Whole 30 day 2, Grilled Salmon and Asparagus with Cauliflower Rice

We had a quick and easy dinner last night of grilled salmon, cauliflower rice, and our go-to grilled asparagus. And though I did miss a nice glass of wine alongside our meal, this is one that you’ll be happy to eat Whole 30 or not. I guess that is my goal here, to make meals that are both Whole 30 compliant AND so great you really don’t care that they are part of a cleanse.

We were not trying to reinvent the wheel with this meal. We seasoned the salmon with olive oil, lemon, dill, kosher salt, and fresh pepper. Jason likes to preheat a cast iron griddle on our gas grill which gives the salmon a really delicious crust. Couple that with marinated and grilled asparagus and you have a winning combo!

The “recipe” for this asparagus came by word of mouth from a friend of my in-laws, Bob Romer. We were lucky enough to try some, and when I asked for the recipe he basically said there isn’t one. Just throw some asparagus in a large Ziploc bag with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper and let it marinate for about an hour before grilling. Like everything, especially when it comes to simple recipes, good quality ingredients make a BIG difference. Make sure you are using a quality olive oil, I prefer California olive oil as it is fresh and local. I am very partial to this Fini balsamic vinegar as well, it is expensive but worth it.

I also made Mediterranean Cauliflower Rice from A Saucy Kitchen. It’s pretty easy, and comes together so quickly I can start cooking it right when Jason throws the salmon on the grill. (I have everything prepped and ready to go of course.). You can buy already riced cauliflower pretty easily these days, but it is cheaper and much fresher to get a whole head and do it yourself. My advice there is to make sure you let the cauliflower dry really well before grating it, you do not want mushy cauliflower rice! That is doubly important if you end up with more than you can cook at one time, which we did.

I guess I got a pretty big head of cauliflower because we had enough not just for last night, but for an impromptu lunch of Fried Cauliflower Rice with Chicken today. I knew I would be glad I made two chickens! I still have plans to use some of the leftover chicken for the Mediterranean Salad on our meal plan for this week, but it is cold and rainy today so a hot lunch sounded better. I had to substitute ground ginger today because I didn’t have any fresh on hand, but I’m writing the recipe to include the fresh because next time I make it that’s what I’ll use.

Print Recipe

Fried Cauliflower Rice with Chicken

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups cooked chicken
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp coconut aminos
• 3 cups cauliflower rice
• 1/2 cup green onions, diced
• 1 tbsp chili sesame oil optional

Instructions

• Melt coconut oil over medium high heat in cast iron skillet. Add onions and carrots and saute until beginning to soften. Add garlic and ginger, sizzle for 30-60 seconds.
• Add chicken, frozen peas, toasted sesame oil, and coconut aminos. Stir to combine and cook until chicken and peas are warmed through.
• Add cauliflower rice and green onions. Stir to combine and turn heat up to high. Let cook for 1-2 minutes to fry rice, then stir once and cook an additional minute. Chili oil can be added at this point if you like a little spice.
• Serve with additional coconut aminos as desired.