The fabulous Melissa Joulwan, Whole9 Envoy Extraordinaire, author of The Clothes Make the Girl and  Pop Candy trading card vixen, has ventured once again into the bright lights of stardom.  Her new cookbook, Well Fed,  features more than 115 mouth-watering recipes from every corner of the world.  But Well Fed is more than just a cookbook – it’s the definitive resource for every Paleo chef (and aspiring chef).

In Well Fed, you will find all the practical details you’ll need to jump headfirst into a Good Food lifestyle, including a sample shopping list and step-by-step instructions for planning and cooking your meals.  (And the foreword is practically Paleo-Pulitzer prize-worthy. Yes, it’s worth the price of admission all by itself. No, we’re not biased.)  Finally, this book is gorgeous.  Coffee-table-worthy, don’t you dare spill chimmichurri on it, leave it out on the counter for all to see gorgeous. 

Want some more details?  We’ve been following the creation of Well Fed from Day One, so we can absolutely give you details.

Getting Down to Basics

Well Fed includes a comprehensive “No List” that quickly details which ingredients you’ll not find inside – and why. But that list is quickly followed by an expansive “Yes List”, which gives a great visual representation of all of the foods you will be eating during your healthy eating transformation.  This simple, detailed “Yes List” quickly and effectively takes the focus off of what you won’t be eating, and gets you excited about all of the new and delicious foods you’ll soon be featuring on your plate.

But knowing what to eat is only the first step in the process.  Knowing how to eat, in a way that fits your busy life, kitchen experience and culinary skills, is another matter altogether.  But don’t worry – Well Fed’s got you covered! Thanks to Joulwan’s expert kitchen management skills and the detail she’s included in this cookbook/handbook,  you’ll no longer find yourself stuck in Good Food Jail, chained to your stove (and dishwasher) to ensure you’re well fed.  She shows you, step-by-step, exactly how to properly prepare enough food for the week – without turning your kitchen into the set of I Love Lucy.

And finally, this cookbook, and the delicious meals contained within its pages is food that you (or we, or anyone) can actually cook.  No French, $3,000 kitchen appliance or dictionary of cooking terms required.  (We know that’s a standard line when it comes to cookbooks, but this it’s true – we swear on Julia Childs.)  The recipes in Well Fed will make you appear as a culinary genius to your Doubting Paleo family and friends – just remember to hide the cookbook-evidence. (You know, smoke and mirrors and such).

Around The World In Whole30 Days

Once you own a copy of Well Fed, you officially lose all right to complain about “boring” food.  Joulwan’s recipes will take you around the world without the cost of airfare or the smell of sweaty strangers on a bus. Sri Lankan curry sauce, Czech meatballs, Scotch eggs – oh the places you’ll go! Cook your way from the Far East to the East Coast, stopping everywhere of culinary importance along the way, without compromising the standards you’ve worked hard to define in your diet.

And the best part – these recipes will take you all the way through your Whole30 – and back.  Well Fed details enough 100% Whole30-approved recipe creations to provide you with enough breakfasts, lunches and dinners to last the duration of your program – with a few “repeats” thrown in for your favorite meals. (Seriously, there’s only ONE recipe in Well Fed that’s not Whole30 approved.  Just one!  And it’s so amazingly delicious, we couldn’t fault her for giving it to you.)

Family Ties

As if the great resources and Whole30-approved recipes weren’t enough to sell you, here’s what we love most about Well Fed: Joulwan’s family stories.  Scattered throughout the book, her tales of cooking with her parents, learning from her Dad and creating new dishes together shines a bright and poignant light on what food really means to us.

A common theme around here (the Whole9 community) is the social, familial and cultural value of food. For most of us, food is a connecting point, a medium through which our lives touch and overlap the lives of those around us. The smells and tastes of the foods around us are inexorably linked to the memories we’ve created and the traditions we’ve built.  Joulwan beautifully and poignantly illustrates how you can take the rich heritage that food has given your family, the food that feeds your soul, and make it applicable to the new way you have chosen to feed your body.

Get Well Fed!

Thanks to the fabulous Melissa Joulwan, there is absolutely no reason for you to ever complain that Paleo food is boring again – and not to buy your own copy of Well Fed (and several to give away as gifts).  This more-than-a-cookbook book has the potential to revolutionize your food-life, is Whole9/Whole30 endorsed and probably also has superpowers. (But we can’t vouch for that…officially.)

Bon appétit, friends!

Melissa Joulwan’s Well Fed can be purchased in print or e-book format through The Clothes Make the Girl storefront.  You can also download a free PDF sampler with kitchen tips and sample recipes.

First, we aren’t encouraging anyone to do a Whole30 program during the holidays.  (And Melissa has an article coming out in the November/December edition of Paleo Magazine explaining the three reasons why taking on a Paleo challenge during the holiday season may not be a healthy undertaking.)  However, all of these dishes are Whole30 compliant, because (a) everything in our Steal This Meal series meets those standards, (b) this is a good opportunity to show your family and friends that your dietary choices are both satisfying and delicious and delicious, (c) we wanted to provide an alternative for for those of you who simply cannot eat conventional flour, dairy or other ingredients in “traditional” Thanksgiving dishes.

Finally, let’s get this out of the way right now.  You know we wouldn’t normally promote “Paleo-ifying” a poor food choice (like bread-laden stuffing or sugar-drenched cranberry sauce).  But in the once-a-year case of a family-centric, culturally significant holiday like Thanksgiving, we believe it’s okay to recreate a dish that is reminiscent of what we used to eat.  Recreating a Whole30-friendly stuffing for an annual family dinner is not the same thing as justifying your “healthy” Paleo pancakes every morning for breakfast!  (But you already knew that.)

One last note :  These recipes aren’t designed to taste just like the original.  That would be impossible, and disappointing for your guests.  Instead, we encourage you to present these Whole30 dishes as alternatives – traditional Thanksgiving fare with a twist.

Steal This Meal:  Whole9 Thanksgiving “Stuffing”

This dish serves 8-10.  We’ve used extra-lean ground beef and soaked walnuts, along with traditional spices and herbs, to give this “stuffing” the same feel and flavor as the original bread-based dish.  Note, the extra-lean ground beef is the key – buy the leanest available.  This will keep the stuffing from tasting too much like, well… ground beef, as much of the beef flavor is carried in the fat.  This is best right out of the oven, and it smells just like the dish Dallas’ Mum makes.  We thought it delicious, and the perfect accompaniment to turkey.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound extra-lean ground beef (we used the 95% lean, organic, grass-fed beef from Whole Foods)
• 2 cups walnut pieces, very finely chopped/ground and soaked overnight (rinse several times before using)
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 4 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 apple, cored and finely diced (we used a Minnesota Honeycrisp)
• Several springs of fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, and marjoram (poultry mix), finely chopped
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp sea salt

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Chop all the veggies, the apple, and herbs.
• Saute the beef and celery for 3-4 minutes on medium heat, making sure that the beef gets broken up into really small pieces as it cooks.  (Big chunks are not very stuffing-like!)  We used a big saucepan for this, as we didn’t want the contents to overflow once everything was mixed.
• Add the onion and apple, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Add the herbs, garlic powder, walnuts, and salt, and mix thoroughly. The beef should NOT be totally cooked at this point – there should still be some pink.
• Pull everything out of the pan, and dump it into a 9×13 baking pan (or two 6×9 pans), and bake uncovered at 375 for 30 minutes.  Serve hot from the oven.

We couldn't believe how much this looked - and smelled - like real stuffing!

Steal This Meal: Whole9 Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce

Serves 8-10.  While we normally don’t recommend using fruit juice or dried fruit as a substitute for sugar, some added sweetness was necessary to offset the serious tartness of the fresh cranberries.  We’re okay with figs and apple juice as a sub for sugar in a special occasion dish like this.  However, make sure your guests know that our more traditional sauce is still pretty tart in flavor!  The flavors do meld with time, and this sauce tastes even better the second day – which means you can make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge.  This was so amazingly good, we put it on everything this week – eggs, baked Alaskan cod, even our burgers.

Ingredients:

• 2 – 12 oz bags of fresh (not frozen) cranberries
• 1 cup of 100% pure apple juice (no added sugars)
• 1 large navel orange, washed
• 10 dried black mission figs, very finely chopped (make sure you cut the stems off)
• A dash or two of each: nutmeg, allspice, ground cloves

Directions:

• Place the cranberries, apple juice, figs, spices, and ½ cup of water into a covered saucepan on medium heat.
• Bring the mixture to a low boil for 10 minutes (until the cranberries “pop”), and turn down to low heat. Simmer (still covered) for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Squeeze the juice from the orange into the sauce, and finely grate the orange zest (use the whole orange peel!) into the saucepan.
• Keep on low heat (simmer) for another 15 minutes. Store in airtight container in fridge until ready to use.  Serve cold for the best flavor.

Delicious and pretty on your plate, our cranberry sauce is sure to be a hit!

Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

Submitted by Kathleen Dusebout

Whole9 Note:  There are a million turkey recipes out there, but we liked this one because it’s perfect for a smaller gathering, and it won’t tie up your oven for the whole day, which means you aren’t juggling the main course, vegetable side dishes and desserts in and out of one appliance.

Ingredients:

• 1 bone-in turkey breast (can do two if you have a large slow cooker-  just double the seasoning ingredients)
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 Tbs. dried parsley

Directions:

Place turkey breast(s) in crock pot.  Sprinkle on the paprika; this will give it a nice, golden color.  Then sprinkle on the garlic powder and parsley.  Cook on LOW for 8 hours.  If you are making two turkey breasts so you have plenty of leftovers, cook on LOW for 9-10 hours.  (Note, there is no liquid added to the recipe – although some water will accumulate in the bottom of your cooker.)  Place turkey breast(s) on cutting board and immediately cover tightly with foil for 15 minutes.  Slice and serve!

Slow cooker turkey breast

Warm Spinach, Prosciutto, & Pistachio Salad

Submitted by Amanda Langowski

Amanda’s Note:  both are family favorites, and the best part is they are super simple!  This is especially nice when you have a million other things to worry about on Turkey day.

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces fresh baby spinach
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 ounces sliced prosciutto, chopped into little squares (1/2 inch)
• 1/2 cup shelled & salted pistachios
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive or coconut oil
• 1 lemon

Directions:

Add the olive oil to a pan on medium-high heat. Once it is warm, thrown in the garlic and saute until it gets a little bit soft.  Add the prosciutto, cook until it’s crispy. Turn the pan’s temperature to low. Add the spinach a bit at a time; as it starts to wilt, add another handful, turning and mixing often. You want the spinach lightly wilted, not completely cooked down. Once wilted, take it out of the pan, place in a serving bowl and squirt with lemon.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Squash, and Cranberries

by Ruth Sakya

Ruth’s Note:  This recipe represents so much of who I’ve become – not only a change in the ingredients, but how I respect and treat the food.  It features two veggies I used to avoid like the plague:  Brussels sprouts and squash.  I now think squash is sweet…when did this happen?

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash
• 1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts
• 1-1/2 cups fresh cranberries
• 2/3 to 1 cup duck fat (melted), or other appropriate fat of your choice
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.   Remove skin, membrane, and seeds (reserve for future use) from squash.  Cut squash into cubes.  Trim and halve Brussels sprouts. Combine squash, sprouts, and cranberries in a large baking dish (or split into two if you don’t have a really large pan).  Sprinkle salt on top and then add duck fat.  Stir to combine. Place baking dish in the oven for 25 minutes or until the veggies are beginning to brown, stirring once or twice.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and cook another 25-30 minutes until the veggies (especially the brussels sprouts) are cooked to desired tenderness.  Serve warm and enjoy!

Roasted Brussels sprouts, squash and cranberries

Squash and sweet potato bake

Submitted by Amber Daniels (http://mountainstrength.com)

Amber’s Note:  Try to keep your relatives away when it comes out of the oven, this stuff is hot out of the oven, but it smells good !  Other recipes like this call for brown sugar, but really, that’s ridiculous. There’s so much sugar in the squash and sweet potato that it’s just not necessary.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 c coconut oil (melted)
• 1 large (around 1lb size) sweet potato
• 1 small (around 1-1.5 lb size) acorn, butternut or other favorite squash.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Coat the bottom of a 10×10 dish with some of the coconut oil.  Peel and cube the sweet potato.  Peel, halve, clean and cube the squash.  Place both in the dish and pour the rest of the coconut oil over the squash. Sprinkle the cinnamon and nutmeg over the top, mix it all up, and cover it with foil.  Bake for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Roasted Beets and Pistachio Butter

Submitted by Amanda Langowski

Amanda’s Note:  Can you tell we love pistachios!?  We just make huge batches and have them as a side dish with pretty much anything.  These are great leftover, so don’t be afraid of having too much.

Ingredients:

• 4 large beets – red, golden, or both.  (1-2 beets per person)
• 1/2 cup shelled & salted pistachios
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375 F and arrange a rack in the middle. Rinse and scrub the beets, cutting off any leaves or little roots.  Rub them with 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil, place them in a pan and cover with aluminum foil.  Roast until tender and you can easily pierce with a knife; this will take about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool.

While they are cooling, make your pistachio butter.  Using a food processor, add 1/2 cup pistachios and pulse until they are finely ground.   Then drizzle in olive oil – start with 1 tablespoon.  Alternate adding 1 tsp water and 1 tsp olive oil until you get a really creamy texture, much like a very soft butter.  If it gets too thin for your liking add in some more ground pistachios.  (Note, I sometimes double the “butter” recipe, because it goes so quick!)

Once the beets are cool, remove the skins – they should come right off.  Slice the beets in chunks, and sprinkle with a little bit of olive oil to make them glossy.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve the beets with the pistachio butter for dipping or spreading.   One last note – you could make the beets the day before and let them chill in the fridge.  Just take them out and warm them up a bit before serving and dressing.

Coconutty Butternut Squash

Submitted by Lisa Glenn

Lisa’s Note:   We’ve already had thanksgiving here in Canada and I must say I felt like death afterward.  I’m excited to see how everyone does with your Whole30 Thanksgiving!  Here is a recipe for a dish I had at a client’s house this past weekend. It was delicious – almost felt like a “cheat”!

Ingredients:

• 1 Large butternut squash
• 1 Can coconut milk
• 2-3 cups chicken broth (“Imagine” brand from Whole Foods is Whole30 approved – other brands, read your labels!)
• Dash of salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Peel and cut the butternut squash into cubes.  Add 2 cups of chicken broth, bring to a boil, simmer until fork tender.  Drain off 1 cup of the broth and add in coconut milk (about half of a cup; more if needed).  Add a dash of salt and pepper and a teaspoon of cinnamon.  Blend in a blender or with a hand mixer – the texture should resemble mashed potatoes.    Serve warm, with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top.

Root Vegetables with Cinnamon Walnuts

by Maria Fisher

Whole9 Note: This is one of our favorite vegetable submissions, sure to please even the pickiest Thanksgiving guest.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs assorted root vegetables, peeled and diced
• 1 c apple cider (no added sugar)
• 3 tblsp coconut butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix together cider, 2 tblsp coconut butter, salt and pepper in a 9×13-inch baking pan.  Add root vegetables, mixing until coated.  Cover with foil.  Bake 20 minutes, uncover and stir vegetables. Leave uncovered and continue cooking, stirring every 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender – about 1 hour more.

While the vegetables are cooking, place walnuts in a cast iron skillet and cook over low heat, stirring frequently to avoid scorching walnuts.  Remove from heat and add coconut butter, cinnamon and, if desired, a pinch of salt.  Stir until walnuts are coated.  Spread on a plate or cookie sheet to allow walnuts to cool slightly.  When vegetables are finished, transfer to serving dish and sprinkle with the cinnamon walnuts.

Apple “Pumpkin” Pie

by Pamela Barlett

Pamela’s Note:  This recipe uses the natural sweetness of the apples and yams to let you have a traditional pumpkin pie without the sugar.

Ingredients – Crust:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp salt

Ingredients – Pie Filling:

• 2 to 3 Apples (We recommend Honeycrisp, since they are on the slightly sweeter side)
• 1 3/4 cup steamed and pureed yam/sweet potato
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 nutmeg
• 2 beaten eggs
• 3/4 cup coconut milk

Directions:

For the crust:  Throughly mix all ingredients together except for the coconut flour. Add the coconut flour in and mix well to form dough. Knead dough for ~1 minute.  Roll dough out between sheets of wax paper until it’s big enough to fit the pie dish. In my experience transferring the pie crust usually results in it falling apart to some extent, so just plan on patching it up a little bit once you’ve transferred it.

For the filling:  Thinly slice, peel and core apples. Coat with cinnamon and stir. Set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine yam, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.  Beat in eggs gently until just combined. Slowly add coconut milk until combined.

Layer apple slices and pumpkin filling in the pie dish. Bake in a 375 oven for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cranberry Waldorf Salad

Submitted by Melissa Joulwan, The Clothes Make the Girl

Meliss’s Note: My mom has been making this Cranberry Waldorf Salad for as long as I can remember.   The original called for 1/2 cup white sugar, a bag of miniature marshmallows, and a whole container of Cool-Whip!  So I put on my Whole30 hat, replaced the Cool-Whip with coconut milk, made dried apricots stand in for the white sugar, and eliminated the marshmallows altogether.  The best part – it tastes as good as I remembered! I’m thrilled that this taste of tradition can be on our table this year.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag fresh (whole) cranberries
• 16 dried apricots
• 1 lb. seedless grapes, cut in half
• 2 apples, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

This salad works best if you do the prep, then let it sit overnight. Put your mixing bowl and beater in the freezer, and place the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator. Wash the cranberries. Place them in the food processor with the dried apricots and grind them until the mixture has the consistency of relish. In a large bowl, toss the cranberries with the cut apples and grapes. Cover tightly and place in the refrigerator so they can get to know each other. Forget about them until the next day.

On Thanksgiving morning when you’re ready to assemble the salad, put the can of coconut milk in the freezer for 10 minutes while you chop the pecans.Take the bowl and beater out of the freezer, pour the chilled coconut milk into the bowl, add the vanilla extract, and beat the mixture on the highest speed of your mixer until it looks like whipped cream. This takes about 5-7 minutes. Marvel at the creaminess!  When the cream is done, add the nuts to the fruit mixture, and gently fold in the whipped cream. Garnish with whole cranberries and nuts.

Melissa Joulwan's Crandberry Waldorf Salad

As always, if you’d like to contribute your best Whole30-approved recipe creation, send your Steal This Meal entry (along with photos and YOUR Whole30-inspired story!) to recipes@whole9life.com.  (Want to see our other Steal This Meal selections?  Just  select “Recipes” from the category list on our sidebar.)

For those of us not from the south, what are “comfort foods?”

J:  My perspective is actually quite different than Charles’, which allowed our book to take all kinds of interesting angles. Yes, we Yankees have “comfort foods” too. It ain’t just a Southern thang! As a girl who spent her first 18 years north of the Mason Dixon line, “comfort foods” were those meals cooked at home by mom, where we said a blessing around the table, and had a family meal that wasn’t a Hungry Man special.  Pretty much every recipe here has some kind of story or memory associated with it for us, and we’ve tried to share those throughout the book. Perhaps the deeper meaning of the word comfort – especially to those on a paleo path – would be foods that make your insides feel comfortable vs.  irritated, gassy, bloated, etc.  (Ohhhhh, deep intestinal thoughts….)

C:  They are those classic go-to meals that tend to get eaten when you are needing a pick me up, or wanting to celebrate big time.  Southern food is typically associated with “comfort” for several reasons, in my opinion.  The culture in the south is one of laid-back folks enjoying life.  It only seems fitting that our recipes instill a sense of ease and comfort when eaten.  Another reason is that the food is usually very rich, with lots of FAT (bacon, lard, butter).  So the good news here is twofold: 1) get the bad stuff out (grains/legumes), and 2) use the right fats to keep that richness flowing.

What is more comforting – your recipe book or a Snuggie?

J: I refuse to comment on that S word. I think they are worse than the Jersey Shore (the TV show, not the actual place, where I have gone many a time).

C: our food is so good, about the only thing you’ll want to use the Snuggie for is an oversized napkin or an undersized tablecloth

What ONE recipe is the most representative of your concept?

J: I think it would have to be the fried chicken on the cover of our book. My family would eat fried chicken every 4^th of July up at the community-wide picnic. I have vivid memories of the smell of oil and chicken frying at home in preparation for that. And what isn’t comforting about fried chicken?!?

What was the most challenging southern dish to recreate?

C: I would start with mac & cheese.  There is NO way to do it – which is why it isn’t even in the book.  That said, second place would probably be fried chicken. It is such a southern staple.  That puts a ton of pressure on the chef if you are trying to compete with a recipe that uses flour.  We nailed it.  Our recipe tastes amazing and you don’t feel all that gut irritation when you’re done.

J: While biscuits weren’t particularly challenging, it did require a considerable reframing of expectations. You simply cannot make the lightweight, fluffy, flaky biscuits with almond and coconut flour like you can with real flour. However, for those people who just cannot tolerate gluten at all (like Robb Wolf, who wrote the foreword for our book), this is a decent substitute so that they can still have something. For those with kids, it’s also a good way to make breakfast sandwiches for the kids (with some eggs, maybe sausage).

What was your biggest Kitchen Fail?

C: It was our first photo session with Grizz and we were frantically putting meals together and getting photos done.  I forgot I had spare ribs on the smoker and overcooked them a bit.  We plated them anyway and took photos…then I spent the next two weeks having nightmares about my crappy ribs showing up in our cookbook.  Needless to say, redemption came at our next photo session when I made Grizz shoot them again. 

Let’s talk about your book’s food-porn. We mean, photos.

J: There’s this dude. His name is Mark “the Grizz” Adams, and he’s amazing. None of us are professional food stylists, but Grizz might have a new vocation as one. He has an artist’s eye, and was able to help make our food look almost as good on paper as it does in person. And yes, there is a picture for every single recipe! Grizz is also just an awesome dude to be around, and so much fun. We’re going to embarrass him now, and share a video clip that shows why we think he’s a pretty rocking dude and that he has way too much spare time on his hands. (PS – he shaved that ZZ top beard year before last, but it’s why we call him Grizz.)

C: I would say that one of the things we are MOST proud of is that if you were standing in the room when any of our pictures were shot…you could have eaten the food right off the plate. No tricks or gimmicks. We didn’t use hairspray, motor oil or a blow torch with any of our food (a common method in food photography).

What is your philosophy on “healthy eating”, and how is that reflected in your cookbook?

J: Specifically, we like proteins (from sources with a soul and a face) that come from farmers you know, who are raising their animals the way they should be raised (natural habitats), hormone free, etc. Vegetables and fruits that are in season, and local (when possible), and organic too (if you can). Fats – we aren’t fat phobic. We love fat. Fat makes us happy. Fat doesn’t make us fat.

In terms of the recipes in the book, we were cognizant that some people have really strict standards. Yes, we use some things that have an ingredient or two in them (gluten-free Worcestershire sauce, prepared mustard, etc.). But there is NO gluten in the book. The only dairy we use is bit of butter in a few recipes – grass-fed and clarified is preferable. The only added sugar is a bit of honey in a few recipes, though many times it’s optional. The only legume we use is green beans, though in the beef stew recipe they are optional. For the recipes that use alcohol for cooking, we give you ideas for substituting. Those recipes have a “disclosure” added that pertains to how strict you want to be.

C: I also think precaution should be taken when putting recipes out to the masses. Yes, we have dessert recipes in our book.  That is NOT an open invitation to go eat our lemon squares every day for lunch.  

How long will it take people to prepare an average meal from your cookbook?

J: The active work time in most of our recipes is pretty minimal. Many of our recipes are ones where you’re chopping, slicing and dicing, then letting it all cook in the oven or on the stove. I’d say the average active work time for most is under 30 minutes.

Do your dogs eat Paleo too?

C&J:  Buzz and Phoenix are the two cutest, spaz-tastic dogs in the world, and yes, they eat paleo. We started with Buzz.  He is our English Bully and was tipping the scales around 70 lbs. two years ago.  We did a little reading and decided to throw him on a raw food diet (mostly chicken and pork).  We saw such tremendous results (weight loss, eyes cleared up, more energy) that we converted Phoenix, our Labradoodle, to the diet also. Because we’re always seeing people before and after photos, let’s show you Buzz:

How is your book different from other Paleo recipe books?

J:  I think the biggest difference is that ours takes many common comfort foods and prepares them in a paleo-adapted way – not to mention the rocking photos we have for every single recipe, courtesy of Grizz. But make no mistake – this is a cookbook. We don’t try to explain to you why we think grains are not-so-great, nor do we go into insulin/glucagon stories. We’ll leave that to you all at Whole9.

C: Several things.  1) We managed to pull this thing off while working our full time jobs and also coaching classes at our gym regularly.  So, I would say that the ease of implementation factor is pretty high.  If we can cook, write about, and photograph these recipes with the limited time we have…most folks should be able to cook them no problem.   2) We don’t have some fancy-schmancy kitchen. Single oven, four burners and limited counter space.  So, whether you have a sprawling kitchen in your mega mansion or a cramped apartment in Manhattan, you can rest assured that our recipes have a place in your house.

How will you know Paleo Comfort Foods has been a success?

C & J: Honestly, the feedback is the most amazing part.  We have heard from so many people about the impact paleo has had on their life.  It is so rewarding knowing that we are bringing a book to the shelves that gives people choices when it come to making delicious healthy food.  Oh… and a New York Times bestseller would be kinda cool.   The more the paleo movement gets out in the mainstream like that, the more powerful it becomes. Having a bestseller in our corner would just lend more credibility to the paleo/primal movement and hopefully open more doors for us to keep spreading the word.

Hey Charles, what’s the hottest thing Jules has ever said to you in the kitchen?

C: “Don’t worry honey, I’ll do the dishes…”

So Jules, what’s the hottest thing Charles has ever said to you in the kitchen?

J: “Meat is on the smoker.” Or, alternately, “I bought dry scallops…” I joke that I’d do anything for scallops, but only dry scallops. Plus, that just sounds a lot cleaner than, “Your meat is delicious,” which usually follows him saying he’s cooking meat on the smoker.

Pre-orders on Amazon help the publisher determine how many books to release in their initial print run. Make sure you get yours hot off the press (ETA September 12th!) by ordering your copy of Paleo Comfort Foods on Amazon today.

This weekend, we had the pleasure of attending (and catering!) the wedding of Ken Mather and Debbie Hartwig (Dallas’ Mum). Debbie is both a Whole30 success story and devoted advocate for our Good Food movement, and wanted her wedding to reflect her healthy eating habits. She asked us to design the menu for the event, specifically requesting that all the dishes – even dessert – be grain, legume and dairy-free. And as the event was a true family affair, we ended up preparing two of the three dishes for the wedding ourselves!

The dishes – a chilled mango gazpacho, the “best fajitas” recipe from our site and a chocolate mole brownie – were a huge hit with the guests, most of whom didn’t even realize they were eating pretty typical “Paleo” fare. The brownies were the highlight of the meal, a delicous combination of sweet and spicy that perfectly complimented the coolness of the vanilla bean coconut ice cream. (Dallas cobbled the recipe together from a variety of Paleo and traditional brownie recipes we found on line, and we baked five test batches to be sure we got the proportions right. We’re a little sick of brownies right now – but they were delicious.)

We thought we’d share our recipes and the dishes here with you today, as a testament the delicious nature of Whole9-inspired food for even the most formal of occasions. Thank you to Chef Nick, Becca and Stacey for presenting these dishes so beautifully. And congratulations to Ken and Debbie – best wishes for a life of love, happiness and health.

Chilled Mango Gazpacho

Serves 4-6

Preparation:

• Buy some kind of vegetable chopper (like this one from Williams Sonoma), because it has been scientifically proven to speed up your cooking prep time by 72%.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of 1/4-inch-diced fresh (ripe) mangoes
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup orange juice (no pulp)
• 1 seedless cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 sweet onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

• Process mango, EVOO and orange juice in a blender or food processor until pureed. Transfer to a medium bowl, along with remaining ingredients.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (Can be made ahead of time – it’s even better the next day.)
• Serve in a bowl (as a traditional soup). Top with fresh basil or cilantro and enjoy!

The Best Chicken Fajitas You’ll Ever Eat

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1.5 – 2 lbs. of “pastured” organic chicken breast
• 1 medium jicama (peeled and sliced into strips)
• 1 red bell pepper (sliced into strips)
• 1 orange bell pepper (sliced into strips)
• 1 yellow bell pepper (sliced into strips)
• 1 large sweet onion (sliced into strips)
• 2 heads of Bibb or Butter lettuce
• Cumin, chili powder, freshly ground black pepper (liberal amounts of each)
• Sea salt to taste
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro (chopped)

Directions:

• Trim and pound chicken with a meat tenderizer until all slices are a consistent thickness.
• Heat 1-2 tbsp of coconut oil in a pan (medium-high heat).
• Once the oil is hot, mix spices together and sprinkle half directly into the pan.
• Throw chicken on top of the spices, and sprinkle the other half of the spice mixture on top of the chicken.
• Allow each side to blacken and sear (about 1 minute) before flipping.
• When chicken is done, remove from pan and transfer to cutting board to slice into strips.
• In the same hot pan (with leftover spices), sauté the peppers and onions.
• Use the spatula to scrape blackened spices off the bottom of the pan, stir them right in with the veggies.
• When pepper and onion mixture is cooked to desired tenderness (3-5 minutes), remove from pan and transfer to serving dish.
• Fill the bottom of your plate with large leafs of lettuce. Pile hot peppers, onions and chicken on top.
• Serve with fresh guacamole and salsa, garnish with sliced jicama and freshly chopped cilantro.

Chocolate Mole Brownies

Serves 9-12

Brownie Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond butter (smooth, unsalted)
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (organic, Fair Trade preferred)
• 3.5-4 oz coarsely chopped dark chocolate (85%, organic, Fair Trade preferred)
• 1/2 cup demerara or turbinado sugar
• 2/3 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts
• 2 Tbsp real maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp finely ground dark roast coffee
• 1 Tbsp ground chimayo chile
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder 

Spicy Dusting Ingredients:

• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp chimayo chile
• 3 tsp cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Chop and toast hazelnuts until lightly browned.  Set aside.
• Chop dark chocolate into small chunks (about the size of chocolate chips).  Set aside.
• Combine all ingredients, mix by hand until consistency is smooth.
• Pour into a greased 9×9 pan.
• Bake for 25 – 30 minutes.  Allow to cool completely.
• Slice into squares and serve with a scoop of coconut milk vanilla bean ice cream.
• Sprinkle with spicy dusting, garnish with orange zest.

So we’ve been on the hunt for cookbooks that meet our ridiculously high standards.  We quickly realized there are a lot of Paleo cookbooks out there – many of which we like – but we recently stumbled across one that we loved so much, we decided to feature it in its very own blog post.

The Paleo Recipe Book is the creation of Sébastien Noël, and features over 370 recipe creations, the vast majority of which are Whole30-friendly.  (That’s a new meal every day for a whole year!)  The downloadable PDF also features detailed narratives designed to help you make better food choices, featuring everything from how to clarify your own (pastured, organic) butter to how to choose the best cuts of (grass-finished) steak.  Read on for our complete review.

Things We Like

The first thing that caught our attention is that almost all of the everyday meals featured here are Whole30 approved – meaning the recipes don’t call for added sugar, grains, dairy or legumes.  (He also recommends substituting chicken broth or beef stock for wine when cooking during your Whole30).   Recipes even use the generic term, “cooking fat” to allow you to make your own healthy fat choices – select butter (post-Whole30), tallow, coconut oil or something else of your choosing.

The second thing we liked is that his recipes will get people out of their cooking comfort zones and encourage them to try new foods.   While the cookbook does include some of the old Paleo stand-bys like meatloaf, chili and chicken fajitas, it also features fresh, exciting dishes like cocoa cinnamon baby back ribs, grilled curried mussels, chicken liver omelette, and mango and salmon tartare.  In addition, there are more than 40 pages dedicated to vegetables and salads – enough to get even the pickiest veggie eater excited about eating their greens. 

The third thing we noticed was that his narratives throughout the cookbook closely mirrored the advice we give to our readers.  The sections between recipes offer customers a wealth of tips and tricks for maximizing food quality and eating as healthfully as possible, and offer timely reminders about making smart choices.  A few select quotes:

“Foods like honey and high amounts of nuts, while sometimes available to our ancestors, can be a source of problems on the diet. We know that most nuts are high in Omega-6 fats…and that honey is very high in sugar, which should be kept to a minimum on a healthy diet.”

“Olive oil is a fat that’s mostly monounsaturated, which makes it a healthy fat. Don’t cook with it, it can burn and oxidize quite easily.  Use it in dressings or drizzle it on top of already cooked meals.”

“Choose a steak that comes from beef that has been grass-fed and grass-finished.  I’d rather choose a grass-fed cut that’s less tender than a tender cut from a grain-fed animal.  Focus on the quality of the meat (first), and then on the quality of the cut itself.”

“These (almond banana pancakes) are delicious, though they are heavy in fruits and nuts – two elements which should be kept to a minimum on the diet. Think of this breakfast or dessert recipe as an occasional treat.”

The Cookbook Cautions

Wait, almond-banana pancakes?  You’ve heard us rail against the Paleo-ification of poor food choices before, so why would we endorse a cookbook with a small section (just 13 recipes) devoted to desserts and sweet treats?  Because you aren’t eating Whole30 all the time.  And we’ve always said that sweet treats are appropriate now and again, as long as they pass your “nutritional off-roading” checklist.   The dessert-y recipes included here are for those occasions when you want to kick up your heels and indulge.  And they come with a strong dose of caution (as you read above), to ensure no one thinks that section of the cookbook is everyday food.  Which we very much appreciate.

Second, we’ll caution folks that not every recipe in the cookbook is Whole30 approved.  You’ll still need to read your ingredients as you read your labels, including appropriate substitutions when necessary and skipping any recipe for which an integral ingredient is on the “do not eat” list.  (This mostly applies to the dessert section of the cookbook, not the everyday meals.  As an example, the very first “everyday” recipe that mentions added sugar is all the way on page 162, and specifies the honey is completely optional.) 

Finally, purchasers of  the Paleo Recipe Book also get a bonus 8-week meal plan – breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack, all laid out in a weekly format.  And while we love the idea of a meal plan for those who need a little extra help planning their week or getting creative with their meals, we don’t love all the breakfasts featured here.  Our MealSimple™ template calls for a complete breakfast (including protein), and some of the breakfast recommendations in the Paleo Recipe Book don’t feature a protein source.  However, it’s easy to sub out a smoothie for a MealSimple™-style breakfast, (or just add your own protein source) – which means the meal plan itself is still a great added value.

The Summary

The Paleo Recipe Book is one of the best Whole30-friendly cookbooks we’ve seen to date – and with over 370 recipes and all the bonus material (including a special guide to herbs and seasonings), an exceptionally good value at $34.  So if you’re in the market for a new Whole30 cookbook, click on over to read more about the Paleo Recipe Book.  Got questions about the recipes, the material or our review?  Post them to comments.

We’re always looking for a way to cram more veggies into breakfast, and kale is one of the most nutrient-dense veggies on our shopping list, so this recipe is a win-win. Thanks to Leigh for the submission.

Steal This Meal: Egg and Kale Breakfast Quiche

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch red kale, chopped (any other variety is fine also)
• 1/2 red (or white) onion, chopped
• 6 mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (1/2 tsp. teaspoon minced garlic)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 8 eggs, beaten well
• 2 tsp. prepared Italian herb rub (or make your own, with sea salt, oregano, dried garlic, dried onion, lemon peel, and chiles)
• a pinch of salt and pepper

Kale, mushrooms, garlic and onion.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Cut off kale stems and discard, then wash kale leaves and dry well.
• Pile kale leaves up on top of each other and cut into strips about 3/4 inch wide, then turn cutting board the other way and cut again so you have squares just under an inch square.
• Chop onion into pieces about 1/2 inch.
• Heat coconut oil in frying pan, then add onions and saute 5 minutes (or until the start browning).
• Add garlic and mushrooms and saute about 3 more minutes, then add kale, turning over as it wilts and sauteeing about 5 minutes, or until kale is significantly wilted and softened.
• Put sauteed vegetables into large mixing bowl and add beaten eggs, and Italian seasoning and salt/pepper. Stir gently until ingredients are well distributed.
• Use a small amount of coconut oil to coat the baking pan, and pour in egg mixture.
• Bake 25 minutes until eggs are well set and the top is lightly browned. Serve hot.

The final dish, perfect for breakfast OR breakfast-for-dinner.

Got a delicious, simple list of ingredients for our next Friday recipe feature? Send your Steal This Meal entry (along with photos and YOUR Whole30-inspired story!) to recipes@whole9life.com. And if you’re looking for more delicious recipe ideas from Whole9 and our readers, just select the Recipe category under the 9 Blog header!

Kass not only passed along her favorite recipe, she also included tips and tricks (in her inimitable style and sass) for getting you back on the healthy bus fast.  Thanks for the write-up, Kass!

Steal This Meal:  Feed a Cold

by Kassandra McKenzie, CrossFit South Arlington

Imagine this: you’re humming along your everyday life, eating Paleo and just living the dream when BAM! You’re hit with the black plague. This could be the flu, strep throat, cold, whatever — the bottom line is that you’re feeling way crappy and you want to get better ASAP.  But when you’re on a Whole30 program, you can’t rely on old-school “comfort” food like chicken noodle soup, Saltine crackers, and Sprite. So what are you going to do?!

Before you give up on your nutrition choices and feel even worse than you already do by eating poisonous things, think about what you should eat while sick – we’re talking real food.  I love making soup because it’s an easy way to cook up some veggies and meat with very little effort. The task can seem daunting at first, but I really do promise:  soup is no drama.

Easy Chicken Soup Ingredients:

• 1-2# cubed chicken breasts, cooked (or pulled chicken from a cooked whole bird)
• 2 quarts chicken broth (Imagine brand makes a Whole30-compliant broth, or read your labels – no added corn, rice, soy or sugar!)
• A busload of diced/chopped vegetables of choice*
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves minced garlic, or to taste (garlic powder is also good here)
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, or favorite cooking oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

*Traditional would be carrots and celery, but nutrient density is key when you’re sick.  I love using kale, broccoli, leeks, cauliflower, and mushrooms.  (Broccoli and cauliflower tend to absorb the salt and garlic in their “trees” – yum.)  The possibilities are endless here.

Easy Chicken Soup Directions:

• Melt coconut oil on medium-high heat in large pot.
• Add diced onions, cayenne pepper, and garlic and cook until onions are starting to soften.
• Add all vegetables and continue to cook 5-7 minutes.
• Add chicken broth and stir.
• When soup gets to be really hot, almost boiling, add chicken and stir.
• Turn the heat down and serve the soup hot, but not scalding

The little bit of cayenne pepper in this soup helps clear the sinuses without killing your mouth with spiciness. You can add any of your favorite herbs to this mix, as well as use any kind of meat. I’ve had great results with sausage, lamb, and turkey. You can plan ahead your next sick day by having some of these leftovers in your freezer so you can just defrost and start feeling better.

Kass’s (and Whole9′s) Best Sick-y Tips

Some other things that I’ve found that comfort me while I’m sick:

• Club soda or mineral water: The bubbles help me burp, which makes my stomach feel better. And, HYDRATION!
• Skip the dairy:  It can make you even more snotty/sniffly/mucous-y.
• Skip the crackers:  Try carb-dense veggies like sweet potato, butternut squash or pumpkin instead of Saltines for a queasy stomach that needs something that’s easy to digest
• Ginger and apples:  An old cruise ship remedy to help battle nausea – fresh or pickled ginger and sliced apples
• Broth:  Beef, chicken, veggie, all help with a sore throat, warm you up from the chills, and hydrate you
• Real Food:  When I’m feeling up to eating something, I like to eat some of the above soup or some plain chicken breasts cooked with a little oil and salt and pepper.
• Herbal teas:  Check out your local tea shop, Whole Foods, or grocery store and you’ll find some great teas that help soothe the throat, aid in digestion, calm, and clear up congestion.
• Sleep:  Lots of it. I’d rather be awake for far less hours than I’m asleep when I’m sick.
• Snuggie: Don’t you dare think that your current blanket is as good as this one whilst you’re recovering from the black plague. Try it, you’ll thank me.
• Netflix:  Are amazing.  Tons of movies to stream on demand.
• Someecards:  Send them by the dozen.  What else are you going to do when you’re laid out in bed?

And finally, our best tip yet…  Remember that bad food made me feel bad when I was healthy, so bad food while I’m feeling bad is a recipe for disaster.

Hungry for more?

Want more comfort food ideas that aren’t based on grains, dairy or sugar?  Check out these Whole30-approved recipes from our favorite recipe blogs.

• Chowstalker: Flu-Fighting Salmon Soup
• The Foodee Project: Hidden Veggie Spicy Soup
• Whole Life Eating: Chicken, Cauliflower and Mushroom Soup
• The Clothes Make the Girl: Ten Minute Pizza Soup (for when you need something a little more hearty)

Got a Whole30-approved soup recipe to add?  Post to comments – and pass the tissues, please.

We Don’t Do Cupcakes

There are plenty of Paleo recipe sites out there – so why have we selected these to feature in our Steal This Meal series?  Because these two sites focus on EVERYDAY FOOD. They’re not full of Paleo cupcakes, ice cream and brownies – special occasion treats designed to satisfy your sweet tooth but not your nutritional requirements. There’s a place for those types of recipes, for sure – but muffins, cakes and cookies are not the kind of foods you want for your family’s breakfast, lunch and dinner, now, are they?  You need recipes for real, EVERYDAY food, designed to nourish your bodies and your taste buds.  And that’s what these two sites have to offer – meal upon meal that you really could eat every day.  (But why would you, with hundreds of unique recipes for the tasting?)

Steal These Meals:  The Foodee Blog

From www.thefoodee.com:  “The Foodee Project brings the best Paleo-friendly meals and resources to one easy to use location. There are some incredible people spreading the good Paleo word and we aim to bring as much attention to what they are doing as possible.”   Foodee was created by Matthew Lucas, co-owner of CrossFit Southwest in Tempe, AZ, who has personal experience with our Whole30 program.  Matt writes, “We just used the Whole30 at my gym, CrossFit Southwest, for our Paleo challenge with great success. My parents out in California joined us and have continued into February with tremendous results too!”  The Foodee project brings some of the best Paleo recipes together in one easy-to-find location.  They scour the web and re-post creative, delicious healthy recipes… so you don’t have to!

In addition, they offer a “meal of the day” widget that you can add to your web site, to share new recipes with your readers on a daily basis.  And we’re working with The Foodee Project now to add a Whole30 tag to their recipes, to make Whole30-compliant meals easy to find. With 267 meal-of-the-day recipes (and counting!), the Foodee Project will keep you happy and busy in the kitchen for months to come.

Steal These Meals:  Chowstalker

From www.chowstalker.com:  “ChowStalker is a new community food blog, actually more of a pictorial directory of food blogs, but notice anything different?  Yeah, no cupcakes.  What you will find here are pleasing pictures of foods that nourish the body.  And with one simple click on the photo that catches your eye, you will land on the blog written by that cook showing you how to make it for yourself.”  (Check their FAQ page for more information about their project.)

How could we NOT love a recipe sharing site with a manifesto like that?  Chowstalker is newer to the recipe sharing world, but gaining traction fast due to their strict criteria for recipe submissions (no grains, legumes, or added sugar of any sort, real or artificial) and their gorgeous site layout.  They’ve got neatly organized categories to help you create meals, and an ever-expanding roster of recipes sure to please your palate.  PLUS, they’re planning to add a “Whole30″ category for their recipe submissions, so you can quickly and easily find delicious, Whole30-approved Chowstalker recipes. Bonus!

Share YOUR Meal Today

Like what you see?   The reason these sites work is because folks like us – and YOU! – take the time to share our recipe creations. If you’ve got a blog or web site that features delicious, Whole30 or Paleo recipes, consider submitting your creations to one of these recipe sharing sites. Consider it your good-karma-paying-it-forward deed for the day, because without submissions from folks like YOU, these sites simply wouldn’t exist.  So spread your Good Food Word… and then get to cookin’.  Submit your recipes to the Foodee and Chowstalker blogs, or send them to us directly at recipes@whole9life.com for our Steal This Meal series.  Did you find a recipe you love on one of these sites?  Share it with our community here in comments.  (And to give credit where credit is due – that gorgeous header photo of ours comes from Melissa Joulwan’s amazing Whole30-approved tuna salad recipe.)

“I’m back in the kitchen with a new toy – a shiny Pressure Cooker!! I’ve had lots of fun experimenting with recipe creations and modifications… after I got over the initial “fear factor” and learned how to work the darn thing.  Now that I know how to use it, I don’t know what I EVER did without it. It cooks sweet potatoes and beets in a quarter of the time that it used to take to cook them in the oven. And it makes even grass-fed stew meat FORK-TENDER – no joke!  I don’t think I’ll ever cook a chicken breast any other way – the chicken I buy here is pretty tender to begin with, but when I cook it in my pressure cooker, I can literally cut it with a fork – no lie!  I thought I’d share two recipes that I cooked last week – they turned out absolutely out-of-this-world amazing.  Even my picky husband (who dislikes all things “Paleo”) asked for seconds on both – and then he even stole the servings I had set aside for myself for lunch the next day!!  Enjoy!”

We’re going to feature Christie’s first recipe here, but you can check out her other amazing Paleo recipe creations and other fun health and fitness musings on her blog.

Steal This Meal:  Pressure Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 Shallots, Chopped
• 4 Garlic Cloves, Crushed
• 1 Green Bell Pepper, seeded & diced
• 1/2 cup Imagine brand Organic Chicken or Vegetable Broth (make your own or buy another brand – just be careful of sneaky sugars/soy/gluten/etc.)
• 1 8-10 oz package mushrooms, sliced
• 5-6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (good sized ones, not midgets – you’ll want leftovers!)
• 2 Cans Organic Crushed Tomatoes
• 2 Tb Organic Tomato Paste
• 1 Can Pitted Black Olives (I used Whole Foods Brand – just olives, water, salt)
• Fresh Parsley
• Red Pepper to taste (I used a healthy 1/2 tsp, but I like spicy!)
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Directions

• Heat the oil in a 4-quart or larger cooker. Add the shallots and bell pepper and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the shallots soften slightly, about 2 minutes
• Stir in the broth and boil for 2-3 minutes. Scrape up any browned bits sticking to the bottom of the cooker.
• Stir in the mushrooms and garlic. Set the chicken on top. Cover the chicken with crushed tomatoes. Do not stir. Plop the tomato paste on top.
• Lock the lid in place.
• Over high heat bring to high pressure.
• Reduce the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 8 minutes.
• Turn off the heat.
• Allow the pressure to come down naturally. Remove the lid.
• Stir in the olives, parsley, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

I served mine over a HEAPING serving of shredded cabbage (instead of the traditional noodles), and it was AWESOME!

Today’s Steal This Meal submission comes from Mike Norris, Whole30 success story and owner of Voodoo Combatives in Lafayette, LA. Of his Whole30 program, Mike says: “I’ve followed this lifestyle for 5 weeks now and have lost 23 lbs! My CrossFit performance has improved greatly…hell, all of my performance has improved greatly. I can’t say enough about the people who put this great information out there for free – I now have a link on my site recommending you guys!”

Mike’s results rock, and we’re happy to feature his Whole30-approved breakfast recipe here, especially since people are always asking us, “What do you eat for breakfast if you don’t eat eggs?” Trying to get people to get off the idea of traditional “breakfast, lunch and dinner” is often a tough sell, and a burger and broccoli first thing in the morning just doesn’t appeal to many people. Mike’s STM submission is the perfect compromise of semi-traditional breakfast fare (sausage), plus fresh vegetables, plus a recipe that’s easy to prepare the night before and reheat for a quick and easy morning meal. (Note, butternut squash is relatively carb-dense, so keep your serving size reasonable, and feel free to add a side of steamed spinach for extra vegetable goodness.)

Steal This Meal: Roasted Butternut Squash with Local Sausage

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 1 small butternut squash
• 1 medium sweet onion
• 6-10 links of sausage (pork or chicken)
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon
• Tony Chachere’s seasoning to taste

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cut sausage into cubes or slices. (Mike used a free range turkey sausage from a local farm that contains turkey breast and thigh meat, green onions and spices).
• Slice/dice onion.
• Split squash in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, and place upside down on roasting pan.
• Cook until soft (about 30-45 minutes).
• Brown sausage and onions in a pot.
• Scoop squash out of shell and into the pot with the sausage. Stir, adding seasoning and coconut milk.
• Serve hot, or refrigerate and re-heat the next day.

A hearty breakfast - sans eggs!

Got a delicious, simple list of ingredients for our next Friday recipe feature? Send your Steal This Meal entry (along with photos and YOUR Whole30-inspired story!) to recipes@whole9life.com, and we’ll send you a free copy of our Whole30 Success Guide if we feature your dish. And if you’re looking for more delicious recipe ideas from Whole9 and our readers, just select “Recipes” from the category list on our sidebar!