Magic Mushroom Powder (Whole 30)

 

This recipe may be one of the most tasty things I have ever put in my mouth. It, literally, makes everything you put it on a little better. Okay, I haven’t tried on cake yet but everything else, WOW!!! I have used it as a rub for steak and pork chops, I have sprinkled it on vegetables, both raw and cooked, eggs and I am sure I will use it on other things as I think of it.

So far my favorite way to use Magic Mushroom Powder is to cut up some compliant polish sausage and saute in some olive oil. Just before the sausage is done, I toss in a couple handfuls of coleslaw mix and a big pinch of Magic Mushroom Powder and heat it through. So easy and so good.

Magic Mushroom Powder

• Difficulty: Easy
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From Nom Nom Paleo Food For Humans
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
2/3 cup kosher salt
1 TBS red pepper flakes
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp ground black pepper
Place the dried mushrooms in a spice grinder and grind into a fine powder. Let grinder sit a minute before opening and pouring the powder into a small bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and gently combine. Store in an airtight container for several months.

Whole 30 Resources

When you do a Whole 30, you cook more in a week then most people do in a month.  It can be a little overwhelming.  It can feel like you are spending all you time in the kitchen cooking or cleaning the kitchen.   It doesn’t leave a lot of time to search for reliable blogs with Whole 30 recipes on them so I have compiled a list of blogs with relaible Paleo/ Whole 30 recipes for you.  These are blogs I turned to a lot when I did my first Whole 30 and kept turning to them even when I am not on a round, the recipes are just that good.

1.  Nom Nom Paleo — Nom Nom Paleo already has 60 days of Whole 30 recipes on her blog, ranging from sauces and seasonings to main meals for all tastes.  Starting January 1, 2018 she is going to post a new Whole 30 recipe everyday for the month.  There is sure to be a lot of inspiration here.
2.  Well Fed
3.  The Domestic Man — I was following Russ Crandall long before I ever heard of the Whole 30.  I love the historical perspective he brings to his recipes.
4.  Pretend It’s A Donut
5.  Olive You Whole
6.   Physical  Kitchness — Of all the new blogs I have found since doing my first Whole 30, Physical Kitchness is my favorite.  Her food is so good.
7.  I Heart Umami — Raise your hand if you love Chinese food! Me, too.  I also thought it was something I would have to give up on my Whole 30.  Thanks to I Heart Umami it isn’t.  I can still have Sweet and Sour Chicken and Teriyaki Chicken plus a whole bunch of other stuff  I haven’t tried yet.  The recipes look a little daunting  but are actually quite easy.
8.  Little Bits of Real Food
9.  A  Life Made Full
10.  New Leaf Wellness —  Okay, this isn’t a paleo or a Whole 30 site but she does have some Whole 30 recipes.  What I like about this site is she makes freezer meals to put in her crockpot.   Even though I don’t own a crockpot the recipes are very handy to have around to pressure cook on those days I just don’t have time to make anything from scratch, just dump and cook.
11.   The Whole Smiths

There are tons of blogs with Whole 30 recipes on them.  You have to be careful because not all of  all of them are true to the spirit of the Whole 30.  You have to know your program and really read recipes closely to make sure they are technically compliant as well as in the spirit of the Whole 30.

Equipping Your Whole 30 Kitchen

You don’t need a lot of specialized equipment to do a Whole 30.  Pressure cookers are helpful and spiralizers make your food look pretty but they are just not necessary.   This post assumes you have the basic kitchen equipment of pots, pan, measuring cups and spoons and a chef’s knife.  The following are things I found helpful in my Whole 30.

1. Paring Knives  You are going to be doing a lot of chopping and peeling on your Whole 30 so you are going to need decent, ie sharp knives.  I like Zyliss paring knives from Bed, Bath and Beyond.  They come in a 2 pack with one blade serrated and one not for around $9.  The only bad thing is the knives can’t be sharpened.  It doesn’t really matter what kind of knives you get as long as they are sharp.
2. A cutting board  I prefer wood to plastic because they don’t dull your knives are fast.  The main thing here is to get as big of board as possible.  There is nothing more frustrating than trying to chop a lot of vegetables in a little space.
3. Vegetable peeler If you are handy with your knives you can use it to peel your vegetables.  The rest of us need a vegetable peeler.
4. Small, medium and large mixing bowls  As someone who cooks and bakes a lot, I always thought I had enough mixing bowls.  When I did the Whole 30, I discovered I had a lot of small mixing bowls but no medium or large mixing bowls.  Get at least one 2 quart and one 4 quart mixing bowls.  You will save yourself some mess and ingredient waste.
5. Food grade storage containers Like mixing bowls, you can never have too many food storage containers in all sizes.
6.  Quarter sheet pans  These are the work horses in my kitchen, I use them for the majority of what I cook in the oven.  Make sure they have  a rim to catch meat juices and any oil or ghee you use for roasting things.

These are the things I found make cooking during your Whole 30 easier.

Preparing Your Whole 30 Pantry

Yesterday we cleared the non compliant food out of our pantry.  Today we need to stock compliant ingredients for our Whole 30.  The question is what do we need to have to have a well stocked,  Whole 30 compliant kitchen?  That is a really hard question to answer because I don’t know what you like to eat.  I am going to list the things I have in my pantry that I use frequently.  I will tell you which ones you should definitely have in your pantry from the beginning and which ones are nice to have but if you can’t find them or don’t have the money for them aren’t necessary.

1.  Meat –  I keep chicken thighs, ground beef and a few pork chops in my freezer all the time.  I stock up on things like steak, pork roast, ground chicken and ground turkey when I  find them on reduction for quick sale or on sale in general.
2. Vegetables — Vegetables are the back bone of the Whole 30.  I always keep onions, celery and carrots available along with a big container of salad greens.  I try a least one new kind of vegetable every week.  I usually buy vegetables two or three times a week so they don’t go bad before I can use them.
3. Coconut Aminos —  There aren’t many things I consider mandatory for any kitchen as we all have different tastes in food.  However,  Coconut aminos are one thing you absolutely need for you Whole 30 pantry.  Coconut aminos are used as a substitute for soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
4. Red Boat fish sauce — Red Boat fish sauce is the only compliant fish sauce available at this time.   It can be tricky  to find.  If you can’t find it you can make it through a Whole 30 without it but I have used it in enough recipes that I can recommend you pick up a bottle if you see it.
5. Arrowroot and Almond flour — Arrowroot is great for thickening things like gravy.  Almond meal is great for binding things like meatballs, meatloaf and salmon patties.  Both arrowroot and almond meal make an excellent coating for frying things.
6. Medjool dates — I use Medjool dates in many of my Whole 30 recipes to provide sweetness.
7. Canned coconut milk — I use a lot of coconut milk on my Whole 30 in place of dairy.  Some people say they can taste coconut in the things they make with coconut milk, I have never found that to be a problem.  If you do, feel free to use another form of non– dairy milk.

These are the 7 things I use the most often in my compliant kitchen.  You will find other things you may like to have in your kitchen as you go a long and  I am assuming you have the basic kitchen inventory like tomato products, herbs and spices and broths.  With the addition of these 7 things to your basic pantry you will have the ability to conquer the world of Whole 30 cooking.

Preparing For Your Whole 30

For the next 5 days, I am not posting any recipes.  No, I am not taking a break.  Over the next 5 days I am going to walk you through what you need to do to prepare for your January Whole 30 whether it is your first or your 400th.

Today’s task is to go through every box, bag, can, jar or envelope of food in every cupboard, fridge and freezer you have.  If there is food in random places, check that too.  We are looking for any added sugar, real or artificial,  soy, grains, dairy, legumes, carrageenan, added sulfates or sulfites, and alcohol, of any kind and processed foods of any kind.

Somethings are going to be obviously not Whole 30, things like bread and pasta.  Don’t assume something is compliant, often foods can contain hidden non compliant ingredients,  I found soy in two of my favorite teas and sugar in my tomato products and broth.  I found when a product is labeled sugar-free or no sugar added it means it is free from cane or beet sugar.  The product is still able to have things like, Splenda (sucralose), Equal (aspartame) or Stevia in it.

Once you have determine what is and isn’t, (it probably will be a big pile of isn’t) compliant, get it out of sight.  Put your non compliant stuff in a tub and stick  it in a closet, ask a friend to hold it for you, just put it somewhere out of sight and, hopefully, hard to get to.  If you can’t remove your non compliant stuff completely, try putting your compliant ingredients on a higher or lower shelf.  We are going for out of sight, out of mind.

Okay,  guys, we have done  a shit ton of work today.  Go relax for tomorrow we shop.