How to Keep A Whole30 Interesting

What you're looking at, ladies and...ladies, is lasagna. No, your eyes do not deceive you. There is no pasta, nor cheese in this entree. And while I would happily recommend you lick the screen for a sample, sadly, your tastebuds can not yet dispell your initial reaction to a pasta-less, cheese-less lasagna because your head will tell you it is implausible.

But alas! Nutritious and delicious paleo lasagna destiny CAN be yours. In fact, it SHOULD be yours. Recipes like this are what keeps the paleo lifestyle interesting. As much as I love when Kyle sears up a porkchop with just the right amount of seasoning, the whole meat and veg thing can become tedious. 

Enter Everyday Paleo. Sarah, the author of Everday Paleo is a mom, blogger, crossfit trainer, and avid paleo practitioner, which is all the qualification you need in my book (coming summer of 2000-never) for making creative paleo recipes. 

Now that I'm starting my third week of the Paleo Project's Whole30, I'm feeling great, but I'm looking for some variety to keep things interesting. When I saw this paleo lasagna (referred to as "Hasta La Pasta Lasagna"...still not sure how I feel about it), I thought it would be just the right ingredient to spice things up <-- eh?? See what I did there??? Metaphor. Journalism major, right HYA!

It starts with a flavorful layer of grass-fed beef, italian sausage, and a sprinkle of black olives (don't omit the olives! They make a huge impact on the flavor)...

...which is then topped with thinly sliced overlapping layers of zucchini, YES, zucchini as the pasta replacement! Brilliance.

That pattern is followed a couple more times until you end with a layer of meat and olives on top. Then you bake it for a little while...

...and voila! Paleo lasagna. Never boring. (Pretty sure I just stole that from Outback Steakhouse.)

This dish reheats like a dream too, so make plenty of it for leftovers.

Paleo Lasagna (adapted from Everyday Paleo)

• 1lb grass fed ground beef
• 1lb mild Italian sausage 
• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes drained
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 1 cup organic black olives sliced
• 2-4 zucchinis thinly sliced (I only used 2 zucchinis because my pan was so small, but use 4 if you have a rectangle baking dish. Also, I used a knife to slice the zucchini cus I'm a boss, but if you had an attachment for your food processor or mandolin, use that)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pan, saute onions and garlic in the olive oil for about 3 minutes. Add ground beef and sausage to brown. Season meat mixture with all dry ingredients; add drained diced tomatoes and tomato paste and mix well.  

In a baking dish, ladle a thick layer of the meat mixture and top with the sliced black olives. Top meat and olive layer with a layer of sliced zucchini. Repeat one or two more times, depending on how deep your dish is, ending with a final layer of the remaining meat mixture. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.