The Whole 30

When I lived in France, I ate more unusual things that I ever have living in the US. I tried pâté (loved it) and head cheese (don’t ever bring that gelatinous mess near me). And one of the most famed items was a mushroom pie my friend Lauren’s host family made for us. It was literally just layers of mushroom in a pie crust. Not that appetizing.

However, I did learn to love quiche, particularly Quiche Lorraine (ham and cheese) that was served at my college snack shack. It wasn’t even that crazy of a concept, just an egg pie with meats and cheese.

So when my friend Hannah emailed me a recipe for a Whole 30 approved quiche, I said, why not?! The best part, I still had a crust. The recipe called for replacing a bready crust with sweet potatoes.

Sausage and Kale Quiche (Whole 30 approved)

Gather
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons of olive oil
8 eggs
12 oz of ground, unseasoned pork
3 loose cups of kale, stems removed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp parsley
1/4 cup onion, diced
Black pepper and salt, to season

Preheat oven to 425. Continue Reading

Andy surprised me with dinner. He said he had breaded chicken tenders. To say the least, I got nervous. He promised me that it was compliant with The Whole 30. And I really didn’t believe him, especially when I saw the pan of chicken (see above).

He made me take a bite before he would tell me how he made breaded chicken. I reminded him, we cant have flour, or cornflakes, or anything with grain. He assured me, no grain. So I took a bite and I have to say, I was surprised. It had the texture of bread. It was crunchy. And it tasted good.

So I asked again. What is it? And Andy handed me a bag of pork rinds. Then he showed me the ingredients: Pork and salt. While The Whole 30 does not say it’s against the rules, you shouldn’t be snacking on it. So he was ok with using it, just in small amounts.

“Breaded” Chicken Tenders

Gather
2 chicken breasts
5 unbroken cups of pork rinds
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of cayenne
2 teaspoons of garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400. Continue Reading

I’ve come down from being hangry (angry-hungry, or hungry-angry.. I’m not sure which way it goes.) I think I just needed a few days to get readjusted to my body. I’m learning that with The Whole 30, there’s a need to not only eat a lot to nourish your body, but to also eat a variety of foods. Man (and woman) cannot live on apples, bananas, and eggs alone. I’m trying to infuse more into my system to keep me from being cranky. Continue Reading

I woke up late today. Which for most people wouldn’t be a big deal. You could grab a doughnut on the way into work, or a muffin at the supermarket. But on The Whole 30 on day 5, missing breakfast is like going on a suicide mission. I’m left with no resources because I had planned to cook my breakfast, and had I not grabbed a banana and apple, I would have been starved until lunch time. Continue Reading