With school back in session and summer over, a lot of us are getting back into the workweek grind. We recapture our organized ways, which means writing menus, meal preppin’, and hitting the grocery stores. Our busy days sometimes extend into the evenings with professional meetings and kiddo activities. On long days we embrace the crock pot, double up on recipes to make extra servings, and recommend online grocery shopping and pick-up for saving time!
The weekend is on our heels – here are a few of our healthy workweek meals to jump start your weekend organizing:
Tropical Smoothie & Salads
Smoothie Ingredients:
- 1 cup frozen mangoes
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 2 fresh oranges
- 1/2 fresh lemon
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- 1 cup ice cubes
- 1 cup coconut water (or tap water)
Salad Ingredients:
- favorite cooked protein (chicken, steak, fish)
- favorite greens (kale, spinach, romaine)
- favorite chopped salad vegetables (peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes)
- favorite cheese (parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar)
- favorite dressing (I’m currently in love with Tessemae’s Lemon Dressing and Creamy Ranch which can also be found at the grocery store)
Instructions & Notes:
Blend all smoothie ingredients in the blender. Makes about 4 servings. Serve alongside salad. We do lots of make your own salads (MYOS) at our house. I put out the ingredients and let the kids choose what to put on their salad, which ends up not being much. However, I feel better knowing they at least saw some vegetables that day. As you can see I then get sneaky by adding spinach into their smoothies. Lastly, I’ll layer my salad ingredients in a glass jar for ease and variety, and then dump on a plate when I’m ready to eat.
Chicken Marsala Meatballs
(original recipe from SkinnyTaste)
Ingredients:
- 8 oz sliced cremini mushrooms, finely chopped and divided
- 1 lb lean ground chicken
- 1/3 cup whole wheat seasoned or gluten-free bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup grated Pecorino cheese
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 TBSP all-purpose flour
- 1/2 TBSP unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
- 3 oz sliced shiitake mushrooms
- 1/3 cup Marsala wine
- 3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
Instructions & Notes:
Preheat the oven to 400F. Combine mushrooms with the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, Pecorino, egg, 1 clove of the minced garlic, parsley, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper, to taste. Shape into 25 small meatballs, bake 15 to 18 minutes, until golden.
In a small bowl whisk the flour with the Marsala wine and broth. Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add the butter, garlic and shallots and cook until soft and golden, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, season with 1/8 teaspoon salt and a pinch of black pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Finally return the meatballs to the pot, pour the Marsala wine mixture over the meatballs, cover and cook 10 minutes. Meatballs can be served over many foods. Above all, I love spaghetti squash or egg noodles.
Chicken Sausage & Veggie Saute
Ingredients:
- Apple gouda chicken sausages, sliced
- 1 lb brussel sprouts, halved
- 1 bunch asparagus, chopped
- olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic sea salt
Instructions & Notes:
Heat olive oil in large pan over medium heat. Add garlic sea salt and saute brussel sprouts and asparagus. Add sliced chicken sausages and saute with vegetables until heated through. Finally, top with your favorite shredded cheese. Makes for great leftovers throughout the week.
Jalapeno Peach Salsa over Grilled Chicken
(original recipe from Physical Kitchness)
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
- 2/3 cup diced peaches
- 2/3 cup diced tomatoes
- 3 TBSP finely diced, seeded jalapeño
- 1 1/2 TBSP chopped red onion
- 2 TBSP chopped cilantro
- 1/2 tsp lime juice
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
Instructions & Notes:
Grill chicken breasts with olive oil and your favorite seasoning. To make the salsa, combine the diced peaches, tomatoes, jalapeño, onion, lime juice, and cilantro into a bowl. Mix together then add the cumin and chili powder, mixing again to combine. Serve salsa over chicken breasts.
This recipe made a large amount of salsa, so I had plenty of leftovers to add this with chicken over salad greens. The tangy, spicy salsa paired nicely with goat cheese over salads, toO!
Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
(original recipe from Allrecipes)
Ingredients:
- 1 TBSP vegetable oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 2 cans (10.75 oz) low sodium tomato soup
- 2 cans (15 oz) kidney beans, drained
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 2 TBSP chili powder
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 TBSP garlic powder
- pinch of ground pepper
- 1/2 TBSP cumin
- pinch of allspice
- salt to taste
Instructions & Notes:
Saute ground turkey in oil until fully cooked. Drain fat off ground turkey and then combine cooked turkey with remaining ingredients in crockpot. Cook in crockpot on low for 8 hours. You can serve this chili with several different toppings. Above all, I love corn bread and shredded cheese.
BLEACTs
(submitted by Kris)
Ingredients:
- 1 lb cooked bacon
- romaine lettuce
- eggs
- avocado, sliced
- sharp cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
- tomatoes, sliced
- favorite bread (I love making easy homemade french bread)
Instructions & Notes:
Take and add what you want with these BLEACTs. I love to toast my homemade bread lightly and then assemble everything while the bread is warm. Steam the eggs (we call these Stacy eggs at our house in honor of my husband’s aunt Stacy) covered in a frying pan with some butter (or ghee) and a little bit of water. The eggs cook to medium after about two minutes. Finally, stack the sandwich high and watch the egg yolk squirt across the dinner table after your first bite – trust me on that one!
Roasted Corn & Shrimp Salad
Ingredients:
- 3 roasted corn on the cob
- 1 lb shrimp
- 1 tsp roasted herb garlic seasoning
- romaine hearts, chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- shredded swiss cheese
Instructions & Notes:
Grill corn in husks about 8 minutes per side. Remove husks and set aside to cool. While corn cools, saute peeled shrimp on stove with olive oil and roasted herb garlic seasoning until shrimp is pink (about 2-3 minutes). Cut corn kernels off the cobs. Combine romaine hearts, corn, cherry tomatoes, swiss cheese and shrimp in large bowl and mix making a large salad. As a result, you have leftovers that keep for many days!
Buffalo Chicken Wraps
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken breast
- 1 cup water
- 1 pkg of buffalo chicken seasoning
Instructions & Notes:
Add all ingredients into the crock pot and cook on high for 2 hours. Shred the chicken. There are many ways to eat this chicken dish. Above all, I wrap it in lettuce and top it off with avocado and jalapeños. In addition, I’ll top it with crunchy veggies like radishes, carrots, and jicama.