghee from Organic Valley Purity Farms from Whole Foods