This weeks meal prep was more like a mid-week meal prep because like I mentioned in my other post this week, I was unexpectedly away from the house all weekend. Luckily I chose two extremely simple ingredient and quick recipes to make this week. With this nice summer weather, I am trying to take advantage of all the yummy looking grill recipes and this Spicy-Honey Glazed Chicken and Sweet Potato Kebab was awesome! The most time consuming part of this recipe is preparing the sweet potatoes, but then again I always choose to use about three times what the recipe calls for. Also, because I used so many sweet potatoes, I just made additional sweet potato kebabs. Anyways though, I had my awesome sous chef to help me on this one, which made it even easier and more fun to prepare. This one is definitely worth a try this summer!

Spicy-Honey Glazed Chicken and Sweet Potato Kebabs
Ingredients:

• 1 large (3/4 lb.) sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (I increased this to about 4 large sweet potatoes)
• 1½ lbs. boneless, skinless, chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 medium sweet onion, cut into 1½-inch chunks and layers separated
• olive oil
• 7 (12-inch) bamboo skewers*

Spice Mix + Glaze

• 2 tsp. garlic salt
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. paprika
• ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper
• 6 Tbsp. honey
• 2 tsp. cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Place potato pieces into a small saucepan and add just enough water to cover the tops. Bring the water with potatoes to a boil over medium heat; cook for 5 minutes, partially covered, until potatoes are nearly cooked but still a bit firm. Remove from the heat; cool slightly.
2. While the potatoes are cooling, prepare the spice mix + glaze by mixing together the garlic salt, chili powder, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika and crushed red pepper. In a separate bowl, combine the honey and cider vinegar. Set aside.
3. Add chicken to a medium bowl; drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss with half of the spice rub. Do the same with cooled potato pieces and sweet onion chunks; drizzle with olive oil and toss with remaining spice rub.
4. Thread the chicken, sweet potato, and onion onto the soaked skewers.
5. Preheat the grill on medium/high; grill the chicken skewers for 8 minutes, turning frequently, or until chicken juices run clear while brushing the skewers with the prepared honey glaze.
6. Remove from the grill and serve immediately.

NOTES
*soak the bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes prior to use

Original recipe found here
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I was out of town all weekend, so I ended up ordering Power Supply lunches for the week and made this recipe for another meal. My friend actually shared this recipe with me a while ago from a service called eMeals that sends weekly meal plans based on your family size and eating style. The service provides not only paleo recipes, but gluten free, vegetarian, and many more. If you hate spending time looking for recipes, planning out meals for the week, and making grocery lists, definitely check out eMeals! It is a great resource to help you meal prep and stay on track with your health goals. About this recipe though, I have made it several times and absolutely love it! This recipe does need to be doubled if you are meal prepping, which is what I did. It is a pretty simple and quick meal to make and definitely worth a try!

Smoky Sloppy Joe Roll-Ups
Ingredients:

• ¾ lb grass-fed ground beef
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• ½ (6-oz) can tomato paste
• ¼ cup organic chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Southwest seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 1 small head Bibb or butter lettuce, leaves separated

Directions:

1. Cook beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat 8 minutes or until browned; drain and set aside.
2. Melt oil in skillet; add onion and bell pepper.
3. Cook 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
4. Stir in tomato paste, chicken broth, vinegar, seasoning and paprika.
5. Return beef to skillet, and cook 10 minutes or until sauce thickens.
6. Spoon beef mixture onto lettuce leaves; roll up.

Coconut Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Combine sweet potatoes, onion, 1 tablespoon oil, garlic salt and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet rubbed with remaining oil.
3. Bake 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes are browned and crispy, turning once.

​Original recipe found here

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Who doesn't love grilling out in this summer weather? This grilled basil garlic chicken was super simple and easy to prepare and even quicker to grill. I paired this with balsamic roasted brussels sprouts, which I accidentally did not make the way the the recipe calls for, but it still turned out great anyways. I ended up mixing all the ingredients together and then roasteded the brussels. I also ended up stirring everything around every 10 minutes and only roasted them for about 25 minutes. Always keep an eye on your veggies while roasting them because it's easy to burn them! For being so simple this meal turned out really yummy and plenty flavorful. It will definitely be one of those recipes I have in my back pocket for days I need to make a quick meal!

Grilled Basil Garlic Chicken Breasts
Ingredients:

• 4 large boneless skin-on chicken breast halves
• 3 tablespoons finely minced garlic
• ½ cup chopped fresh basil
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix garlic, basil and oil. Add additional oil if necessary.
2. Smear the mixture on both sides of the chicken breasts being careful to leave the skins intact. Sprinkle both sides with a small amount of salt and pepper. (The chicken may be allowed to marinate for up to 6 hours if desired.)
3. Over a medium fire, place chicken skin side down to crisp skin, about 8-10 minutes. Watch the temperature to make sure they do not burn. We leave the tenderloin on our chicken breasts so they are fairly thick – if you are doing the same, close the cover for a few minutes to raise the heat. Flip the breasts over and cook for another 6-8 minutes, again with the cover closed part of the time to have the grill function as an oven. (If your chicken breasts are not thick, the cover should be left open.
4. Note: If you are not comfortable telling when meat is done, pull one off and slice into a thick part to make sure there is no pink. They will sit after they come off the grill and will cook a bit on your platter so do not leave on too long.
5. Remove the chicken from the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Original recipe found here

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients:

• 2 lb. brussels sprouts, halved
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• ½ tsp. mustard seeds
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard (I use Woodstock Farms Organic Mustard, found at most grocery stores)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil.
2. In a large bowl, toss together brussels sprouts, red onion, olive oil, salt, pepper and mustard seeds. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and spread out evenly.
3. Roast veggies for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring only once in between, until sprouts are tender and slightly browned.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, honey and Dijon and drizzle over roasted veggies. Serve and enjoy!

Original recipe found here

I love making BBQ recipes, but I am not a fan of making my own paleo BBQ sauce. The Whole Foods by me used to sell Steve's PaleoChef Peach BBQ, which was my go-to, but for some reason they don't stock it anymore. Well anyways, this past weekend I found Tessemae's BBQ sauce at Whole Foods and decided to give it a try, and I absolutely loved it! I am so happy I found a new paleo BBQ sauce. For meal prep I did a quick crockpot chicken with the Tessemae's BBQ Sauce and served it over sweet potato hash browns, which were seriously too good to be true. You must must must try that recipe! Those hash browns turned out to be so amazing! Also, if you hate grating sweet potatoes like me, I just cubed them and threw them in the food processor - way easier. Please make this and tell me how much you enjoyed it too.

Crockpot BBQ Chicken
Ingredients:

• 3-4 Boneless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Bottle Paleo BBQ sauce (I used Tessemae's BBQ sauce - Paleo, Dairy Free and Gluten Free, and Whole 30 approved)

Directions:

1. Place chicken breasts in the crock pot and cover with 3/4 of the bottle of BBQ sauce.
2. Cook on High for 3-4 hours or Low for 6-8 hours.
3. Shred chicken with two forks while still in the crock potso the chicken will be well coated with sauce. (I removed the chicken from the crockpot to shred it).
4. Pour remaining BBQ sauce over chicken if necessary.
5. Serve over cauliflower rice or enjoy by itself.

Sweet Potato Hash Browns
Ingredients:

• 4 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped (plus some for garnish)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

Directions:

1. Pierce one of the sweet potatoes with a fork. Wrap it in a damp paper towel and place it in a small bowl with 1/2 inch of water. Microwave for 7-9 minutes, or until tender.
2. Let this sweet potato sit for 5 minutes. Then drain the water, peel the potato, and mash it with a fork.
3. Take the other 3 sweet potatoes and peel them. Then grate them on a box grater using the large holes. In your bowl of grated sweet potatoes, add the previous mashed potato, the 2 eggs, almond flour, sea salt, and green onion. Combine with a spoon.
4. In a skillet (I used cast iron), pour coconut oil and heat over medium until your cast iron is hot. If you have a thermometer, it should read 350 degrees. Then drop in sweet potato "cakes" in about 2-3 tablespoon batches. Flatten them with a spatula. Cook on each side for 5 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Once cooked, place on a plate with paper towels to drain the oil. Serve HOT!

Original recipe found here

Before I talk about this recipe, I have to mention this podcast that came out last week. This podcast nailed every point I could ever imagine in regards to how I view eating and nutrition and the journey towards living a healthy lifestyle. If you have an hour on your commute, while you are working, while you are working out, or just any time to spare at all, this podcast is SO worth the listen! Also, The podcast revealed a pretty cool hack for making cauliflower rice, which my sous chef used for this recipe below and it definitely helps save some time in the kitchen! Anyways, about this slow cooker recipe, I've had it saved for quite some time, but was turned off by the ingredient Garam Masala because I had no idea what it was and assumed I would never be able to find it. Well, after giving it a google search and realizing it's a spice, I decided to try and find it at the grocery store and what do you know, I found it. I am so glad I finally gave this recipe a try because it was amazing! I love any type of curry dish and this one was no exception.

Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Organic Coconut Oil
• 3 - 4 whole Garlic, crushed
• 1 whole Onion, diced
• 1 3/4 cup Coconut Milk
• 3/4 cup Tomato Paste
• 2 Tbsp Arrowroot Flour
• 2 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 tsp Curry Powder
• 1/2 tsp ground Ginger
• 1/2 tsp Chili Powder, Add more if you like it hotter
• 1 pinch Sea Salt
• 1 pinch Black Pepper
• 2 1/5 lb Skinless Chicken Breast

Directions:

1. Heat coconut oil in a large saucepan on medium high heat
2. Add onion and garlic, cook, stirring frequently for approximately 3 minutes or until the onions have become translucent.
3. Add coconut milk, tomato paste, arrowroot flour, garam masala, curry powder, ginger powder, and chili powder, stirring until well combined and the sauce has started to thicken. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add chicken to the slow cooker, then add the sauce and mix through the chicken
5. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 hours. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 hours.
6. Serve with coriander and your favorite side.

Original recipe found here

I was looking around for a new sweet potato recipe and this Sweet Potato Lasagna caught my eye. The original recipe does include cheese, so if you are not dairy-free, check out the link below for that recipe. Even without the cheese though this turned out to be an awesome paleo version of the classic lasagna! It did take a little longer to make then I expected, but that is because I doubled the sweet potatoes and it took about an hour in the oven until the top layer of sweet potatoes were tender. Also, if you are making this paleo version without cheese, I would suggest using two eggs instead of one because one egg was not enough to pour over the casserole twice. Overall, I loved this sweet potato casserole dish and will definitely be making it again!

Sweet Potato Lasagna
Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, thinly sliced (I used 4)
• 1½ lbs. lean ground pork
• 1 egg
• 2½ cups tomato sauce
• 8 cremini mushrooms, sliced
• ½ yellow onions, diced
• 2 clove garlic, minced
• ⅓ cup chopped parsley
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried thyme

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 F.
2. Slice the sweet potatoes very thin, approx. ⅛ - 1/16 of an inch. (You can either use a mandolin or a sharp knife.) The more uniform the better so they cook evenly.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the egg and and finely chopped italian parsley. Mix well and then set aside.
4. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Once hot, add the lean ground pork, dried oregano, dried thyme, kosher salt, and ground black pepper. Cook this until it becomes well-browned, which should take 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Once the meat is well-browned, remove it from the pan and set aside. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat from the pork. If you have more than that, you can discard the rest.
6. Add diced yellow onion and cook it over medium-high heat until it starts to become tender.
7. Then, add in the cremini mushrooms and cook for an additional 4-6 minutes, or until the mushrooms start to become tender.
8. Add in minced garlic and cook for one more minute, until the garlic becomes fragrant.
9. Return the cooked pork and add the tomato sauce into the pan and stir to combine. Once this is heated through, remove from the heat.
10. To assemble the lasagna, use a 9x16 casserole dish and create the first layer with the sweet potato slices. Make sure to overlap each slice to create an even layer.
11. Pour out half the meat sauce over the sweet potato slices and spread out evenly.
12. Pour out half of the egg mixture over the meat sauce and spread evenly. (It’s okay if it doesn’t look perfect - it will still be super tasty.)
13. Repeat these three steps with another layer of sweet potato slices, meat sauce, and then the egg mixture.
14. Cover with tin foil.
15. Place in the oven bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the sweet potato slices are almost fully tender. (It took me 60 minutes since I used more sweet potatoes and they were also slightly thicker).

Original recipe found here