February Meal Plan

I found the January meal plan to be incredibly helpful for my family, so I'm sticking with it! There's a handful of new recipes in February's meal plan, plus a bunch of staples. I've had some interest in a Meal Planning 101 and/or Meal Prepping 101 series, so if you're interested in this- will you please comment below and let me know?!

I've been eating my Cream of Wheat Bowl for breakfast almost every single day (subbing the C.O.W. for oatmeal) and eating these delicious crunchwraps with Cut da Carb wraps. I'll have to do a separate post on those because they deserve it! Alright, here we go...

1. BLTs
2. out (we eat out every Saturday for lunch, and then eat something very light for dinner)
3. Zuppa Toscana
4. Cajun cauliflower rice
5. BBQ chicken sweet potatoes (this link is for the BBQ chicken, just shred and add to a sweet potato)
6. Leftovers (bunco night- boys are on their own)
7. Turkey tacos
8. Leftovers
9. out
10. Skinny chicken fajita soup
11. Chili lime cod with rice
12. Sloppy joes with sweet potatoes
13. Turkey burritos
14. Sushi for Valentine's Day
15. Leftovers
16. out
17. White chicken chili
18. Ground turkey cauliflower & veggies bowls
19. Grilled pork chops with potatoes and veggies
20. Sausage sheet pan
21. Turkey burgers with air fryer fries
22. Leftovers
23. out
24. Tuscan tortellini soup
25. Turkey tacos
26. Beef stir fry
27. Breakfast
28. Cauliflower gnocchi with pomodoro sauce (I plan to use Trader Joe's cauliflower gnocchi with this sauce)

Beef Stir Fry

One of my family's favorite weeknight meals is beef stir fry. This is in our weekly rotation and we love it!

Ingredients
1 lb. Trader Joe's shaved beef
20oz. fresh stir fry veggies (I prefer fresh because it keeps some of the crunch)
3 cups rice of your choice
1/2 cup Trader Joe's general tsao stir fry sauce (can also use the TJ's sweet chili sauce)

Directions
1) Start rice according to directions on box.
2) Throw stir fry veggies in a wok or frying pan with 1/4 cup water on medium-high heat, cover and let steam for 10-15 mins or until snap peas are bright green and densest veggie is soft (usually carrots).
3) Brown beef on stove top for about 5-10 minutes until cooked thoroughly.
4) Once all these ingredients are cooked, you can assemble bowls. I prefer to assemble them this way vs. dumping it all in a pot together because then you can pick how much of each ingredient you get. I generally do 4oz. of beef, 1/2 cup rice, 1 cup vegggies and 1/4 cup of sauce. Toss all together and ENJOY!

Air Fryer Chicken Fried Rice

I'm always looking for easy ways to use my air fryer, and this chicken fried rice is seriously easy! I like to use a rotisserie chicken for this because it makes it THAT much easier!

Ingredients
3 cups cooked rice
1 package frozen peas and carrots
6 tbsp tamari sauce (can use soy sauce)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups diced chicken (I prefer using a rotisserie chicken for this)
1/2 cup onion, diced

Directions
1) Cook rice according to instructions. Can use minute rice.
2) Line air fryer basket with foil about half way up. (See images below) Preheat air fryer to 360*.
3) Add remaining ingredients into a large bowl and mix well.
4) Once rice is cooked, add to bowl and mix well.
5) Pour rice mixture into the pre-heated air fryer. Cover with foil and cook for 15-20 minutes.
6) Chicken fried rice should be nice and warm with a slight crunch.

Some tips I've learned along the way:
- Insert your foil in the basket of the air fryer BEFORE you heat it up. I've made this mistake and that sucker gets HOT!
- Only line the basket about half way up, otherwise the warm air cannot get into the fried rice and it takes a long time to cook.
- Be sure to cover the fried rice with foil as well, or the top layer will get super crunchy.

ENJOY!

Chicken Fajita Bowls

Basically anything mexican is a huge hit at our house, and this was no exception. I love that this was a sheetpan meal because let's face it, mama don't like dishes, and it comes together very quickly!

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
2 cups of cooked white or brown rice
1 poblano pepper, sliced thin
1 red pepper, sliced thin
1 small onion, sliced thin
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of corn, drained
1 packet of fajita seasoning
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 400*, and spray baking sheet with oil.
2) Slice peppers and place on baking sheet, and spray with a little more oil.
3) Rinse chicken and pat dry. Place each breast individually in a foil packet.
4) Sprinkle chicken and veggies with fajita seasoning. Wrap up chicken in foil packets and place on baking sheet.
6) Bake for 20 minutes, remove chicken from foil packets and bake another 15 minutes.
7) While chicken is baking, prep rice, black beans and corn.
8) Assemble bowls with rice, black beans, corn, veggies and lots of chicken! Top with  shredded cheese sour cream, avocado, salsa.

ENJOY!
XO

Stovetop Sloppy Joes

Does anything scream childhood like sloppy joes? Well, maybe hotdogs, but sloppy joes are a close second! I love them, but sadly store bought seasoning packets just aren't that great for you.

Insert this amazingly easy and delicious recipe from The Real Food Dietitians. I changed the recipe a bit because I like mine a little more sloppy, and a little less meaty. Here we go...

Ingredients
2 lbs ground turkey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
12oz no-salt added tomato paste
1 cup water
3 tbsp yellow mustard
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp tamari (or soy sauce) **I believe tamari is NOT allowed on Whole30, can use fish sauce
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 sweet potatoes

Directions
1) In a large dutch oven or pasta pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and pepper and saute until soft.
2) Add turkey and brown.
3) When turkey is cooked, add in remaining ingredients (minus the sweet potatoes) and simmer for 10 minutes.
4) Once the sloppy joe mix is simmering, you can pop your sweet potatoes in the microwave. I loved eating this as an open-face spud, but you could totally peel/slice the sweet potatoes, like the original recipe says, and roast them for a bit for "sandwiches."

ENJOY!!
XO

Dark Chocolate Protein Donuts

My gorgeous friend, Lisa, gave me this recipe and I have to say- it has SAVED ME! My sweet tooth has been OOC lately, and this has been a nice treat to look forward to after dinner.

This recipe makes 12 donuts.

Ingredients
212g dark chocolate Kodiak Cakes pancake mix
32g chocolate protein powder
8g baking powder
16g swerve sugar replacement
48g mini chocolate chips
12g dark chocolate cocoa powder
112g 0% plain greek yogurt
2 tsp. baking powder
240 mL chocolate almond milk
92g egg whites
50g water

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease donut pan.
2) Mix all dry ingredients until well combined. In a separate bowl, mix all wet ingredients until well combined, then add to dry ingredients.
3) If too thick, add 1 T water at a time to reach desired thickness.
4) Evenly distribute batter between 12 donut molds.
5) Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes before moving to cooling racks.

ENJOY!
XO

Cream of Wheat Bowl

One of my favorite breakfasts is this cream of wheat bowl. Its packed with protein and keeps me full for hours!

Ingredients
1 packet of cream of wheat (or 28g)
150g egg whites
1/2 cup water
100g frozen blueberries
32g crunchy almond butter

Directions
1) Mix cream of wheat, egg whites and water in microwave safe bowl. Microwave for roughly 2 minutes, or until the egg starts to thicken/cook.
2) Add blueberries and cook for additional 20 seconds.
3) Add almond butter and mix together.

ENJOY!
XO

January Meal Plan

I've never actually done an entire month meal plan before, but I'm kinda digging it! I've had a lot of requests for this, so here we go...

A few notes:
- I generally plan my dinners first (in terms of macros) and then back into the rest of the day.
- Dinner is always dependent on our nightly commitments/activities, so you'll notice some nights are lighter than others.
- Breakfasts usually look the same with my cream of wheat bowl, gluten free oatmeal, or protein pancakes.
- Lunches are generally the same as well- I enjoy sunflower crunch salads, sandwiches on sourdough, or sourdough avocado toast with turkey meat and egg. Just depends how much time I have and how hungry I am. If I think of other lunch ideas, I'll share them.
- Yes, Fridays are leftover nights in my house. Helps to clear out the fridge for the next week, and helps on waste! You should try it!
- Yes, every Saturday night we go out on a family date night. This is my one splurge meal of the week.

1. Skinny chicken fajita soup
2. Lasagna soup
3. Chicken and black bean burritos
4. Leftovers
5. OUT
6. Air fryer chicken fried rice
7. Jambalaya
8. Sloppy joes
9. Chili lime cod with rice
10. Fajita bowls
11. Leftovers
12. OUT
13. Zoodles with turkey meatballs and roasted red pepper sauce
14. Pineapple pork chops with rice
15. Turkey tacos
16. Sausage sheetpan (This doesn't have an actual recipe. I usually just chop up chicken sausage, red onion, butternut squash and brussel sprouts, and bake on a sheet pan for 40 mins at 400*)
17. Salmon and veggie bake
18. Leftovers
19. OUT
20. Turkey burgers with air fryer fries
21. Fish tacos
22. Turkey tacos
23. Turkey and black bean enchiladas
24. Buffalo chicken casserole
25. Leftovers
26. OUT
27. Beef stir fry (Again, no recipe. I just use a stir fry veggie mix, white rice and shaved beef. Drizzle with Trader Joe's sweet chili sauce.)
28. Air fryer chicken fried rice
29. BLTs
30. Chicken and black bean burritos
31. Breakfast

If you make any of these, please let me know!! I always love hearing feedback from other people.

Enjoy!
XO

Skinny Chicken Fajita Soup

I adapted this recipe from A Spicy Perspective mainly because I don't like running my stove for a long time, and I prefer cooking soups in the crockpot all day to let the flavors marinade. You could easily stick to the original recipe though if you don't have a crockpot.

Ingredients
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 cups unsalted chicken stock
3 bell peppers (I used red, yellow & orange), seeded and chopped
1 red onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
15 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 packet fajita seasoning
2 cups white rice
1 cup water

Directions
1. Place your chicken breasts in the bottom of your crockpot and cover with chicken stock.
2. Saute the bell peppers, onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft.
3. Add pepper, onion, garlic mixture into the crockpot.
4. Add remaining ingredients (tomatoes, beans, fajita seasoning, rice and water).
5. Cook on high for 5 hours, or low for 8 hours.
6. Before you are ready to serve, take out the chicken and shred (I like to use a hand mixer for this), then put chicken back in crockpot and mix together.
7. Serve with avocado, cheese, cilantro, tortilla strips, etc.

Enjoy!
XO

New Year, New Goals

I know, how cliche. New goals for a new year. I've always felt ignited by a fresh, new year. Something about a clean slate is so invigorating. But I'm also one that firmly believes in starting where you are, so if you're reading this on April 24th, don't think it doesn't apply to you-- change can happen any time, but you have to be ready for it.

My life has changed a lot in the past two years. It started on December 29, 2016 when I was so fed up with feeling like crap. Well, turns out- when you feed your body crap, you start to feel like crap. So, I started cleaning up my diet by eliminating all processed foods. This wasn't easy considering I'd been eating so poorly for decades. But in about 6 months, I re-learned how to cook, how to eat, and subsequently dropped 30lbs and felt like a new person!

I've been sharing my love for food for the past two years, mainly through Instagram and Facebook, but have decided to start sharing my meals, recipes and meal plans in a more accessible place.

I am BY NO MEANS a chef. Most of the recipes I share are published by other people, and I will always give them credit. But I am a lover of food and planning ahead, and I know someone out there will find this information useful.

Hope you enjoy!
XO