California Citrus Salad

I adapted this recipe to make it whole30 and whole30 AIP compliant. I tried making the dressing as well, but I decided it's easier to just use olive oil and lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. This recipe makes enough for 4, which is great because I can have it for dinner and then lunch the next day.

Ingredients: 

1 head of romaine lettuce chopped

4 clementine oranges

1/4 cup dry roasted pecans (omit if AIP)

1 large granny smith apple

4 dates chopped or 1/4 cup raisins

1 avocado

1/4 cup dried cranberries (omit for whole30 or AIP)

2 stems green onions chopped

1 lemon (quartered to squeeze onto salad)

olive oil to drizzle

salt

Directions:

Chop ingredients and place in bowl, except for avocado. Slice avocado and place on top of salad when plating. Drizzle lemon and olive oil onto salad. Salt to taste. 

If you plan to use this as a salad the next day, chop the apples and oranges and store them in a separate container. The citric acid in the oranges prevent the apples from turning brown.

Week 1 lunches

My baby still doesn't have a regular nap schedule and I don't like spending his entire nap cooking, so I double my dinners so I can have something quick and easy to reheat for lunch. I also like to keep the following lunches in mind:

chicken or salmon salad sandwiches

turkey lettuce wraps

Trader Joe's brand of canned salmon is BPA free. Since I can't have eggs, I use smashed avocado as the dressing for canned meat. 

Week 1 Dinner Meal Plan

Day 1: California Citrus Salad with meat (I'm using leftover rotisserie chicken)
Day 2: Butternut Squash Soup, ham, and roasted artichokes

Day 3: Garlic Chicken with pesto zoodles (add tomatoes if not AIP)
Day 4: Tilapia with capers, roasted Brussels sprouts, baked sweet potato

Day 5: Turkey Burgers, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, and mashed parsnips

Day 6: Salmon with Broccoli & Carrots (steak and potatoes for the hubby)

Day 7: Leftovers

Brown Sugar Dijon Glaze

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons coconut oil

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard 

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Bake pre-cooked ham at 325F for 15 minutes per pound of ham (ham should be 140 in the center). 

Combine ingredients in saucepan and heat on medium heat until it starts to simmer. Pour over ham and serve. 

Yield: enough to cover 8-10 lbs of ham. 

Toffee Butter Crunch

I made this with unsalted butter and it was definitely missing something. Also, make sure you store it in an airtight container or your chocolate will end up looking like this. 

Ingredients:

1 cup salted butter

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons water

1 Tablespoon light corn syrup

3/4 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips

1/2 finely chopped pecans or toasted almonds (optional)

Directions:

Line a 9x13 pan with foil and set aside. Butter sides of a heavy 2 quart saucepan. In pan melt 1 cup butter over low heat. Stir in sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook over medium-high heat to boiling stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to dissolve sugar. This should take about 4 minutes. Avoid splashing sides of pan with mixture. Clip candy thermometer to side of pan. 

Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until thermometer reaches 290 F - soft crack stage. Watch thermometer very closely once it it reaches 280. 

Remove pan from heat. Remove thermometer. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with chocolate pieces. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes until chocolate looks softer. Spread softened chocolate across toffee mixture. Sprinkle with nuts and press nuts lightly into chocolate. Chill until firm. Break into pieces and store tightly covered. 

Yield: 1.5 lbs

Jessica's Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour
3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Sift dry ingredients in bowl. Make well in center. Add oil, eggs, & pumpkin. Beat well. Pour in well greased bread pans. Bake 50-60 min for standard loaf pans or 45 minutes for small pans.

Zucchini Herb Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cup cooked brown rice (i cook mine with chicken broth for additional flavor)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound zucchini, cubed

1 cup sliced green onions

3 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 teaspoons italian seasoning

1 teaspoon paprika

3 large roma tomatoes, chopped tomatoes

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese,

divided (optional)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet/wok over medium heat, and cook the zucchini, green onions, and garlic 5 minutes, or until tender. Season with salt, Italian seasoning, and paprika. Mix in the cooked rice, tomatoes, and 1 cup cheese. Continue to cook and stir until heated through. 

I found this recipe on Allrecipes and followed the comments section recommendations by made a few tweaks so it would be faster to make. I served it with Costco Rotisserie chicken. Instead of making a casserole, I just served it right out of the pan. Also, I didn't have time to make rice, so I used 1 bag of Trader Joe's frozen brown rice and added 2 Trader Joe's liquid chicken bullion packets directly to the wok.