Okay friends, it is time for me to be real and honest here. After 15 very successful days on Whole30 I called it quits last night. I’m sure there are lots of questions running through your head right now, so I’ll try to clear it up as quickly as I can. Doing Whole30 this round was totally my choice and something I wanted to do. Unfortunately, life is way stressful right now and the combo of high stress and a very drastic lifestyle change was NOT a good idea. Meals became stressful, meal planning was driving me crazy, the frequent stops at the store after work were getting old, and even my relaxing cooking times were getting on my nerves. It was all causing more problems than it was solving and for my own sanity, and those around me, I decided enough was enough.
I’ll probably try again when life isn’t so crazy, but for now Whole30 is being put on the back burner. Well, maybe more like the side burner. I plan to finish out the month with Whole30 breakfasts and lunches (especially since I just went to the grocery store, again), but leave dinner up in the air. I may have a Whole30 meal, I may just cook something healthy, or I may cave and have tacos. Regardless, I’m very happy with this decision and glad I made it. Now, on to my new favorite Whole30 recipe!
The new recipe I tried this week was the Mexican Twice Baked Potatoes from the newest Whole30 cookbook and they were SO good. I switched out the ground beef for ground turkey (I never buy beef) and used sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes.
Mexican Twice Baked Potatoes (edited from original recipe)
3 large sweet potatoes
For Taco Mix:
2 tbls chili powder
1 tbls ground cumin
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic power
For the Taco Meat:
1 tsp coconut oil
8 ounces ground turkey
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp Whole30-complaint hot sauce
For the Cauliflower Rice:
1 1/2 cups of fresh cauliflower rice (I got mine at Trader Joe’s)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp Whole30-complaint hot sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Bake your potatoes. You have two options here – the long way (1 hour in the oven at 400) or the short way (8 minutes in the microwave). I went with the short way! Poke holes in your potatoes with a fork, then cook 4 minutes on each side. Depending on the size of the potatoes you may need to make this 5 minutes per side. Once your potatoes are done, let cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
Make the taco mix: While the potatoes are “baking,” combine all the taco mix ingredients from above. This makes than you need for this recipe, so you will have left over for other things. This is WAY better than the store bought stuff.
Make the taco meat: Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey, onion, garlic, hot sauce, and 1 tablespoon of the taco mix. Cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer the taco meat to a bowl.
Make the cauliflower rice: Put the cauliflower rice in the skillet in which you cooked the meat and add the water, tomatoes, onion, hot sauce, garlic, and cumin. Cook over medium-high heat until the liquid cooks down and the cauliflower is tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer cauliflower rice to a bowl.
Slice each potato in half lengthwise. Using a large spoon, scoop out the center of each potato, leaving about 1/4 inch of flesh around the skins. Place the potato flesh in a large bowl. Add the taco meat and cauliflower rice and stir to combine. Scoop the filling back into the potato shells and bake for 10 minutes, until heated through.
Serve topped with your favorite Whole30 compliant salsa and guac!
It took a little bit of time to prep, but it was so worth it. It made enough for three meals, so I had leftovers to take for lunch the next two days. Seems like a win win to me!
What do you do with the rest of the taco mix? The recipe only calls for 1 T and the recipe makes a much bigger batch!
You can store it in a container and use it for other recipes. I use it for tacos and such.
Hmmm. I get the suggestion of saving the left-overs, but why not just provide recipe-appropriate measurements? The published book says offers the same, so this is not a criticism aimed at you.
For others who use this recipe, I used the “taco mix” for the cauliflower rice step too, instead of using more of my spices. I also used 1 lb of meat instead of 1/2 lb so used 2 TBSP for the meat. Still, tons of spice left over….
Here’s another hint: there’s way more stuffing available than space in the potatoes (even when only using 1/2 lb of meat), so my hubby reheats and eats just the stuffing when the stuffed potatoes are gone.