Tag Archives: whole30

Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs

Another night, another chicken dinner. Chicken can get so boring sometimes, and I forget how to get creative, because it’s either stewed chicken in a broth, cutlets, or something that I end up not liking. Standing in my kitchen last night, I glanced up and saw my crockpot staring at me, begging to be used. I’m also grateful to be off from work this week and was able to start the crockpot at noon rather than at 8am, but nevertheless, the crockpot came to the rescue!

I love using a slow cooker for many different purposes, and am sure I have yet to try a bunch of recipes, but the mere fact that I can throw in all the ingredients at once and it come out really delicious is a MAJOR win.

Chicken thighs are a great cut of chicken to use in the crockpot, whether they are on the bone or off the bone, because they are such a tender cut of meat they naturally release fat into the sauce which creates a glorious texture and flavor. This dish was simple in ingredients and it starts with seasoning, crushed tomatoes, and The New Primal classic marinade (found here!). The New Primal makes healthy alternatives to marinades and sauces, and is Whole30 approved – for my Whole30 compliant readers! Also, they make delicious jerky, so give them a try while you’re at it.

For the seasonings, I used sea salt, oregano, chipotle powder, garlic powder, basil leaves, and onion salt. I added one 28oz can of crushed tomatoes and 1/4 cup of the marinade, stirred together and topped with fresh thyme.

The crockpot I have has two settings: low cook or high cook. I chose low cook and set it for 6 hours and 30 minutes, when really, it cooked for about 7 hours. I stirred several times through, but did not open the lid until it was at least halfway done. I did add a touch of half and half to add extra flavor but that is totally optional. About an hour in, the chicken thighs started to fall apart so I stirred and used a wooden spoon to help break apart the pieces even further until they looked like clumps of string. I roasted sweet potato and vegetables to add to this amazing chicken and it was perfect! NOMaste 🙂

Power Banana Walnut Muffins

*UPDATE: I tried them again and added in 1/4 cup avocado oil, 1 tbsp maple syrup, and swapped cane sugar for coconut sugar and they came out insanely moist and delicious!!

*Am I the only one who has one option when it comes to using old, over ripe bananas? I always think about making banana bread, but for some reason it never comes out right (I have said I am not the best baker…). I decided to bake, with no recipe, and bake from the heart. Let me say, I saw the broadway show, Waitress, and was inspired by the songs to bake today, as well as I had time to kill and figured why not? If they’re awful, I can always try again! Thankfully, these not only came out good, but were VERY tasty and so easy! My husband even loved them! *WIN*

I know the basics of a baking recipe include sugar, flour, and depends on the fat added, if any. I decided to skip the butter or oil and go with sugar, flour, eggs, ripe banana, walnuts, baking soda (which helps the muffins rise), vanilla extract, collagen power, and a pinch of kosher salt. The reason I am calling these POWER muffins is because they’re made with healthy alternatives such as organic cane sugar (Not very alternative but I wanted to get rid of the sugar I had, don’t judge me) and cassava flour. I also included a scoop of collagen power. The benefits of collagen is profound: helps with joints and muscles, hair growth, skin, and nails. It also helps with aging. YUP.

I started by adding sugar, 2 cracked eggs, and vanilla extract to a medium sized bowl and whisked. Then, I peeled and diced the bananas and whisked them into the wet mixture. In a separate bowl, I added the dry ingredients: flour, collagen powder, salt, and baking soda. The trick to getting these muffins very airy but moist is to whisk the egg/banana mixture until the batter becomes foamy/bubbly. The bubbles will help expand the muffins and hold moisture, causing the natural layers of the muffin and “bounce” to them. Add the wet into the dry mixture and whisk to blend. Throw in a handful of chopped walnuts and scoop into a pre-greased muffin tin.

Bake at 425 degrees for 11 minutes. I was aiming for 12 minutes, but at around 11 minutes I started to smell them and saw they were golden brown. I cannot wait to hear how you liked these ones, they’re definitely going to be made (and tweaked with) again! NOMaste 🙂

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Power Banana Walnut Muffins

Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine American, Healthy, muffins
Keyword banana, collagen, healthy, muffins, paleo, walnut
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 12 muffins
Author nomastehungry

Ingredients

  • 3 Bananas very ripe
  • 2 large Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Cane sugar organic
  • 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup Cassava flour
  • 1 scoop Collagen powder
  • 1 tsp Baking soda
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Pre-grease a standard muffin tin. Set aside

  2. In a medium bowl, crack two eggs and add the 1/2 cup sugar.  Mix together with a hand mixer or a whisk.  Add in the ripe bananas and vanilla extract.  Whisk until mixture forms small air bubbles and looks a little “foamy.”

  3. In a large bowl, add the flour, baking soda, collagen powder, and salt.  Mix together.

  4. Pour the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk to combine all ingredients.  Add in chopped walnuts and whisk again.

  5. With a tablespoon, scoop and pour batter into each muffin cup, fill with batter halfway to allow room to rise.  Bake for 10 minutes or until you can smell the muffins.  Let cool for two minutes.

“Brussels and Broc”

Peanut butter and jelly. Spaghetti and meatballs. Chicken and waffles. Classic and delicious combinations. I love a classic grilled cheese and tomato soup, but as I am on my reset (week three hollaa!), no bread for moi. However, I am obsessed with vegetables. Like, seriously. I love all green veggies, not just for the nutritional content, but because they taste so damn good. Another classic combo to add to the list: brussel sprouts and broccoli, or as I call it, “brussels and broc.”

This recipe is short, quick, and painless. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Start with slicing brussel sprouts in half, or cutting the ends off. Chop broccoli florets and rinse both veggies. Place into a large bowl and toss with your favorite oil… I prefer avocado oil (has a high smoke point and taste great). Season with salt, cracked pepper, and in my case, dried rosemary.

Take a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Spray oil onto the foil and pour the veggies onto the baking sheet. Bake for 17 minutes, then turn the oven off and let the veggies stand still for another three minutes. You’re welcome 🙂

Cauliflower “Fried” Rice

Bienvenidos semana tres de Reset. For those who are confused, I did not move to Spain. I am currently approaching week THREE of my reset and am super excited to see subtle changes to my body as well as my overall health. I am feeling more energized, my pants fit easier, and my face doesn’t look like I am carrying acorns in my cheeks. My reset isn’t about dropping weight as it more of just looking and feeling like my best self. I weighed myself, and was legit depressed for two days about the number, but honestly, it is JUST A NUMBER. I want to get back to health and healthy foods, something I have a major passion for. I wanted to try incorporating cauliflower into my meals and this was the best way, making a “rice”.

I bought store bought, so sorry for those who want to make it from scratch. I have done this and I’ll tell you, it’s a mess. Buying store-bought cauliflower rice is the easier way, and it’s hassle free! I accidentally ordered a Misfits Market box of 18, yes 18 POUNDS, of vegetables, so there is virtually no excuse not to use them. We got Anaheim peppers (which are milder than jalapeño peppers, but can depend based on origin), cabbage, onions, jalapeño peppers (8 of them… hello salsa!), string beans, avocado, and more. I’m grateful to have received (and been able to keep) the produce even if it were by accident. If anyone is willing to try, and be open for whatever is delivered, definitely check them out!

Cauliflower rice is not so different than traditional fried rice, except it holds more moisture. I started by chopping an onion, carrots, cabbage, one Anaheim pepper, and green beans. I heated a large sauté pan and added avocado oil (my favorite brand is Primal Kitchen). I tossed in the chopped onion, pepper, and carrots to simmer and sweat. I then added in the chopped cabbage, let it seam, then after five minutes, threw in the green beans. I cooked with a cover so everything can wilt and render down, mainly for the cabbage to bring out its moisture.

Afterwards, I pushed all the vegetables aside so I can add in the egg, there is no excluding this part, it is the best part of fried rice. I scrambled the egg and tossed it together with the veggies. My last step was to add the cauliflower rice, so with a helping of garlic powder and salt added, I poured in the bag of cauli-rice and stirred. This sat cooked for 8 minutes, so the cauliflower can begin to sweat (there’s a lot of sweating happening in this dish).

I seasoned with a generous helping of coconut aminos and sesame oil and continued to let it cook for another 5-7 minutes. Turn the heat off and let stand still, then ladled into large bowls for my lunch for the week. The taste of this dish is very umami and while it does not taste 100% like the real fried rice, it is a pretty darn delicious rendition! NOMaste 🙂

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Cauliflower “Fried” Rice

Course Dinner
Cuisine Healthy, Meal Prep, Vegetables
Keyword dinner, healthy, meal prep, veggies, whole30
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 8 cups
Author nomastehungry

Ingredients

  • 1 package Cauliflower Rice
  • 1/2 large onion chopped
  • 1 cup carrots chopped
  • 1 cup red cabbage chopped
  • 1 cup green beans chopped
  • 1 Anaheim pepper chopped and cleaned
  • 2 eggs lightly beaten
  • 2 tbsp avocado oil
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 3 tbsp coconut aminos
  • garlic powder to taste
  • sea salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Prep all vegetables by slicing and roughly chopping the onions, carrots, pepper, cabbage, and green beans.  Separate the cabbage and green beans from the onions, etc. Set aside

  2. Heat a large sautĂ© pan, add in avocado oil, then stir in the onions, carrots, and pepper.  Stir and coat with oil for five minutes.

  3. Add in red cabbage. Cover and let sit for five minutes. Stir once or twice to prevent burning.

  4. Add in green beans.  Cover and let sit for five minutes. Stir to prevent burning.

  5. Push vegetables aside, and add in the egg.  Scramble egg and stir in with the vegetables.  Season with garlic powder and sea salt.  Cover and let sit for three minutes.

  6. Pour in cauliflower rice.  Stir to mix together. Cover and let cook for eight minutes, stirring occasionally.

  7. Add in coconut aminos and sesame oil. Stir together.  Let cook for another three to five minutes.  Serve immediately.

Seared Grass Fed Sirloin

Ahhh, steak. The creme de la creme when you think of a “fancy” meal. There are plenty of nights where I crave a fatty cut of steak or a bolognese (in fact, I have a bolognese recipe… here), and I have a soft spot for skirt steak or short ribs. On other nights, a nice sirloin will do. I have to confess, I’ve never been a pro with making steak; I tend to overcook and make it inedible. It usually comes out tough and chewy, even when cutting against the grain. This steak is an exception to my “I screwed up the steak, again” curse, and it’s so easy you’ll slap yourself (but don’t).

One thing that I never compromise for is the quality of meat. It is SO important to know where your meat comes from, and get the best cuts. I always shop for grass-fed meats, and love using Butcher Box for meat. Their product is top notch and can feed a large family for a few weeks. You can skip a month, two months, and add specials like their bacon (THEIR BACON IS LIFE CHANGING) or burgers. Either way, consider buying grass fed meats, if there’s one thing you change to your budget, do this. I won’t bore you with science behind it or research from articles I’ve read and podcasts I’ve listened to, but the quality of meat matters. Period. Trader Joe’s does make solid grass fed meats, including steak.

I started by soaking the steaks in olive oil, instead of coating the pan with oil. Why? This eliminates the crackling and sputtering of the oil, that’s why sparky! For the seasoning, I used a more-than-generous amount of fresh cracked ground pepper and pink sea salt. I seasoned both sides and let the steak get to room temperature. Using a cast-iron skillet, I heated the pan then slowly added the steaks. These steaks were about 3/4″ -1″ thick so I gauged my time carefully. We like our steaks more medium/medium rare, so I seared the steaks for 4 minutes on each side, then threw it in the oven on BROIL for a good 5 minutes. For medium well, add 2-3 minutes per side. The most important piece is to LET THE STEAK REST. The steak will tense up if cut into right away, the same as man-handling it right out of the fridge. Let the steak do it’s thing!

I sliced small dollops of butter to top on the steaks for additional fat and goodness, and paired it with potatoes. Typical meat and potatoes dish, but oh so satisfying.

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