I always feel like Memorial Day Weekend is the start of grilling season, and let me tell you this recipe set the standards pretty darn high! Although you are making a homemade BBQ sauce, don't go running. The sauce is extremely easy and simple, using very little ingredients and NO added sugars. I have tried many over-the-counter paleo BBQ sauces and many homemade sauces before, and this sauce is unlike all of them. It seriously turned out so delicious and totally worth quickly blending up! Make sure you plan ahead for this one and let the chicken marinate in the sauce for at least 30 minutes before grilling - the longer the better, so if you can let it marinate overnight I suggest doing that. I doubled the marinade ingredients and used about 5lbs of boneless chicken thighs to get me a little more meals. I also paired with my roasted sweet potatoes and quickly roasted some broccoli when that was done to complete the meal. A little more prep time when you choose to roast so many vegetables, but I had more time this weekend so I went for it. However, baking a sweet potato or throwing them in the Instant Pot while you're grilling can save some time. Anyways, this grilled Hawaiian BBQ chicken seriously came out amazing and I will most definitely be making it all summer long. Let me know what you think if you try it out! 

​Grilled Hawaiian BBQ Chicken
Ingredients:

• 1 fresh pineapple, skin removed and cut into rounds with the core removed
• 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs (or breasts)

For the marinade:

• 1/2 cup coconut aminos
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 4-6 pitted dates, soaked for 10-15 minutes in warm water to soften then drained
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• For serving and topping:
• White or cauli rice (Cauli rice for Whole30)
• Mixed greens
• Chopped green onions (for topping)

Directions:

1. Soak dates in warm water as noted to soften. 
2. To make the marinade, place all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and run continuously to combine all the ingredients until smooth. Stop to scrape sides down as needed and restart.
3. Place chicken in a shallow bowl or dish and pour the marinade over. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
4. When you are about ready to grill, cut pineapple into rounds as noted. Cut out the tough inner core from the rounds and set aside.
5. Heat your grill to high heat (about 500° F). Add the chicken and pineapple to grill and cook, flipping once and basting chicken with any remaining marinade until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes on each side depending on the size of the chicken. Remove pineapple when it is grilled to your liking (we grilled it just 3-4 minutes per side). 
6. Serve chicken and pineapple with your desired side, over rice or over greens (or greens and rice). Enjoy.

Original recipe found here


My Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:

• 4-6 Sweet Potatoes (Depending on how much you want to make. 5 medium sized sweet potatoes usually gets me 6 oz of sweet potato fries for 6 meals. I think my idea of medium sized is bigger than most though.)
• Olive oil spray
• Sea salt (I love using Garlic Sea Salt!)
• Optional: Cinnamon, Paprika, any other Spices

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Skin and cut the sweet potatoes into whatever shape you want. I either do fries, wedges or circles.
3. Spray baking pan with olive oil. Lay down sweet potato fries flat (do not just dump a pile on the pan).
4. I fill my Misto with olive oil and lightly spray the fries, then add some sea salt (or whatever spices you enjoy).
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Take out of the oven and move them around or flip them over. Bake for another 15-20 minutes.
6. Keep an eye on them, if they are thin bake for less time, and vice versa. Key is to move them around or flip them over half way through baking them. I usually make mine thicker, so I bake them for at least a total of 40 minutes.

These meatballs were a huge hit in my house! I don't prep meatballs much anymore because meal prepping for Robbie, my mom, and myself would require way too much time forming a million meatballs. However, it was a short week for us this particular week since we were traveling, so I went for this recipe and am SO glad I did. I personally had to quadruple the meatball ingredients and only doubled the sauce to get us through half of a week. I probably could have made more sauce, but it was at least enough to top over the cauliflower rice and rice mixture. The recipe was supposed to have broccoli too, but I didn't purchase enough for both this meal and the other meal I made for the week, so I just left it out. I haven't had a true Teriyaki Chicken meal in a while, but I really thought this meal was pretty spot on and delicious! Not many outrageous ingredients to this recipe either and only a little bit of coconut flour, which I already had stocked in the house. If this recipe at all looks appealing to you then definitely give it a try! A better-for-you version of Teriyaki Chicken that you will truly enjoy. ​

Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs with Broccoli and Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients:
For the meatballs

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
• 2 tsp coconut flour
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp green onion, chopped

For the vegetables 

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 1/2 cup cauliflower rice (pre-riced or using a food processor)
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1/2 tsp sea salt, divided
• 2 tsp coconut aminos

For the sauce

• 1/2 cup coconut aminos
• 2 tsp honey (omit for Whole30)
• 2 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 1 tsp arrowroot starch
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:
For the meatballs 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl (reserving the green onion), and mix well. Roll the mixture into meatballs (you should have about 15-18) and place on the baking sheet.
3. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meatballs reaches 165 F.
4. Once cooked, remove the meatballs from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
5. Toss the meatballs in the teriyaki sauce (see below) until evenly coated (reserving about 2 tbsp for the vegetables and serving on the side).

For the vegetables 

1. Melt 1 tbsp coconut oil in a large, deep frying pan on medium heat. Saute the cauliflower rice with salt and coconut amino for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through and lightly crisped. Set aside.
2. Using the same pan, bring about 1/4 inch of water to a simmer in the pan. Lightly salt the water and add the broccoli to the pan and cover with a lid to steam the broccoli for 8-10 minutes or until the broccoli is tender. Remove any excess water and set the broccoli aside.

For the sauce

1. Combine all of the ingredients (reserving the arrowroot) in a small saucepan and set on the stove on medium heat. Whisk in the arrowroot simmer on low for 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens. Set the sauce aside.
2. To assemble the meal prep bowls

Assemble

1. Use 3-4 glass containers to layer in the cauliflower rice, broccoli, and about 4-6 meatballs per container. Top the vegetables with the remainder of the sauce, or serve the sauce on the side, and add the chopped green onion on top of the meatballs. Store in the fridge for about 3 days and enjoy for lunch or dinner!

Original recipe found here

I figured it was about time I made another video. My goal with these videos is just to visually show people how easy it is to prepare meal prep or maybe just a healthier meal. Plus, all the recipes I post are truly ones that I enjoyed eating all week - no bland meals that will send you running to the nearest fast food establishment before the week is over. Enjoying what you are eating is kind of key with maintaining a healthier lifestyle long-term. Anyways, I'll move on to talking about this recipe now. I made this one in both the slow cooker and Instant Pot and both turned out equally delicious and packed with flavor. The first time I made this I served it for fajita night with my friends, so we dressed it up with corn tortillas (Siete’s grain-free tortillas are a great option), peppers and onions, salsa, guacamole, and other fun toppings. This time I made it for meal prep, so I simply paired it with cauliflower rice and had some extra salsa and mini to-go guacamole packs to throw on top of it. You can still totally go the fajita route for meal prep though, it was just much easier for me to quickly heat up some frozen cauliflower rice. Like I said, both times this meal turned out delicious! My friends absolutely loved this one for fajita night and I enjoyed it just as much for meal prep all week. I went half and half with chicken breasts and thighs, purchased already made salsa from the produce section at the grocery store (check the ingredient label on those - most are made with whole food ingredients and no added sugars or preservatives), then already had all these spices in my pantry. Another extremely simple recipe that turned out really tasty! 

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
Ingredients:

• 4 lbs. chicken breast or thighs (recommend 2 lb. of each)
• 2 cup organic or homemade salsa
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 4 tsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. ground coriander (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (more for more heat)
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• Salad greens or Butter leaf lettuce
• Toppings: Fresh chopped veggies of choice, fresh cilantro, olives, avocado, fresh salsa, lime wedge etc.
• Optional: gluten-free tortilla (organic corn tortillas or Siete grain-free tortillas)

Slow Cooker Directions:

1. Place all ingredients except salad greens/lettuce and toppings in a slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours.
2. Remove chicken and shred with 2 forks. Return to slow cooker and cook on low for an additional 30 minutes.
3. Serve chicken taco meat in a lettuce wrap, gluten-free tortilla or on a bed of greens, top with cilantro and add desired toppings.

Instant Pot Directions:

1. Place all ingredients except salad greens/lettuce and toppings into the bottom of the Instant Pot insert. 
2. Lock the lid in place and flip the vent valve to “Sealing” position.
3. Select “Poultry” or “Manual” setting then use the +/- buttons to adjust the cooking time up or down to 17-19 minutes (depending on how thick your chicken breasts are).
4. When cooking time is up, allow pressure to release naturally for 10-15 minutes before releasing any residual steam.
5. Carefully remove the lid once all steam has been released and shred the chicken with two forks right in the pot. If meat seems watery, select the “Saute” setting and cook for 5-8 minutes or until liquid is reduced.
6. Serve chicken taco meat in a lettuce wrap, gluten-free tortilla or on a bed of greens, top with cilantro and add desired toppings.

​Original recipe found here