Whole30 Meatloaf, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Sauteed Green Beans

Yesterday was my first day of the Whole30. I was already planning on making meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole for dinner, so it only took a little modifying to make it Whole30 compliant. This dinner was delicious. And the best part was I made a lot of it, so we'll be having it tonight too. 

My Sweetener Free Meatloaf fits with the program as is. I'm not getting bent out of shape about only eating grass-fed organic meats. I'm being realistic and using the meats we already have. This time I doubled the recipe so we could have enough for another dinner. I doubled all of the spices, ketchup, etc and used 2 lb ground pork, 1.25 lb ground bison, and 1.25 lb ground turkey. I mixed everything together in a big bowl and split them into two loaves. It turned out delicious! Way better than when I've tried to use just pork and turkey in the past. This picture also highlights the importance of lining the pan with foil. Just toss the foil when you're done and cleanup is super easy. Much less frustrating that scrubbing the pan.

My Gluten and Dairy Free Green Bean Casserole is pretty close to Whole30 compliant. I could have easily modified that recipe to change how I fried the onions and left out the sherry. But that didn't seem to be in the spirit of the challenge. Whole30 has a phrase, Sex With Your Pants On. It refers to when you change something to fit in the program that imitates some unhealthy habit you have, and you just end up feeling unsatisfied and still crave the original. So I decided to do sauteed green beans and mushrooms. They tasted great and were a lot healthier and easier than making green bean casserole. 

Sauteed Green Beans

2 cans green beans, rinsed and drained
4 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp avocado oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme

1. Heat oil in a medium skillet.
2. Add the mushrooms, garlic and seasonings. Cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid.
3. Add the green beans and cook until the mushrooms are browned.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 lb frozen cauliflower
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp coconut cream from a can of coconut milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

1. Combine the sweet potatoes, cauliflower and water to cover in a large pot. Bring to a boil.
2. Boil until the veggies are soft. Drain and return to the pot.
3. Mash the veggies with the remaining ingredients. 

Meatloaf, Sweetener Free Ketchup, and Gluten Free Baked Green Bean Fries

My cousin Kelly gave us the recipe for a Sweetener Free Ketchup. We made it the other day. I wasn't sure what "two pinches" meant, so I used 1/2 tsp ground cloves. The ketchup is much more spiced than a traditional ketchup, but it sure was easy and it is thicker than The Infamous Fruit Ketchup. Plus Tommy didn't have a reaction to this ketchup. I think next time I might add a little sugar and a little less of the spices.

The Sweetener Free Ketchup was really really good in meatloaf though! The spices worked really well with the meat and did not overpower the other flavors. We still have a lot of the ketchup left, so I think we'll be making meatloaf again in the near future. 

On the plus side, Tommy seems to be fine after having this meatloaf twice over the course of several days. That's a relief. I'm glad he's ok with grass fed beef. It gives me hope that in the future he'll be ok with traditional beef too. I started with my Bison Meatloaf and modified the recipe a little. This meatloaf was even better than the bison one.

I served the meatloaf with baked green bean fries and mashed potatoes. I saw the original recipe for Spicy Green Bean Fries on Pinterest and then modified it so make it Tommy safe. I thought the breading I made was kind of bland, but Tommy loved them. He doesn't eat a lot of green vegetables, so I'm counting this recipe as a success.

And yes, Ben and I did join Tommy at the kids table that night. Good thing Ben built sturdy chairs!

Sweetener Free Meatloaf

1 lb grass fed ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1/2 cup dry minced onion
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup sweetener free ketchup, divided
1 Tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dry rosemary

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. In a small bowl, combine the minced onion and coconut milk. Let sit for 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except for the ketchup. Add in the onion mixture and 1/3 cup ketchup. Mix thoroughly with your hands. 
4. Line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil. Form the meat into a loaf. 
5. Spread the remaining ketchup over the top of the meatloaf.
6. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the internal temperature is at least 160°F.
7. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Gluten Free Baked Green Bean Fries

8 oz green beans, washed and trimmed

3/4 cup potato starch

1/4 cup sorghum flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup coconut milk

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

2. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with oil.

3. Place coconut milk in a bowl. Mix remaining ingredients (except for green beans) in a large shallow bowl.

4. Working in small batches, soak the green beans in the coconut milk, shake excess milk off and toss in the flour mixture.

5. Shake off excess flour and place on the baking sheet.

6. Repeat until all the green beans are coated.

7. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the green beans are crispy, stirring once during baking.