Hellobee

I decided to take the plunge and do the Whole30 Diet for the month of November. I started October 28th so that I would be finished in time for Thanksgiving Dinner. But, after 3 weeks I think that I’ll stick to a lot of the principles because I feel so good! I feel like I have more energy and even though I don’t know if I’ve lost weight or not (you’re not supposed to check in the middle of the 30 days), I know I just feel lighter. I also feel more positive and not so discouraged about various life stresses. I really think that grains and sugars do weigh the body down, and so I’m thinking of transforming what I eat in the long run to fit a lot of the Whole30 guidelines. I doubt I’ll always be this strict, but I’m going to do what I can to keep our eating habits healthy in the meantime.

Back before the school year started I created a 3-Week Meal Rotation schedule. And honestly, it was a total bust because it was too general. I realized that if I didn’t have the actual recipes planned out, that it didn’t help with my organization of meals for the week much. So, when I started the Whole30 I decided to find 15 meals that I would rotate on a 3 week basis using 5 meals each week. Here’s a a look at one week’s worth of dinner recipes.

Paleo Crock-Pot Meatballs

I know it’s hard to see the actual meatballs, but that’s because there’s so much delicious sauce!

2 medium eggs (I used chia seeds and water since Little Piñata is allergic to eggs.)
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup of shredded carrots
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup almond flour (I didn’t use this)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 pounds ground beef
2 cups diced tomatoes
3/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped (I used 2.5 tbsp of dried basil)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl whisk the eggs (or chia seeds and water). Mix in onion, carrot, garlic, almond flour (optional), dried oregano, and salt. Add ground beef and mix thoroughly. Scoop meat mixture onto baking sheet in 1/4 cup sized portions. Repeat until sheet is full. Place in oven and bake for about 20 minutes until browned. In a large bowl, mix together diced tomatoes, tomato paste, basil leaves, and garlic. Pour on top of meatballs in slow-cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Our meatballs were in the crockpot for more like 7 hours and they were definitely a little dry, so stick to the 4-6 hours if at all possible. However, they were still delicious! We served the meatballs with a kale salad with grapefruit and apples and they went together really well.

Slow Cooker Tomato & Bacon Soup

This recipe made it to our meal rotation courtesy of Mrs. Deer! Since a link to another Hellobee post exists, I won’t give all the instruction on here. Just follow what she did. She posted it the same time I was putting together our meal plan and it fit perfectly into how we were eating. I know she says there are 5-6 servings, but we thought it was so delicious we gobbled it down in about 4 servings. So, I guess it depends on how much you eat. I’m so glad she shared this recipe!

Mustard Crusted Salmon (with vegetables)

This might be one of my favorite recipes ever because it’s just SO easy yet so delicious! The recipe I found used asparagus as the vegetable to go with the salmon, but we didn’t have asparagus on hand so I warmed up some frozen broccoli and it also went perfectly with the salmon. We were short on time this night, so it was the perfect meal.

Ingredients:

4 4-oz salmon fillets (or whatever you have on hand)
2-3 tbsp Mustard Sauce (I used this delicious Wild Mustard w/herbs from ALDI)
Lemon Slices (optional)
Side vegetable

Directions:

All I did was thaw the salmon, spread the mustard sauce on it and cook it in the oven at 400° for about 15 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the salmon flakes with a fork. You can follow the linked recipe to make delicious asparagus, or just choose whichever vegetable you’d like to add on the side.

Cashew Beef Stir Fry (with Spaghetti Squash)

This stir fry dish was so delicious! I loved that it was with ground beef, since that’s less expensive, especially when you buy local grassfed beef. I also love it because it’s super simple! The original recipe says to serve with cauliflower rice, but we put it over spaghetti squash, which has been our favorite “grain replacement” since doing the Whole30. Since it takes a while for the spaghetti squash to cook, I recommend getting that in the oven before starting the stir fry recipe. Of course, if you’re not avoiding grains you could always use real rice with this recipe.

To cook spaghetti squash you slice it in half lengthwise (which can be tough) and place it cut-side up on a baking dish and drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil on it with some salt and pepper. We cook it at 375° for about an hour, but it might be ready earlier than that. You can tell it’s ready when the flesh is soft enough to scoop out with a fork. It will come out looking like pasta, which is how it gets its name!

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs ground beef
1 large bell pepper, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 can water chestnuts, drained and sliced
½ cup raw cashews (toast on a dry pan for a few minutes until browned)
2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated (I used 2 tsp of dried ginger)
1 tbsp fresh garlic, grated (I used 1 tbsp of minced garlic from the jar)
4 tbsp coconut aminos (This is an alternative to soy sauce and it’s SO good!)
salt and pepper to taste

 Directions:

Stir fry the beef until it’s lightly browned. Then, add the ginger, garlic and coconut aminos and saute until fragrant. Add the bell pepper, onions and water chestnuts and cook until the vegetables are soft. Add salt and pepper as needed and add in the toasted cashews.

Moroccan Zucchini/Yellow Squash Boats

I had definitely never made a recipe like this before, but it turned out really well! You can find the original recipe using the link in the title, but I made some changes to make this recipe fit our family better, such as adding more meat! We also ran out of onions the day I made this recipe, so I ended up just putting in about 1 tb of onion powder instead. I’m really into using what I have on hand and not stressing about getting recipes “perfect.” I made a side of acorn squash, but sweet potatoes would have been a great side item as well.

Ingredients
4-5 medium zucchini or yellow squash
1/2 tbsp olive oil
4 clove of garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup diced white onion
1 cup diced tomato
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tbsp parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and flesh, leaving about a 1/4 inch thick shell. Set the seeds and flesh aside. Drizzle olive oil over the squash boats and bake for 10 minutes, cut side up. Remove from the oven and set aside. Then, dice the reserved squash flesh and add to a bowl with the diced onions, tomato, tomato paste, minced garlic and all spices. Add the ground beef to a skillet on medium heat and cook until it starts to brown. Add the squash mixture to the pan and continue to cook until meat has cooked through, stirring often, an additional 5 minutes. Fill each zucchini shell with filling and return to the oven for 20 minutes.