Apple & Sweet Potato Soup

/

One of the keys to a successful Whole30 is to be prepared.  Well, this recipe came from a time when I was quite unprepared.  I went to my parent's house for the afternoon and didn't pack anything for lunch.  They always have healthy ingredients around, so I knew I could figure something out!  I'm still hanging onto this nasty winter cold, so soup sounded perfect.  I had it warm but it's also good cold!  The apple gives the perfect touch of sweet to the savory broth.  Enjoy!

Apple & Sweet Potato Soup

  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1/4 t ground ginger
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 red pepper, chopped
  • 1 quart chicken broth
  • 1 sweet potato, spiralized (I actually used a cheese grater to cut threads!)
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/2 apple, chopped
  • 1/2 can full fat coconut milk
  1. Heat olive oil in large skillet
  2. Add garlic, shallot, and red pepper and cook until lightly browned, about 2 min
  3. Add ginger, salt, and pepper and stir to combine
  4. Add chicken broth, sweet potato, and almond
  5. Bring to boil and let simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, about 8 min
  6. Add apples and let simmer about 1-2 more minutes
  7. Turn off heat and stir in coconut milk until fully integrated
  8. Enjoy hot or cold!

Lemon Blackberry Vinaigrette

/

I'm new to the world of make-your-own salad dressing.  I admit, for awhile I didn't believe it was worth the effort.  As usual, I've been proven wrong time and time again.  The Whole Foods Coop in Duluth had the perfect ingredients on sale in the past few weeks to experiment with a dressing that we could have during Whole30.  I'm amazed the blackberries made it in at all, really.  They're so delicious my kids spot them immediately and pounce.

I've had this dressing on a few different salads.  It's so tasty, the salad can be pretty simple-greens, chicken, apples, you name it!

Lemon Blackberry Vinaigrette

makes 10 oz

  • 1/3 c blackberries
  • 1/2 c olive oil
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
  1. Place all ingredients in blender and blend on high until smooth consistency, about 20 seconds.

 

 

 

Chicken, Mushroom, & Asparagus "Pasta"

/

Starting Whole30 prompted us to buy a spiralizer.  We went with this one because it had the highest review from Cooks Illustrated.  It actually took me a few days to pull it out of the box.  Our kitchen is fairly small and I really don't like those extra appliances: omelette maker, quesadilla maker, you know the ones.  I was afraid the spiralizer might be a new, trendy one of those.  But, my pile of zucchinis was starting to grow so I finally decided to try it out.  And...it was awesome.  The twins loved it more than me.  They took turns winding the crank and watching the crazy "noodles" come out the other end.  I'm pretty excited to experiment with it now.

Asparagus has been on sale for several weeks now so we've been eating it almost daily!  I really wanted to use my zucchini noodles as some sort of comforting "pasta" dish and chicken and mushrooms sounded perfect.  Adding the asparagus gave it some great color and flavor.

Chicken, Mushroom, & Asparagus "Pasta"

20 min, serves 2

  • 1 T olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
  • 5 spears asparagus, cut into 1 inch lengths
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 1/4 t pepper
  • 1/4 t oregano
  • 1/4 t basil
  • 1 T coconut aminos
  • 2 chicken breasts, sliced
  • 1/4 c chicken stock

For Zucchini Noodles

  • 1-2 zucchinis (depending on size), spiralized
  • 2-3 T chicken stock
  • pinch salt
  • pinch pepper
  1. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat
  2. Add garlic and cook until slightly browned, about 2 min
  3. Add mushrooms and asparagus and cook, covered, about 5 min, stirring frequently
  4. Add spices and coconut aminos and stir to combine
  5. Add chicken breasts and chicken stock and let simmer until chicken is cooked, about 5 min
  6. Pour everything from the skillet into a separate dish, cover, and set aside
  7. Add zucchini noodles to the same skillet with chicken stock, salt, and pepper and let simmer until zucchini noodles are tender, about 4 min, stirring occasionally
  8. Serve chicken mixture on top of zucchini noodles