Whole30 Recipe Roundup (halfway point)
Hello there. Are we having fun yet? It’s half way thru the #JanuaryWhole30 and after an intense couple of weeks I am finally feeling some “Tiger Blood” and suddenly everything is much, much better. Headaches are gone, sinus weirdness, gone. Funny tummy is all calm and happy and my angry skin looks better. I’m sleeping like I was drugged and have more and more real energy during the day. Does this mean that I don’t want a glass of rose on a warm summer’s night? Helllll NO! There are a few moments in the day where I am slightly triggered to reach for my old “reward” foods.
My partner is also doing a Whole30 and we were realizing that we reward ourselves with an alcohol beverage at the end of a challenging day. Or a great day. Or a mediocre day or an especially miserable day! We use this drink to chill us out and slow us down so we can feel relaxed. What I love about Whole30 is that it becomes very obvious what my “reward” foods are and just what a grip they have on me. This awareness gives me the opportunity to consider if I would like to change things up. The last 2 weeks without my relaxing wine has been ok. I am finding other ways to relax and feel chill which are also pretty great. But more on that later!
I want to share with you the best part so far, the food! I have eaten some very delicious food during the last 2 weeks of Whole30 and I wanted to share my favorite recipes with you. Part of the fun of doing Whole30 is being inspired my so many new food bloggers, books and the Realplans app which has introduced me to so many great recipes.
You don’t have to do a Whole30 to enjoy these recipes they are basically just delicious and you will find them easy to make as well. Let me know which ones you try! Tag @the.remedy.project on instagram.
Whole30 Recipe Roudup (halfway point)
Summer Mexican Soup @the_remedy_project
I have no photo for this but I wanted to include it because it is a staple of my freezer and we eat it often. It is so nice on a cool summer day and just so good to know something healthy and nourishing is in the freezer in case my meal plans change.
Roasted Sausage with Potato and Peppers adapted from @bitsofbbskitchen
I love this dish! It is so easy and gives me that carb boost that I need to get thru the first couple of weeks of Whole30. Prepare this, chuck it in the oven and while it cooks you can do other things. Like relax. Serve this along with a nice green salad or green beans and you will be winning dinner. Even the teens are into this one.
Eggplant Torta (adapted from a Realplans recipe)
This recipe was served up to me in my Realplans meal plan and to be honest I really was skeptical. I think it was the eggs? Thank goodness that I made this because it is now hands down one of my favorite meals. I changed up the tomato sauce because the Spiral Foods makes this perfect sauce and all the hard work has been done for you. You could use another sauce or make your own but make sure it is Whole30 compliant (no sugar or additives). This makes a great lunch if you whip it up the night before. Serve along with a handful of rocket with vinaigrette.
Simple Summer Frittata @the_remedy_project
This is one of my clients favorite recipes as well as on the blog. It’s an easy light dish that I have relied on so often as it is quick protein and vegetables all in one. Perfect for work lunches or those summer picnics.
Slow Cooked Wild Venison Chili @the_remedy_project
Ok, this is the chili. I have made this chili about a hundred times in my life. I use venison because my husband has a beef allergy and we get amazing wild meats here in Wellington (Commonsense and Moore Wilsons) so it is a perfect replacement. I have also used beef or pork to make this chili and the results are great. I make a double batch and then freeze into individual pie dishes for quick servings. So yummy served on a oven roasted kumera!
And lastly, the most amazing Caesar Salad from @NoCrumbsLeft. I have no photo because I made this to take to a 2 day conference and made a mess of everything but YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS SALAD. THE DRESSING WILL HEAL YOUR LIFE. I think that is all that needs to be said.
Enjoy and tag @the.remedy.project so I can follow your recipe making
X Hadley
Simple Summer Frittata
This is my go-to “bring a plate” dish for the last couple of years because it is dead easy to make with a few ingredients. I have brought this along to new mum’s who have food intolerance, meditation retreats with vegetarians, baby showers with breastfeeding mamas, school events, shared lunches and picnics. Its a crowd pleaser. Did I mention it is super delish? Serve it with a bit of green salad or a few crispy flax crackers. Also a staple in my house during any Whole30!
- 10 Organic Pasture raised eggs, cracked and whisked in a bowl
- ½ cups chopped soft herbs such as parsley, basil or dill (optional)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- fresh black pepper
- 1 zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds
- 1 small tomato thinly sliced or a few cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ a red or yellow capsicum diced
- ⅓ C Almond milk or coconut milk
- Preheat oven to 180
- Line a pie dish with baking paper generously overlapping. (use coconut oil to help the paper stick)
- Mix all ingredients together and pour into pie dish making sure baking paper is in place. Top with sliced tomatoes.
- Bake in oven for 25-40 minutes or until center is set. Check after 20 minutes. (I check by pressing on the center to see if it is set)
- Enjoy a slice any time of day. Store any uneaten frittata in the fridge.
- You could half this recipe and make in a smaller dish
Eggplant Torta
This recipe was served up to me in my Realplans meal plan and to be honest I really was skeptical. I think it was the eggs? Thank goodness that I made this because it is now hands down one of my favorite meals. I used my favorite organic tomato sauce from Spiral Foods because they make a fantastic sauce and it makes my life easier. You could use another sauce or make your own but make sure it is Whole30 compliant (no sugar or additives). This makes a great lunch if you whip it up the night before. Serve along with a handful of rocket with vinaigrette.
- 3 medium eggplants
- 3 large organic eggs
- 1 Jar Spiral Foods Organic Pizza/Pasta tomato sauce (commonsense, Moore Wilson)
- coarse sea salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Few sprigs of chopped parsley or basil
- Preheat oven to 180C. Peel and slice the eggplants into discs. Beat the eggs in a small bowl separately.
- Place eggplant on a baking sheet and douse both sides of the eggplant with olive oil. Bake for about 15 -20 minutes, or until eggplant is lightly golden and soft. Remove from oven leaving oven on.
- Grease a medium size baking dish lightly with olive oil. Layer 1/3 of eggplant, top with 1/3 of sauce and repeat twice more.Pour eggs evenly over dish.
- Bake uncovered at 180C for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh parsley or basil.
Roasted Sausage, Potato and Capsicum
This dish is a family winner! I have always loved the combination of sausage, peppers and onions, something anyone from Philadelphia has eaten most of their lives! But the addition of the tiny new potatoes gives this dish completeness thanks to the healthy carbs. It is a easy sheet pan meal which I love because it’s all made in one pan. EASY. I saw a version of this on my Realplans mealplan by @bitsofbbskitchen and decided to simplify the recipe to make it with local NZ ingredients.
- 400g new potatoes cut into quarters
- ½ yellow onion cut into 6 wedges
- 1 red capsicum sliced into 2 cm strips
- 1 280g package of L’Authentique Roast Chicken Chipolata (Moore Wilson and NW) sliced into 2-3cm chunks
- 2-3 TBL Olive oil or Avocado Oil
- Fresh or Dried Thyme and Rosemary to season
- coarse sea salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
- Heat oven to 180. Grease a large roasting dish or sheet pan with oil. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and toss to combine. Spread on baking dish in a single layer. Place in the oven for 35-45 minutes until potatoes are fork tender and browning.
- I double this recipe for the family or if I want leftovers for lunches
- Please share your meal with instagram and tag @the_remedy_project I would love to see your food 🙂
Healing Chicken Soup
A few weeks ago I was invited to teach healthy cooking with a group of Columbian refuge women who are part of the Refugee Trauma Recovery programme here in Wellington.
When I was thinking about what we could cook together, I suppose comfort food was on the top of my mind. This group of Columbian women and their families have been through horrible trauma, torture and the stress of not knowing what happened to their loved ones who have disappeared and are feared dead. It was very humbling to spend time with these ladies and hear about their struggles. These women are the fortunate of the unfortunate who have a new home in New Zealand but still, they are left with a great deal of post traumatic stress and worry for loved ones left behind. Their healing has only just begun and nothing about it is easy.
But what does food have to do with healing from trauma? Food has the power to heal us in so many ways! Familiar tastes can revive old memories and can make us feel safe and warm. We use food to express love and we in turn feel loved when someone cooks us a home made meal. Food nourishes our bodies and helps us recover from illness. Food from our culture or homeland can be especially meaningful and we can feel very homesick when we move far away and can no longer enjoy these familiar tastes.
I think it is very well known that one of the best healing foods is soup. In fact recent studies have confirmed that soup has probably been a part of traditional human diets dating back 20,000 years! And for good reason.
Every culture has a version of healing soup because people have long known that soup made using the joints and bones of animals has a very special nutrient profile: it is a incredibly healing food because of the breakdown of minerals in the bones as well as cartilage, marrow and skin. These highly absorbable nutrients help fight infections, reduce inflammation, reduce joint pain, regulate hormones, and is easy to digest for people with illness and digestive issues. More recently evidence has shown that it “heals and seals” the broken gut lining in people with permeable gut. Soups made with this “bone broth” are packed full of nutrition as well as being very inexpensive to make and highly comforting.
With this in mind, I thought we could recreate a well known Columbian chicken soup called Ajiaco using produce that is locally available, donated or foraged from around our area in the middle of winter.
The good people at Kaibosh food rescue donate several boxes of food to the refugee group each week and along with some foraged bay leaves, rosemary, a lemon and a few leaves of kale from my home garden we had the makings of a simple soup using a whole chicken. Because we only had a short time to work together, we used this quick cooking soup method which makes a light flavored chicken broth. In order to make a true bone broth, you would remove the breast and leg meat after one hour and return the bones to the soup and simmer for longer to extract all the nutrients. I will be sure to post more about bone broth soon.
We had a lovely afternoon making this simple soup together and enjoying learning about seasonal New Zealand produce and herbs and ways to incorporate them into their traditional Colombian recipes.
- 1 small Organic Chicken or several thighs and legs with bone and skin
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 4 garlic cloves finely diced
- 1 onion peeled and finely diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1T chopped rosemary
- 4 medium size potatoes (any variety) peeled and cut into large chunks
- 2 t sea salt plus more to taste
- Fresh black pepper
- 4 cups finely shredded seasonal greens such as kale or silverbeet
- 1 cup loosely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 fresh lemon juiced
- Olive oil for serving
- Add chicken, carrots, celery, garlic, onion, herbs and salt and pepper into a stock pot and cover with filtered water (about 2 litres).
- Bring to a gentle boil and skim any foam that may rise to the surface. After 15 minutes skim off any bits of foam that are on the surface. This makes for a clear broth and the foam can make the soup taste bitter.
- Next, partially cover and gently simmer for 45 min to 1hr on low.
- Carefully remove chicken and set aside, allow to cool down a bit while the soup continues to simmer. Break up large potato chunks with a spoon or potato masher leaving some large pieces.
- When chicken cool enough to work with, remove meat from the bone and cut into bite size pieces. (I sometimes save half the chicken meat for another use). Return chicken meat to stockpot with greens and parsley. Gently simmer for 15 min. Taste for salt and pepper and serve in bowls with a drizzle of fruity olive oil.
- Save any large chicken bones in the freezer for making your next batch of chicken bone broth.
Hadley Fierlinger
Health and Nutrition Coach and creator of The Remedy Project - personalised wellness programmes and workshops
