Another seriously delicious taco-type bowl for this week! Though I think this burrito bowl tasted more like tacos then last weeks taco bowl. Nonetheless, I loved both. This one was especially fun to put together and just make to my liking. The only ingredient change I made was using 1 tablespoon of cumin instead of 2 for the enchilada sauce because I'm just not a huge fan of cumin. Also, the original recipe made this with quinoa, which I substituted for a cilantro lime cauliflower rice, so I guess I technically made two ingredient changes. I thought the cauliflower rice was a great pair with everything and a perfect paleo option. I actually couldn't pick out the lime or cilantro flavor once mixing everything together either, so you can definitely get away with making a really plain cauliflower rice (or just make regular rice if you are not paleo) since there is plenty of enchilada sauce. Speaking of that sauce, I purposely only added some back to the shredded pork, so I had a ton of it leftover. Just throwing that out there in case anyone else doesn't like a ton of sauce or they see how mine turned out and would rather have more sauce. This meal is worth making and one that I will definitely be making again!
Hawaiian Pork Burrito Bowls Ingredients: Enchilada sauce:
Enchilada sauce:
Original recipe found here
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I was out of town this past weekend, so I planned ahead for an easy and simple meal prep Sunday. This is my version of the classic chicken, broccoli, and rice meal prep and it is way more tastier and enjoyable. Actually, the Roasted Brussels with Bacon and the Sweet Potato Applesauce Mash are probably my top go-to sides to meal prep. I love them so much I could probably eat them for every meal if I had to. There is little prep for both of them and although it takes some time roasting in the oven, you can be efficient with that time and get another meal done while you wait. You can also make this Balsamic Grilled Chicken during that time, if it's done marinating. Nothing fancy about the chicken, if you like balsamic chicken you will enjoy it. This meal is a comforting and simple one that I cannot wait to eat all week!
Balsamic Grilled Chicken Ingredients:
Original recipe found here Roasted Brussels with Bacon Ingredients:
Sweet Potato Applesauce Mash Ingredients:
Original recipe found here The original recipe for this was Pulled Pork Taco Bites with the pork served on roasted butternut squash slices. There was no way I was making tiny taco bites for a weeks worth of meals though, so I improvised and came up with this Garlic Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Mash. Sounds gross and I totally questioned myself all weekend if I should experiment with this or not, but I did anyways and I am so glad I went through with it. Not only did the mash turn out tasting delicious, but it was a seriously tasty pair with the pulled pork and mango salsa! If you are doubting the cauliflower part of the mash, then just leave it out, but honestly I didn't taste a bit of cauliflower and it was a sneaky way of adding some more nutrients into the meal. For the pork I used my new InstaPot again, but you can also make it in the slow cooker if you have that. There are also recipes for Mango Salsa, Traditional Salsa, and Chunky Guacamole for topping choices, so all of the variety! I personally loved the mango salsa, but that was the only one I tried. You can also check out your local grocery store's fresh made salsa and see if their ingredients are paleo-approved if you want to save some time in the kitchen. This meal was seriously as amazing as it looks and definitely one I recommend trying!
Pulled Pork Ingredients:
Topping Recipes: Mango Salsa
Mango Salsa:
Original recipe found here Garlic Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Mash: Ingredients:
Inspired by this recipe This was a fun and easy one to make! Only 5 ingredients and not too much prep involved either. Instead of grating the sweet potato, I peeled and cut the sweet potato into smaller chunks, then threw them in the food processor to shred into smaller hash-like pieces. Also, make sure to add salt and pepper to the sweet potato hash before lining the muffin pan; I almost forgot to do that. After the sweet potato cups were made, all I had to do was crack an egg into each muffin, top with bacon, and put back into the oven. Easy as that! I also added a dash of salt on top of the eggs before putting back into the oven as well. This recipe makes 12 egg muffins, so if you only want 6 muffins then you can easily reduce the ingredients in half. I see this recipe being a repeat breakfast option for sure!
Eggs and Bacon in Sweet Potato Cups Ingredients:
Original recipe found here The original recipe was a maple mustard combination, but I am a huge fan of honey mustard, so I swapped the maple syrup out. I definitely make a lot of meals that call for honey, which is always questionable in the paleo and nutrition world, so I wanted to give my quick thoughts on both sweeteners. First, always check the ingredient label and buy unprocessed honey and maple syrup. Second, although these ingredients are a natural food source, they are still sugar and should be eaten in moderation. I try not to use TOO much in my meals and almost always reduce what the recipe calls for, so that when I portion my meals out I never actually have a tablespoon of the ingredient in each meal. Basically, I use them in moderation and believe they are the best sweetener or choice if I am going to use one. That is my take on them though. PaleoLeap has an article on the honey and maple syrup debates as well, and more information on Paleo in general, if you want to research more and form your own opinion.
About the recipe though... I mention below that I roasted the sweet potatoes separate from the chicken and asparagus. I only did this because I diced up a ton of sweet potatoes though, so if you don't use too many sweet potatoes you might be able to fit everything on one baking sheet. Besides that, this recipe was super simple to prep and bake on one pan. I definitely suggest broiling for 3-5 minutes at the end to make everything a little crispier too. If you like honey mustard (or maple mustard), then I think you will also enjoy this one! Honey Mustard Chicken, Asparagus, and Sweet Potatoes Ingredients:
Original recipe found here An entire meal done on the grill! Although I unfortunately got a late start on meal prep and missed out on the sun while making this. I really enjoyed this meal, but without the grilled pineapple I think the chicken breast tasted a little plain. Next time I think I would marinate the chicken in the glaze for at least an hour before grilling. Besides that though, this was the quickest recipe to meal prep and still turned out very much delicious. I paired it with grilled green and yellow squash with red onions, which is probably my favorite grilled veggie combo. I bought two 14 oz packages of pre-sliced squash and diced up half of a red onion. I tossed the veggies in a bowl with 2 Tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of salt (although 1/2 tsp is plenty - I just really like salt), and threw everything on the grill. We recently got these Grill Mats, which made for an incredibly easy and clean grilled veggie experience. I'll definitely be using them every time I need to grill veggies! If you need a quick and easy grill meal prep then look no further. This one is a winner!
Grilled Paleo Pineapple Chicken Ingredients: Pineapple Glaze for the Chicken (make sure all ingredients are near room temp for smooth blending)
*To make date paste, blend ⅓ cup dates (softened first in hot water if too dry) with 2 Tbsp water in a high speed blender until pureed. Add drops of water as needed to create a smooth consistency. Original recipe found here I've had my eye on the Instant Pot for a while now after hearing how amazing it was from friends and also how much time it would help save doing meal prep. Since Amazon decided to flash it in my face on Amazon Prime Day I finally pulled the trigger and got it. For those who do not have a pressure cooker, majority of those recipes can still be done in the crock pot for 6-8 hours and without the added liquid (so for this pork recipe you would not add the 1/2 cup of water). Anyways, since I was out of town all weekend and my Instant Pot was delivered in time, I obviously had no other option except to put it to use right away. This pulled pork recipe was a winner since it includes very few and simple ingredients and I already had a bottle of Steve's PaleoChef Peach BBQ at home. Another paleo BBQ sauce option I often use is Tessemae's BBQ sauce, which is equally as delicious and also sold at Whole Foods. Anyways, besides the slow down from just being a first time user of the Instant Pot, this meal was complete in under an hour and a half. I baked 5 large sweet potatoes in the oven at 425 degrees for 40 minutes, flipped them over, and baked for an additional 40 minutes. I also threw the asparagus on the grill while I was in the middle of grilling everything for my pineapple chicken meal this week. With being out of town all weekend and starting meal prep late on Sunday, choosing meal prep recipes that are quick and simple are a must, but so is choosing recipes that can be made at the same time. It really helped reduce the stress of coming home late and having to get meal prep done by having one meal completely made on the grill while the other one was in the Instant Pot and in the oven. Just a meal prep tip I wanted to throw out there. Anyways, if you like BBQ then you will enjoy this pulled pork. I thought it was delicious and absolutely loved this classical meat, baked sweet potato, and veggie meal prep!
Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork Ingredients:
Original recipe found here Another yummy egg muffin recipe! There are seriously so many ways to mix up the egg muffin. We had left over spiralized sweet potatoes that had to be put to use, so I incorporated those into this weeks egg muffin. I found a chorizo muffin recipe (link is below) for inspiration and ended up using breakfast sausage and adding caramelized onions with the left over spiralized sweet potato noodles. These muffins were for my mom, so I did not actually eat them, but if I were to pick my favorite one that I've made so far I think it would be this one! I love breakfast sausage, onions, and sweet potatoes and I took my time cooking them before assembling in the muffin pan and baking, so I just know they had to of turned out amazing. Give them a try and let me know if you enjoyed them!
Paleo Egg, Sausage, and Sweet Potato Muffins Ingredients:
Inspired by this recipe Like the crockpot beef fajitas I made this week, I also prepped this chicken in a Ziploc bag the night before. Simple ingredients and very little preparation for this chicken marinade, so if you can I suggest also prepping the night before. If not, just make sure to let the chicken marinade for three hours before grilling. Since I had a crockpot meal and a grill meal for Sunday meal prep, I did not mind spending some time roasting Brussels and sweet potatoes. I tried to accurately write out the steps I followed to make them, so let me know if anything is confusing. I used two baking sheets to speed up time and cooked the bacon on those two sheets prior to roasting the Brussels and sweet potatoes. This way I was able to roast everything in bacon fat and make them taste even more yummy. That is the best way to roast anything in my opinion! This meal was inspired by this recipe, but clearly a lot different. I personally don't need any sauce to eat roasted sweet potatoes, so I basically just took the idea and added some grilled chicken and Brussels. I loved this grilled honey lime cilantro chicken and thought it paired great with the sweet potatoes. I'm also a huge fan of roasted Brussels (in bacon fat), so this meal was perfect and tasted absolutely delicious. If you give my version or the original recipe a try, let me know if you enjoyed it!
Grilled Honey Lime Cilantro Chicken Ingredients:
Original recipe found here Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Ingredients:
Inspired by this recipe This meal was seriously so amazing! I prepped the crockpot ingredients in a large Ziploc bag the night before, so I could easily throw everything in the crockpot first thing Sunday morning. Of note, I also added a cup and a half of beef broth to the crockpot before starting it because I thought it needed some more liquid (that was not in the original recipe). I set the beef to slow cook for 8 hours and prepared the cauliflower fried rice later in the day. This is the same cauliflower fried rice I made a few weeks ago and one that I will definitely be making a lot more of! I think it's my new favorite cauliflower rice recipe and it is one my mother has eaten multiple times without any complaints, so that means it must taste great. Once the beef was done, I shredded it and threw as many of the leftover peppers in the crockpot as I could back into the meat. I served over the cauliflower rice and topped with salsa and thought that combination was perfect. I think topping with avocado or guacamole would have also paired great with this. Not only was this meal incredibly simple and easy to prepare, but it turned out so delicious. There is no reason not give this one a try!
Crockpot Beef Fajitas Ingredients:
Original recipe found here Paleo Cauliflower Fried Rice Ingredients:
Original recipe found here |
Erika CopelandSharing the recipes I prepare to help others eat more nutritious food and begin their journey to a healthier life. categories
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