Mojo de Naranja

I should call this "finish your plate sauce". A variation of a traditional Cuban mojo sauce, this garlicy goodness is delicious on everything. Traditionally made with sour oranges, I used sweet Cara Caras from our local farmer's market as well as a few limes and a lemon. Make it, pour it, and finish your plate.

Finish Your Plate Sauce
7 clove of garlic
juice of 2 oranges (about 1/2 cup)
juice of 2 limes
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/8 cup olive oil
1 jalapeno
4-5 tbsp chopped cilantro

Combine the garlic, juices and olive oil in a food processor.
In a pan, bring to a simmer until it begins to reduce.
Add sauce back to food processor and mix in cilantro and jalepeno.
Pour over entire dinner.
Enjoy!


I drenched a plate of grilled skirt steak, grilled lemon cabbage and grilled 'shrooms with this stuff. As you can see, it was horrible. :)

Skillet Chicken with Beets, Olives and Artichoke Hearts

When your lunch is pink, people will ask you about it. This was an easy, delicious and colorful meal that had my coworkers questioning the contents of my Tupperware all week.

Skillet Chicken with Beets, Olives and Artichoke Hearts

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 golden beets

2 red beets

1/2 can of artichoke hearts

1/2 cup of kalamata olives

6 cloves of garlic 

chopped onion

tbsp olive oil

fresh thyme

juice and zest of one lemon

1 cup homemade veggie broth
Salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder

Oven at 425
Get your skillet hot, add oil, onions and garlic. Cook til browning
Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder
Add to skillet, cooking for 4-5 minutes each side. Should be a little brown when flipped
Add lemon zest, beets, veggie broth, olives and artichoke hearts.
Simmer for 5 minutes
Put skillet in oven for 30 minutes
Remove skillet from oven, Add lemon juice and thyme.
Let chicken rest for 5 minutes
I served over sauteed garlic spinach.
Your pink dinner is done!

Homemade Veggie Broth

One of the most eye-opening experiences for me during my Whole 30 journey was the abundance of sugar in my everyday grocery items. I was forced to check labels on everything from salsa to sausage and I found sugar in the oddest of places!! Even organic vegetable broth! Which led me to this great realization. As a vegetable addict, I had all the fixings for the most delicious broth but I was throwing them away. So with the help of a gallon plastic ziplock bag, I began to save my scraps throughout the week. Onion ends, garlic peels, pepper tops, cilantro stems, carrot nubbins, everything went into my plastic bag. At the end of the week, I'd dump the scraps into my soup pot, fill with enough water to cover the veggies, and voila! I'd call this "compost stock" but I don't think it sounds nearly as appetizing...

Homemade Veggie Broth
Bag o'scraps 
Pot of water
Couple of bay leaves if you have them

• Bring to a boil
• Cover and simmer on low for several hours
• Strain out veggies and bottle the broth. 
• Repeat cycle each week!

Even if you have a compost, you could make the broth and then add the boiled veggies to your pile and be even more thrifty!

Chicken Tortilla Soup...

... with no tortillas of course. I was never really the biggest fan of soup. As a "variety of texture" junkie, a bowl of broth-y goodness was just not my thing. This soup is different though. It's chunky and flavorful and topped with a mound of avocado and cilantro. Need I say more? This is my boyfriend's favorite soup and here is the recipe:

Chicken Tortilla(free) Soup - aka Justin's Favorite Soup

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 diced onion

1 diced pasilla pepper

1 chopped red bell pepper

1 diced jalepeno

4-5 minced garlic cloves

Mexican Seasoning ( a heaping 1/2 tsp or more of the following: cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, garlic powder, pepper, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cinnamon)

2 cups oven roasted tomatoes (quartered and tossed with o.oil, 425 degrees for 30-40 minutes - maybe puree one cup and leave 2nd cup chunky, or puree both)

3-4 cups shredded salsa chicken (2-3 chicken breast with 2 cups sugar-free fire roasted salsa, 1.5-2hrs in crockpot on high, shredded with two forks)

4 cups homemade veggie broth*** (see recipe in next post)

2 cups chopped kale

1 diced roasted sweet potato

1/2 cup cilantro

diced avocado (topping)

• Heat oil, add onions til translucent and slightly brown
• Add peppers (pasilla, red, jalepeno) til soft
• Add garlic til tender
• Add all seasonings, stir
• Add tomatoes, cook 3 minutes
• Add chicken and broth
• Bring to boil, turn down to simmer, add kale
• Simmer 10 minutes, add sweet potato and half the cilantro
• Cook 5 more minutes and remove from heat
• Serve topped with remaining cilantro and a mound of avocado
• Yum!

Hope you like it as this recipe makes enough soup for dayssssss :)

Credit goes to The Whole Smiths for the inspiration :)

"Kettlecorn" Bok Choy

Sounds weird, tastes amazing. Make now, ask questions later. Takes about 10 minutes of your time and is unbelievably good. Get ready to join this Chinese cabbage on a trip to the carnival.

Thanks to Bryanna on IG (@wholespirit) via @whole30recipes (which if you are not following, you should be) for the recipe (kind of, I omitted the salt)! She called it Sweet & Salty Seared Bok Choy, I call it...

"Kettlecorn" Bok Choy 

2 bunches of bok choy (sliced in half longways and rinsed)

1 tbsp Coconut oil

2 tsp coconut aminos (let's be serious... I just shook some onto the greens, no idea how much I used)

Heat oil in large pan until sizzling

Add bok choy cut-side down and sear for five minutes

Flip over, sprinkle with coconut aminos and sear for 4 more minutes. 

Enjoy!

I served it with a spaghetti squash stirfry -- roasted squash, mushrooms, onions, spiralized carrots, red and yellow bell peppers, leftover chicken, a bit of sesame oil and coconut aminos and a heavy sprinkle of the Indochina seasoning from The Savory Spice Shop. Join the Savory Rewards Loyalty Club... they send you a free spice of your choosing on your birthday!

Bok Choy has over 70 antioxidants - some know to scavenge free radicals (ie. cancer prevention). It is an anti-inflammatory and is chock full of nutrients. Start heating up your pan and make this dish!

Lemon Herb Chicken Thighs with Jicama Hash Cakes

While many of the recipes I come across use chicken thighs  I always shied away and substituted their whiter, leaner friend (the breast). Though higher in fat, I recently read that the darker meat may contain more nutrients (zinc, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, vitamins B6 and B12, amino acids, and iron - to name a few). So I took the plunge, bought the thighs and am never looking back. Please try this dish!

Also, my wonderful Grandma recently gave me all of her herbs (thanks Grandma!) before she travels up north for the summer - hence the abundance of herbs in the following meal. 

Lemon Herb Chicken Thighs

6-8 thighs

2 spoonfuls of coconut oil

2 tbsp thyme

1 tbsp oregano

3 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp almond meal/flour

Oven at 400 degrees

Mix the chicken together with all ingredients (except almond meal). 

Once well coated in oil and herbs, toss in almond meal. 

Arrange thighs on cookie sheet covered in foil. 

Bake for 35 minutes. 

Broil on high for 2 minutes. 

Remove and scarf down immediately. 

But first, make this to serve along side these luscious thighs.

Jicama Herb Hash Cakes

Jicama (grated)- about 2-3 cups

1 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp chopped basil and chives

spoonful of coconut oil

With your hands, mush together the jicama and the herbs. Get into it, give it a good massage.

Coat pan in oil.

When hot, add jicama mixture (squeezing out most of the 'juice' before adding to pan)

Mix jicama with oil and then let cook for 5 minutes.

Flip and cook for 5 more minutes

With a large spoon, scoop mixture onto cookie sheet and press down flat (cookie sized)

Broil for 5 minutes

Serve under chicken thigh. Amazing!

The salad on the plate is just two roasted and chopped beets tossed with an 8X8 pan of roasted carrots (baked at 400 for 30 minutes with 2 tbsp spicy brown mustard and splash of olive oil), squeeze of 1/2 lemon and tbsp cilantro (I'd have used more cilantro but I was out - Cilantro was fortunately not one of the plants Grandma gifted me). 

Many thanks to The Castaway Kitchen for the inspiration!

General Tso's Eggplant

Recipe I based this off of was for chicken but there were these cute little eggplants on sale at the grocery store and I had to buy them. My boyfriend also doesn't particularly care for eggplant so, voila! Eggplant General Tso's was created (and loved by all)! 

Eggplant General Tso's

8 small Asian eggplant - cubed

Tossed with 3/4 cup tapioca flour (I didn't measure, but enough to coat eggplant)

Heat a large scoop of coconut oil and fry eggplant until crispy and starting to brown (6ish minutes each side) 

Meanwhile, heat up the following for a sauce. 

1/2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp sesame oil

2 heaping tbsp of Tessamaes ketchup

3 tbsp coconut aminos

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp grated garlic

1/2 tsp minced ginger 

1 tsp coconut flour (to thicken)

Once eggplant is fried and sauce is hot and bubbly, toss together. Serve over cauliflower rice or zoodles (zucchini noodles) and top with green onion. Delish!! Can't wait to try this recipe with chicken. 

Thai Basil Meatballs with Asian Almond Dipping Sauce

Thai Basil Meatballs 

1.25 lb ground turkey

1.5 cups basil (finely chopped or I put in food processor)

2 cloves garlic (minced or grated)

1 tbsp grated ginger 

1 tsp onion powder

4oz of compliant curry paste (red or green - I used red) if can't find, use 2-3 tbsp of curry powder

1 tbsp coconut aminos

1/2 tsp of fish sauce (most have sugar - red boat is the only brand I have found without. If you can't find, sadly omit)

1/4 tsp salt

Oven at 375

Combine all ingredients

Roll meatballs into small clementine size, place on coconut oil greased dish (or lined with foil or parchment)

Bake for 20 minutes

Serve on cauliflower rice or broccoli slaw with the following dipping sauce

Asian almond dipping (more like smothering) sauce (great as salad dressing too!)

1/2 cup almond butter (you'll have leftovers, but like I said, good salad dressing)

2 tbsp coconut aminos

1 tbsp red chili flakes

1 tbsp sesame oil

5 tbsp water

I added a 1/2 of chili powder to increase the heat 

Mix (or shake - I put in mason jar) and enjoy!