Choose Your Own Adventure Bowl (on a plate) Paleo / AIP / GF / Veggie option

This dinner was made on the road in Santa Fe with all local in season ingredients from the La Montañita Co-op (with the exception of the frozen spiralized carrots that I use as an ice pack in a cooler). Photo and styling as always by me, Jenna Peffley

Dinner on the road is always easy and minimal, and the first time I made this meal was after a 6 hour driving day on a road trip, so you know it’s easy. When I’m researching where to stay on the road, I always look for towns with a great food co-op and cute lodging with a fully equipped kitchen. These are non-negotiables for me as eating to manage autoimmune symptoms is always a part of my life, even when traveling. Shopping at local co-ops and farmer's markets - that’s my favorite kind of tourism! I always travel with essentials like good olive oil, favorite seasonings, a kitchen knife, and coconut aminos and when I’m driving, I have a plug-in car cooler - but that’s a post for another day.

This meal also works really well when you’re stuck at home, completely uninspired / burned out on day “who knows what” of quarantine, if you’ve had a long day and don’t really want to deal with dinner, or if you have various veggies in the fridge that you don’t know what to do with. I’m in the camp that almost all real fresh food tastes good together, so this really is a “choose your own adventure” bowl (on a plate here) plus a side recipe for easy roasted asparagus.

BOWL INGREDIENTS (serves 2 people with portions pictured above)

• 1/2 lb ideally pasture raised ground beef or other ground meat (swap out for extra mushrooms for vegan option)

• 2 handfuls of mushrooms (I love whatever is local, especially when it’s chantrelle season!)

• 1/4 onion, chopped up

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped up

• 1 package (approximately 2 cups of frozen spiralized carrots or other pre-packaged spiralized carrot/zucchini/butternut squash or 2 cups of 1/4” sliced carrot rounds, or mixed radishes and carrots, or frozen/fresh butternut squash cubes (like pictured below), or riced cauliflower, or any combination of any of the above mentioned things. To note - veggie measurements are just a suggestion, feel free to add more

• Optional handful of sliced mushrooms (more for taste)

• 2 handfuls of fresh greens (I typically like arugula) - optional but tasty

• 1/4 cup Olive oil / coconut oil / ghee / avocado oil / cooking fat of choice

• Fancy pink salt or sea salt of choice (at least 1 tsp but I love salt so I’ll usually do more)

• Herbs de Provence and/or garlic powder and/or other favorite spices

• Coconut Aminos

• Microgreens or Purslane optional topping

• Also good with avocado on top! And sometimes even a scoop of sauerkraut!

ASPARAGUS INGREDIENTS

• 6-8 spears of asparagus per person

• 1 lemon wedge to juice

• 1 tsp to 1 tbsp cooking oil of choice (I prefer olive oil for this)

• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

• Salt / seasonings to taste

BOWL RECIPE

• Add cooking fat/oil to favorite pan/pot of choice (ideally with lid but not the end of the world if you don’t have one) and turn burner on medium. After about a minute, add in chopped onions and garlic and sautee for a minute or two until just starting to get translucent.

• Add in heartier veggies (carrots/spiralized veggies etc) and continue to stir for about a minute or two.

• Add in meat of choice and/or mushrooms, about a tsp of coconut aminos, and seasonings (salt and Herbs De Provence /spices to taste) stir well for about a minute or two, and then cover for about 8-10 minutes (when meat is no longer pink and veggies are soft to your liking), stirring occasionally.

• Add in fresh greens last, stir, and cover again for about another minute or two until greens shrink down and become one with the dish.

• Turn off burner and serve!

ASPARAGUS RECIPE

• Preheat oven to 375° and line cookie sheet with parchment paper. If you’re making this to go alongside the bowl, then please do this at least 10 minutes before you start cooking the bowl stuff.

• Spread asparagus out evenly on parchment paper, drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, and sprinkle with salt, garlic powder (optional) and preferred spices.

• Put in oven for about 10 minutes, until tops become lightly crispy. All ovens differ, so keep an eye on them the first time you make them and adjust time accordingly.

• Drizzle with balsamic and serve!

Taken on the road in Taos, New Mexico, inside an Earthship - this one was made with frozen butternut squash instead of carrots, and the green things are fresh local Purslane (super good for you and tasty too!).