Another grilling recipe for you to try out this summer! This recipe has very few ingredients and prep to it, but I will point out that you should check the ingredient label before purchasing the apricot spread and chiptole peppers in adobo sauce. I like to stick to ingredients that are raw, unprocessed, and do not contain added sugars or preservatives. For that reason, I skipped out on the chiptole peppers in adobo sauce and used this Frontier Chipotle Smoked Red Jalapeno spice instead. I linked a recipe below to follow if you want to make your own chiptole peppers in adobo sauce, but this recipe only calls for a Tablespoon, so I'd suggest just swapping for some type of Chipotle powder instead too. I found a quality apricot spread that I linked below, but there are other spreads out there too that don't have added sugars in them as well. About the recipe though, the chicken didn't turn out spicy at all (probably since I only used a Tablespoon of spice), but it was still absolutely delicious! Make sure to set 1/4 cup of the marinade mixture aside because I think that really completed the meal. I also really enjoyed this chicken paired with the Cauliflower Fried Rice recipe. I used a couple bags of frozen Green Giant Riced Cauliflower and left out the eggs, which made for a quick prep while the chicken was grilling. I will definitely be making this meal again soon! 

Chipotle Apricot Grilled Chicken 
Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. bone-in chicken thighs (I used chicken breasts instead)
• 11 oz. apricot preserves (I used bionaturæ organic Apricot Fruit Spread found at Whole Foods)
• 1 tablespoon diced chiptole peppers in adobo sauce (I used a Chipotle powder instead)
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. To a large bowl, add apricot preserves, chipotle peppers, smoked paprika, salt and water. Whisk together until combined and smooth. Remove 1/4 cup of the mixture and set aside for later.
2. Add bone-in chicken thighs to the bowl with the sauce. Toss chicken to coat with the chipotle apricot marinade. Cover.
3. Marinade for 20-30 minutes.
4. Preheat grill to medium high heat, about 375-400 degrees F.
5. Place chicken on grill, skin side down first. Grill for 4 minutes, and then turn the chicken (still skin side down) 45 degrees and cook an additional 4 minutes. This will give you the next grill marks.
6. Flip the chicken and repeat this process. (4 minutes turn 45 degrees and grill an additional 4 minutes)
7. Then move the chicken out of direct heat and grill until the chickens internal temperature is 165 degrees F. (the chicken might already be done or it could take an additional 5-10 minutes)
8. Remove from grill and brush with remaining chipotle apricot glaze.

Original recipe found here

Paleo Cauliflower Fried Rice 
Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger (adjust to taste)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 large cauliflower, grated (I used two 12 oz bags of frozen cauliflower rice)
• 1/2 cup coconut aminos
• 2 eggs, scrambled
• 1/2 cup diced green onions

Directions:

1. In a large pan, cook the onion and carrots in the coconut oil until soft. About 7-9 minutes.
2. Season with salt, ginger, and garlic.
3. Once the carrots are tender, add the cauliflower and coconut aminos.
4. Stir to evenly coat the cauliflower and cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Push the mixture to one side of the pan and add the scrambled eggs. Stir until cooked, then mix in.
6. Add the green onion, take off the heat, and serve.

Original recipe found here

This meal was SO delicious! Before you check out the ingredients below and think nope not making this, hear me out. Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste is paleo friendly and found at just about every grocery store. Fish sauce is definitely really smelly, but the amount in this recipe is so little that I could not pick out the taste whatsoever while enjoying this meal. You can either omit the fish sauce all together if you don't want to try or purchase it, or you can get Red Boat fish sauce, which I have found at Whole Foods. If you do purchase a fish sauce, make sure to search "Fish Sauce" on my site and make some other delicious meals, so you can put it to use! Avocado oil is not in most peoples pantry, so if you don't want to purchase that one just use olive oil. The sambal oelek/Asian chili paste was a new one to me, and I was originally going to make my own using that recipe I linked below. However, I realized the amount of that ingredient was so little that I just ended up buying and using Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce, which I found at my local grocery store. This was the closet thing to a chili paste that I found that didn't have any added sugar in the ingredient list. 

Now that I have addressed the ingredients that most likely turned you away from making this recipe, I'll talk about the other details worth noting. First, I found some packaged shredded cabbage, which made prep even easier (I used two 10 oz bags). I also found that 3 limes was the perfect amount for this recipe. If you have an Instant Pot, this meal was super easy to prepare and get done. Though, there are slow cooker instructions below in the notes section if you need them. Anyways, when the chicken was done and I threw in the coconut milk, I put the Instant Pot on saute mode and stirred it around every so often until the sauce was reduced some. While the chicken was cooking I had prepared the sauce for the slaw, so all that is left to do at this point is toss the cabbage and green onions with the sauce. Talk about easy! I was a little nervous about how I'd like this slaw, but it honestly turned out really good. It was light, not too spicy at all, and paired perfectly with the curry chicken. If you couldn't tell already by how lengthy this post is, I will most definitely be making this one again. This was a simple and easy meal prep recipe that turned out tasting amazing! Let me know if you try this one out. 

​Instant Pot Shredded Red Curry Chicken & Sweet Thai Slaw
Ingredients:
For the Shredded Red Curry Chicken:

• 3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
• 3 Tablespoons red curry paste (Thai Kitchen is paleo friendly)
• 2 Tablespoons coconut aminos
• 4 Tablespoons lime juice (about 2 limes), divided
• 1 Tablespoon fish sauce (Red Boat fish sauce is paleo friendly)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 13.5-ounce can of coconut milk (full fat for best flavor!)

For the Sweet Thai Slaw:

• 1 medium head of cabbage, either green or red, shredded 
• 3 green onions
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
• 2 Tablespoons avocado oil
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon sambal oelek or Asian chili paste (I ended up using Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• Additional lime wedges and sambal oelek, for serving.

Directions:

1. Place the chicken in the Instant Pot.
2. Whisk together the curry paste, coconut aminos, 2 Tablespoons of the lime juice, fish sauce, and salt. Pour the mixture over the chicken and move and flip the chicken around with a pair of tongs to coat it well.
3. Close the Instant Pot. Place the vent to “sealing” position, and set it on manual for 25 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, make the slaw by putting the shredded cabbage and green onions in a large salad bowl.
5. Whisk together the 2 Tablespoons of lime juice, avocado oil, fish sauce, honey, sambal oelek, and salt. Pour it over the cabbage and toss to combine. Chill until ready to serve.
6. When the chicken is finished cooking, you can either use the natural or quick stream release method. Shred the chicken inside the pot and stir in the coconut milk and remaining 2 Tablespoons of lime juice. Taste, and add additional salt, if needed. At this point you can also stir in a spoonful or two of sambal oelek if you’d like it to be spicier.
7. Serve the chicken over a bed of Sweet Thai Slaw alongside additional sambal oelek and lime wedges.

Notes:

• If you’re doing a round of Whole30, just substitute the honey with Date Paste or omit it completely.
• SLOW COOKER VARIATION: Follow the first two instructions the same way, except use a 4-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. Shred and add the coconut milk and lime juice as directed.

Original recipe found here

This came out tasting amazing! Don't be scared away by the list of ingredients and long winded directions. Whole Foods has sugar free bacon, pre-cut sweet potato cubes, and chopped Brussels, which will make your life in the kitchen easier. Actually, most grocery stores these days sell the pre-cut vegetables if you want to save some time in the kitchen, but spend a little more money. I didn't end up adding the nutritional yeast simply because I've never bought it before and didn't think I would use it enough if I did purchase it. That ingredient would give the casserole a cheesy flavor though without using cheese. As for the directions, I just used them as a guide and ended up baking the bacon on a sheet pan in the oven for 10-12 minutes. I then removed and set the cooked bacon aside, and poured half the bacon grease into the casserole dish (leaving the other half on the sheet pan). I then put the sweet potatoes and onions in the casserole dish and the Brussels on the sheet pan, mixing both around with the bacon grease. I then cooked both in the oven for 20 minutes, and mixed everything around at the 10 minute mark. Since baking everything in the oven does not require a lot of attention, I preferred preparing everything this way instead of closely following the directions below. Plus, I was able to meal prep my Instant Pot meal at the same time while everything was being prepared in the oven. After the sweet potatoes and Brussels were done in the oven, I followed the rest of the directions below as is. I accidentally used majority of the can of coconut milk though, which actually turned out working pretty well, so that makes me think you can add more coconut milk if you want to. Anyways, I just wanted to detail how I made this for those who looked at the recipe below and thought it was was too much for them. This was a delicious meal to mix up the breakfast meal prep! 

Paleo Breakfast Casserole 
Ingredients:

• 12 slices nitrate free bacon sugar free for Whole30
• 2 large sweet potatoes peeled and sliced into thin rounds approximately 1/4"
• 1 tbsp melted cooking fat** + sea salt for roasting the sweet potatoes
• 3 cups Brussels sprouts tops removed and either quartered or chopped, plus about 1 tbsp cooking fat** plus a pinch of sea salt for roasting
• 1 large onion or 2 small sliced thin
• 12 eggs
• 1/3 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp salt plus to suit your taste
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (I omitted this - it is for a cheesy flavor though, so you can also sub Parmesan if you include dairy in your diet)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 F and grease a 9x13" casserole dish with coconut oil, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut the bacon into 1" pieces and cook in a large heavy skillet, over med/hi heat, stirring occasionally for even browning, until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels and set aside. Reserve at least 3-4 tbsp of bacon fat to caramelize your onions*
3. Now it's time to roast your sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts. Toss the sweet potato rounds with your cooking fat of choice and sea salt to taste (generous pinch for me) and arrange, (overlapping since they will shrink after roasting) over the bottom of your casserole dish.
4. Now do the same with your brussels sprouts, this time arranging them on the parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer. Place the casserole dish and baking sheet in your oven to roast. The sweet potatoes will roast for about 30 minutes until soft and the brussels sprouts for about 20.
5. Meanwhile, it's time to caramelize the onions. Heat the pan you cooked your bacon in over low/medium heat and add the onions, tossing with the leftover reserved bacon fat*
6. Add a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, adjusting the heat if any onions begin to brown too quickly. Your goal is to cook the onions long and slow (about 25 minutes) to bring out the most flavor! Once they're deeply caramelized and very soft, remove from heat.
7. While the onions cook, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
8. Now it's time to assemble the casserole! Lower your oven heat to 400 F, then layer your roasted brussels sprouts over your sweet potato rounds in the casserole dish. Remove the caramelized onions with a slotted spoon and layer over the brussels sprouts, follow with the cooked bacon. Finally, pour all the whisked egg mixture over the casserole to evenly cover.
9. Bake in the 400 F oven for about 25 minutes until the center is just set and edges begin to turn light brown. Allow to cool for a bit in the baking dish before cutting into pieces and serving warm. Leftovers can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days*** Enjoy!

Notes:
*If you want to use a different cooking fat to caramelize the onions, coconut oil or ghee are your best bets!
**Melted coconut oil, ghee, or light-flavored olive oil will work well here
***If you wish to freeze this casserole to make ahead of time, cover tightly and freeze before the final baking step.

Original recipe found here

This turned out AMAZING! The original recipe is below, but I totally just took the concept of this recipe and made it on my own. Mainly, I made the shredded chicken and sweet potato mash the way I usually like to make it (here's the blog post for both of those recipes). I also did not bake the sweet potato with the casserole because I typically meal prep 8 lbs of sweet potato, which is basically a whole separate casserole in itself. Since I left the sweet potato out of the casserole though I decided to throw in two bags of Green Giant Riced Cauliflower with the chicken instead, which was a nice sneaky way to add vegetables into this recipe without changing any flavor or consistency. If you decide to try that out too just make sure to warm the rice up first - don't throw frozen rice in with the chicken! As for the BBQ sauce, I had a bottle of Steve's PaleoChef Peach BBQ already in my pantry, so I went ahead and used that for my BBQ sauce. I also like using ​Tessemae's BBQ sauce, which I have found at my local Whole Foods and Wegmans. The recipe below also includes a homemade paleo BBQ sauce if you don't wish to purchase a paleo one. If you are not totally committed to paleo though, then feel free to just use your favorite BBQ sauce. Note, I did end up using the entire bottle of Steve's PaleoChef Peach BBQ with my casserole, which is a little over 1 cup. Also, when serving it definitely does not keep its shape like a casserole should, I just took a picture of the best looking slice I had. One last note I have is that you have to cook and shred the chicken first, so if you have time earlier in the day or the day before to get that done then you will thank yourself later since that will add time to your prep. Overall though this was a super simple recipe to throw together and really turned out so delicious!
​
​BBQ Chicken Sweet Potato Casserole
​Ingredients:

• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
• 4 tablespoons ghee, or coconut oil, divided
• 3 pounds sweet potatoes (or white if you prefer) [6 to 8 if they’re small]
• 1 cup BBQ sauce, store-bought or homemade (recipe below)
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup diced purple onions, for garnish
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions:

1. Season both sides of the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper.
2. To sear the chicken, melt 1 tablespoon of ghee in a large saute pan over high heat. When the ghee is melted, add the chicken. Sear for 3 to 5 minutes per side, until lightly browned.
3. Cook the chicken using one of these two methods:
   Stove top option: Pour enough water into the pan to cover the chicken, place the lid on the pan, and simmer over medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until cooked through. While the chicken is cooking, follow Step 4 to prepare the potatoes.
   Slow cooker option: Transfer the seared chicken to the slow cooked, add enough water to cover the chicken, and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. When the chicken has about 30 minutes left to cook, prepare the potatoes.
4. Prepare the potatoes: Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Drain and place the potatoes either in a large bowl or back in their cooking pot. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes with the remaining 3 tablespoons ghee, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
5. When the chicken is cooked, shred it using either the paddle attachment of a stand mixer or two forks. Toss the shredded chicken in 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spoon the seasoned mashed potatoes into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish, then layer the BBQ shredded chicken on top. Mix the remaining 1/2 cup BBQ sauce with the vinegar and drizzle it over the top of the chicken.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, until the top just starts to brown.
8. Let cool, then garnish with the onions and cilantro. Serve warm.

Homemade BBQ Sauce
Yields: 3 1/2 cups
Ingredients:

• 1 [15-ounce] can strained tomatoes or tomato sauce
• 1 [6-ounce] can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup coconut aminos
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, whisk together all of the ingredients until well combined. Bring to a simmer and continue to whisk for an additional 5 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and let cool for at least 5 minutes.
3. Use right away or transfer to a jar for storage in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Original recipe found here

Now that Memorial Day has come it is officially time for all the grilling recipes! This one turned out delicious and had very little prep and cook time. I had some Primal Palate's taco seasoning for this chicken recipe, but if you do not have that you can simply make the homemade taco seasoning I listed below. I used just over 3 lbs of chicken breast and thought 2 Tablespoons of seasoning was plenty enough, but feel free to use a little more if you would like to. While the chicken was marinating I started making the cauliflower rice, and as always I used a couple bags of frozen Green Giant Riced Cauliflower. I've seen a couple other brands selling frozen cauliflower rice too, so just make sure to check the ingredients to verify there is only cauliflower and no unwanted added ingredients. Anyways, by the time the cauliflower rice was done, I put the chicken on the grill. This gave me some time to evenly divide the cauliflower rice between 8 meals. The only thing missing from this recipe is Fat! If you are in need of more Fat in this meal then definitely top with some avocado or guacamole. You can also add a couple Tbsp of coconut oil to the pan before mincing the garlic and cauliflower rice. This is a taco recipe after all, so dress it up how you like and enjoy! 

​Taco Lime Grilled Chicken 
Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Primal Palate's taco seasoning (Below is a homemade seasoning if you don't have the Primal Palate seasoning)
  • 2 Tbsp Chili Powder
  • 2 tsp Cumin
  • 1/2 tsp Paprika
  • 2 tsp dried Oregano
  • 1 tsp Onion Powder
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 2 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground Coriander
• 1/2 cup lime juice (I used the juice from 3 Limes)
• 3 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

1. Mix the taco seasoning and lime juice, cover the chicken in the mixture and optionally marinate for 30 minutes to over night.
2. Grill over medium-high heat until cooked through, about 3-5 minutes per side, let sit for 5 minutes and slice before enjoying!

Original recipe found here

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower (I used two bags of frozen cauliflower rice)
• 2 limes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 handful chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. (If making own cauliflower rice) Remove the leaves from the cauliflower, and cut the head in half. Remove the cauliflower from the core so you only have the florets. Place half the cauliflower into the processor and process until only small pieces remain. Remove from the processor and place into a pan. Process the remaining cauliflower repeating the steps.
2. Mince the garlic and add to the cauliflower in the pan. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. When cauliflower is slightly toasted, and garlic cooked, remove from heat.
3. Toss with cilantro and juice from the whole lime.

Original recipe found here

I've had this recipe saved for a while now as a quick and yummy meal option to make for when I didn't have much time to meal prep, and that day finally came! I don't prefer to prep food mid-week, but I came home from vacation on a Tuesday night and had to make sure I had some meals to get me through the rest of the week. It's always tough coming back from vacation and getting back on track, so I've found it best to just prepare a real tasty meal to ease back into things. This meal was just that! I picked up a package of Aidells Chicken & Apple Smoked Chicken Sausage (which comes in a pack of 4), some already cubed sweet potatoes that I found at Whole Foods, and 2 medium apples. Talk about a simple and easy recipe! I ended up slicing the sausages, but not all the way through so that I could easily just place each sausage into the 4 meals, then I divided up the cooked apples and sweet potato evenly into the meals. I will point out that my meals ended up being 16g Protein, 11g Fat, and 49g of Carbs, which is high in carbs and lower in protein. If you need more protein and less carbs, I suggest using less sweet potatoes and adding some eggs to the meal, or purchase some more chicken sausage and make a couple more meals. Also, you can easily sneak some veggies into this meal by throwing in spinach at the end and mixing around until all of it wilts. Overall, this meal was delicious and super easy to get done, so that I had a few extra meals to get me through the week!

One-Pan Paleo Chicken Apple Sausage & Sweet Potato Skillet
Ingredients:

• 4-6 Chicken Apple Sausage links, sliced (Applegate Organics and Aidells are great choices!)
• 2 medium apples, cored & diced
• 3-4 sweet potatoes, diced
• ¼ C water

Directions:

1. Heat large pan on stove or electric skillet on medium high heat.
2. Cut sausage into slices. Add to the skillet.
3. While sausage cooks, dice apples into small chunks (I left the skin on) and cut the sweet potatoes. Add to skillet.
4. Gently stir to combine, add water, and cover.
5. Let all ingredients cook together until potatoes and apples are just fork tender.
6. Serve warm & enjoy!

​Original recipe found here