Healthy Eating

Sorry for the long delay again. It's been a busy few weeks and I just haven't been able to get around to posting on the blog.  I also decided I wanted to focus the blog more on healthy eating meal plans so every few weeks I will be sharing my grocery list and day-by-day meal plan. I also want to each week feature one ingredient and share 3 ways to use that ingredient. For todays blog post I decided to discuss Buzzfeed's Clean Eating Challenge. My parents found the Buzzfeed article two weeks ago and started the 14 day challenge.  I didn't  follow the plan exactly, but  the plan has great recipes and is a good way to base correct portion sizes so I did an abridged version of the clean eating challenge that was less expensive and required less cooking time. For breakfast each day I had Trader Joe's small packs of Omega High Trek Mix and a cup of green tea, for lunch I had salads with nuts, cheese and leftover veggies from dinner,  I thought I would share my grocery list and  some of the dinner recipes I made during my version of the clean eating challenge.

Week 1:

Prep:
To spend less time during week cooking I made the spaghetti squash on friday and on sunday I made  the ground turkey (recipe below).

Grocery List:
Spaghetti Squash
Trader Joe's Just Chicken Chucks
Ground Turkey
Iceberg Lettuce
Black Beans
Peanut Satay Sauce
Frozen broccoli
Edamame
Frozen peppers

Day 1: 
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
1 Serving

Ingredients:

1 Serving

1 tablespoon coconut  oil

¼ of average yellow onion, minced

½ cup pre-cooked chicken strips, cut into bite sized pieces

¼ cup frozen or fresh bell peppers

1 tablespoon edamame

1  tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons peanut satay sauce

4 iceberg  lettuce leaves

Recipe:

1)Cut onion in half.  Mince half of the onion.  Cut ½ cup of chicken into bite sized pieces.

2)Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil into a medium sized sauté pan. 

3)Once oil is hot (you can test by putting a drop of water into the pan. If the pan sizzles it’s hot enough)

4) Add onion and sauté for a minute.

5) Add chicken and peppers. Once heated through, around 4 minutes add edamame and heat for 1 minute longer.

6) Take off heat. Add soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and peanut satay sauce. Mix thoroughly so that the chicken and vegetables are coated. 

7)Separate 4 lettuce leaves. Add chicken filling to center of each lettuce leave and wrap lettuce to cover the filling.

Day 2:

BBQ Chicken Salad

2 Servings

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons coconut oil

1cup pre-cooked chicken strips cut into bite sized pieces

½ cup frozen or fresh bell peppers

¼ cup of BBQ Sauce

½ cup  black beans

1 cup iceberg lettuce.

1 tablespoon of shredded lite Mexican cheese or cheddar cheese

Recipe:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Once oil is hot add chicken and peppers. Heat the chicken and peppers around 6 minutes. 

2. Take the chicken and pepper mixture off the heat. Add ¼ cup of BBQ sauce and mix thoroughly.

3. Shred one cup of lettuce. Add ½ of the chicken and pepper mixture to lettuce. Top with ½ cup of black beans, cheese and  then mix everything together.

Note: I put the other half of the chicken mixture in a small container to bring for lunch the next day.  Add ½ cup of black beans to the container with chicken. Take a separate small container and put  1 cup of lettuce and 1 tablespoon of cheese. Into the container. Heat the chicken mixture in the microwave for a minute and a half. Once heated, add to the lettuce and cheese and mix .

Day 3: 

Spaghetti Squash Turkey Bolognese 

1 serving 

Ingredients:

1 package of ground turkey

½ of a yellow onion, minced 

1 tablespoon olive oil

Ground Turkey Recipe:

1    1)  Heat olive oil

2    2)Once pan is hot, add onion and turn stove to medium heat

3    3)Let onion cook for 1 minute and then add ground turkey

4    4) Cook turkey until browned, around 6-8 minutes

S Spaghetti Squash with Turkey Bolognese Ingredients:

1/2 cup cooked ground turkey

½ of a yellow onion, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

 1 cup spaghetti squash

¼ cup tomato sauce 

1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese

Semi-Homemade Spaghetti Squash with Turkey Bolognese
 1) Put 1 cup of spaghetti squash in a bowl

2) Put ½ cup of ground turkey in a separate bowl 

3) Microwave ground turkey for 1 ½ minutes 

4) Add ¼ of tomato sauce to bowl of ground turkey and microwave again for 30 seconds

5) Microwave spaghetti squash for 2 minutes 

6) Add parmesan cheese 

        Day 4: 

I     "Inside Out" Ground Turkey  Wraps

d      1 serving 

I       Ingredients:

        1/2 cup cooked ground turkey

  1/4 cup frozen or fresh bell peppers

  1/2 cup broccoli 

  1  tablespoon soy sauce

  1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil 

  2 tablespoons peanut satay sauce

  1 cup lettuce

        Recipe:

        1) Microwave ground turkey for 1 1/2 minutes

        2) Microwave broccoli and bell peppers for 1 1/2 minutes

        3) Mix soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and peanut satay sauce in a small bowl

        4)The lettuce wasn't cooperating to make lettuce wraps so I made "inside out" lettuce wraps so I             cleaned and ripped lettuce into bite sized pieces

        5) Put lettuce on a plate, add ground turkey, vegetables and then top with soy sauce mixture and  
        mix thoroughly.

       Friday (Day 5) I had turkey bolognese with spaghetti squash (see recipe above) and on Saturday  (Day 6) I went out to dinner with a friend and had matzah ball soup 

        Week 2:

     

       

        Prep:

To prep for the week of meals I made the roasted chickpeas, roasted cauliflowers and roasted eggplant according to the buzzfeed recipe. I also made the kale according to the Buzzfeed recipe as well. Finally, I poached chicken to have for the week.

         Grocery List:

   Quinoa

   Carrots

   Lentils

   Cauliflower

   Kale

   Greek Yogurt

   Thinly sliced chicken breasts

   Hummus 

   Garbanzo beans

   Mango

         Day 7: 

         Roasted Eggplant with chickpeas, Cauliflower, and lemon-parsley yogurt 

        Recipe: Buzzfeed's Clean Eating Challenge 

        Day 8:

        Chicken, Kale and quinoa with mango and lemon-parsley yogurt 

        

        Ingredients:

        1/2 cup of cooked poached chicken

        1 cup of  steamed kale, (see buzzfeed for recipe)

        1/2 cup of quinoa

        3 slices of Mango

        Lemon-parsely yogurt (see recipe, according to Buzzfeed's Clean Eating Challenge)

       Recipe:

      1) Microwave cooked chicken for 1 1/2 minutes 

      2) Microwave kale for 1 minute

      3) Cook 1 bag of quinoa according to package directions

      4) Make lemon-parsley yogurt (look at Buzzfeed recipe) 

      5) add quinoa, kale, chicken and mango to a bowl. Top with lemon-parsley yogurt 

     Day 9:

     Lentils, Cauliflower and kale with teriyaki sauce

     1 Serving

        Ingredients:

        1/2 cup lentils

        1 cup of kale

        Leftover roasted cauliflower (from sunday's dinner)

        1/2 tablespoon of trader joe's soyaki sauce

        1/2 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil 

         Recipe:

        1) Microwave lentils according to package directions

        2) Microwave kale and cauliflower for 1 minute

        3) mix soyaki and sesame oil together in a small bowl

        4)  Add lentils, kale, and cauliflower into a bowl. Add soyaki sauce mixture and mix throughly 

     Day 10:

     Chicken, eggplant and lentils with vodka sauce over Quinoa

      1 Serving

      Ingredients: 

      1/2 cup of cooked poached chicken

      Leftover roasted eggplant (from sunday's dinner)

      1/2 of leftover roasted chickpeas (from sunday's dinner)  

      1/2 cup of quinoa 

      1/4 cup of vodka sauce 

      1 tablespoon of feta

       Recipe: 

       1) Microwave chicken for 1 minute

       2) Micowave eggplant and chickpeas for 1 minute

       3) Microwave quinoa for 1 1/2 minutes

       4)  Add chicken, vegetables and quinoa to a bowl. Add vodka sauce and feta and microwave for another 30 seconds 

     Day 11:

    Chicken, Eggplant, roasted chickpeas and quinoa with lemon-parsley yogurt 

     Ingredients:

     1/2 cup cooked poached chicken

     1/2 of leftover roasted chickpeas (from sunday's dinner) 

     1 cup of steamed kale 

     1 tablespoon of hummus

     Lemon-parsely yogurt (see recipe, according to Buzzfeed's Clean Eating Challenge)

    

     Recipe:

     1. Microwave chicken for 1 minute 

     2. Microwave chickpeas and steamed kale

     3. Microwave Quinoa according to directions 

     5. Mix Lemon-Parsley Yogurt in a small bowl

     6. Add quinoa, chicken and vegetables to bowl. 

     7. Top with hummus and Lemon-Parsley Yogurt and mix throughly. 

   Friday (Day 12) Trader Joe's Tempura Chicken with vegetable fried rice and broccoli and Saturday

   (Day 13) Quinoa burger, steamed kale and broccoli.  

          

Good Eats-Quinoa Recipe Suggestions...

As I mentioned in my new year's goal blog post I've made a commitment this year to eating healthier so I thought I would share with you some great quinoa recipe suggestions.

Quinoa is perfect accompaniment to your meat or seafood dishes, is a great source of protein and is easy to cook.  I love that Quinoa is extremely versatile so you can let your imagination go wild and come up with all different fun and creative ways to use it.

One of my favorite ways to use quinoa is "quinoa bowls'', a variation the chipotle rice bowls. I love Chipotle's brown rice bowl, when I was working in the city there was a Chipotle a block away from my office so I was getting rice bowls at least once a week so making quinoa bowls is great way for me to  satisfy my craving for chipotle rice bowl and is healthier and more cost effective, so basically a win-win.

Quinoa Bowl Ideas: 

1)Thai Chicken Coconut Quinoa Bowls- 

Recipe courtesy of: Fabtastic Eats

When I first moved into my apartment I wanted to start trying out some of the  recipes I had accumulated on my pinterest boards so I decided to off with the Thai Chicken Coconut Quinoa Bowl from Fabtastic Eats blog. The coconut quinoa turned out perfectly and I loved the flavor that the light coconut milk gave the quinoa. While the recipe was pretty easy to follow and used basic ingredients found at any grocery store I struggled with step eight, which says to put the reserve marinade into a saucepan until liquid reduces and is thick and shiny. I don't know if I had the temperature set too high or left the sauce on the stove too long or both, but the sauce ended up burning a little bit and stuck to the bottom of the pot I was using. In the end I had a delicious home cooked meal and loved how the colors of the quinoa, chicken, pineapple and cilantro garnish looked all together.

2) Sesame Kale Glow Bowl

Recipe & Picture Courtesy of: The Glowing Fridge

I found this recipe on Pinterest. I have never tried tempeh, but always been curious to try it and I think that this would be a good recipe to test it out. I also think the sauce seems very interesting. The recipe calls for combining: soy sauce, water, lime juice, ginger and red pepper flakes, which I think will create a unique flavor combination. This seems like a flavorful and very healthy recipe.

Quinoa Salad Ideas:

1) Kale & quinoa salad with dried cranberries, walnuts and feta

Picture & Recipe Courtesy of: Sweet Caroline's Cooking

I love cranberry, walnut and feta salads so combined with a little crunch from the quinoa and kale this salad is right up my alley. I also like that this recipe uses a lot of the same ingredients as the sesame kale glow bowl, which means that making both recipes the same week is a good way to use up the ingredients.

2) Black Bean & Sweet Corn Quinoa Salad

Photo & Recipes Courtesy of: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Corn and black bean salads are always a big hit so the addition of quinoa makes the salad more filling and the quinoa provides a nice color contrast to the colors of the yellow corn, black beans and cilantro garnish. This salad would be a great side dish to a simple fish dish or with a grilled chicken breast.

Additional Suggestions:

1) Quinoa, Avocado & shrimp 

Photo & Recipe Courtesy of: Iowa Girl Eats

This is similar to the black bean and corn salad above, but this recipe also includes: shrimp, pomegranate arils, oranges, avocado and a great homemade lemon vinaigrette. I like that this recipe incorporates fruit as well, which means you are getting veggies, fruit and protein all in one dish. 

2) Quinoa Burger

Photo & Recipe courtesy of: Eating Well Living Thin

This sounds like a cross between a veggie burger and potato pancake, what could be better! the combination of cheese (cheddar cheese and cottage cheese) along with carrots, scallion and quinoa this recipe sounds like a delicious and very healthy burger option. I also like the recipe suggests tzatziki sauce on top of the burger, which I think would offer a nice compliment to the flavors of the burger. This would go nicely with some homemade sweet potato fries and maybe a green veggie such as broccoli or roasted brussels sprouts. 

What are your favorite quinoa recipes. Share with me in the comments section below.