I hope you guys are enjoying your weekend! I am not meal planning for next week since we are leaving on Wednesday but I thought I’d pop in and show you what I ate this week to give you some ideas. I whipped up a delicious new lunch bowl combination and our dinners were “throw togethers” from last week’s Trader Joe’s shopping haul versus planned out recipes.
Breakfast
The name of the game for breakfast all week over here was my matcha ginger green smoothie. I posted the recipe last week…y’all have got to try this one. It’s SO refreshing for summer. Since there was is nut butter in it and it’s fairly low in calories, most mornings I also had a paleo banana bread muffin with almond butter on top.
Take two…I used frozen spinach instead of fresh in this one and it makes quite a difference in the color. You definitely get more of a green pop with fresh.
Lunch
If you like beets, this week’s lunches are for you! I roasted a bunch of beets on Sunday to use in my salads this week. (Which reminds me that I need to create a beet smoothie!) I wasn’t much in the mood for salads earlier this week so I made rice bowls instead. This one has brown rice, diced chicken breast leftover from a dinner you’ll see below, avocado, beets and a dollop of lemon cayenne hummus. I finished it off with curry seed salt from Be Runa.
It was so good I replicated the combo again the next day.
More beets! This time with arugula, pears, dried cranberries, pistachios and homemade honey dijon balsamic dressing.
Beets again…beet burger on top of a salad at Namastay Kitchen. I feel like beets are one of those foods that people either love or hate. I personally love them and try to include a lot of them in my diet along with dark leafy greens for natural iron since a bout with anemia a few years ago.
Here’s one non-beet lunch for those of you who are thinking “yuck.” Egg salad with tomatoes and avocado on sourdough with a sliced apple.
Dinner
“Perfect” chicken breasts (recipe/method in this post) seasoned with spicy/jerk seasoning along with roasted potatoes and sauteed shredded brussels sprouts cooked in a little bacon fat and topped with chopped bacon.
Sauteed chicken sausage with Whole Foods organic tomato basil sauce over cauliflower rice. Topped with a sprinkle of parmesan.
Southwestern turkey burgers with sriracha aioli and cilantro over roasted sweet potatoes. This burger is blog recipe worthy so I’ll share it at some point this summer.
A leftover turkey burger with sriracha aioli and avocado.
Takeout from Namastay Kitchen on our first night of summer teacher training because we didn’t get home until after 9. I love our BBQ rubbed salmon over a quinoa blend with sauteed spinach and goat cheese.
ETC.
Leftover cookies from Whole Foods. Their vegan oatmeal raisin is so good and this is the jumble cookie that has a bit of everything in it.
Do you like beets? If so, favorite way to enjoy them?
Are you good at “throw together” dinners or do you prefer to have a recipe/plan?
Best lunch or dinner you ate last week?
Your eats look absolutely amazing! The chicken sausage dish looks so comforting.
I LOVE beets! My favorite combo is with avocado and sweet potato over salad greens.
Love that combo! Yum!
I’m a total throw it all together and call it dinner type of person since going meatless a few years ago! best dinner I had last week probably involved my 3 birthday dinners lol. although dinner in the city at hillstone was probably my favorite.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! And yes, I can see where “throw it all together” would work well with veggie diets!
I love beets roasted with parsnips eaten in a salad! Before kids I loved finding new recipes, after kids I can’t stand following recipes. If I can’t create it from my head I don’t want to make it.
Best dinner last week-/ lemon, herb, garlic marinated chicken cooked on the grill with baked sweet potato and roasted asparagus.
Hey Kate – I can totally get that pre and post kids cooking mentality! I love beets and parsnips so I should totally combine the two! 🙂
Your “best dinner” totally sounds like something I’d whip up! YUM!
I am always so jealous of the Namastay Kitchen. I only dream of having a place like that by me!
Oh it’s so good. Come visit and we’ll eat lots of meals there and do lots of yoga!
I have never been into beets, but I’ve never roasted them! May have to give this a try.. best lunch last week was sautéed Trader Joe’s Tuscan kale/peppers/onions with crock pot chicken, feta and siracha! Totally random but it worked…
That lunch does not sound random to me. YUM!
All your food looks SO GOOD!!!
I am a HUGE fan of beets. My fav is sliced on a sandwich with other veg and goats cheese. The goats cheese is awesome with beets.
Thank you! I love making it. Also, THANK YOU for the beet sandwich idea. I love beets and goat cheese and on a sandwich with veggies sounds AMAZING!
I am in the anti-beets category. I’ve given it a fair shake but I can’t get past the fact they still taste like dirt. It’s the only food I can say I truly don’t like. I’ve had it raw, roasted, pickled, candied, etc. Parsley is another one I can’t get on board with. It tastes like soap. Cilantro, on the other hand, is divine! I’m getting better at throwing meals together but I still like to plan. I’m following a keto diet so I am planning more to ensure I stay in ketosis. The best meal I had all week was Chocolate Chili by Melissa Joulwan (Well Fed). I hadn’t made it in a while and it tasted so good. It’s the only chili recipe I make! I brought it to work to share for Frito Pie Friday (I abstained from the Fritos). No one knew it was “paleo” chili!
I totally respect that! I think it’s fascinating how different everyone’s tastes are! I also LOVE cilantro but many hate it! Very interesting about your keto diet. Why are you doing it? (Just interested!)
I love beetroot and I personally find it hilarious to poop red the next day!!
Ha! It can totally be alarming if you don’t know what to expect!
Hi Jen! Thanks for sharing this! I notice you eat a lot of avocados. I LOVE them, but always shy away from buying them because 1) I’m intimidated by figuring out their ripeness and 2) I don’t know how to store a cut avocado without it going bad. Do you have any tips?
Hey Amanda! I find them ripe when they give the tiniest bit when you press into them. They shouldn’t feel hard as rocks. If they are hard as rocks, leave them on the countertop at room temp to ripen. Once cut, I just stick in a plastic bag with the pit still attached and put in the fridge. It might be a little brown the next day but you can totally eat it as is or shave off the layer of brown.
How do you get your smoothies SO creamy, especially without protein powder! Oh my goodness does that Matcha Ginger Smoothie look divine 😉
Hey Kayla! I blend them in the VitaMix until they are super smooth and I can’t hear any thing breaking up or see any big specks of spinach or fruit. Additionally, I think the collagen powder helps a lot!
Wow all of your food looks absolutely amazing!! My dad really enjoys beets so I’ve tried them on my salad, but I can’t say I love them 🙁 I’m also not great at throw together meals… I can do it, but much prefer to know what I’m making ahead of time!! With work and a nine month old, it’s just easier knowing!
I swear all of the vegan cookies at WFM are so much better than the “regular” cookies, and I’m not even vegan. You have to try the almond one.