Whole30 Sloppy Joes

How better to celebrate finding new found energy than making Whole30 Sloppy Joes! Sloppy Joes with tater tots use to be my favorite comfort food, but between the processed food and carbs, I knew it was not Whole30 approved. Lucky for me and you, I found an excellent Whole30 Sloppy Joes recipe that is accompanied with Whole30 steak fries, Whole30 Ketchup and steamed broccoli.

Before truly beginning today’s post, let’s discuss the beautiful part of Whole30…tiger blood. I can count on one hand how many times I have woken up prior to my alarm. Since hitting the tiger blood stage, the count might double. The alarm goes off and I am full of energy and zest about life.

This is a 180 to the normal snooze until I literally have 3 minutes to get out the door. Even better, my lovely high school years at my parent’s house where water would be thrown on me after the 20 previous attempts to wake me up failed.

When I found a Whole30 Sloppy Joes recipe, I was over the moon! It is literally one of my favorite comfort meals and the new recipe did not disappoint. I was not able to recreate Sloppy Joes and tots out of healthy whole food…yummy!

Whole30 Sloppy Joes Ingredients:

• 1 lb of ground turkey or beef
• 2 tsp of coconut oil (or olive oil)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 3 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 cup carrots, grated
• 1 can (15 oz) of tomato sauce
• 4 pitted dates, diced
• 5 tsp of ground yellow mustard
• 4 tsp of balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 c and 2 tbsp of water
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper (or 1 jalapeno, diced) but this is optional if you like spicy food
• Lettuce

Whole30 Sloppy Joes Directions:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add oil.
2. Add onions and bell peppers – cook until onions are translucent (about 4-5 minutes).
3. Stir in tomato paste, carrots, and 2 tbsp of water – cook until carrots are tender (about 2 minutes). Remember to stir occasionally!
4. Add ground meat and cook until it is no longer pink.  Stir and break up the meat as it cooks.
5. Stir in tomato sauce, dates, vinegar, mustard, and 1/2 cup of water.  Bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to low, add the red crushed peppers or jalapeno, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
7. Serve with bread (if you have no restrictions) or with lettuce!

Thanks to Paleo Grub for the inspiration.