Everything but the Bagel Chicken Wings

So if you know me at all, you've heard me sing the praises of Trader Joe's "Everything but the Bagel" seasoning.  It's basically all the toppings of an everything bagel minus the carb-laden bagel itself.  I love it on hard boiled eggs and avocado.  It automatically gives my ho-hum sometimes boring breakfasts some oomph.

So when I was scrolling through Instagram and came across these Everything but the Bagel Chicken Wings, I got so excited.  I showed them to my hubby who was totally on board for me to try making these!

It took a while, I'll admit, for me to get my head around the whole "coat your chicken wings in mayo" -- I know people use mayo to crisp things up, like grilled cheese and oven "fried" chicken -- but my disdain for mayo made me hesitant to be the one to actually coat the wings in mayo.  Thanks to a handy spatula, I was able to overcome my fear -- and I'm glad I did!  These wings are crispy and tasty and delicious!  I served them with buffalo sauce for dipping (pictured) and Tessemae's creamy Caesar dressing (I much prefer the Caesar over their ranch, but ranch would also work nicely!).

Everything but the Bagel Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken wings

2 Tbsp Whole30-compliant mayonnaise

2 Tbsp dijon mustard

1 Tbsp olive oil

4-5 Tbsp Everything but the Bagel seasoning*

Tessemae's Ceasar, Ranch, and/or Buffalo sauce, for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F degrees F.

Place an oven safe baking/cooking rack on top of a baking sheet lined with foil.

Mix mayonnaise, mustard, and oil in a large bowl.

Add chicken wings.

Use hands to evenly coat wings with mayonnaise mixture (frankly, a rubber spatula works perfectly well).

Toss or roll wings in Everything but the Bagel seasoning.

Place wings on the rack, evenly spaced.

Sprinkle any additional Everything but the Bagel seasoning over wings if desired.

Bake 40 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Note: depending on the size of the wings, baking time may vary.  Make sure that chicken is cooked through.

* No Trader Joe's near you?  You can make your own Everything but the Bagel seasoning, also courtesy of The Whole Kitchen Sink.

Combine:

2 Tbsp dried minced garlic

1 Tbsp black sesame seeds

1 Tbsp white sesame seeds

1 Tbsp dried minced onion

1/2 Tbsp poppy seeds

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Buffalo chicken cauliflower fried rice

I've been coveting this recipe since my last Whole30, if not the one before that.  There's just something so appealing about buffalo chicken and fried rice and the fact that it's Whole30 compliant.  Honestly, I'm not sure why I never made it before, but I can honestly say that I'll definitely be making it again soon!

My hubby and I both worked a little late tonight and I was able to throw this together in a matter of minutes with the help of a store bought (Whole30 compliant!) rotisserie chicken and frozen cauliflower rice.  Since I used the frozen rice, I had to doctor up the cooking directions a little, but it's totally worth it!  And of course I had to use my signature scallion in the cauliflower rice.  This dinner was so good that after we had finished our dinner, we were both eating directly out of the serving bowl -- until I hijacked the bowl and ran into the kitchen, so that I could save the remaining 1 cup of fried cauliflower rice for lunch tomorrow!

Buffalo Chicken Cauliflower Fried Rice
From Rachl Mansfield

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp oil (I needed just over 1 T, to coat the bottom of a large frying pan)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 head cauliflower, "riced" (I used 1 bag frozen cauliflower rice)
8-10 oz chicken (I shredded 1/2 a small organic rotisserie chicken - breast and thigh meat)
2 eggs
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Buffalo sauce (I used Tessemae's, but there are others ones, too)
Handful chopped cilantro
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
(Doctored a little by me)

Preheat a skillet on medium high and add the oil.
Add onion and cook until fragrant (about 5-7 minutes).

While the onions cook, mix together the buffalo sauce and chicken in a medium bowl.
Let it sit for a bit.

Crack the eggs in a bowl and mix.
Pour the eggs into the skillet and scramble around to cook for a few minutes.

Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the frozen cauliflower rice to the pan.
Cook cauliflower rice according to package directions.
Add in scallions and let cook for another minute or two.
Season with salt and pepper.

Add the eggs, onions, and buffalo chicken to the pan.
Add more buffalo sauce if needed.
Cook for a few minutes, mixing to incorporate all the flavors.

Remove from heat, and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
Serve.

This will last 5 days (but honestly, you'll be lucky if you have enough leftover for lunch tomorrow!)

Meatballs

On my previous Whole30s, I did indulge in a few meatballs.  My hubby made his delicious meatball recipe, and then made mine without the breadcrumbs.  Sure, we could've added some almond flour or potato starch, but I figured why mess with something good.  I'd toss them with homemade marinara sauce, and eat them as is, or serve on top of some spaghetti squash.

But when I saw a recipe for BBQ meatball stuffed sweet potatoes, I knew I had to try them!  They've been on my "to make" list since my last Whole30.  And truth be told, I will definitely make them!  But so far, I made the meatball part of the recipe and I cannot.  stop.  eating.  them!

I made my meatballs on the smaller side, since I generally prefer snack-sized foods.  I served them today with some cauliflower rice, and celery sticks (with Whole30-compliant (!!) Tessemae's Buffalo Sauce).  These would be great with sauce over spaghetti squash, on top of a salad, or -- as the recipe intended -- slathered in Whole30-complaint BBQ sauce!  Now I don't have an instant pot (I know, I know, what is wrong with me?!), so I made mine on the stove top and then finished them in the oven.  I've included my cooking directions below.

Meatballs
Recipe from this delicious looking recipe from Healthy Little Peach (And trust me, I'll be making the original recipe soon!), cooking instructions by yours truly

Makes 36 1-1.5 inch meatballs

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef (the recipe recommends 90/10 but all I had was 85/15)
1/3 cup chopped sweet onions
2 Tbsp coconut aminos
1 tsp garlic powder (I had granules on hand)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 large egg
3 Tbsp tapioca flour (I left this out)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Roll meatballs into 1-1.5 inch balls.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Rub a cast iron skillet with avocado or olive oil.  Just a thin layer is all you need.
Heat the pan over medium-high heat.
Put about 1/3 of the meatballs in the pan.
Turn every 2 minutes, ensuring that the majority of the meatball is seared (I flipped mine twice, 2 minutes on a side for 2 sides).
Remove from the pan and place on a foil lined baking sheet.
Repeat with another 1/3 of the meatballs, removing them and placing them on the same baking sheet.
Repeat with the remaining 1/3 of the meatballs.

Place the tray in the oven and bake for 6 minutes.
Check a meatball to make sure they are cooked through.

Creamy tomato basil soup

I love soup.  I could eat it 365 days a year for at least lunch and dinner; I'd eat it for breakfast, too, if I could find a breakfast appropriate soup (as I'm typing it, I realize that I'm sure I could make egg drop soup breakfast appropriate).

On my last Whole30s, the soup I made was limited to chicken soup.  Good, old fashioned chicken soup, served with chunks of veggies and soup chicken for me; and with additional noodles for my hubby.  And this weird vegetable-turmeric-cashew soup, of which I was not a fan.  But I was craving a good, thick soup.  And so today, on a nearly 80 degree October day, I made creamy tomato basil soup!  Day one of Whole30 and I had this delicious soup to enjoy!

This soup gets its creaminess from coconut milk.  Absolutely no dairy.  So it's totally Whole30 acceptable -- and it happens to be vegan, too.  Full disclosure?  I made it with reduced fat coconut milk because that's what I had at home.  You might need to start with less of the regular fat stuff and then add to taste.

Whole30 Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Recipe by me

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp oil (avocado, olive) -- I used avocado
1/2 cup of diced onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 28 oz can crushed tomato (make sure there's no sugar added)
1/2 cup coconut milk
4-6 large basil leaves, washed and chiffonaded, plus more for serving
Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

Directions:

Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium heat.
Sautee onion in oil until transparent.
Add garlic and sautee, being sure not to burn it.

Add crushed tomato.
Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes
Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Add coconut milk, starting with 1/4 cup, and mix well.
Continue adding coconut milk until desired level of creaminess.
Add more salt and/or pepper if needed.
Mix in basil.

Variations:

If you prefer a chunkier soup, serve as is.
If you prefer a slightly chunky soup, remove 3/4 cup of soup.  Puree remaining soup with an immersion blender.  Add the reserved 3/4 cup soup back into the pot.
If you prefer a creamier soup, puree the entire pot with an immersion blender.

Serve with basil.

Cauliflower Rice

For the longest time, I wanted to get on the cauliflower rice train.  It seemed like such a great alternative to rice or carby sides with dinner (or lunch).  The problem was that I just didn't like it that much.  Fresh cauliflower?  Love it!  Roasted cauliflower?  Sign me up!  But cauliflower rice was always kinda....blah.  Mush.  Just not my thing.

I learned a few things and this Whole30, I mastered it.  First off, I found that I much prefer the frozen riced cauliflower over the fresh one.  Something about the texture is so much better in my opinion.  I've also learned to prep the fresh one so that it's really tasty, too, but if given the choice, I'd go with the frozen one every time.

My "trick" is adding more than just salt and pepper to it while cooking.  My secret ingredient?  Scallions.  Not a ton, just 2 per bag of (fresh or frozen) cauliflower rice.  If I'm making a Mexican-themed meal, I'll add in some chopped fresh cilantro at the end.

Because it's sometimes hard to find the frozen cauliflower rice (I buy mine at Trader Joe's and they're more often sold out than not) or if you prefer the fresh over the frozen variety, I've included cooking directions for both below.

My Favorite Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients:

1 bag fresh or frozen riced cauliflower
2 scallions, thinly sliced, both white and green parts
salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil (if making with fresh riced cauliflower)
1/4 cup water (if making with fresh riced cauliflower)
Optional: chopped cilanto

Directions:

If making with fresh riced cauliflower:

Heat 1T olive oil in a pan.  
Briefly sautee the scallions.
Add riced cauliflower rice for about 2 minutes.  
Add 1/4 cup of water and cover, allowing to steam for 3-5 minutes.  
If using cilantro, add in and mix.
Remove from pan and place into bowls.

If making with frozen riced cauliflower:

Make cauliflower rice as per directions on bag, adding scallions in the first step when adding the "rice" to the pan.

Spicy Green Chili Pulled Chicken

I made this pulled chicken last Whole30 and was a huge fan.  It was simple, and tasty, and was a super filling meal with tons of leftovers (read: lunch the next day was taken care of).  My hubby loved it, too, but felt that it wasn't spicy enough.  So when making it this time, I went with a spicier green chili salsa.  Honestly, it was a bit too spicy for me, but I served it with some avocado, and the creaminess of the avocado cut the spice nicely.

The original recipe was for a slow cooker, but seeing as we don't have one, I actually made mine in a Dutch oven in the oven.  I cooked it for 1.5 hours, flipping the chicken halfway through.  And then just let it cool a little so you can shred it with your hands (or you could use a fork, but where's the fun in that?)!  It's that easy.  Seriously, super easy.

I serve mine as the original recipe does, over cauliflower rice with some cilantro, avocado, lime, and radishes.  But I think they'd make amazing Whole30 pulled chicken "tacos" -- either wrapped with lettuce leaves or thinly sliced jicama -- or stuffed inside a baked sweet potato!

Pulled Green Chili Chicken
Modified, ever so slightly, from The Real Food Dieticians

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 12 oz jar Salsa Verde (such as Trader Joe's) -- or for a spicier kick, Trader Joe's Hatch Valley Salsa
1 4 ounce can fire roasted green chiles
1/2 tsp ground cumin (I leave this out)
1/2 tsp ground oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cauliflower rice (see my favorite prep here) or lettuce leaves for serving
Fresh cilantro, avocado, lime wedges, salsa radish slices for garnish

Directions:

Place chicken in slow cooker, or if you don't have, into a Dutch Oven.
In a small bowl, combine the salsa, green chiles, cumin, and oregano.
Pour the mixture over the chicken.

If using a slow cooker, place lid on slow cooker and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.
Remove lid and allow chicken to cool slightly before shredding it with 2 forks directly in the slow cooker.
Transfer to serving dish.

If cooking in the oven, cover the Dutch Oven with foil.
Place in an oven that has been preheated to 300F.
Cook for 60-70 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through.  Make sure you check to make sure the chicken is cooked through before removing from the oven.  Larger/thicker pieces will have to cook longer, and I've had to cook mine for as long as 85 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before shredding it.
Transfer to serving dish.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Top with fresh cilantro, avocado cubes, and serve with lime wedges.

Serve with cauliflower rice or in lettuce taco "shells."

Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce

It's no secret that I love meat.  Every once in a while the story comes up about how I wanted to give up red meat in high school like some of my friends, and mom my told me that since I loved the corned beef sandwiches that I ate twice a year, it wasn't worth giving up.  I'm not quite sure how that logic worked with my adolescent brain, but it did, and I've never looked back.

And while I haven't found a Whole30 approved corned beef -- and doubt I ever will -- beef is a big staple of my Whole30 diet.  The first two times around, we'd often have steak and sauteed spinach (with or without a shared baked potato) and the occasional meatballs (my hubby would just make mine without breadcrumbs) for dinner.  This time around I was so excited that I came up with the idea to make meat sauce.

Honestly, meat sauce is nothing new, and I'm sure a bunch of you who've done Whole30 before have made it and it was absolutely delicious.  Neither is spaghetti squash, which I made as a side and also to put under my Whole30 meatballs in the past.  But for some reason, this time, this combination sounded delicious.  I decided to serve it with a Whole30 Caesar salad with prosciutto "croutons," but some spinach sauteed with garlic would work nicely, too!

The added bonus is that there were leftovers....LOTS of them, which is great for using for meals the next day.  Make a bed of spaghetti squash under your avocado and veggies for breakfast, or just have the spaghetti squash and meat sauce for lunch (or dinner) the following day!

Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

1 medium spaghetti squash
1 Tbsp olive oil (or more, if needed)
Salt and pepper

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion (or 1/2 large onion), diced
1-2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/2 T finely grated carrot
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
Olive oil, enough to coat the bottom of two pans
Salt, pepper to taste
Fresh basil
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a baking sheet with foil.
Carefully cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.
Remove the seeds.
Rub the cut edges of the squash and the inner cavity with olive oil.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place the squash on the baking sheet cut side down.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until squash is tender and easy to shred into "spaghetti."
Let cool, and then pull apart squash so that it resembles spaghetti.

Place olive oil in a medium sized frying pan with deep sides over medium heat.
When warm, crumble the meat into the pan.
Mix, stirring to break up the meat into smaller pieces.
Sautee until meat is cooked through.
Remove meat with a slotted spoon and place on a plate (I cover my plate with paper towels but you don't have to).
Set aside.

Add more olive oil, if needed, to coat the bottom of the pan.
Sautee the onions until translucent.
Add garlic and sautee until garlic is soft and pale, do not allow it to burn.
Add tomatoes.
Add shredded carrot, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes, if using.
Mix well.

Keep the sauce on a medium flame and stir occasionally so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Taste, and add more salt, pepper, and chili flakes to your liking.
At this point, you can lower the heat to medium-low.
Add the cooked meat.
Continue cooking until sauce is reduced and thickened (can be anywhere from 30-50 minutes).
Stir in chopped basil, and allow to cook for 5-10 minutes.

Serve sauce on top of a bed of spaghetti squash.

Whole30 Cobb Salad

Sometimes it's not about reinventing the wheel, but rather taking a pre-Whole30 food and making it Whole30 compliant.  Case in point?  The Cobb salad we had for dinner last night.  With just a few tweaks, it becomes Whole30 quite quickly.  Skip the blue cheese and blue cheese dressing, swapping in a creamy Whole30 acceptable dressing (I used Tessemae's creamy ranch dressing, but their creamy Caesar would be a good option, too; or you could -- heaven forbid -- make your own).  Make sure your bacon or turkey bacon is Whole30 compliant.  If you don't roast your own turkey (or chicken), make sure it's compliant, too.  Then?  Eat.  That's all you have left to do!

You could just make bowls of Cobb salad and serve them prepared, or you could do what I did and make a platter of the toppings and serve it next to a big bowl of lettuce like I did.  Definitely a pretty presentation, if I do say so myself.  The only barrier you might run into is that you're non-Whole30 husband eats all the toppings and skips the lettuce entirely!

Whole30 Cobb Salad

Ingredients:

3-4 slices Whole30 compliant bacon or turkey bacon
1 avocado, sliced or cubed
3/4-1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Cooked chicken or Turkey breast, cubed or sliced
2-3 hard boiled eggs, cut into quarters
Lettuce of your choice
Whole30 complaint ranch or Caesar dressing, or homemade if you prefer

Directions:

Cook bacon to your liking.  I like mine crispy, and cooked it in the oven on a rack placed on a baking tray.

While the bacon is cooking, wash and cut the remaining ingredients.

If serving "make your own" style like I did, place ingredients in stripes to make a pretty platter.  Serve with a bowl of lettuce, and dressing on the side.

If serving as a giant tossed salad, place ingredients on top of lettuce in piles.  Dress and toss at the table for a pretty presentation.

Salmon Patties

I made these salmon patties last Whole30 and fell in love with them!  They're honestly a cinch to put together and they work for literally any meal!  I made a batch last night and am so excited to have them for lunch today!

I've had them hot out of the oven for dinner, served with sauteed spinach and some sweet potato.  They're great cold out of the fridge on top of a salad for lunch, or even next to some eggs for breakfast.  I know, I know....it might sound weird to have salmon for breakfast, but hell, I love lox and they're salmon, too!

I adapted these from a recipe I found online, and the first time I made them I made about 2/3 of the recipe.  There weren't enough and I was so sad when I ate the last one!  These are definitely a keeper, and like I said, they'll work for any meal.  Plus, I think they'd be a great appetizer if you made them smaller, perhaps along with my avocado "deviled" eggs?!

The other nice thing is that you can customize these for your taste.  Add some red pepper flakes; sub in almond flour (I ran out last time so I didn't make it with the flour; they were so good that I skipped it this time, too).


Salmon Patties
Adapted slightly from No Crumbs Left

Ingredients:

1 lb salmon, skinned and boned
3/4 cup celery, diced small
3/4 cup onion, diced small
1/2 red pepper, diced small
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning (I didn't have any, so I used a little garlic and onion powders, black pepper, and cayenne pepper)
1 egg, lightly beaten before adding to rest of ingredients
Olive oil or avocado oil, to brush pan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Place salmon in food processor and pulse for only 2 seconds, leaving some texture to the fish.
Place in a bowl and add the celery, onion, and red pepper.
Mix well.
Season with salt and Old Bay.

This mixture can sit in the refrigerator overnight.

When ready to cook, mix in the egg.

Make patties in desired size.  I used an ice cream scooper for uniform size and then pat them so that they were flatter.
Place patties on a foil-lined pan, which has been lightly oiled.
Bake for 8 minutes.
Flip and bake for another 8 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool.

Chipotle Shrimp Taco Bowls

Today was a hot and humid day in NYC and my husband and I decided to get a nice long walk in this morning.  We set out for coffee (I'm a nut and brought pre-measured cashew milk with me), and then we walked and walked and walked.  We stopped somewhere near the middle for a quick bite and to pick up shrimp for dinner, and ended at Whole Foods to get the remainder of what we needed for tonight's dinner (I got the majority of the stuff on yesterday's major Trader Joe's haul).  

I'm so excited about tonight's dinner and have been talking about it all day -- like nearly-all-8-miles-of-our-walk all day.  Honestly, I'm sure my hubby is sick and tired of it already, but secretly I think he's pretty excited, too.  We're going to adapt a Whole30 fish taco bowl recipe I saw online.  I have a few ideas for modifying it: swapping shrimp for the fish, making a little chipotle slaw (a recipe I've been eyeing since Whole30 #2) instead of sliced cabbage, adding some homemade pico de gallo, and subbing in my hubby's award winning guac for the avocado cilantro sauce.  

Honestly, I'm thinking this is going to be a recipe we're going to use on repeat all summer long, even after my Whole30 is over!  I'm sure it would also be so good with pulled salsa verde chicken (the one Whole30 recipe I made during Whole30 #1, which I'm sure I'll be making in the next week or two and will share), with the original fish the recipe called for, or even with grilled steak. 

Update: This dinner was insane!  Both my non-Whole30-ing husband and I loved it!  We each did some prep, and served dinner make-your-own-taco-bowl style.  I even served some watermelon cubes with it to cut the spice from the chipotle in the slaw and the chili powder in the shrimp marinade.

Chipotle Shrimp Taco Bowls

Serves 2 hungry people (we had a few shrimp left over), or 3 people

Modified from The Defined Dish

Slaw adapted from Healthy Little Peach

Ingredients:

For the shrimp

3/4 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 Tbsp olive oil

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

1 tsp chili powder (chipotle chili powder would've been ideal, but we were out of it)

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 - 1 T olive oil, for cooking

For the Pico de Gallo

2 Roma tomatoes

1 slice white onion, 1/4 inch thick

1/2 jalapeno pepper

Salt

Juice of 1/2 lime

For the chipotle lime slaw

2 cups shredded cabbage (I used Trader Joe's bagged organic shredded cabbage with carrots)

3-4 T Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo

1-2 squeezes fresh lime juice

Salt & Pepper to taste

For the bowls

2 cups riced cauliflower

1 T olive oil

1/4 cup water

1/2 jalapeno, sliced thin

3-4 radishes, sliced thin

Guacamole or sliced avocado

1/2 lime, cut into wedges

Chopped cilantro, for topping

Directions:

Make the slaw.  Mix the cabbage with the mayonnaise.  Add salt, pepper, and 1-2 squeezes of lime juice.  Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed.  Cover and put in the fridge.

Make the Pico de Gallo.  Dice the tomato and onion.  Place in a bowl.  Remove the membranes and seeds from half a jalapeno pepper.  Cut into small pieces.  Add to tomato and onion.  Sprinkle with some salt, and juice of 1/2 lime.  Mix together.  Cover and place in the fridge.  

* This makes more Pico then you'll actually need for the taco bowls, but it's so delicious, I don't think you'll complain.

Make the marinade for the shrimp.  Mix together the oil, salt, pepper, juice of 1 lime, oregano, and chili powder.  Mix well.  Place shrimp in bowl and toss to coat.  Marinate for 5-10 minutes, watching closely so that the shrimp don't get "cooked" in the lime juice.  Remove from the marinade and pat dry.

Make the cauliflower rice.  Heat 1T olive oil in a pan.  Sautee cauliflower rice for about 2 minutes.  Add 1/4 cup of water and cover, allowing to steam for 3-5 minutes.  Remove from pan and place into bowls.

In a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, place about 1/2 - 1T olive oil and heat until smoking.  Place the shrimp in the pan, being sure not to crowd them.  Cook for 1 and a half minutes, and then flip.  Cook for an additional 1 and a half minutes.  Place over cauliflower rice.

Prepare bowls by adding the toppings of your choice, but I recommend a little of each.  I skipped the jalapeno slices and some cilantro.