Plantain Tostadas

Have you ever seen the banana-looking plantain things in your grocery store?  For years I had no clue what they were until Dustin and I were introduced to Whole30 and read that plantain chips were compliant (they are no longer compliant though and you can read about it here).  There is some truth to it--Dustin and I could kill a container of plantain chips in a day. :)

So what are plantains?  Are they bananas?  Well, they are part of the banana family.  They are a starchy, low sugar variety that need to be cooked before eaten.  You can almost treat it as a potato if you're looking for a yummy side dish, but don't necessarily want a potato.  The blacker they become on the outside, the sweeter they become so they could even be used as a dessert as well.

I like to use them on Taco Tuesday in the form of a tostado (a flat taco).  Here's how I do it (super easy!):

Plantain Tostadas

Ingredients:
1-2 plantains
Coconut oil
Salt to taste

Instructions:
-Cut the ends of your plantains and slide into 3-4 big chunks depending on how big your plantains are
-Peal the skin off
-Cut eat chunk in 1/2 so you have a flat side
-Heat the coconut oil (however much you want, I didn't measure mine) over your stovetop in a flat pan
-Place your plantains in the pan and cook until golden brown on each side (about 2-3 minutes each side--don't let them burn, they cook fast).  Just speaking from experience! :)

-Take your plantains out and smash them with the bottom of a bowl
-Place them back in your pan and continuing cooking until they reach your desired crispiness
-Add salt to taste and enjoy!

I put lettuce, chicken and avocado on mine and they were delish!  Let me know if you try it out!

XO,
Emily

Whole30 Sloppy Joe's

Hahaha, name that movie!

As requested, here is my Whole30 Sloppy Joe recipe (kid approved!)  This is a combination of a few recipes I found online and what I could create with what I had on hand!  It was sweet and spicy and would beat Manwich any day!  I served it over a baked potato and had shredded Brussel sprouts on the side and Dustin ended up just combining it all together!

So here it is!  (Disclaimer, I usually just eyeball instead of measuring and taste along the way so these are approximate measurements!)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground meat (we use venison)
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes (many recipes called for green pepper in it too, but we didn't have any on hand!)
• 1 can tomato paste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• About 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• About 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
• 1/4 cup Coconut Aminos
• Big squeeze of Dijon Mustard (we use the Annie's brand)
• 1/4 cup water to allow it to simmer

Instructions:

• Heat either olive oil or coconut oil in a pan and begin to brown your burger
• Add in all the ingredients in the order listed above and simmer about 10 minutes until your sloppy joe's thicken. 

It was a super easy Sunday night dinner!  Let me know if you give it a try! 

xo,

Emily

#allheart