Clara's Cooking | Meatballs (Whole30, Paleo)

Clara's Meatballs (Whole30, Paleo)

Ingredients:

1lb ground lean beef
1lb ground lean turkey
3/4 cup onions, finely diced
2 large eggs
3 tsp Coconut Aminos (optional, alternatives listed below)
1/2 to 1 TBSP garlic powder (based on preference)
Olive oil
Salt & black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Heat olive oil on medium heat in pan, and cook onions until silvery.
3. Set pan aside to cool. Beat eggs in large bowl.
4. Add beef and turkey to bowl. Mix well.
5. Add Coconut Aminos, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper to bowl. Mix well.
6. Form meatballs that are of a diameter of 1.5 to 1.75 inches, forming somewhere between 25-28 meatballs (I just use my hands, but you can use a large ice cream scoop or spoon if you wish).  Place on ungreased cookie sheet. 
7. Bake meatballs for 20-23 minutes.


Tips:

- Mix with marinara or your other preferred favorite tomato sauce! While the meatballs are baking, I like cooking a mixture of sliced bell peppers, zucchini, onions, crushed red pepper, and Aldi's Simply Nature Organic Marinara Sauce. When the meatballs are done a slightly cooled, I add them to the mixture. Delicious!

- If you're not following the Whole30 nutrition plan, instead of Coconut Aminos you can use Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce. You can also leave it out altogether and the meatballs would still taste great; really the onion is the dominant flavor of the meatballs!

Enjoy!

Clara Slate

Cozy Broccoli Soup (Vegan, Whole30)

When I first started this recipe, I was afraid that the lack of cream or milk (even coconut milk) would make this soup less soothing. I was wrong!

Ingredients:

2 large heads of broccoli, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 cup sliced white button mushrooms
1 large yellow potato, finely diced
4 cups of water (or Whole30 compliant vegetable broth)
0.5-1 TBSP garlic salt
Ground black pepper, to taste (freshly ground if possible)
1 TBSP olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat water in soup pot to boiling. Add broccoli and boil until very soft.
2. While broccoli is cooking, heat 1/2 TBSP olive oil in separate pan to medium. Saute potato, then remove from pan and set aside in a separate dish.
3. Heat another 1/2 TBSP olive oil to the same pan, and saute onion and mushrooms. Add additional olive oil if needed.
4. Once broccoli is cooked, put into a blender in increments and blend until smooth. Add small amounts of water if needed to blend broccoli.
5. Put blended broccoli back into soup pot, leaving about 1-2 cups of the blended broccoli in the blender. 
6. Add the cooked onion, mushrooms, and 3/4 of the potato to the blender (set aside 1/4 of the cooked potato to be added later). Blend until smooth.
7. Add blender contents, garlic salt, and black pepper to soup pot. Add diced potato you had set aside. Stir and simmer for 20 minutes.

Tips: 
- If you prefer a chunkier soup, don't blend all the broccoli. Instead, set aside 1/4 of the broccoli to mash with a potato masher, then add to the soup. (THIS IS WHAT I DO :) )

- Add water as needed to reach preferred soup consistency.

- Add 1-2 cups of coconut milk if you prefer a creamier consistency.


Enjoy! This is especially nice on a cold Winter's day!


love + light,
Clara

Clara's Cooking | DIY Taco Seasoning (Whole30)

Until I followed the Whole30 in 2016, I never knew how simple it was to make your own taco seasoning! Even at just 50 cents a packet, this makes for some great savings!


Ingredients:

1 TBSP chili powder

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 to 1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Mix well, store in airtight container. 

2. Use about 3 TBSP per 1 lb of meat. Adjust accordingly to taste.

Tip: Increase crushed red pepper by 1/4 tsp at a time to increase heat.

If you are following the WHOLE30, make sure your spices are WHOLE30 compliant, as some spices contain sugar! (Which is one reason why I make my own taco seasoning in the first place.)

Note r/t Whole30: I used a mix of brands from McCormick, Stonewall Essentials (Aldi), and Dollar Tree to make this taco seasoning. If you're following the Whole30, ALWAYS check your spices to make sure they are compliant, even if you've been purchasing the same brand for years, as sometimes ingredients may change!

Enjoy!

love + light,

Clara