Friday 5: Whole30 Meals

Hello! We made it to Friday. We gotta celebrate the small victories, amiright? Friday is always fun because it means my Friday 5 is live. In case you are new here, my Friday 5 can be anything from style ideas, to quotes, to books I have read, to craft ideas and to recipes. It’s 5 of anything that I love or want to talk about. Today, it is all about recipes. My Friday 5 is…Whole30 Meals. I have been faithfully committed to Whole30 as a lot of you know from watching Instastories. It can be challenge finding meals that keep you satisfied, while sticking to the Whole30/Paleo conditions. Here are 5 of my favorites so far. I must warn you, I have been winging it a bit and not necessarily following a recipe.

1. Salmon with Veggies 

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ lbs to 1 1/2 lbs Wild-caught salmon, cut into 4 portions
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 12 oz. green beans, trimmed
• ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh dill (or ½ tsp. dried dill) or another herb you enjoy
• Sea salt and black pepper
• ½ Lemon, thinly sliced

Marinade:

• 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil or Coconut Oil
• Juice of a lemon
• 1 Garlic clove finely minced

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 425℉. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Wash sweet potatoes and pat dry. Using a knife, thinly slice the sweet potato (with peel intact) into rounds about ⅛th inch thick.
3. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.
4. Place sweet potatoes on baking sheet. Add green beans and red onions. Drizzle most of the marinade but leave some for the salmon. About 1/2 Tbsp.
5. Spread vegetables in a thin layer, making a space for each of the salmon filets. Nestle salmon filets into the vegetables then drizzle them with the remaining marinade.
6. Arrange lemon slices over the top of each filet. Sprinkle salmon and vegetables with dill, sea salt and pepper.
7. Place pan in preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, check salmon for doneness. If it flakes easily with a fork and is no longer opaque then it’s done. Remove it to plate and loosely cover with a second plate or a lid. Return vegetables to over and continue cooking an additional 5-10 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender.
8. Remove pan from oven. Serve salmon and vegetables with additional lime wedges and sea salt and pepper, if desired.

2. Bell Pepper Nachos: 

I didn’t wing this one. Here is the recipe. 

Side note- We didn’t use the cheese. Well, we actually tried fake cheese which I will never do again. YUCK! Hahaha

3. Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 to 8 ounces bacon, chopped (I say go for the 8 ounces, the more the better)
• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, stems trimmed
• 1 cup dried figs, stemmed and quartered (I used half a cup, as one cup tends to be overbearing)
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, or more to taste

Preparation:

1. Put a large skillet over medium heat and add oil, then bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to crisp, 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, put sprouts through feed tube of a food processor equipped with a slicing attachment and shred. (You can also do this with a mandolin or a knife. I went ahead and just cut mine into quarters. I did this ahead of time.)
3. Add sprouts, figs and 1/4 cup water to pan; sprinkle with salt and pepper, turn heat to medium, and cook, undisturbed, until sprouts and figs are nearly tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Turn heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until any remaining water evaporates, another 5 to 10 minutes. Add vinegar, taste, adjust seasoning and serve.

4. Baked Sweet Potato Fries: 

Copied a variation of this recipe.

I also found Tessemae’s Ketchup which I am addicted to. It is Whole30 compliant and tastes so good. Try it!

5. Pesto Zoodles

Ingredients:

• 6-7 medium zucchinis (spiraled)
• 2-3 tbsp of Pesto (I use pure pesto so I am Whole30 compliant)
• A few mushrooms- I like cremeni but use whatever you like
• 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil

Preparation:

1. Buy the zucchini pre-spiralized if you don’t have the spiralizer. Spiral the zucchini and press out the moisture with a paper towel, otherwise they will be runny (very important!). I do this in sections with a little at a time. Set aside when done.
2. Saute the mushrooms in a skillet with a little olive or coconut oil. I’d do 3-4 minutes to pull out the flavor. You can add other veggies too depending on what you like. I used what I had.
3. Toss the zoodles with a little olive oil.
4. Add to the skillet with the mushrooms and let it heat up.
5. Put in a bowl and toss with whole30 compliant pesto. I use Seggiano Raw Pesto that I picked up at Whole Foods. It is soooo good! If you are eating dairy (I am not) add a little parm cheese.

This is a recipe that you can really add whatever you want.

I am always looking for more recipes. Please keep sharing. I know so many of you are also taking the Whole30 challenge, and I love that we can all support each other because it ain’t easy. BUT, it’s really not that hard either. 🙂