Ratatouille

This weekend I have to admit that I overindulged a bit. Between barbeques and family get togethers, my body is definitely craving some clean meals this week. I sit down on Sundays and plan out my meals for the week. It is the best way to keep on track and hold myself accountable. I found this pad at Marshalls for a few dollars and it has been the best thing.

I do a lot of food prep on Sundays as well. This makes it so much easier when it comes time to either run out the door with breakfast in hand or whip together our meal when I get home from work. I like to chop all my vegetables, fruits, and make breakfast for myself and Jay for the week. I shared this recipe which will be on repeat for my breakfasts for the next week, or two. For Jay I always make this. I swear he will never get sick of those muffins!

The recipe I am sharing today is another from Whole30. We had this for dinner last week and it was a hit! I loved all the veggies combined with the garlic and tomato sauce. This is a recipe I will use again as it is a perfect side dish for any meat. I paired it with chicken meatballs, but I think it would be great with a perfectly grilled steak - yum!

The best part about this dish is that it cooks in one pan. I love when I don’t have to use a thousand dishes to cook one thing, it just makes my life so much easier. Don’t get me wrong, I make things all the time that make my kitchen look like it's been attacked by every pan and cooking utensil in the house, haven't we all?? You’ll love this dish. It’s simple and delicious - what more could you ask for?

I did chop all my veggies and put them in bowls prior to cooking. I found that it was a lot easier to dump the bowls into the hot pan rather than scrambling for what was going in next. I put the onions in one bowl, the zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant in another bowl, and then the orange and green peppers in the last bowl. Since they all went in at different times it helped the cooking process, and myself, keep organized. I like to think of cooking as organized chaos. 

How do you decide what meals to make? I’d love to do a post on meal prep. Let me know if that is something you’d like to see! Happy eating!

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Ratatouille

by Kaytlyn Ferrando (adapted from the Whole30 cookbook) July-17-2017

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 finely chopped onion
• 1 cup diced zucchini
• 1 cup diced yellow squash
• 1 cup diced eggplant
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup finely diced orange bell pepper
• 2 tsp (2 cloves) minced garlic
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tsp balsamic venegar
• 3 basil leaves (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Heat pan with coconut oil.2. Add the onions and cook until translucent (about 3 minutes). 3. Add the yellow squash, zucchini, and eggplant. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often.4. Add the finely diced peppers. Cook for about 2 minutes. 5. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).6. Add the tomato sauce and water. Let simmer on low heat for 20 - 25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. 7. Serve with meat or eat alone.

Details

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 35 mins Total time: 55 mins Yield: serves 2

Recipe from The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom