Originally I had planned on sharing a gluten-free pizza dough recipe today, but it needs more tweaking before it can be unveiled. In the meantime, I’m finally going to make good on my promise to share with you some of our favorite recipes from doing Whole30 for the first time. I didn’t do Whole30 because of any dietary problems or weight loss goals, I was mostly trying to convince myself that I don’t need dessert every day and to create healthier eating habits. The biggest thing I learned? So many food items have sugar in them!

As for the recipes, I didn’t buy any cookbooks, instead I took to the internet (mostly pinterest) and printed off a bunch. From that stack we would select recipes to make for each week, buy all the groceries on the weekend and then be set for the rest of the week. Added bonus of Whole30? Meal planning and never having to figure out weeknight meals on the fly! We also were cooking together more often which was nice as I tend to take over with my blog-stuff.

At first Bob and I always felt hungry. Apparently dense, heavy foods take up less space in your stomach and it takes a minute (or 3 days) for your stomach to realize that it actually is full. Once we got over that hump, and found suitable replacements for certain items, it was easy peasy. It helped that the recipes we found we delicious and have made post-Whole30. Here are 30 of our favorites that we plan on making again, if we haven’t already!

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin – This is the recipe Bob that rubbed in a coworkers face when they made fun of him for being on a diet. For the record, his coworker had a sad looking salad for lunch. Also, this was before I discovered homemade sugar-free bacon (pictured above) which is much cheaper and easier than hunting it down in stores.

Breakfast Bowl – This recipe originally struck me as odd and I imagined it to be something awful in consistency but it was an instant hit! We had this one a few times and plan to make again and again. My favorite way to eat it was using the apple slices to scoop it up!

Breakfast Casserole – Definitely a weekend breakfast recipe but when you are cooking for two, it lasts through the week as well. When weekend breakfasts ran out we usually depended on eggs with homemade sugar-free bacon or dairy-free smoothies.

Buffalo Chicken Casserole – When making this, I worried that it was going to be too much Buffalo sauce for me, and I was right. I like spicy things but not too spicy. Bob on the other hand devoured it.

Buffalo Chicken Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes – I brought these to game night at a friends house and they were a huge hit (and had the right amount of hot sauce for my tastes)! I did alter the recipe a bit based on how I make twice baked potatoes. Hopefully I’ll get around to making these again to take photos and share the actual recipe.

Butternut Sausage Bake with Kale – In my opinion, almost any recipe utilizing roasted butternut squash is a winner.

Chicken Avocado Lime Soup – Soups were a common favorite during the 30 days. They pack so much flavor, are easy to abide by Whole30 rules, and often come together quickly.

Chimichurri Chicken Wings with Ranch Dressing – Guys, I may like these better than “real” wings. Chimichurri on wings is awesome! And hunting down avocado mayo proved to be worthwhile by the addition of the homemade Ranch dressing. I tried making my own mayo, but it was an epic fail.

Coconut Pistachio Larabars – After stock piling on Larabars, I finally got around to making our own and let me just say, Larabar needs to take notes.

Creamy Carrot and Ginger Soup – This was my first experience with carrot soup and it was awesome! I actually have already made this soup twice (the second time I added 1/2 tsp turmeric). It pairs perfectly with a Kale, Pomegranate, and Avocado Salad with Zesty Tahini Dressing (the second time I made the salad I used baby kale and cranberries instead of pomregranate).

Crock Pot Turkey Bolognese Sauce – Bob immediately requested that this be in our regular rotation. Fine by me cause it’s crazy easy! We served this over zoodles.

Garlic Bacon Avocado Burgers – I was kind of impressed with how quickly we didn’t miss buns on our burgers. Guess it helps when the burger and toppings are so yummy.

Harvest Stew with Smoked Sausage – Parsnips are totally underused in soups and stews. You need this in your life and belly.

Jalapeno Turkey Burgers – Bob loved these and I enjoyed them but next time I make them (and there will be a next time), I am going to reduce the amount of lime. They were just a bit too limey.

Lamb Burgers with Rosemary Pesto Sauce – Adding rosemary to pesto? Winner! I want these burgers again, like right now. The recipe suggested serving it with strawberries and sauteed peppers on top. We did lemon potatoes instead.

Lemon-Rosemary Chicken & Potatoes – I actually made this right before we started Whole30 and only realized afterwards that it followed the rules. Hooray!

Mango Chicken with Coconut Cauliflower Rice – So much flavor! Definitely need to make this again soon, especially since it only takes 30 minutes.

Moroccan Chicken Skillet – This recipe was probably the one with the most unique flavor. Bob wasn’t a huge fan but I loved it.

One-Pan Crispy Bacon Wrapped Chicken – Bacon wrapped chicken, what more do you need to know? Serve this with a side of potatoes and it’s a done deal.

One-Sheet Roasted Sausage & Brussels Sprouts Dinner – We actually made this a couple days post-Whole30 because we were loving the recipes so much we couldn’t stop!

Pesto Bacon Chicken – Pesto is such a simple thing and yet makes such delicious meals! The addition of bacon certainly didn’t hurt either.

Rosemary Balsamic Sheet Pan Chicken with Bacon and Apples – The only thing I would change about this is to put the bacon on top so that it can get nice and crispy.

Sausage & Kale Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust – I adapted this recipe from 2 or 3 others and now am so in love with using sweet potato as a crust for quiche. Who needs a flour crust?

Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup – Yet another awesome soup. Guess doing Whole30 in the winter makes sense because it’s definitely soup season.

Sheet Pan Chicken with Red Potatoes and Sage – Another theme during Whole30 was sheet pan meals. This is yet another that you cannot go wrong with. Using chicken thighs with the skin still on results in juicy chicken with a crispy exterior.

Sloppy Joe Bowls – This is another that we made post-Whole30. How can you deny a sloppy joe serve in a potato?

Spicy Ground Turkey and Green Bean Stir-Fry – I’ve never had a stir-fry with ground meat before but I was pleasantly surprised! Sad we didn’t have more leftovers of this one. Guess we’ll just have to make it again, darn.

Sweet Potato Apple Breakfast Bake – This is another surprising breakfast recipe as it seems a bit strange at first but ends up being delicious.

Zucchini Carbonara – Hello dairy-free cream sauce served over zoodles and topped with bacon!

Zuppa Toscana – Last but not least another great soup recipe! Seriously, soups on Whole30 rock.

Have you ever done Whole30? If not, after reading my list of favorites do you think you’d be more willing to try it? I just gave you one recipe per day so you’re already 1/3 of the way there!

Two years ago: Cream Cheese Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Squash

Three years ago: Giant Peanut Butter Snickerdoodle Cookie For One

Five years ago: S’mores Molten Lava Cake

Six years ago: Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Layer Pie

Homemade bacon is a thing and it couldn’t be easier, I promise. This sugar-free version is also Whole30 approved.


The biggest thing I have learned from doing Whole30? There is sugar in EVERYTHING. A few examples include chicken broth, almost every sauce you can think of, and bacon. While we were able to find some preservative-free and sugar-free bacon, at $8 for 1/2 pound it wasn’t exactly cheap. So when I found some uncured pork belly in the meat section for dirt cheap I jumped on it.

Unfortunately every recipe I found for making your own bacon used a solid piece of meat and mine was already sliced. But I just stacked the slices back up as if there were one solid mass again and continued as normal. And it totally worked! Now that I know it not only works, but it also stinking delicious, I’m going to make a larger batch next time and freeze it.

Two years ago: Grandma’s Meatballs & Pasta Sauce

Three years ago: Peanut Butter Greek Yogurt Fruit Dip

Five years ago: Berries & Cream Granola

HOMEMADE SUGAR-FREE BACON

Makes 1-1/2 pounds

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lb. of pork belly, any skin removed

4 tsp salt, or to taste*

1 tsp black pepper

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flake

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp fennel

1 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix together the salt, pepper, bay leaf, crushed red pepper, rosemary, thyme, and fennel. (Alternatively you can use a mortar and pestle to grind.) Stir in the garlic and liquid smoke.
2. Rub the pork belly evenly on all sides with the spice blend and place in a large zip-top bag. Place the pork belly in refrigerator for 5-7 days, flipping every day.
3. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.
4. Thoroughly rinse off the pork belly to remove the spices. Pat dry. Place the pork belly in a 7×11-inch baking pan. Bake for 1 hour, flip over, and bake for another hour.
5. Allow to cool before slicing. Wrap up in wax paper and store in the refrigerator or freezer. When ready to eat, cook as normal!

*Salt should be 2% of the weight of the pork belly. Also, sodium nitrite can also be added to prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum (the organism that creates botulism toxin).

Source: Adapted slightly from I Am A Honey Bee.


We may have stocked up on Larabars last week because we needed Whole30 safe snacks and they were on sale 2 for $1, which is basically the best deal I’ve ever seen for them. Prior to that I thought $1 per bar was a good price – fooled me! Of course then I remembered the huge Costco sized container of dates that I had in the cupboard and decided it was time to use up some of them in my own homemade bars.

I’ve made a German Chocolate variety in the past, so all I did was change up the ingredients a bit based on what else I had at hand. Thankfully for me I usually have all kinds of things and was able to make a coconut pistachio version this time. Which is convenient because today is actually National Pistachio Day! It’s also National Peanut Brittle Day, but I can’t have peanuts on Whole30 so I’m just gonna have to let that one slide.

But I digress. Guys, these bars are so stinking good! I might like them better than any kind of Larabar I’ve ever had. Bob said he had to restrain himself from devouring them all at once! It’s times like this that I need to remind myself that it’s far better to make these kinds of things myself. Of course we still have all those bars we bought so I think we will be set for awhile.

One year ago: Strawberry M&M® Cheesecake Truffles

Two years ago: Black Bean & Chorizo Soup

Three years ago: Three Cheese Chicken and Artichoke Bake

Five years ago: Almond Cherry Chip Blondies

Six years ago: Apple Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins

COCONUT PISTACHIO LARABARS

Makes 12 bars

Ingredients:

1 cup pitted dates

1/2 cup toasted almonds

1/2 cup roasted, shelled pistachios

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1 tsp vanilla extract (or paste)

1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Line a jelly roll pan with wax paper and set aside.
2. Add all ingredients to food processor and pulse until the mixture clumps together. Add 1 teaspoon of water if it’s a little on the dry side.
3. Evenly press mixture into the prepared pan to smooth out the batter. Freeze for 10 minutes and then slice into bars. Wrap in wax paper and store in the fridge.

Source: Adapted from my German Chocolate Larabars.

So today marks day 14 of Whole30 for me – halfway there! I’ve been faithful to the cause thus far but tonight my willpower will be tested as I am going out to dinner at Oliver’s for Restaurant Week. However while my friends will be ordering from the curated Restaurant Week menu, I will be ordering the safest thing I can possibly find on their regular menu., which sadly will likely be a salad or a plain burger patty. Why do I even bother? Cause my friend Haley is back in town for the long weekend and eating is kind of our thing, even if my participation isn’t quite up to snuff.

In an effort to motivate myself to stay on track, I started off on the right foot this morning by polishing off the last of this quiche I made over the weekend. It’s pretty stinking awesome if I do say so myself. Instead of a regular pie crust, there’s a layer of thinly sliced sweet potato which is filled with breakfast sausage (passed the Whole30 test), kale, onion, and eggs. I was slightly skeptical on the crust part, worrying it would somehow be a bit chewy but think I may even prefer the sweet potato oser to perfection.

Two years ago: Lighter Recipe Roundup

Three years ago: Blueberry-Flax Buttermilk Pancakes

Four years ago: Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

Five years ago: Carrot Cake Oatmeal

SAUSAGE & KALE QUICHE WITH SWEET POTATO CRUST

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced (with mandoline or food processor)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 lb. crumbled breakfast sausage

1/2 yellow onion, diced

3 stalks kale, stems removed and chopped

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

6 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan. Lay the sweet potato slices on the bottom and up the sides in a circular pattern, overlapping the pieces. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and lower heat to 375 degrees.
3. While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until no longer pink. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate, reserving ~1 tablespoon on grease in the pan.
4. Add onion to the same pan and saute until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add kale and saute another 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, mix well for 30 seconds, and then remove from heat. Stir sausage back into the kale mixture and then spread evenly into the cooked crust.
5. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs and salt and pepper. Pour mixture over the filling and bake for 30 minutes or until set. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Source: Adapted from My Utensil Crock.

Hello, first recipe of 2017! Technically this was cooked in 2016 but I held onto it until after the holiday craziness so make sure it didn’t get lost and forgotten because this has turned into one of my go-to weeknight meals. It’s so easy to throw together and better yet is cooked in a single cast iron pan.

In other news, starting tomorrow Bob and I are embarking on a journey  known as Whole30. While I feel like I make pretty good decisions when it comes to what I eat, sometimes I have serious sugar cravings and I’m curious to see if cutting it out for 30 days will help me control that a little more. Never fear, I will still be posting my regular sugar-ness on here. I may have stock piled a few recipes in preparation ;-).

Three years ago: Mini Pistachio Cupcakes

Four years ago: Chocolate Cake Ball Stuffed Oreo Pudding Cookies

LEMON-ROSEMARY CHICKEN & POTATOES

Serves 4

Ingredients:

LEMON SAUCE

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)

1 lemon, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1-1/2 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

CHICKEN

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 lb. small potatoes, quartered

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Stir together the 8 ingredients for the lemon sauce in a medium bowl.
2. Heat olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, place in pan, and cook 9-10 minutes or until chicken is browned. Flip over chicken, add potatoes, and pour lemon mixture over the top.
3. Cover (with a heat-proof lid or foil), and bake for 45-50 minutes or until chicken is done and potatoes are fork-tender. Serve chicken with sauce and your favorite green vegetable.

Source: Adapted from My Recipes.