Easily put together a personalized, delicious, hot, Whole30-compliant meal with just a few ingredients and a few minutes. This recipe uses Whole30 pork and adds sauteed mushrooms, onions and red peppers in a balsamic glaze.
The first time I did a month of Whole30, my husband also did it. Our shopping, cooking and eating were a united, team approach. We collaborated on meal planning and made lots of family-sized meals with plenty of leftovers. That teamwork and support made it a lot easier to follow-through with 30 days of eating whole foods without grains, dairy, legumes or added sweeteners. At the end we both felt great physically and like we’d accomplished a tough goal, which we had.
Fast forward a year, and I was on my own during my second round of Whole30. Well, I had the support of the Whole30 community, including daily emails from Melissa Urban, but no one else at home was eating like I was. They were when I cooked, of course, but not when my husband cooked. He didn’t do the Whole30 elimination program, and honestly, didn’t change much about his diet for the month. I can’t tell you how many times I had to say “no thank you” to rice at dinner, or a slice of cheese for a snack, or a handful of chips. I know he was trying to be nice, but COME ON!!
About halfway through I decided to take control by cooking good meals for myself – just for me. I did that with fresh, easy to prepare veggies and portions of leftover meat that was originally made with Whole30-compliant ingredients. That way, if I wanted something hot for lunch on the weekend, I could whip something up solo. No thank you, I don’t want you to get me a burger on your way home from the recycling center/home supply store/garden center; I made my own lunch THANKYOUVERYMUCH.
Some of my favorite combos included my pulled pork recipe, using compliant chicken stock instead of the white wine. One week I ate this Whole30 pork and mushrooms recipe three days in a row, making it fresh each time. I admit I move pretty fast in the kitchen, but I think even the slowest veggie chopper could get this done in about 20 minutes. If you’d rather make a big batch all at once, just triple or quadruple the recipe. Then you could share with the whole family or portion it into containers to enjoy by yourself later.
It was an adjustment to start, only using a slice of onion, four mushrooms and half a pepper. I’m used to cooking for everyone, not just me. But, isn’t that what Whole30 is … taking care of me? That’s right. It’s taking care of myself, eating delicious, whole foods, even if it’s made in a single serving.
Go ahead, try it. Make a mini-meal just for you. Ignore the relative emptiness of the pan, you’ll get used to it. Saute those baby bellas until they’re fragrant and soft with salt, pepper and rosemary.
Then add the meat and warm it through. I used pulled pork I’d made in the crockpot earlier in the week. You could substitute leftover chicken breast, pork chop, steak as long as it was prepared to be Whole30 compliant originally. You could even use canned chicken if you wanted. Then add the balsamic, mix it around and let the heat burn off the acid of the vinegar, leaving the sweetness behind.
Enjoy! Remember, eating Whole30 doesn’t have to mean snack bars or salads if you’re eating alone.
Single-Serving Whole30 Balsamic Pork and Mushrooms
Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: American1
servings10
minutes10
minutesIngredients
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
4 mini bella mushrooms, chopped
1 cup pulled pork
3/4 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Directions
- Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, peppers and mushrooms; season with salt, pepper, and rosemary; saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add pulled pork, separate with a fork and mix with the veggies, heating until warmed through.
- Add balsamic vinegar, mix thoroughly. Cook for 3-4 minutes, cooking off some of the acid of the vinegar.