Category Archives: Whole30

Ground Turkey and Veggie Stuffed Sweet Potato with Avocado // Paleo // Whole30 // Gluten Free

I actually took these pictures the next day as I had the leftovers for my lunch.

Dare I say that it was even better the next day?!

Isn’t that the case with a lot of dishes? The flavors just need to settle into each other sometimes. One of the many reasons I always make extra!

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon crushed garlic (I cheat and use Trader Joe’s pre crushed :))
1 Teaspoon Crushed Ginger
1 white onion
2 Cups shredded Carrots
2 Cups Diced Mushrooms
2 lbs ground turkey (I like to make a lot so we have leftovers :))
Avocado for garnish. Not necessary, but the creaminess of the avocado was so good with the savoriness of the dish. Plus…avocado on everything, I say!
Jar of your favorite pasta sauce.
2-4 large sweet potatoes. We all each had just half, but if you only have small sweet potatoes, or love them…do more!

Directions

Start your sweet potatoes ahead of time!! I’ve tried numerous times, and they ALWAYS take longer than they are supposed to! This might be the ONE thing that pushes me over the edge to finally try my Instapot….that has been sitting there unused for the last two years, because I’m scared of it haha. BUT…

Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet or a baking pan, pierce with a fork and bake for an hour, or until the inside is soft. It took my ginormous ones an hour and 15, so fair warning if you are on a time schedule for dinner!! 😦
Dice up onion while your potatoes are cooking…you’ll have plenty of time 😉
Sautee 2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil with garlic, ginger, and onions for about 5 minutes.
Add in ground turkey (or any ground meat!)
Add in diced mushrooms
Add in shredded carrots
Either add Trader Joe’s “Everyday Seasoning” or…add all the things…I’m lazy.
Add in your pasta sauce.
When potatoes are done, take them out, cut in half if big, or slice down the center if small or medium. Crush it up a little.
Spoon on meat and veggie mixture, and top with avocado!

Enjoy!

Chicken Meatballs + Veggies (easy one pan meal!) Gluten free + Paleo + Whole30 + Costco Hack

Leave a reply

Sooooo…. What do all kids like? Never mind, what does everyone like?

MEATBALLS!

I frequently use meatballs to hide a ton of veggies in a meal, when I don’t really want to make a seperate salad.

We were down the teenage boy for this meal, so I went with a one pot meal with no extra carbs.Ingredients

2 packages of Coleman Organic Chicken and Basil Meatballs
1 White Onion
Olive Oil (or oil of choice) I just drizzle, but maybe 2 Tablespoons.
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (I cheat and use this)
1 teaspoon crushed garlic (I use this, but woah…go to the store! It’s a fraction of the cost)
8 Organic Bella Mushrooms
3 organic Rainbow Carrots (regular are just as good-not as pretty though ;))
1 Jar of Pasta Sauce
4-5 handfuls of Power Green Mix which is spinach, baby chard, and kale)

Directions

Use a pretty large non stick pan, and add in the garlic, ginger, and oil of choise
Dice up the onion and add it in.
While the onion is sauteing dice up your other veggies. I honestly just use whatever I have on hand. I’ve subbed in various sweet peppers or even broccoli. Add whatever you have in.
Once they are almost al dente add in your meatballs. I like to get them cooking with the veggies to impart their flavor a little bit.
Once everything is almost ready, add in the hand fulls of greens. It doesn’t have to be mixed. Just spinach would be good! If it’s all kale, I would add it in sooner due to the toughness of kale.
Top it all off with a jar of your fav spaghetti sauce and your good!
Frequently I’ll add in these gluten free noodles (can be bought in smaller quantities at Thrive Market or in bulk at Costco. We LOVE them not only for their flavor but QUICKNESS to cook!) . Or you could easily add zoodles to keep it dietary compliant!

None of this is sponsored. We just live by the easy shopping of Costco, Trader Joe’s, and Thrive Market. And are happy to share the easy cooking to be had from there!

Enjoy!

Bone Broth Rotisserie Chicken Ramen Soup with Soft Boiled Egg || Crockpot | Gluten Free

Leave a reply

We had two gorgeous days this week, and then…back to rain and cold.

We cannot seem to shake the illnesses over here, so I’m still cranking out the bone broth soups!

LOVED this one!!

This recipe can be varied in so many ways, but…here’s what I did!

I buy two rotisserie chickens each week. One we eat as a meal, and then I use both carcasses, for the bone broth. The other chicken goes back into the soup I make!

Ingredients (feeds 4 with leftovers)

Two Rotisserie Chickens (Use both carcasses for the bone broth but the shredded chicken from both can be used for multiple meals!)
4-6 Medium sized carrots (I used usually use organic Rainbow Carrots, because… FUN COLORS! 🙂 but didn’t have them this time. I highly recommend them though :))
1 Tablespoon crushed ginger
1 Teaspoon crushed garlic
1 Medium to Large Onion Diced
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
Soft boiled egg (boil for 7 minutes and then immediately put into ice cold water)
Avocado and any other veggies to top for crunch. I added tomatoes, but shredded carrots or sprouts would be yummy too!
Ramen Noodles (I used these) . Or you could do zoodles or sweet potato “noodles” for Whole 30!

Directions

Pick off all the chicken from the bone and set aside in an airtight container.
It’s not necessary, but I found these bags and I put all my bones in them. No need to pick out bones and you get to keep all the yummy onions and carrots Very crude Video HERE haha.
Place the carcass in the slowcooker with the carrots, onions, garlic, and ginger.
Pour 10-12 Cups of Water depending on your crockpot. I filled mine until 1″ of the top.
Cook on low overnight for 12-18 hours. Honestly…longer the better.
The next morning, pull on the bones out unless you bought the bags!!. I left the carrots and onions in there, and for me…it’s a must for flavor! They were mushy, but I figured the flavor would still be good and it SO was!
Add in ramen noodles and let them sit for a few minutes or all day.
Add shredded chicken back in and let sit on warm until dinner.
Top with soft boiled egg and any other condiments.

For other recipes…

For beginners that haven’t tried making bone broth before….I hadn’t either. So…here’s (with adjustments added! My first attempt here, and my 2nd version with sweet “potato noodles”.

And, other easy Crockpot Recipes you might enjoy…

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

Healthy Chicken and Dumplings

Crockpot Veggie Pasta and Turkey Meat Sauce

Most importantly…

Enjoy!!

And let me know if you have!

Bone Broth Rotisserie Chicken Sweet Potato “Noodle” Soup || Crockpot | Whole30 | Gluten Free

3 Replies

I’m officially obsessed with making bone broth soups!!

Admittedly so much so that the Huz said….”Ok, I might need a soup break.”

haha. Whoops.

Yet…are you kidding me? SOUP break when it’s FREEZING outside and everyone is getting sick??!!

NO!!

I changed my original attempt at making this, because one chicken carcass didn’t seem to wield enough flavor-mostly because I don’t like adding a litany of seasonings!. Also, my original attempt used regular noodles, so don’t despair, if you want a hearty DELICIOUS recipe, that is not Whole30…it would be delicious with any kind of noodles! And would be even more so with the two carcass addition!

Admittedly, I didn’t soak mine for days… as it probably should have if you are only using one carcas.

I’m more of an overnight for the next meal kinda person. SO…if you’re with me on that, and want even MORE left overs…

TWO CHICKENS!

Otherwise…one chicken carcass for longer 15-18 hours is what I read.

SO…I’m now converted to buying two chickens! We eat one meal from the actual chicken, and then I take all the meat off both for later use (more recipes on that to come!) but most of one chicken goes back into the soup.

Ingredients (feeds 4 with leftovers)

Two Rotisserie Chickens (Use both carcasses for the bone broth but the shredded chicken from both can be used for multiple meals!)
4-6 Medium sized carrots (I used organic Rainbow Carrots, because… FUN COLORS! :))
1 Tablespoon crushed ginger
1 Teaspoon crushed garlic
1 Medium to Large Onion Diced
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Sweet potato spiralized to make “noodles” . Could also do any veggie or use any other kind of noodle! I cannot even tell you how easy it is to do this! Less than 2 minutes.

Directions

Pick off all the chicken from the bone and set aside in an airtight container.
GUYS!!! Editing to add. I did NOT do this for this recipe, but later found these bags and I put all my bones in them, then lifted it all out! DONE! Very crude Video HERE haha.
Place the carcass in the slowcooker with the carrots, onions, garlic, and ginger.
Pour 10-12 Cups of Water depending on your crockpot. I filled mine until 1″ of the top (Ok, I filled it to closer to the top my next time, and…it didn’t go well for the cleaning up aspect…fyi :)) . SO…keep it within an inch of the top 🙂
Cook on low overnight for 12-18 hours. Honestly…longer the better.
The next morning, pull on the bones out unless you bought these bags!!. I left the carrots and onions in there, and for me…it’s a must for flavor! They were mushy, but I figured the flavor would still be good and it SO was!
Meanwhile…spiralize your sweet potato. You have plenty of time, so no rush on doing it 🙂
When the bones are all out (pick them out or lift them out in a bag!), place the spiralized sweet potatos back in and cook on high for another hour.
Add shredded chicken back in and let sit on warm until dinner!Great for those sick days….or NOT, because….YUM!!

For other recipes…

For beginners that haven’t tried making bone broth before….I hadn’t either. So…here’s (with adjustments added! my first attempt!

You can see Esther’s chicken soup post where she started from scratch with a whole chicken.

And, other easy Crockpot Recipes you might enjoy…

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

Healthy Chicken and Dumplings

Crockpot Veggie Pasta and Turkey Meat Sauce

Most importantly…

Enjoy!!

And let me know if you have!

Bone Broth Rotisserie Chicken Soup (Crockpot )

2 Replies

By now, I’m sure you all have heard about all the amazing health benefits of bone broth. If by chance you haven’t, you can read about some of the benefits here.

Often, I’ll make a soup from the turkey carcass after Thanksgiving, by boiling it on the stovetop but other than that…I’ve been totally lazy thinking it was too much of a process to do regularly.

Until recently, when a friend told me she does it in her crockpot over night-DUH!!

Every week we have a rotisserie chicken for dinner. For whatever reason, the chicken gets dried out and nobody eats it after a day. So, every week I end up throwing away the leftovers after a few days and get SO frustrated over the wasting off all that chicken! NO MORE!

This last week, I took off all the extra chicken we didn’t eat that same night and put the carcass in our slow cooker. The next day, I added back in the chicken

Ingredients (feeds 4 with leftovers)

One Rotisserie Chicken (Mine was half eaten from the night before-haha!)
4 Medium sized carrots(I used organic Rainbow Carrots, because… FUN COLORS! :))
6-8 Cups of Water
2 Can Chicken Broth (check labels if you are on Whole30)
1 Tablespoon crushed ginger
1 Teaspoon crushed garlic
1 Medium to Large Onion Diced
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 a bag of noodles. (You could use gluten free OR 2 cups zoodles or sweet potato noodles etc if you are Whole30!)

Directions

Pick off all the chicken from the bone and set aside in an airtight container.
Place the carcass in the slowcooker with the carrots, onions, garlic, and ginger.
Pour 6-8 cups of water. I used 6, but then added some chicken stock later. I wasn’t sure if just one carcass would flavor the broth enough.
Cook on low overnight for 12 hours.
The next morning, pull on the bones out. I left the carrots and onions in there. They were mushy, but I figured the flavor would still be good and it was!
Add shredded chicken back in and let sit on warm until dinner!
If you aren’t doing Whole30 or you could also add in noodles at this point and they end up cooking on the “warm” cycle til dinner. Ours were a little soft, but still yummy!
For Whole30 add in zoodles or sweet potato noodles!

You can see Esther’s chicken soup post where she started from scratch with a whole chicken.

And, other easy Crockpot Recipes you might enjoy…

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

Healthy Chicken and Dumplings

Crockpot Veggie Pasta and Turkey Meat Sauce

Enjoy!

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Crockpot | Paleo | Whole 30 )

5 Replies

I’m sure most of the world is feeling the warmth of spring and summer, but…in Seattle, we are NOT-UGH!! But…while I’m sick of wearing layers upon layers, I never get tired of yummy soups! Especially easy ones that are practically cooked without me!

This is a recipe that I’ve now done twice because after the first attempt was so well received, I obviously did it again!! And it was all a fluke of things I just happened to have in my cupboard and fridge-WHOOP!

Ingredients (feeds 4 with leftovers)

4-5 frozen chicken breasts (I’m ALWAYS on the fly. If yours aren’t frozen, the timing should still work. It might just mean the meat will be more tender)
1 Can Full Fat Coconut Cream (check labels if you are on Whole30, I used Trader Joe’s)
1 Can Chicken Broth (check labels if you are on Whole30)
1 Tablespoon crushed ginger
1 Tablespoon crushed lemongrass
1 Teaspoon crushed garlic
1 Medium to Large Onion Diced
1/2 Cup Diced Carrots (I used organic Rainbow Carrots, because…duh FUN COLORS! :))
If you aren’t on a dietary restriction you could add 1/2 a box of Pasta (again, I go light on this end and used veggie pasta. You could use gluten free OR 2 cups zoodles or sweet potato noodles etc if you are Whole30!)

Directions

Place everything in the crockpot, and you’re DONE!!!I I always wonder if things look the way they should when I’m throwing things together, so…yes, it should look like this 🙂And then….after you take the chicken out and fork shred it (it will be SO tender!!)

THIS!

Unless, you want to add a noodle variation. When you are about 10-15 minutes out, you can add the pasta or zoodles etc and they will cook to being tender. I think they’d be mushy if you added them in at the beginning, but let me know if you try! I even added them after the cook time when it was in “warm” mode, and it worked!

Another Recipe you might enjoy…

I posted one of my latest crock pot easy healthy dinners last week.

Crockpot Veggie Pasta and Turkey Meat Sauce

Honestly, I was on a crock pot roll lately. Too much to do, no time to cook, yet I wanted yummy healthy food. I didn’t have a recipe for either of these meals and both were DELICIOUS! I’m saying this because a lot of times I see recipes that I like, but I don’t have the time or the ingredients. THAT is the best part of the slow cooker. I have taken tried and true recipes that involved multiple pots and hours of time of me in front of the stove, and rolled the dice throwing everything into the slow cooker in the morning. Guess what? They’ve all turned out fine! Are they as amazing as the original? Sometimes maybe not QUITE as much, but honestly…

It’s pretty darn good!

Enjoy!

Crockpot Veggie Pasta and Turkey Meat Sauce

4 Replies

I’ve been on a total crockpot kick lately. That seems to happen every winter, and before the urge kicks in, I always think…

“Why don’t I use my crock pot more??!!”

Then, I do, and I think…

“Why don’t I use my crock pot more??!!”!!!

Every post I do on my crockpot meals, I wax poetic on the fabulousness of it, but then the spring and summer roll around and I forget about it. I’m determined to make things all year round! It’s SO easy, and the smell walking into your home after not being home all day/or even if you ARE home all day…YUM!!!

And I don’t know about where you live, but here in Seattle…spring has NOT sprung, and warm yummy dinners still sound amazing!

So, I decided to try spaghetti and meat sauce. Total classic. Total crowd pleaser when you have kids. Pretty cheap too! And…it can be healthy and easy!

blog-crockpot-slow-cooker-gluten-free-paleo-whole-30-pasta-and-turkey-meat-sauce-1

Ingredients (feeds 4 with leftovers)

2 lbs ground turkey. I like to make it heavy on the protein!
1 Can of pasta sauce. I used a 32 oz jar (check labels if you are on Whole30)
1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger
1/2 Teaspoon crushed garlic
1 Medium to Large Onion
1/2 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning.
1/2 a box of Pasta (again, I go light on this end and used veggie pasta. You could use gluten free OR 2 cups zoodles or sweet potato noodles etc if you are Whole30!)

Directions

Place Diced Onion, Crushed Ginger, and Crushed Garlic, Ground Turkey (Yes, I put mine in mostly frozen because…no time to dethaw, and it still worked out great!), Jar of Pasta sauce and Italian seasonings in the crockpot, and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5.
When you are about 10-15 minutes out, you can add the pasta or zoodles etc and they will cook to being tender. I think they’d be mushy if you added them in at the beginning, but let me know if you try! I even added them after the cook time when it was in “warm” mode, and it worked!

Enjoy!

Grilled Orange Chicken with Onions and Quinoa

2 Replies

Last week I posted a recipe for a easy, refreshing, delicious Clementine Goat Cheese Salad. I mentioned in that post, that I made this dish to go with it, and here it is!

I rarely use recipes (ironic, no?!), but one thing I love doing, is repeating flavors in the different dishes of the meal. I used the same flavors in the chicken, the quinoa, and also the salad. It cuts down on needing a bunch of different ingredients, and makes everything go so well together!

blog-orange-onion-chicken-and-quinioa-1 This tastes great on it’s own, but even better when paired with the salad…

What You Need… (feeds 4)

4 Chicken Breasts
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tsp Minced Garlic
1 Sprig of Rosemary or 1 Tablespoon
1 Medium sized Orange
1 medium sized onion
1 Cup uncooked Quinoa (Omit or sub out with cauliflower rice for Paleo/Whole 30 option)
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste.

What You Do…

Pour Olive Oil, Garlic, Rosemary, and juice from half the orange, into a small bowl and stir.
Take 2/3rds of the liquid and pour over chicken breasts in a large bowl or zip lock bag. Slice the other half of the orange and place inside bag/in bowl. Salt and Pepper to taste. Let that all marinate for 30+ minutes. If you want to do this in the morning and let it marinate in the refrigerator all day…even better!
Slice Onion in 1/2 inch slices and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Light your grill to medium heat and let it get hot.
Take quinoa and either place in a rice cooker (what I did) and add left over 1/3rd mixture from above and cook. It’s usually done in 20 minutes.
Or, if you don’t have a rice cooker, cook on stove top with 2 cups water plus added 1/3rd left over mixture. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and let it cook covered for another 15 minutes. Let it sit for another 5 minutes covered but with the heat turned off. Fluff it up.
While Quinoa is cooking place chicken, onions, and orange slices on the grill. Cook on each side for 7-8 minutes (depending on breast size).
Layer quinoa in a serving dish (I drizzled a little of the salad dressing over the top, but you could just drizzle with a little olive oil), then top with chicken, onions, and oranges.

Enjoy!!

Clementine Goat Cheese Salad

1 Reply

Every night I try and make a big salad to go with dinner. I like to throw in a lot of good veggies and or fruits to pack in the nutrients and vitamins in one yummy bowl.

Lately, I’ve been making my own dressing too. I keep it pretty simple, but throw in fun things that compliment what’s in the salad every once in a while.

All in all it takes only a few minutes to throw this together, and it tastes light and delicious, yet packs in the flavor!

Next week I’ll post the Orange Chicken with Grilled Onions and Quinoa that I made to go along with this. It all went so well together-YUM!

Blog Clementine Goat Cheese Salad-1 (I’ll be honest, I don’t measure, so the below are approximates to feed 3-4 people)

Dressing

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice from one crushed clementine
1/2 Teaspoon Pure Maple Syrup
Salt and Pepper to taste
Drizzle all over the salad with Trader Joe’s Balsamic Glaze

Salad

One large handful of greens per person that you want to feed
1-2 clementines quartered and sliced in half
1 oz goat cheese crumbled (omit for Paleo or Whole 30 option)
Additional toppings that I frequently use (crushed almonds, or walnuts, pumpkin seeds, or hemp seeds)

Enjoy! dit-elle-Lauren

Watermelon Mint Infused Water

Leave a reply

I’ve been wanting to try more infused waters lately. In my mind, they are a lot of work, but really…they aren’t!

I carved up a watermelon for the 4th of July, and we had some pieces left over in the fridge that I didn’t think were going to get eaten. SO…I poured some of the left over juice and a few pieces of watermelon with some mint into a few water bottles.

I mean to let them sit for a day, but… “LIFE”

Two days later, I tried them, and YUM!!! Blog Watermelon Mint Infused Water-1 Maya wasn’t as sure. She was more consumed with getting the watermelon out of the bottom haha 🙂 What you need…

2 cups of Watermelon (depending on how much water you want to infuse!)
1/4 Cup Watermelon juice (I made this after I had cut a watermelon a few days earlier and there was juice at the bottom of the dish. You could also muddle a few pieces if you are doing this all at once.)
5-6 sprigs of mind torn into pieces

What you do…

Put water, watermelon, watermelon juice, and mint into (individual water glasses or a giant water container).
Let it sit overnight….or two 🙂 Then…

Enjoy! dit-elle-Lauren

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: