Whole week of delicious, healthy family dinners

 I spend a good hour each week planning out my families meals and grocery list. This helps us be sure to have enough food for the week and helps it be less likely that we will grab unhealthy food on the run with our crazy, busy schedules. I try to make meals simple. Sometimes I reach for Paleo options, but overall, we just try to eat as healthy as possible.
Here are some recipes from this weeks meal plan.

Monday: Spaghetti Squash Pizza Casserole
1.5 pounds of ground beef; cooked
1.5 cups organic pizza sauce
1 spaghetti squash cooked and shredded
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
5 raw eggs, whisked
Add all ingredients to a casserole dish and bake @350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until browned on top. My kids went nuts over this one.

Tuesday: Salmon Patties and Sauteed Kale
Salmon Patties
2 large cans of wild caught salmon
2 eggs
1/2 cup almond meal (little more if needed)
seasoning of choice (we like to use creole or something yummy from Penzey's)
oil of choice for sauteing (we use almond or walnut)
Throw all ingredients in a bowl (or mixer) and mix well. Form small patties and saute on medium heat until browned on each side.

Sauteed Kale
1 bunch of organic kale, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
oil of choice for sauteing
seasoning of choice (we use a homemade taco seasoning A LOT, but will generally use the same thing we use in accompanying dish)
Saute kale in oil until desired tenderness is attained.

Wednesday: Foil Packet Sweet Potatoes and Grilled Chicken with Steamed Broccoli

Foil Packet Sweet Potatoes
4-5 organic sweet potatoes (or 1/2-1 whole SP per family member)
walnut or almond oil
seasoning of choice (we like seasoned salt with NO silicon dioxide...read your labels, or just salt and pepper)
tin foil
Scrub sweet potatoes and chop into bit-sized pieces with skin left on for added fiber
drizzle with oil and sprinkle with seasoning. Stir until potatoes are coated. Place sweet potatoes on tin foil and fold into packets. Place on grill and cook until tender.
 
Grilled Chicken
 4-5 organic chicken breasts (or 1/2-1 chicken breast per family member...or more if you plan on using leftovers for a second meal like the salad for tomorrow nights menu)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
Place chicken in a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Add remaining ingredients and let marinade for about an hour. Place on hot grill and cook until no longer pink. 
 
Steamed Broccoli
1 head organic broccoli
1/2 cup water
Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces. Add broccoli and water to medium saucepan and cover. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmering point. Steam until desired tenderness is reached. 

Thursday: Greek Salad with Leftover Grilled Chicken
1 bunch of romaine lettuce; washed and cut into bite sized pieces
3-4 leftover grilled chicken; cut into bite size chunks
2/3 c. feta cheese crumbles
1 can organic black (pitted) olives
1 organic cucumber;  sliced
1-2 organic tomatoes; chopped or one container of grape tomatoes
Greek dressing recipe found here.
Toss all ingredients in bowl and drizzle with desired amount of dressing. Serve with a chunk of whole grain bread or homemade croutons.

Friday: Black Bean Quesadillas and Side Salad
2 whole wheat tortillas per family member (soft taco sized)
2 cans organic black beans (more if family is greater than 5)
1/2 pound grass-fed cheddar or mozzarella
1 tbsp homemade taco seasoning (I use this one without the red pepper flakes)
grass-fed butter or ghee for cooking
Drain beans and mash in a bowl until spreadable. Add taco seasoning to beans and mix well. Spread bean mixture onto one tortilla, sprinkle with cheese and place another tortilla on top. Melt 1 tsp butter/ghee in the pan on medium heat. Place quesadilla in pan and cook until lightly browned and crispy on both sides, adding butter/ghee as necessary. Serve with  your choice of hot sauce, salsa, avocado, etc. and a side salad with healthy dressing.

Saturday: Breakfast for dinner
Eggs, cooked to order
bacon (we use Applegate farms Sunday bacon) or organic, grass fed sausage patties
Paleo Pancakes topped with fresh fruit instead of syrup
sauteed spinach cooked in a little walnut oil with salt and pepper


Sunday: (Paleo) Spaghetti  with Side Salad
I actually don't care for pasta, but the rest of the family does. I prepare spaghetti squash for myself and organic whole wheat pasta for the kids and hubs. 
Prepare pasta and/or squash. Prepare sauce of choice. We use grass fed ground beef, 1 sauteed onion, 1 sauteed red bell pepper, 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, 2 sauteed chopped carrots, 1 sauteed zucchini and two jars of whole foods organic pasta sauce. I let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes and serve over squash or pasta. Prepare side salad of choice with a healthy dressing. You can also check out my past blog on a similar recipe on the dinner here.

This week I will also be prepping homemade granola bars, Shakeology cookies, breakfast egg cups, tuna salad with paleo mayo, boiled eggs, and Greek yogurt parfaits 

Whole30: Week 1 Day 1

 My first morning waking up and prepping some fantastic meals for the Whole30 went well. I LOVE that I am preparing my body for the P90X3 Challenge Group that I am hosting. If you are interested in getting a super fitness routine going with the Whole30 journey, please grab a copy of P90X3 on my Official Beachbody Coach Website. Once you place your order, email me your full FACEBOOK name and I'll add you to my group of P90X3 Rockstars!

 BREAKFAST 

EGGS AND BACON WITH SAUTEED SPINACH

3 eggs; over medium, 2 pieces of bacon (Applegate Farms or other Whole30 approved bacon only) , a couple handfuls of sauteed Spinach, a tsp. coconut oil, and 1/2 of an orange

I saute the spinach in coconut oil, with whatever seasoning I am feeling that day. Today, I used the Tuscany Sunset seasoning from Penzey's and a little salt and pepper. 

I like to eat my eggs on top of the spinach so the yolk acts of a sauce of sorts.

After I was about half way done eating, I realized that I didn't cook the bacon. How can one forget bacon?!?!? I will have a

bacon make-up very soon! The spinach was awfully bitter today for some reason, but the meal was still quite yummy. I could only eat 2 of the eggs before getting full. I was trying to go by the "eat how many you can fit in the palm of your hand" rule, but it didn't work out so well for me. I'm sure that once I start the X3 program and my weekly running schedule again, I will eat more. I feel so good about putting healthy food in my body.  Started Day 1 off strong!

LUNCH

SWEET POTATO EGG SALAD IN LETTUCE WRAPS

The first time I made this, my family was a bit skeptical.  The entire brood chowed down every last bite. I have to admit that it may seem like an odd combination, but it is seriously amazing. The kids have been begging for this for days, so they were especially happy today.

 4 boiled eggs, 4 small sweet potatoes; peeled and diced, 6 slices of cooked bacon (be sure it's Whole30 friendly bacon), 4 tbsp. fresh dill, 2 tbsp. paleo mayo, and washed lettuce/kale leaves for the wraps.

Mix all ingredients together is a large bowl. I think it's best if chilled for a bit, so this would be a good recipe to make the day before or right after finishing breakfast. Place a few spoon fulls of the salad inside a lettuce leaf or kale wrap, and devour. Yum!

There are tons of Paleo mayo recipes out there in Pinterest world. My favorite remains to be from the most awesome Paleo cookbook author, Sara Fragroso. The coolest thing is that she has a YouTube video of how to do it. Check it out here. It's WAY easy. I use walnut oil in mine.

 I kinda overcooked these sweet potatoes so they ended up being a little more mushy than last time, but it was just as delicious.

This is not the best picture, but you get the idea.

I ate mine wrapped up in some fresh kale that I rubbed with a little bit of olive oil. I love how this day is panning out. Now only if this rain would go away so I could stop making excuses to not go for a run. 

Dinner
ROSEMARY POT ROAST AND CAULIFLOWER "BUTTER" RICE 

I snagged these recipes off the blog ThreeDietsOneDinner, and tweaked them just a little. This dinner was fantastic! My husband even said "I'd eat this off the Whole30", which says a LOT to me!
 

Rosemary Pot Roast
1 Tbsp coconut oil, 1.5 lb Top Round, trimmed of fat, 1 onion, chopped, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  3 Tbsp Paleo Worcestershire Sauce (below), coarse Salt and Pepper


Scatter onion at the bottom of your crock pot.  Next, heat the coconut oil in a skillet to very hot. Combine salt and pepper and rub it all over the roast. Throw the roast into the pot with hot oil and brown it on every side. Throw the roast on top of the onions and pitch in those rosemary springs. De-glaze the skillet with the Paleo Worcestershire sauce.  Be sure to scrape all the particles off the pan. Pour the liquid and particles from the pan over the meat and onions. Yum! Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.Shred met with two forks. Serve on top of cauliflower rice.

Okay, so I changed it up quite a bit here. I got home way too late after getting a pedi with some of my girlfriends from work, and going to Whole Foods for my groceries. It was 2:30 before I could get the roast started. I knew that it just wouldn't work for me to throw this baby in the crockpot, so I'm trying the stove-top method. I sauteed the meat, then de-glazed the pan like the recipe said. Then I threw the onions in with the liquid and let them cook for about 2 minutes. Finally, I threw the roast on top and covered it with the rest of the whole recipe of Worcestershire sauce, water, and one can of veggie broth. Oh yeah, I also cut three slits in the roast, and stuffed a few cloves of garlic in there. Could that be the Italian in me? Yeah, I have a hard time following directions!

 Cauliflower Butter Rice
1 head cauliflower, 1 cup water, 1.5 tbsp. grass-fed ghee, and salt to taste. I personally like to salt my food after cooking instead of during.

Peel the leaves and stems off of the cauliflower. Chop cauliflower (remove the rest of the stem) into chunks about the size of a small fist and throw them into your food processor or blender. You may need to do half of the cauli at a time. Throw all of the cauli into a sauce pan with the cup of water and the grass-fed ghee. Bring to a boil and allow to cook uncovered for 10 minutes or until the water has been absorbed. Add salt and more ghee, if needed.

Paleo Worcestershire
I don't recall where I got this recipe, but I wrote it down in my Whole30 recipe file the last time we did the Whole30. It's a versatile sauce that's definitely Whole30 compliant, so feel free to use it where ya want to.
 
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp water, 2 tbsp liquid aminos, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp mustard powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 1 minute. Refrigerate what ya don't use.

We also had kale since it was on sale at Whole Foods today. I always attempt to add a green veggie into each meal, so I challenge you to try to do the same even though it's not listed on my meal plan all the time.