As I planned week 42 I relied on past favorites and successes for breakfasts and lunches…no surprises. It becomes easier and easier to keep things simple when I include meals that we thoroughly enjoy. I also love meals that can be divided and frozen for future use.
Breakfast
Breakfast is easily planned when I am looking for meals that I know we will enjoy and are easily created. I plan nothing new, just tried and true.
Lunch
The lunches planned for week 42 are repeats as well. Why change something that doesn’t need fixed.
Dinner
The dinners planned for week 42 continue with three Green Chef Meals being prepared by my daughter for all of us. I will tackle 2 new recipes which have caught my eye on Saturday, and Monday. I have planned a family favorite White Chicken Chili for Friday evening (during the OSU football game). The ‘Ole Buckeye loves chicken and/or veal piccata as well as carbonara. What better way to please him than by preparing two new versions of his favorites. Tuesday is a night off for me…Bunco (Masquerade Ball Theme).
Cheesy Chicken Fajita Casserole
Rustic Chicken Piccata Meatballs
Recap
Since most of our meals were supplied by Blue Apron and Green Chef, I did not do a lot of creative cooking last week. However, I will give rave reviews to two meals. The Blackened Shrimp and Grits from Green Chef was outstanding. Determining the spices and recreating this dish is top priority. The “grits” (cauliflower rice) were amazing. 5 stars.
The Roasted Pork and Spiced Vegetables from Blue Apron was an outstanding meal as well. We loved the ease of roasting the meal and the flavor profile was exceptional.
The first new “lunch” recipe I tried was a quick pumpkin soup. By the way, I have a new favorite food blog..
The website focuses on cooking techniques, tips, gadgets, and design. It has quickly become my favorite cooking oriented website. I found this soup recipe on their website. To make it THM compliant, I used stevia and maple flavoring in the place of maple syrup. The soup had a unique flavor and I regretted using dried thyme rather than fresh…fresh would have improved the flavor. Realizing that lunch lacked protein, the Ole Buckeye ate yogurt after his soup. In order to include protein in my lunch I simply put Greek yogurt into my bowl of soup. I liked it much better than the original recipe. By adding the yogurt the pumpkin soup will go onto a rotation.
Yet another intriguing recipe was this Quinoa Bowl also featured on the kitchen.com. My plating didn’t look at all like their picture. When I layered the ingredients as directed all that was visible was kale. I stirred it for the photo. I did not have olives, so I used capers. The rest of the recipe I followed exactly. Originally I was going to leave out the feta and go extremely light on the olive oil, but I decided to create as written. This became a crossover due to the oil and feta, but still a really healthy, enjoyable meal.
Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowl with Crispy Chickpeas and Pesto
Conclusion
I am spending time exploring Keto. The meals from Green Chef were from the Keto collection and fell into THM S as well. I am at times overwhelmed by the many educated and differing opinions on feeding our bodies, but I will continue the quest of healthy eating. The adventure continues. Bon Appetit!
