Weekly Meal Ideas

Sunday:
Lunch-Omelets with mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes
Dinner-Taco Soup

Monday:
Lunch-leftover taco soup
Dinner-Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Tuesday:
Lunch-Homemade Salads
Dinner-Crockpot Red Thai Curry

Wednesday:
Lunch-Leftover Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Dinner-Wild Rice stuffed Chicken Breasts with roasted chickpeas

Thursday:
Lunch-Kale Salad, grilled chicken sausages
Dinner-Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Friday:
Lunch-Waffles, chicken sausages, fresh fruit
Dinner-Date night out!

Saturday:Lunch-Leftovers
Dinner-Taco Casserole

Snacks:
Lots of fruit (grapes, cuties, blueberries looked great this week)
Veggies w/ homemade guacamole
Muffins
Raw nuts and raisins

Taco Casserole

Okay, so I've been in a rut lately with making new meals (partially because of lack of time for trying something totally new, also because we're counting pennies so I haven't been buying new ingredients that cost more-unless I know they'll get used, and moreso because my 4 year old has been getting a bit less adventurous-though by most "kid" standards, she is a very brave eater and tries almost anything). So, today, I had a full house of daycare kids but didn't want to make the same old meals anymore, so I created this gluten-free taco casserole and it was super tasty! Of the four kids who ate it, two cleaned their plate in seconds and asked for lots more and the other two ate their entire first helping-pretty good odds! I loved it also!

1 lb grass-fed ground beef
1 can organic black beans
1 jar organic salsa (of your choice)
1/4 cup water
2 T taco seasoning (buy a packet without msg or make your own with chili pepper, paprika, cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder)

1/3 cup shredded raw, organic sharp cheddar cheese

Topping:
1 cup Pamela's gluten-free baking mix (I'm sure you could use any gluten-free baking mix)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 organic egg

1. Brown the ground beef, then add beans, salsa, water, and taco seasoning and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
2. Mix together baking mix, almond milk, and egg until well combined.
3. Place meat mixture into a 8 x 11 casserole dish (9 x 13 would work well too) and sprinkle cheese on top.
4. Carefully spread the baking mixture on top of the meat/cheese to create a crust on top.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes of until crust is crunchy and golden brown.

I served mine over a small bed of lettuce (the kids didn't even notice) and topped with some homemade guacamole and the kids went wild-I heard lots of yums, ooh, mmmm, etc! Sorry I didn't get a picture before it got eaten, but trust me, it was worth it!

Here's a similar idea that I found online : http://www.preschoolersandpeace.com/pandpblog/2011/3/27/gluten-free-taco-bake.html

Massage Kale Salad

1 large bunch kale
1/4 cup red onion (I would omit next time or else chop large so it can be removed-the flavor was great but I don't care for raw onions)
Raw sunflower seeds
1 granny smith apple
Handful craisins
Sea Salt
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

1. Massage the kale with sea salt until it wilts/shrivels-2-3 minutes (perfect job for my 4 year old)
2. Cut onions and apples and toss with sunflower seeds and craisins into the kale.
3. Add the vinegar and olive oil and mix together.

Really, you could add/omit any vegetables, nuts, or seeds to make this salad different. It was light and refreshing as an appetizer, but would be super tasty as a meal with a grilled chicken breast or grilled fish. Next time, I might also add some cucumbers and cherry tomatoes! My 4 year old gobbled up all but the onions of this yummy and super healthy salad!

Cinnamon Swirl Blueberry Muffins

So, I found this great recipe blog-The Almond Flour-and immediately decided that I needed to try some baking from this site! I altered it a bit since I was out of a few items, and I added the blueberries and these were awesome!

Dairy Free Muffin Batter
1/2 C brown rice flour (the original called for coconut flour, but I was out)
1 C blanched almond flour
2 scoops MILA chia seed (1/4 cup)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1/4 C coconut milk
1/3 C honey
1 cup fresh blueberries

Cinnamon Swirl
1/4 C honey (or less, they were super sweet)
1/4 C melted organic butter (coconut oil would make this dairy free)
2 T cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (next time I would add even more of these)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk egg, coconut milk, vanilla, and honey together. Then, slowly add dry ingredients (salt, Chia seed, almond flour, brown rice flour, and baking soda and whisk until lumps are gone-batter will be quite thin!
3. Optional: Add blueberries (the original recipe did not have any berries, but this made them so gooey and sweet) and stir together.
4. Scoop batter into lined muffin tins (makes 12 large or more smaller muffins)
5. Melt butter or coconut oil and then whisk together the butter, honey, cinnamon, and walnuts until combined well.
6. Spoon a teaspoon (or more) of the swirl topping onto each muffin-use a toothpick to swirl it around a bit.
7. Bake for about 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

These were so tasty, and I can't wait to make them again! They didn't last long in our house! I also thought these might be tasty in a loaf pan served at a brunch! Enjoy!

Weekly Meal Plan 1/15-1/22

January has been a busy month for us so far and this week is no exception. Cold weather has finally set in and winter has arrived. Keep in mind that I do daycare several days a week so these are all meals that most kids will eat as well. Plus, if you repeatedly train them, they will learn to eat healthier meals! Here was my meal plan for this week!

Sunday:
Lunch-Grilled chicken salads
Dinner-Dinner out at Jason's Deli (organic salad bar-yum)

Monday:
Lunch-Chicken Wild Rice Soup with homemade stock
Dinner-Wild Rice Stuffed Chicken Breasts with roasted sweet potato fries and steamed veggies

Tuesday:
Lunch-leftover wild rice soup
Dinner-Beef Brisket with green beans and a side salad (this would have been good over brown rice, in a sprouted grain tortilla, or even on a salad but I ate it plain)

Wednesday:
Lunch-Grilled chicken sausages, roasted red potatoes, steamed peas and carrots
Dinner-Spaghetti with brown rice pasta (If I do not have the ingredients or time to make my own sauce, I try to keep a few jars on hand-read labels and make sure they do not have added sugar-Organicville and Classico are two that I've seen)

Thursday:
Lunch-Leftover Spaghetti with raw veggies
Dinner-Roasted whole chicken with Rice Pilaf and Roasted Chickpeas

Friday:
Lunch-Chicken Broccoli Mushroom Casserole
Dinner-Crockpot Salsa Chicken Taco Soup


Saturday:
Lunch-leftovers from the week
Dinner-Homemade pizza with chicken sausages, mushrooms, and tomatoes-raw, organic cheese and organic tomato pizza sauce. I am trying a pamela's gluten free crust!

Thinking ahead for next week:
Taco Soup (My daughter's favorite so we'll have that sometime next week)
Baked Eggplant, Mushrooms, and Zucchini (My favorite)
Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps (Hubby's favorite)

Snacks you may see around our house this week:
Blueberry Muffins with cinnamon glaze (new-I'll post this tomorrow)
Trail Mix
Fruit-Pineapple, Clementine Oranges, and Grapes are the faves right now!

Gluten-Free Brownies

Some of you could not get over the beans in the Black Bean Brownies so here is a different recipe for gluten-free brownies. Now, with the dark chocolate chips (unless you skipped them or went with like 90%) there is a bit of sugar in here but not much. The batter was super tasty!

1/2 cup organic butter, melted
1/2 cup raw honey (agave or stevia would also work I am sure)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (the recipe I adapted suggested mint extract for a special minty flavor)
2 organic eggs
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1 scoop MILA chia seed
1/4 tsp. sea salt
5 Tbsp. Raw Cocoa Powder
Handful Dark (70%) Chocolate Chips (optional) or raw walnuts might be tasty!

1. Mix together wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients and stir well.
2. Pour mix into greased 8 x 8 or 8-9 inch round pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Enjoy!

*Note: The recipe also had adaptations for vegans (coconut oil instead of butter, super dark chocolate melted instead of cocoa powder, applesauce instead of eggs)

Game Time Snacks!!!!

I am a sucker for football junk food, so if I can make it a bit healthier I will do it! Since the next month will be full of big games and parties, here are a few ideas for some snacks!

Little Smokies:Grass-Fed all-beef cocktail wieners
BBQ sauce (organicville is a favorite of ours, no sugar, sweetened with agave)
1 can organic diced pineapple

1. Place the wieners, pineapple, and BBQ sauce into a crock pot and simmer.
Enjoy!