Cold Veggie Noodle Salad (Whole 30)

Yesterday was my first day of working from home. I am very blessed to be able to do so but I am finding it does present a unique set of challenges.

Apparently, working from home makes you forget how to dress as I got half way through my day and discovered I had my sweatshirt on inside out and backwards. Score one for me. Good thing I am not on video calls.

I added tuna to this recipe to bulk it up to make it a main meal instead of a side dish. The sauce would be good on any veggies, cold or warm.

Cold Veggie Noodle Salad

• Difficulty: Easy
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From The Made Whole Made Simple Cookbook

1/2 large carrot, shaved into ribbons

1 medium zucchini, shaved into ribbons

1 green onion, sliced on the bias

1 clove garlic, sliced

1 tsp sesame seeds, plus more for garnish

For the Sauce:

2 TBS unsweetened sunflower seed butter

1 TBS Dijon Mustard

1 TBS toasted sesame oil

2 tsp coconut aminos

In a medium bowl, toss the carrot and zucchini ribbons with green onion, garlic, and sesame seeds.

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients. Then pour the sauce over the veggies and toss to mix. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve right away. Store the sauce and veggies separately in the fridge for up to three days.

Paleo Almond Butter Strawberry Zucchini Muffins

What do you do when you make muffin batter and you can’t find your muffin tins?  You bake your muffins in 5 inch deep dish pie pans.  Isn’t that what everybody does?   Seriously guys,  I keep all my baking stuff in the cupboards above the stove.  My muffin pans aren’t there and I  can’t find them anywhere.  It is driving me crazy that I can’t find them.

I am one of those rare  cooks who loves to bake as much they love to cook.   My absolute favorite thing to bake is muffins.  I love turning on the oven on a cold, rainy, or snowy day and filling my apartment with warm, sweet smells.   I have been interested in learning to bake with alternative flours  for a while but never tried it  because alternative flours can be expensive.  I decided try this paleo muffin recipe because I already everything but the coconut flour after of doing a couple of rounds of Whole 30.  I can afford the $4.50 for a couple of pounds of coconut flour.

I also wanted to try this recipe because I know I can count on recipes from Physical Kitchness to work and taste good.  I wasn’t disappointed.  The muffins had good texture and were lightly sweet.  They were tender and moist, everything a muffin should be.  I think this recipe would make a good base for many other muffin experiments.

Almond Butter Strawberry Zucchini Muffins

• Difficulty: Easy
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From Physical Kitchness

1 cup strawberries, halved

1/2 cup almond butter

1/4 cup honey

3 TBS melted  coconut oil

3 eggs

1 cup shredded zucchini

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup almond flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup finely  diced strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degree. Place mufifin liners in the muffin tin, set aside.   Shred the zucchini and place it in a colendar.  Sprinkle the zucchini with salt and let sit for 10 minutes.  Add the halved strawberries,  almond butter, melted coconut oil, and honey in a blender and blend  until creamy and  well combined.  Pour the almond butter/strawberry mixture into a medium bowl.  Add the eggs,  zucchini, vanilla and apple cider vinegar.   Mix  until well combined.  In another bowl,  combine the coconut flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and mix  until just combined.  Fill each muffin liner 2/3 full.  Top each muffin  with finely diced strawberries.  Bake for 20 -25 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted  in the center comes out clean.

20 Minute Beef Zucchini Skillet (Whole 30)

I think I have a problem.  My spice cabinet runneth over.  I have 27 jars of spices and that is not including salt and pepper and after a major spice clean out. Is 27 jars of spices extreme? Not if you actually use them.  You know, if you have been around A Solitary Feast for awhile, I absolutely love makeing spice rubs and spice blends for my food.  No matter how basic your ingredients are you make them amazing simply by adding spices, a spice blend or spice rub.  I used alot of spice blends and rubs on my Whole30 because they kept me from being bored with my food when I only felt like spending the minimum amount of time in the kitchen.

I made an adobo seasoning blend to make this stir fry from one of my new favorite blogs, Welless Mama.  It is a quick and easy Whole30 compliant recipe.  Oh, yeah, it tastes really good too, even if you aren’t doing a Whole30.

20 Minute Beef Zucchini Skillet

• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted from Wellness Mama.com

1/2 lb ground beef

1 onion, thinly sliced

1-2 medium` zucchini, julienned

1 1/2 TBS olive oil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp adobo seasoning

1/2 tsp dried basil

Heat skiller over medium high heat.  Add olive oil, onions,  and zucchini.  Cook until they are just starting to soften.  Remove from the pan and place in a baking dish.  Put under the broiler and cook, 7-10 minutes, or until the desired crispness is achieved.  Meanwhile,  brown the meat and spices until the beef is no longer pink.  Add the zucchini/onion mixture back to the skillet, combine well.  Serve.