Whole30 Week One Roundup

I purposefully chose to start at a busy time at work and thankfully my wish to breeze through week 1 came true! The most pleasant surprise was how the Whole30 plan kept my energy leveled through the day, no snacking or grazing through some very long days.

It's hard to plan and cook as much as I want to when I'm getting home late so I stuck to a few go-to dinners like the thai-inspired Larb Salad. An easy one-pot meal, this always delivers fresh flavors and is a friendly "pantry" recipe, meaning you can play with using a different kind of meat or alternate veggies. 

Turkey Larb Salad
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 onion, diced
1 inch knob of ginger, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
1 lime
handful of basil
dash of salt
2 tbsp coconut aminos (if not on Whole30 or off soy, soy sauce works)
hot sauce to taste

In a deep skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add in the onion and cook over low-medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and ginger and cook on low for another 2 minutes. Add the turkey, salt and saute until cooked through. Add the kale and cover or simply allow the heat from the pan steam it gently. When the kale has reduced, season the pan with juice of the lime, coconut aminos/soy sauce and hot sauce. Adjust flavors as needed. Serve in a bowl topped with basil leaves.

The big star this week was the West African Chicken Stew from Well Fed 2, the sequel to the original book of the same name and equal deliciousness. Remember what I said about Melissa Joulwan always knocking my socks off? Just when I needed something seductively delicious, Mel delivered (well Joe did but you know what I mean). This dish was a flavorful blend of ginger, spices, tomato, and is finished with sunflower seed butter. It also made the house smell amazing! You can check out some great pictures (I was so hungry I forgot to document this!) and the full recipe on The Healthy Foodie site.