Finally found a non-Instant Pot chicken meal that was simple and easy for meal prep. I've made similar recipes before, but this one is definitely the easiest and turned out so flavorful and delicious. While you cook the chicken, put all the pineapple ginger sauce ingredients in your blender, and that is really all the work you need to do. Big note on those medjool dates is to make sure you get them pitted! I did not and totally forgot to take the pits out before blending, and that ruined my first batch of sauce. Since I had to start over I was also left without any extra pineapple for topping, which was a bummer too. Other then that mishap, everything was smooth sailing with this recipe. I heated up some frozen plain cauliflower rice to pair with it since there was plenty of delicious sauce to top with at the end. I also opted for baking the chicken breast in the oven since I quadrupled everything below to get enough meals for the week. I thought that option worked out just as great if you'd rather do the same. I tend to shy away from a lot of "sauce" recipes because they usually involve so many ingredients, but this one literally has 5 ingredients! Even if you don't make the chicken part, I definitely recommend saving the sauce recipe for some grilling recipes this summer.
Pineapple Ginger Chicken Ingredients: Chicken
Chicken
Notes: Why medjool dates versus other kinds of dates? Medjool dates are picked early which means they tend to be very soft. This makes them awesome for blending and creating sauces. Yes, it does matter what kind of date you use! Original recipe found here
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I hope everyone is staying home and healthy, and also considering trying some new recipes or meal prep with this extra time at home we all have! I am finally going through a list of recipes I had saved to try for quite some time now, including this one that turned out absolutely delicious! This recipe is Instant Pot and Slow Cooker friendly, and did not have much prep to it whatsoever. Although I bought frozen cubed sweet potatoes and pre-cut onions and peppers, which left me with only having to cut the chicken. Either way, this recipe is definitely one of the simpler ones that I have tried. I also loved that there were peppers, green beans, sweet potato, and cauliflower rice with this meal. ALL the colors and nutrients! I had to almost quadruple the ingredients below to get enough meals for our house, so I also increased the cooking time in the Instant Pot to around 30 minutes. This was definitely over kill and my sweet potatoes paid the price, unfortunately. Just pointing this out in case you enjoy eating those chunks of potatoes instead of it getting cooked into the sauce. I would also suggest removing the potatoes and chicken while you saute the sauce at the end. Paired with some cauliflower rice and topped with raw cashews and this meal was a hit all week long. Let me know if you give it a try!
Sweet Potato Chicken Curry (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker) Ingredients:
For Instant Pot
For a thicker curry – mix together 2 Tbsp. of water with 1 Tbsp. tapioca starch. While instant pot is on the saute setting, stir into curry after the coconut milk is heated through and let set for a few minutes to thicken. Original recipe found here This kind of recipe really reminds me of my mom. Anyway I could sneak vegetables into the meal for her to eat I would try and do it. These Loaded Veggie Turkey Meatballs were spot on down to the food processor making sure the veggies were finely chopped. Great recipe for kids or adults that have trouble eating their vegetables. Plus, you can't even tell there are veggies in the meatballs when eating them. Winning. The recipe below is tripled from the original recipe, and the only parts I changed were using just a little bit less ghee then recommended, and using spinach instead of kale. The recipes suggests using a cooling rack on top of the baking sheet to cook the meatballs, and I really wish I had those to test that method out. Ground turkey always leaves fat and juice behind that you sometimes have to scrape it off when cooking on a baking sheet. So if you end up making these using a cooling rack, please let me know how it turned out. I paired this with my own version of Garlic Sweet Potato Cauliflower Mash and absolutely loved the meal. Making a blended mash like this one is another way to add some more vegetables into your life. With the garlic and sweet potato, you can't even tell there is cauliflower in there. All around, a delicious and nutritious meal that I definitely recommend trying.
Loaded Veggie Turkey Meatballs Ingredients:
Original recipe found here Garlic Sweet Potato Cauliflower Mash Ingredients:
This meal is the real deal! I ended up quadrupling just about every ingredient, except the chili powder and hot sauce since I was afraid it would be too spicy for my liking. I also opted for making the sloppy joes in the Instant Pot on saute mode rather then the stove top because I had such a large quantity of food then the original recipe. Both ways are suitable options though and get the job done quick! I have never heard of Rao's Homemade marinara sauce before, but I found it at Whole Foods, Wegman's, and Harris Teeter, and thought it tasted delicious. Seriously impressed with that sauce option for the Whole30/Paleo/whole-food ingredient crowd and recommend trying it if you find it. Now I couldn't find spaghetti squash at my grocery store for some reason, so I went with sweet potato glass noodles instead, which actually provided the carbs I needed anyways. Feel free to pair this with any kind of noodle or vegetable noodle you like though. This meal was a huge hit in my house and will definitely be made again soon!
Whole30 Sloppy Joe Bowls Ingredients: Sloppy Joes
Spaghetti Squash
Original recipe found here Its officially time for all the fall foods, and this recipe did not disappoint! The prep work is really all that you have to do with this one, making it pretty simple for the non-cooks out there. If you want to minimize some of that prep work I recommend purchasing already cut brussels sprouts, and/or marinading the chicken the night before. Since I basically tripled this recipe below to get enough food for meal prep, the cutting and chopping did take up some time for me. Once all that prep work is done though, all that is left to do is throw everything on the sheet pan to bake. I actually ended up having to do this in two batches with all the food that I had. My only note I had with this recipe was that next time I'd roast the brussles sprouts and bacon for 10-15 minutes first before throwing the apples and chicken on top. That is just my preference though because I love brussels and bacon together and much prefer is to be well-roasted. That note aside though, all of these flavors together still came out tasting delicious and comforting, as expected. I will probably be making this one a few more times this fall!
Rosemary Balsamic Sheet Pan Chicken with Bacon and Apples Ingredients:
Original recipe found here I recently stumbled upon this Asian-inspired Paleo blog where I found this amazing recipe, and plenty of other delicious looking ones as well! This Chicken Stir-Fry with Cabbage and Shiitake turned out tasting like a true Asian stir fry and was actually pretty simple to make. I purchased matchstick carrots and bagged cabbage slaw to help minimize prep time. I also threw the shiitake mushrooms in the food processor to dice up real tiny, just so they would get lost in the stir-fry and the people I am cooking for didn't notice ;-). The only items left to prep are slicing the green onions, slicing or mincing the ginger (I preferred to mince), slicing the chicken and tossing with the seasonings. This is actually a step I goofed on - although the olive oil is listed under the chicken seasonings, that ingredient is just for when you are ready to cook in the pan. I accidentally threw it in with the marinade instead, not that I think it changed the flavoring that much. Anyways, I found that the chicken cooked much better in a wok then it did in my dutch oven, so I cooked in batches in the wok and used the dutch oven to prepare the rest of the stir fry. I only did this though because I increased the serving size to 15 for this recipe and had plenty of cabbage and carrots to cook. You can change the serving size of this recipe to your needs as well by going to the original recipe link below and adjusting the serving size amount up or down. Again, I thought this meal turned out tasting perfectly and was a delicious Asian stir fry! You will most definitely be seeing me post more recipes from this blog.
Paleo Chicken Stir-Fry with Cabbage and Shiitake Ingredients: Chicken seasonings
Original recipe found here This meal was the bomb! Since I made this for meal prep, and also need at least a cup of sweet potato per meal, I opted for roasting the potatoes separately in the oven. I then doubled the rest of the recipe (minus the black pepper and olive oil, there was no need for that much) to get me about 10 meals. I actually may have used closer to 3lbs of steak now that I think about it. Either way, the recipe itself was super simple and easy to make after you have all your ingredients diced and prepped. I paired this recipe with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice, which is also super easy to whip up if you have the time. If not, another idea is to throw some plain cauliflower rice in with the peppers to cook. You can also throw the plain cauliflower rice into the same pan you cooked the steak bites and peppers (once you remove everything) to soak up the remaining flavors. I definitely over complicated this meal by roasting sweet potatoes in the oven, and separately making Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice, so don't feel like you need to do all of that. The steak bite recipe as-is below was extremely simple to make and is all done in one-pan. Most importantly, this is a meal you will truly enjoy eating all week long!
Whole30 Steak Bites with Sweet Potatoes and Peppers Ingredients:
Original recipe found here Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice Ingredients:
Original recipe found here This meal seriously turned out SO delicious! I will definitely be throwing this into my meal prep rotation of favorites. Not too many ingredients or prep with this meal either - heat up the chicken breasts on the stove top and throw the sauce ingredients in a blender. Since I made this for meal prep, I increased the chicken breast amount significantly and threw them on a large baking sheet to bake in the oven, instead of going through batches on the stove top. I also doubled the sauce ingredients and still tossed it with the cooked chicken in a large skillet, as the recipe calls for. While the chicken was baking I heated up some coconut oil in another pan, simmered some extra grated ginger and garlic, then tossed cauliflower rice. Once cooked through, I added some extra fresh parley and salt and removed from heat. I thought this ginger garlic cauliflower rice was perfect with the Pineapple Ginger Chicken, and there was plenty of sauce to throw over top as well. Slip in some regular rice if you need it and you have yourself a well-balanced, simple, and tasty meal to enjoy! This one will not disappoint :)
Pineapple Ginger Chicken Ingredients: Chicken
Chicken
Original recipe found here An absolute must-try! Although I clearly used chicken for this meal, the recipe below is for steak and seriously tastes delicious both ways. I've made this with both steak and chicken for friends and family and it's always a huge hit. For meal prep however, I opted for chicken since it's a little nicer on my wallet. If making this with chicken, I recommend slicing or pounding the chicken thin, and baking it at 375 degrees until cooked. It took me about 15 minutes to bake, then I finished with 5 minutes of broil. For everything else though I still followed the recipe as-is. Keep an eye while broiling the peppers and onions because they can burn fast! Also keep an eye on the steak too because that also cooks in no time. Since I made this recipe for meal prep, I doubled the marinade (oil and seasonings) to split between the vegetables and meat, and also doubled (probably even tripled) the vegetables and meat as well. I thought this meal turned out especially amazing over the Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice, which you can mix with regular rice as well. I've also had this meal with corn tortillas which turned out delicious too. Dress this up with salsa, guacamole/avocado, and/or whatever else your heart desires to make the most tasty fajitas! This really is a must-try recipe :)
Best Sheet Pan Fajitas with Steak Ingredients:
Notes: You can marinate your steak ahead of time if you prefer; this will result in an even more flavorful and tender steak. Simply coat your sliced steak in half the garlic-seasoning mixture and chill; marinate for up to 12 hours. Take out of fridge about 30 minutes before cooking. Original recipe found here Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice Ingredients:
Original recipe found here 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:
Original recipe found here My Roasted Sweet Potatoes Ingredients:
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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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