Now I usually don't enjoy lemon chicken recipes, but I gave this one a try and absolutely loved it! I followed the recipe as is below, but decided to bake my sweet potatoes separately and throw in some asparagus with the chicken instead. There's not much prep to this recipe whatsoever, but you can make it even easier by using a Herbes de Provence Spice Blend instead of the fresh rosemary, if you prefer. The two squeezed lemons got me about ½ cup fresh lemon juice and it seemed like most of that was left behind in the pan after I distributed the chicken and asparagus to my meal containers. For all those who meal prep the classic chicken, vegetable, and potato, this recipe spices it up with some rosemary and lemon and makes the week's worth of lunches much more enjoyable! 

Lemon Rosemary Chicken and Asparagus
Ingredients:

• 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
• 4-6 chicken breasts (however many you need - I used about 2.75 lbs)
• 1 1/2 sweet potatoes, cubed (I omitted these and baked sweet potatoes instead)
• 1 lb Asparagus 
• 2 large lemon, squeezed (about ½ cup fresh lemon juice)
• 1 large lemon, sliced
• 2 Tablespoons rosemary
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Add olive oil to a large cast iron skillet or to a roasting pan, and heat over medium-high heat. If using a roasting pan, you may need to use it over two burners.
3. Sprinkle desired amount of salt and pepper over chicken breasts. Then place the chicken breast sides down in the pan. Add the cubed sweet potatoes, and cook in pan/skillet for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is browned.
4. Turn the chicken over and pour lemon, rosemary, and garlic over the chicken and potatoes. Add in your asparagus. Top with sliced lemons.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until the chicken is done. This varies for each oven.

​Original recipe found here​

This meal was incredibly easy to throw together and was full of so much color and flavor! The original recipe did not have ground beef in it, so I added that part in to get protein in the meal. If you do not eat meat though, just omit the ground beef and add some beans to get some more protein. I also only used a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes because I am not a big fan of soupy meals, and I used 3 bags of riced cauliflower (some were sweet potato rice too), which is another reason my chili did not turn out so soupy. With the ingredients indicated below, I made 10 meals with 12g Fat, 20g Carbs, and 25g of Protein, but you can adjust serving size based on your needs. If you need more carbs, you can simply just add some rice to the meal. If you need more fats, increase the olive oil amount or top each meal with some avocado. All of this was made in one large pot (I used a large dutch oven), besides the ground beef, which I actually just sauteed in my Instant Pot real quick, then through into the pot once it was cooked. A meal full of all the nutrients, done in no time! Definitely a recipe worth trying for your next meal prep.

​Best Easy Paleo Cauliflower Chili
Ingredients:

• 2.5 lb ground beef, lean
• 1 medium cauliflower head minced (I used 2 bags of Riced Veggies Cauliflower & Sweet Potato and 1 bag of Green Giant Riced Cauliflower)
• 2 tablespoon olive oil (plus ½ Tbsp for ground meat, if desired)
• 2 tablespoon ground cumin
• 4 tablespoon dried oregano or Italian herbs
• 3 tablespoon chili powder more or less for spicy
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced
• 1 small orange bell pepper, diced
• 1 small yellow bell pepper diced
• 6 medium garlic cloves minced
• 42 oz diced tomatoes (I only used 28 oz)
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 3 tablespoon coconut aminos (simply omit if you don't have or don't want to purchase)
• 3/4 cup chopped cilantro for topping
• 1.50 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot saute the minced cauliflower with seasonings until slightly softened, but not mushy. You can buy pre minced cauliflower or make it by pulsing chunks of cauliflower in a food processor.
2. In a separate skillet, spray with non-stick oil or heat up ½ Tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the ground meat. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break up the meat and mix around until browned. 
3. Add the rest of the ingredients (except cilantro) and cooked meat into the soup pot. Cook until soup reaches desired consistency (about 8-10 minutes). Serve with fresh chopped cilantro.

Original recipe found here

Another breakfast casserole for my mom to enjoy all week long! This recipe was originally for egg muffins, but I changed it up some to make sure my mom was eating enough for breakfast. Plus, she is not a huge kale fan, so I added spinach and kale together, and even ran it all through the food processor to make it real tiny, so I can get her to eat more vegetables. It's like I am feeding a child or something ;-) just kidding, sort of, love you mom! Anyways, I followed the directions below, but instead of using a muffin pan, I filled the casserole dish. I greased the dish down with some ghee too, just to make sure that spinach and kale mixture tasted even yummier. This came out looking and smelling delicious, as these casseroles always do! I snuck a couple bites too and it really did taste some good. 

Sausage, Spinach, and Kale Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients:

• 1 pound berakfast sausage (find gluten free and sugar free if possible)
• 1-2 cups kale, roughly chopped 
• 6 oz bag baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped (or onion)
• 10 eggs, scrambled, seasoned with salt and pepper
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Line a muffin pan with parchment paper liners or spray with oil and set aside.
3. In large pan over medium high heat, brown sausage until cooked through.
4. Reduce heat to medium. Remove sausage from pan, reserve about 1 tablespoon of the fat from the sausage to cook the shallot. If there is not enough fat from the sausage, add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the shallot and cook for a few minutes, until starting to soften, about 2 minutes.
5. Add the kale and a pinch of salt, carefully stir to mix with the shallot. Cook until kale is wilted down but still bright green, about five minutes. Remove from heat.
6. Evenly divide the shallot and kale mixture between the muffin liners, then top each with some sausage. Each muffin liner should be about halfway filled with the kale and sausage.
7. Pour the scrambled eggs into each muffin liner, evenly dividing between each. It is OK to fill them to the top, just be careful not to go over the edge.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the muffins are puffed up and set on top (they may be shiny, but will no longer be liquid).
9. Remove from oven and immediately remove from the muffin tin and cool on a wire rack.
10. Allow to cool completely before transferring to the refrigerator. Store in the refrigerator for up to five days.
11. To reheat, microwave for about 30 seconds.

Original recipe found here

Dude, this meal was so refreshingly light and delicious! It was also all done in one pan and took no time to prep and finish. The seasoning below was the perfect amount and really flavored the cauliflower rice, so this is a perfect recipe for those who need a lot of flavor. I cut up chicken breasts instead of using chicken thighs, used frozen cauliflower rice, omitted the chicken stock all together (because there was so much stock left behind after cooking the chicken to begin with), and I threw in some halved cherry tomatoes at the end. Super easy and so tasty! Below is the serving size for 6, but I got 8 meals out of this. You can check out the original recipe link below though to adjust serving size and get your adjusted ingredient amounts if needed. Also, if you need some more carbs just simply throw in some rice with this and you're all set. This will definitely be a recipe that goes into my go-to meal prep rotation! 

Whole30 Spanish Chicken and Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients:
Chicken

• 1.50 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 teaspoon paprika
• 3 teaspoon ground cumin (I actually only used 2 teaspoons)
• 1.50 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 teaspoon Italian spice blend
• 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4.50 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used close to 3lbs chicken breasts instead)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil for cooking

Rice

• 24 oz cauliflower rice
• 2 cup chicken stock 
• lemon juice from 1 lemon
• fresh cilantro for garnish
• marinated tomatoes for garnish (I threw in a 10-12 oz container of cherry tomatoes, chopped)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl mix together the spices for the chicken, then rub half of it on chicken (reserve half for later)
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat then drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and cook chicken until golden brown on each side (about 2-3 minutes on each side- you will finish cooking it later). Then remove and set aside.
3. Fill skillet with cauliflower rice, stock, lemon juice, and the other half of the spice mix. Stir the cauliflower rice then set chicken thighs over rice, cover with a lid, and cook on medium/low heat for 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
4. Garnish with chopped cilantro and lemon wedges (optional).

Original recipe found here

I've been eating a lot of Super Fast Instant Pot Sweet Potato Mash lately, okay more like every week, so I decided it was time to make my sweet potatoes more fun and with a little more flavor. Enter the bacon! I love making bacon in the oven, then placing vegetables (especially Brussels) or sweet potatoes in the remaining bacon fat, adding a little salt, then baking them. That is seriously the easiest way to make a delicious side. Since this part was my deciding factor in the meal, I found a chili dusted chicken to quickly grill up and pair with it. I have to be honest though, the chicken did not turn out flavorful enough for me, and I am someone who doesn't need a lot of flavor. I think next time I'd add a teaspoon of salt, add some olive oil, and make sure not to cook the chicken for so long. If you have some fun grilling spices then this would be the perfect time to try those out, or you can go ahead and try this chili dusted version to see if you enjoy it, or at least make it better then I did. Either way, the point of this meal was the sweet potatoes and bacon and that turned out more delicious then ever. I am looking forward to eating those all week long! 

​​Chili Dusted Grilled Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Bacon
Ingredients:

• 3 lb Chicken Breasts
• 1 ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 4-6 Sweet Potatoes (Increase or decrease based on your needs)
• 8 Slices of Bacon
• Sea salt

Directions:
Chicken:

1. In a small bowl mix together the spices. Rub all over the chicken until covered. 
2. Preheat grill to medium high heat, about 375-400 degrees F. 
3. Grill over medium-high heat until cooked through, about 3-5 minutes per side. 
4. Set aside and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing. 

Sweet Potatoes and Bacon:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 1 to 2 rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil (this makes cleanup easier). Lay the bacon on the baking sheet(s) in a single layer. The bacon can be close together, but don't let it overlap or the bacon will stick during cooking. 
2. Bake the bacon for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden-brown and crispy. You can flip the bacon over half-way through if you prefer. Once bacon is done, remove and set aside.
3. While the bacon is baking, skin and dice the sweet potatoes into 1-2” cubes. 
4. Once cooked bacon is set aside, drain and set aside all but 1-2 Tbsp of bacon fat from the baking sheet. Place cubed sweet potatoes on baking sheet, sprinkle with sea salt, and mix around in the bacon fat. Then, make sure to lay the sweet potato flat as best you can, so they are not in a big pile on top of one another.
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and move them around or flip them over. Bake for another 20 minutes. 
6. Keep an eye on the sweet potatoes as they bake. If they are smaller bake for less time, and vice versa. Key is to move them around or flip them over half way through baking them. I usually bake them for at least a total of 40 minutes.
7. While the sweet potatoes are baking and once the bacon is cooled, slice the cooked bacon up. Once the sweet potatoes are done, add the bacon back to the sweet potatoes and mix around.
8. Serve with grilled chicken and enjoy!

This looked like a delicious and fun new casserole recipe to try out! This is a serving size for 6 per the original recipe, but I used a larger 9x13-inch casserole dish and increased the sauce some, which then gave me 8 servings. Since I used a larger casserole dish I used 10 eggs instead of 6 and also threw in a tiny bit of coconut milk to make sure the sauce covered the entire casserole. Other then that though, I made the recipe below as is and only had to bake it for 30 minutes since I used a larger dish. If you don't see white sweet potatoes at your local store you can just use a regular sweet potato. Also, I prefer to throw cubed sweet potatoes in the food processor to "shred" instead of using a shredder. That is just mush easier, in my opinion, and it doesn't leave my forearms sore. I made this for my mom's breakfast meal prep, so I only taste-tested a couple tiny bites, but those bites were tasty and sure made me wish I was eating this for breakfast all week! Let me know what you think if you give this one a try!

Whole30 Breakfast Lasagna 
Ingredients:
Base

• 2 1/4 cup white sweet potato shredded (about 1 medium potato)
• 1.50 cup spinach
• 1 small minced onion, sauteed
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

Turkey Sausage

• 1.50 lb ground turkey
• 3 Tablespoon chili powder (I only used 1 1/2 Tbsp)
• 1.50 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1.50 teaspoon sea salt
• 1.50 teaspoon olive oil

Sauce

• 6 large eggs (I increased to 10 eggs since I used a 9x13-inch casserole dish)
• 3 Tablespoon fresh sage chopped
• 3 Tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
• 1/4 Teaspoon sea salt or to taste
• black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease the bottom of a 8" by 5" casserole dish with olive oil (about 1 teaspoon).
2. To saute the onions, bring a skillet to medium heat and pour 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Add chopped onions and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula.
3. Mix all ingredients for sausage together in a separate skillet (or same skillet as onions once the onions are done) and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until cooked through (undercook slightly so it can finish cooking in lasagna).
4. Layer shredded white sweet potato, sautéed onion, spinach, and sausage into the casserole dish.
5. Beat eggs until smooth and mix in the herbs for the sauce. Pour eggs over the layered ingredients into the casserole dish.
6. Bake on 350F for about 50 minutes until baked through- when cooked, the middle of the casserole should spring back when you press your finger into the middle. **Note, if you use a larger 9x13-inch casserole dish like I did, this only needed to bake for 30 minutes. 

Original recipe found here