Herb Meatballs

Simmie Sinow

These are so good!  You can also throw in a handful of raisins for a surprise flavor in them! Use them as an appetizer or over spaghetti squash with marinara sauce.

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1/2 finely chopped onion
1/2 cup fresh basil, finely minced
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
4 eggs
1/2 cup almond meal
1 Tbsp dried oregano
4 cloves garlic minced
Sea salt and pepper to taste

350 oven.

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

Make meatballs with a tablespoon measure and place them on a baking sheet or in a mini muffin tin and cook for about 25 minutes.

Make-Ahead Bulletproof Coffee Fixins

Shi Breedlove

1 cup homemade nut milk

3/4 cup coconut cream

3 Tbsp ghee

Spices of choice (cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, unsweetened carob)

Melt first 3 ingredients together in microwave

Add spices & blend in blender on high for 30 seconds. 

Store in refrigerator. I use mine up before I have to worry about it going bad. I'm sure it will keep for a couple of weeks. Enjoy!!

Notes from Simmie: 

• The nut milk can also be store bought, for those who don't want to make their own!
• The good-by date for this would be that of the nut milk or coconut cream; homemade nut milk generally lasts about 5 days or so, whereas store bought will last a bit longer.

Crockpot Ketchup

Modified from a recipe on BalancedBites website

This was taken in part from a recipe on Diane Sanfilippo's website, and modified a bit in both ingredients and the process.  It's still a bit of an in-the-works project, as it is a bit thicker than I like my ketchup -- but the flavor is to die for!

1 small onion, diced
2 apples, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pinches of cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 pitted Medjool date
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (next time: 2.5 Tbsp, see note below)
1/4 cup water (next time: 2/3 cup, see note below)
6 oz tomato sauce

Place all ingredients into a slow cooker and stir to combine. Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 4 hours.  I have a small crockpot (2 quart) that I use for making my own Ghee and for individual portions of food items, so I used my small crockpot.

After 4 hours, remove the crockpot from the heating element and let it cool just a bit and then put in your food processor or blender.  Be sure not to fill your blender too full, as warm items tend to expand. Blend until smooth.

Since this is fairly chunky to begin with, what I did was I put it in my larger Ninja and blended the heck out of it, then transferred to my smaller one and blended until I thought it was ready, and then kept blending.

NOTE:
This was still fairly thick, and I'm thinking that it was because my small crockpot runs a bit on the warm side, so next time I will increase the water from the original 1/4 cup the recipe calls for, to 2/3 cup, and also add 1/2 Tbsp extra apple cider vinegar, possibly at the very end of the cooking process for the extra being added.  Another option is to cook less time, thereby keeping more of the water in the crockpot and not evaporating as much.

Once blended, place the ketchup into glass containers and allow it to come to room temperature before refrigerating.

Crispy Bacon Chili

Modified from recipe on The Chew website


1 lb bacon (chopped)
2 lbs ground beef
2 garlic cloves (chopped)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 large red onion (diced)
1 jalapeno (diced; optional)
2 tsp dried oregano
56 ounces canned fire roasted tomatoes
Garnish
Scallions
Diced Red Onions
Hot Sauce

In a large dutch oven or heavy-bottom pot, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy (about 5-7 minutes). Remove bacon and reserve for garnish.

With the bacon drippings in the pot, add the beef and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until dark brown and crispy (about 10 minutes). Push the meat to the side and toss in the onions, jalapeno, and garlic.

Sprinkle in the seasonings and stir to coat. Cook for 2 minutes until softened then stir into the meat. Pour in the fire roasted tomatoes and adjust seasoning to taste.

Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until mostly thickened.

Serve with your choice of garnish and reserved crispy bacon.

Turkey Vegetable Breakfast Egg Cups

Recipe Adapted by: Simmie Sinow

From Biggest Loser Recipe

12 slices thinly sliced deli turkey (direct from your butcher, sliced from turkey breast, not pre-packaged)
3/4 cup salsa or marinara sauce
Fresh cut up vegetables
18 large egg whites 

These can be made in either a standard size muffin tin or a jumbo sized tin.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. 

Lightly coat each cup of your nonstick muffin pan with coconut oil or olive oil cooking spray.

Separate the egg whites into a large measuring cup and whisk.

Line each muffin cup with 1 slice of turkey.  If there is some excess on top, that is ok--fold it into the muffin cup.

Spoon 1 Tbsp salsa or marinara (marinara has a lot less sodium) into each cup.

I put one baby spinach leaf on top of the salsa/marinara and then add some of the cut up vegetables (I use mushrooms, bell peppers and either green beans or asparagus).

• For standard-sized muffin tins: Measure just under 1/4 cup (actually 3 Tbsp) of the egg whites or egg substitute into each muffin cup
• For jumbo-sized muffin tins: Measure 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the egg whites or egg substitute into each muffin tin

Top with some more of the salsa.

Place the muffin pan in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the eggs are puffed and the center is set.  For Jumbo muffins, bake for approximately 30-45 minutes.

Carefully remove the baked eggs from the pan and get ready to enjoy!

These can be stored for a week or so in your refrigerator.  Freezing them and then re-heating works ok, but not great.

Meals on Whole30

Simmie Sinow

How much should you eat, and what should you eat on Whole30?

Here's a graphic that will help you visualize how much of each category you should eat -- remember 3 meals, no snacks.  Eat enough at each meal to sustain you until the next one.

If you're exercising, your snacks before/after should be a mini meal, not a true "snack."

Butter Alternative, Paleo and Whole30 style

Adapted from Predominantly Paleo's recipe

Someone posted a recipe for Paleo Butter recently, and it sounded so easy I thought I'd give it a go.

It was wonderful in liquid form!!!! However, once it firmed up, the salt seemed to rise to the top and it was like dipping my spoon in a shaker of salt.

NOT good!

Since I plan to use my Butter that I made in liquid form -- over veggies or maybe even in my frying pan (I haven't figured out if I want to try that or not), it's no big deal as I can just stir it up and it'll be fine.

What I wound up doing is making a double batch and using just a PINCH of salt.  Pinch as in grabbing a small amount of salt between your thumb and forefinger and putting a little in the container you're making it in.

OR....what I just did was I made a double batch and used 1/4 tsp of salt and that seems to be just about right.

So here is my final modification for the recipe:

4 Tbsp full fat coconut milk
6 Tbsp olive oil -- this can be light olive oil as well
4 tablespoons melted coconut oil
6 tablespoons avocado oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Blend it well, until it is completely blended.  Then place in the refrigerator to firm up, or in the freezer for 30-60 minutes.

Trader Joe's Shopping for Whole30

One of my favorite stores! Kudos to them for also having great prices on most items!

Below is a list that a FB Whole30 group put together of their favorite items.  It is by no means a full and exhaustive list, but is a darned good start for ideas!

For a PDF file of this list to download, click HERE

Sweet Pulled Pork

Simmie Sinow

1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp crumbled dried oregano
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1-2 apples, chopped/diced small
4 lb boneless pork shoulder roast
2 bay leaves
2 cups chicken broth

Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, and cinnamon in a bowl. Coat pork with the spice mixture.

Place the bay leaves in the bottom of a slow cooker and place the pork on top. Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture. Put the diced apples alongside the pork as well.

Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 10 hours. Turn the meat after it has cooked for 5 hours.

When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and shred with two forks. Use cooking liquid as needed to moisten the meat.

NOTES:
Cooking time will vary depending on how hot your crockpot cooks. My primary crockpot takes about 5-6 hours total; I have another one that takes about 8-10 hours.


The pork in this recipe really does fall off the bones of the pork roast. You can eat this with tortillas or not – it’s so good that I’ve just generally had the pork which is more like shredded and some vegetables or potatoes on the side.