A Calculated Whisk

Fried Okra with Avocado Crema (Whole30 Day 18)

January 19, 2014 By Becky 4 Comments

My mom grew up in Austin, and that’s where I learned to love fried okra. We used to go every year to visit our family, and we always ate at this amazing cafeteria called the Marimont that has now been closed for several years. We would stay for a week, and eat there everyday for lunch. Here’s what I used to get: two or three sides of macaroni and cheese (theirs was the best!), an order of fried okra, and a slice of chocolate cream pie. I miss that place so much!

Fortunately, there are other places to get great fried okra (I recently had some really delicious okra at Tupelo Honey in Chattanooga). However, as far as I know, none of those places are in Massachusetts, and none of them offer fried okra that’s paleo, gluten-free, vegan and fried in coconut oil. I still consider my version an indulgence since it uses a lot of oil, but treats like this are important, especially when you’re doing a Whole30 and can’t have any desserts.

I made an easy avocado crema to go with my okra. If you have extra crema, it would also be great on eggs or as a dip for veggies. Of course, the okra is also amazing plain, with just good coarse salt sprinkled on top!

Mini Quiches with Duxelles & Baby Broccoli (Whole30 Day 15)

January 16, 2014 By Becky 5 Comments

I’ve only been back at school for two days, and I’m already ready for another vacation! On my first day back, I accidentally left my computer at school. Luckily a friend was still on campus and was able to find it and stash it in her locker, so nothing happened to it. I was stuck without it at home, though, which meant I had to break my blogging streak. It was a little disappointing, but I figure it’s more important to keep up the healthy eating than to blog about it everyday, right? Tuesday was the longest day ever with class from 8 to 1:30 and back-to-back sessions in the clinic from 3 to 5. Today, I finally made it into the kitchen.

My Whole30 is officially half over, and I’m so happy to be eating such great food. I have almost no cravings for off-plan foods, although there was one rough evening when I was getting ready to go to dinner at a friend’s and Ben had my favorite kind of pizza delivered. To his credit, he thought it would arrive after I’d left. I was starving and I would have loved a slice of that pizza…but I love having my pants fit better even more. I stayed strong, made it to my friend’s house, and enjoyed a delicious Whole30-compliant meal there. I even managed to sit calmly at the table while everyone else had cake and ice cream!

Pumpkin Soup with Crispy Shallots

January 12, 2014 By Becky 6 Comments

My mom got me a sugar pumpkin to use as a centerpiece for Thanksgiving, and it’s been cheerfully sitting on my windowsill ever since. It still looked perfectly fine to me (turns out pumpkins last 8-12 weeks), so the other day I decided to roast it. If you have a pumpkin kicking around your house, you should, too! Then you can make this soup. Roasting is much better than rotting, which is what will happen if you put off roasting your pumpkin for too long. Why waste a source of delicious food? While you’re at it, roast the seeds, too. I tossed mine with ghee and sprinkled them with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and sage, and they were amazing!

If you already got rid of all your pumpkins, don’t despair. Canned pumpkin is available in stores year-round, and will work just fine in this recipe.

Pumpkin is great, but the real star of this soup is the humble shallot. When you fry shallots for a long time over low heat, they turn a wonderful shade of golden brown and develop an even richer savory flavor. After that, when you let them dry on paper towels, they crisp up. Not like potato-chip crispy, but a wonderful kind of chewy-crispy–and they’re WAY more delicious than potato chips. You may want to make extra, because with a little salt sprinkled on top, they’re pretty much better than bacon.

Orange-Glazed Brussels Sprouts (Whole30 Day 10)

January 11, 2014 By Becky 6 Comments

I’ve made it to Day 10 of my Whole30! It feels good to be 1/3 of the way there, and I am loving eating so many vegetables. I’m not loving being the only one who can’t have any bread when we’re out to dinner, but so far the pros outweigh the cons. I like how the Whole30 forces me to be creative in the kitchen, finding new ways to make meat, eggs, and vegetables extra delicious.

As a kid I never liked brussels sprouts, because I’d only tried the mushy, boiled ones. The first time Ben made me Brussels sprouts, I was totally surprised. I LOVED them. He pan-fried them in a skillet until they were browned and crisp around the edges, and sprinkled them with plenty of Cajun seasoning. It’s a simple technique, but somehow it never tastes as good when I try to make it.

Since I’m not the best at making sprouts Ben’s way, I decided to think of a new way to prepare them. I love roasting vegetables because it’s so easy, and a parchment-lined cookie sheet means minimal cleanup. I was inspired by the huge box of oranges I have to create an easy glaze with fresh orange juice and zest, coconut aminos, and chili paste. The results were so delicious that I ate the entire batch for lunch! The glaze is spicy and sweet, and since the Brussels sprouts are roasted instead of cooking in the sauce, they retain their nice crispy edges.

Someday soon, I hope to use this recipe to convince a new person that they love Brussels sprouts. Maybe it will be you!

If you already love Brussels sprouts, what’s your favorite way to prepare them?

Prepping a Week of Paleo Breakfasts (Whole30 Day 9)

January 9, 2014 By Becky 2 Comments

Prepping a Week of Paleo Breakfasts | acalculatedwhisk.com

Need help planning a week of paleo breakfasts for your Whole30?

I’ve got you covered with this easy guide!

Guys, I am going back to school next week! Part of the reason I picked January for my Whole30 is that I knew having the first two weeks of the month off would help me get myself on track with my new eating plan before having the stress of school, work, and clinic added on. Everything has been going smoothly so far, but it’s about to get a lot harder.

The key to sticking with the Whole30 throughout a busy work week is planning and preparation. This weekend I’m planning to make big batches of a few different meals so I can bring leftovers to school for lunch, and even eat leftovers some nights for dinner if I’m too tired to cook. However, even though I occasionally enjoy a good dinner for breakfast, most mornings I want something a little more traditional.

So, today I’m sharing my plan for prepping a week of paleo breakfasts. These ideas are perfect if you’re doing a Whole30, but are also just great if you have a goal to start each day with a healthy breakfast. Most of these ideas do require you to get up and cook, but it should only take about 10 minutes, and for a nutritious & tasty breakfast, it’s worth it.

Sweet Potato & Kale Gratin (Whole30 Day 8)

January 9, 2014 By Becky 19 Comments

Looking for more Whole30 recipes? Check out my cookbook Paleo Planet (there are over 80 in there!) and the Whole30 section of my recipe index.

Phew! Posting every single day is starting to get very exhausting!

Don’t get me wrong–I love to dream up recipes, cook, take pictures, and then write about it. It’s just that somehow I find myself on the couch each evening around 11, realizing there is so much work left to do! Yesterday’s post went up at 11:59 pm. It always takes a little bit of pressure to actually get my nose to the grindstone.

I think that since it’s 10:58 right now, and I already have the photos and the recipe all set, I should be getting this one up a little earlier.

But before I hit “publish”, though, let me tell you about this good-looking gratin!

Braised Zucchini (Whole30 Day 6)

January 6, 2014 By Becky Leave a Comment

We’re going nose-to-tail with our zucchini today! I saw these charmingly small organic zucchini at Whole Foods, and was inspired to cook them without trimming the ends off, chopping them up, or turning them into noodles. Sometimes, we just have to let zucchini be! It’s a beautiful vegetable, and when it’s browned like this and braised until tender, you can eat the whole entire thing.

This zucchini is slightly spicy thanks to the cumin, paprika, and cayenne, and has just a hint of tang thanks to the sherry vinegar. The vinegar, broth, spices, & shallots form a deliciously rich sauce that you can serve spooned over the zucchini, and/or on top of whatever protein you’re eating with it.

I had this for lunch alongside a pork chop, cooked using the method outlined in this recipe, seasoned with salt and pepper and just a little garlic powder. Bonus: if you decide to make these pork chops, with or without the apple compote, they can cook in the oven alongside the zucchini, and everything will be ready at the same time.

Pork Chops and Apple Compote + A Review of Cooking with Coconut Oil

January 5, 2014 By Becky 6 Comments

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Pork Chops & Apple Compote (Gluten free, Paleo, Whole30)

Pork chops and apple compote go together so well, and this paleo recipe from the cookbook Cooking with Coconut Oil is a snap to make!

When I was offered a review copy of Cooking with Coconut Oil by Elizabeth Nyland of Guilty Kitchen, my answer was a resounding YES! I am a huge cookbook junkie, and especially like to read books penned by fellow food bloggers. Also, since I started eating paleo in August, I’ve loved using coconut oil in the kitchen, and was eager to learn more things I could do with it. Today I’m sharing my experience cooking & photographing three amazing recipes from the book, and the recipe for Pork Chops with Apple Compote is at the end of this post!

Cooking with Coconut Oil arrived the day before I left to spend the holidays in Tennessee with Ben’s family, so I did not get to cook with it right away. I had plenty of time to page through it, though, bookmarking recipes I wanted to try and craving almost everything pictured in the gorgeous photographs. This cookbook features a large, full-color photo of every single recipe, which I love. (Cookbooks that only show pictures of some of their recipes are a huge pet peeve of mine–I never want to make any of the un-pictured recipes!) The book also has informational sections that cover the health benefits of coconut oil, details about many of the ingredients used in the book, and ten tips for living a paleo lifestyle. Did you know that the medium-chain-triglycerides in coconut oil improve brain function and can have therapeutic effects on Alzheimer’s patients? Yeah, neither did I!

Chicken Meatballs with Garlic Kale Marinara (Whole30 Day 4)

January 4, 2014 By Becky 15 Comments

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Chicken Meatballs with Garlic Kale Marinara (Paleo, Whole30)

These deliciously moist paleo & gluten-free chicken meatballs with garlic kale marinara are Whole30 compliant and contain two hidden vegetables!

I’ve always been more of a baker than a cook, but I’m working hard to change that, especially since starting my Whole30. It’s exciting to try lots of different meats in lots of different forms. Yesterday I made pork belly (you can see the before & after pics on Instagram–it was good, but not quite good enough to share with you!). Today I used ground chicken to make meatballs. I am so happy with the way this dish turned out–it’s one of the best savory recipes I’ve made! The meatballs are moist and rich, and the sauce provides the perfect level of tart tomato and roasted garlic flavor.

5 Essential Paleo Flavor-Boosters for a Delicious Whole30 (Day 3)

January 3, 2014 By Becky Leave a Comment

We got a lot of snow in Boston last night, and the temperatures are hovering right around zero. I’ve been staying inside and cooking up a storm, mainly testing out recipes for my review of Cooking with Coconut Oil by Elizabeth Nyland of Guilty Kitchen, which will go up this weekend. I’ve made two meals from the book so far and loved them both! Since I don’t have a brand new recipe to share today, I wanted to point you towards five paleo flavor boosters to make or buy and have on hand for an extra delicious Whole30 (if you’ve never heard of a Whole30, check out yesterday’s post where I explain things briefly). Even if you’re not Whole30-ing this month, stocking your pantry with these delicious items enables you to indulge while still being healthy!

Also, guess what? I found another blogger doing a Whole30! Even though she’s across the country in Austin, I’m still so happy not to be in this alone! Stop by Quarter Life Crisis Cuisine to say hi to Ashley and see what she’s cooking. She recently posted a Paleo taco casserole with sweet potatoes that looks amazing.

1. Ghee–This stuff is amazing. No wonder Indian food is always so delicious, since almost every recipe starts with ghee! It’s easy to make your own ghee at home. It smells so good, and tastes even better. Seriously, you might want to eat it with a spoon. It’s the only kind of dairy allowed on the Whole30, and I am so glad to have it. Non Whole30ers, you should still make this! It has a much higher smoke point than butter, so you can cook with it and not worry about it burning. Also, the flavor is just superior to regular butter in every way. Best of all, ghee is free of lactose and casein, so people with dairy intolerances are often able to enjoy it.

Learn how to make ghee with these step-by-step instructions from Nom Nom Paleo. If you’re looking for a Whole30-approved way to drink your coffee in the morning, you might want to try this Bulletproof Coffee from Stupid Easy Paleo that’s made with ghee and coconut oil. I also use my ghee to fry eggs and saute meat and vegetables.

Creole Hash & Eggs (Whole30 Day 2)

January 2, 2014 By Becky 6 Comments

It’s Day 2 of my Whole30, and I’m feeling great so far! Yesterday I had quite a headache, which I think was because I tried to replace my morning coffee with tea. It was too soon for that–I need to take my changes one at a time! Since I don’t like black coffee very much, I did a little research and found this recipe for bulletproof coffee. It’s basically hot coffee mixed with some ghee and coconut oil. I made some using my immersion blender, and it was pretty good! Not quite as delicious as my regular cup of joe (with copious amounts of grassfed milk, a splash of maple syrup, and a few drops of vanilla extract–none of which are allowed on the Whole30), but much more palatable than plain coffee.

Orange Ginger Squash Soup

January 1, 2014 By Becky 6 Comments

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Orange Ginger Squash Soup (Paleo, Gluten free, Whole30)

This orange ginger squash soup is easy to make, super comforting, and Whole30-compliant. A sprinkling of pomegranate seeds on top makes it worthy of a festive occasion, too!

It’s Whole30 time! In addition to eating right all month, I’ve committed to posting everyday as part of Blogher’s January NaBloPoMo. The theme is pressure, which seems fitting–I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself to eat clean food and blog about it every single day for a month! I probably won’t be able to share 31 new recipes, but instead will sometimes blog about how I’m feeling and what resources I’m using. I’ll be sharing lots of simple recipes, which will hopefully inspire you to get in the kitchen and whip up something healthy even if you aren’t committing to a whole Whole30.