What have I done to myself! I am currently on Round 1 Day 8 of Whole30. Which is basically a whole foods, no sugar or substitutes, no dairy, no legumes, no grains diet. I've heard very similar to Keto and Paleo (although Paleo allows honey and natural sugars).
After dabbling for years in Trim Healthy Mama (which is still a great plan - just got to the point where there was so much special stuff you had to buy to keep going, made it harder to progress for me. Again, a GREAT plan, and I love the heart of the ladies, so I'm not dogging THM), Whole30 came up a lot in recipe searches, since there are SOME similar principles. I realized, though, that the alternative sweeteners allowed on plan were messing with my allergic responses, and my fibromyalgia. Enter Whole30. Granted, there are STILL special ingredients to buy (have you EVER tried to look for a ketchup with no sugar? Or a mayo with out canola oil??).
So far, my husband and my youngest daughter are joining me on this journey, and I can see at Day 8, that there will be things I will do regardless of whether or not I'm on a round.
Food prep is a KILLER, I'm NOT gonna lie. Thankfully, I do love to cook, and have been used to a bulk prep day for a long time (thanks to THM). And I've been enjoying trying new recipes and creating new ones, too. That brings us to today. Yesterday on the Whole30 Beginner's Facebook group there was a lengthly discussion about what you can order at a Chinese Restaurant (which is, basically, nothing...sorry). Of course, this made me crave Chinese food. I'd been marinating some pork chops in Coconut Aminos and Sesame Seed Oil over the weekend planning on making Egg Roll in a Bowl (a THM recipe that translate nicely to Whole30 with a few minor adjustments like cooking oil used and using Coconut Aminos vs. Soy or Tamari Sauce). Having marinated over the weekend I HAD to use it today. So I decided to try Pork Fried Rice. I'm so glad I did. I hope you try it and you like it.
Whole30 Pork Fried Rice
3/4 - 1 lb Boneless Pork Chops, cut into cubes
1 12 oz Bag Green Giant Riced Cauliflower & Sweet Potato (the one with no sauces added, defrosted)*
1 clove Garlic
3 Tbs plus 2 Tbs Coconut Aminos (some for marinade, some for cooking)
2 Tbs. Sesame Oil (I prefer Dark - again, some for marinade, some for cooking)
Avocado Oil OR Olive Oil for stir frying
1 egg, beaten well
1 diced scallion
Place pork cubes, 2 Tbs Coconut Aminos, and 1 Tbs Sesame Oil into a baggie big enough (I was able to use a quart sized freezer bag)** Let marinade at least 4 hours or overnight is even better.
After marinading, heat wok (or skillet) on medium high heat. Add about 2 or 3 tbs of Avocado or Olive Oil and 1 Tbs Sesame Oil. Add garlic clove (whole, peeled) to oil while it is heating up and slightly fry the clove - flipping - be very careful not to burn, burned garlic is YUCKY!. Remove the clove when it is lightly browned/fried on all sides. Set aside, you will be adding this back later.
Add pork cubes and marinade to the hot pan and cook until just about done. Add the defrosted Cauliflower Rice blend and continue to stir fry. After about 5 minutes, add 3 Tbs. of the Coconut Aminos. Stir around and create an empty spot on the pan to cook the egg...allow it to COOK before trying to scramble it and stir into the rice/pork mixture. (otherwise you end up with a creamy like sauce and not pieces of egg). Dice the garlic that has been set aside and stir in when you stir in the egg.
After everything is done cooking all together turn off the heat. Sprinkle top with scallions and stir them in. Feel free to top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds if you desire!
ENJOY!
NOTES:
*You can use any of the riced cauliflower you'd like just make sure that it has no added sauces or flavorings that are non-compliant.
**You could very easily prep this ahead of time and place in the freezer, I plan on doing this next time I get a bunch of pork chops, just set aside some in the marinade before freezing so that it can marinade while defrosting and make prep even that much easier.
