Lunchtime Gut Check- Raw Fruit and Vegetables with Roasted Chicken

Have I mentioned lately how blessed I am to live where I live. And I do not just mean in a beautiful place in Colorado, but also for my home and neighborhood. I have the best neighbors ever. They are all so kind and welcoming and down to earth. My neighbors on each side of me are gardeners and have blessed us with their bounty. One couple next to us has quite the green thumb and has been a huge blessing to us. Below is a basket of the bounty they gave us this week!

I mean what does a girl do to deserve this! So, as I am inspired by the wonderful acorn and butternut squash I have been gifted, stay tuned for some delicious recipes. I also plan to make Chicken Veggie Meatballs with Homemade Veggie Tomato Sauce for my bible study group this week. I will share that with you later this week!

This is Mocha checking out the goodies. Is she not the cutest!

On to my post this week. When I was taking the picture you will see below my husband asked me what I was doing. I told him what I am about to tell you, and he said, "harsh." But I want to take a minute to address lunch. My posts are often on what we eat for dinner or breakfast. I promise we do eat lunch everyday though. I often make enough dinner so we can eat it again for lunch the next day. But sometimes there is not enough or we are out for bible study the night before and I do not cook. So, what do we do for lunch then? We always have a lean protein and either raw vegetables and fruit or a veggie fruit smoothie.

I share this with you because I feel like lunch is a meal that is often overlooked until it is upon us. Then people often go for foods that are lacking in nutritional content like sandwiches, fast food, bagels, pizza, etc. So, I want to take today and have a gut check. What are you eating for lunch? Do you take the time to be prepared with a fresh, nutrient dense meal that leaves you energized until dinner OR do you grab whatever you can find and end up feeling overly full and tired, especially when 3 o' clock hits? I encourage you to cook extra at night or cook some extra meat and chop some extra veggies sunday night and eat them all week long. Try it out and let me know if your overall day improves, especially your energy and stress level!

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken Wraps

Hello All! I hope you had a great weekend. I am late posting because my parents were in town. We had a great time just hanging out. We did go to Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday and the Aspen trees were putting on a show of yellow. It was beautiful. While they were here I actually made chili but I made this chicken recipe a few weeks ago and have been saving it to share with you. It is fresh and filling. It is also a breeze to make, which you know I love. Stick this chicken in the crock pot and walk away. Grab your family and go see the fall leaves before it is too late! Then you will come home to a ready dinner.

CROCK POT SALSA CHICKEN WRAPS

Serves: 4, serving is 2 wraps each for me and 3-4 wraps for my husband

1 small head napa cabbage

16 oz jar mild salsa 

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

cumin, garlic powder, onion powder and chili powder to taste

(I add 1 tsp cumin, 1 Tbs garlic powder, 1 Tbs onion powder, 1 tsp chili powder)

1 can no salt added black beans, drained and rinsed

2 ears fresh corn, kernels removed

1 large tomato, diced

2 avocados, mashed

fresh cilantro

1. Place chicken and salsa in a crock pot. Add spices. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

2. Once chicken is done, shred it using two forks. Pull leaves off of cabbage. Wash and dry leaves. 

3. Add desired amount of chicken, black beans, fresh corn, tomato, avocado and cilantro to each cabbage leaf. Roll up and enjoy!

Thai Chicken

This is not the best picture, but I promise the chicken is delicious! Does your life and ebb and flow as far as busyness goes? Mine does and right now is a crazy, blessed busy time. So, I will not bore you with words but I do hope you will make this chicken. It is not boring at all!

THAI CHICKEN

Serves: 4

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp)

1 Tbs gluten free soy sauce (i use the brand tamari)

1/4 cup hoisin sauce (this is like an asian bbq sauce)

1/4 tsp ground dried ginger

1 Tbs rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1. Chop chicken into 1 inch pieces. 

2. Combine ingredients garlic through sesame oil in a small bowl. 

3. Heat a large greased cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add chicken. Cook 2 minutes. Turn. Cook 2 minutes on that side. Add sauce from small bowl and stir. Cook 1 minute more or until chicken is cooked through. 

Serve with two vegetable sides or on a salad.

Fresh Summer Salmon Salad with Peaches and Avocado

Summer is almost over. This has been a wonderful summer with lots of fun change and now I cannot wait for fall. Fall is colorado is beautiful. The aspens are our favorite. If you hit the mountains on the right weekend the landscape is a sea of yellow. We went on a hike this morning and the very tops of the trees were started to turn yellow. I am hoping the peak leaf change will be when my parents are here in two weeks. My dad would just love it. Crossing my fingers!

Since fall is upon us, I hope you will get in your kitchen and try this yummy summer salad before it is too late. The picture does not do it justice. The salmon is delicious; the vegetables are crunchy which is a nice contrast to the smooth avocado. And the peaches are an unexpected burst of fresh flavor. I happened upon this salad by mistake (I took all that needed to be eaten and threw it in the bowl) but it was so good. Don't you love when that happens! This recipe could easily be doubled or tripled to feed a family or make leftovers. Enjoy!

Fresh Summer Salmon Salad with Peaches and Avocado

Serves: 2

½ lb wild caught sockeye salmon, cooked as desired

½ head green leaf lettuce, torn into pieces

2 cups organic spinach leaves

½ red bell pepper, diced

½ medium cucumber, diced

3 medium carrots, diced

1 peach, sliced

½ large avocado, sliced

Divide all ingredients equally between two large bowls or plates. Eat and enjoy the fruits of summer!

Veggie Scramble with Uncured Bacon and Green Smoothie

Breakfast for dinner. I love it!! This meal is actually great any time of the day. It has loads of vegetables, protein, good fat and fruits. The smoothie is an example of the smoothie we have everyday for breakfast. For breakfast we usually have 2-3 eggs and a green smoothie. That combo has all the ingredients to keep you feeling full until lunch, nourish your cells and kickstart your metabolism: good fats, protein and vegetables. Enjoy!

VEGGIE SCRAMBLE WITH UNCURED BACON

Serves: 2

4 uncured bacon slices

½ large red bell pepper, diced

1 cup brocolli florets, small chopped

1 ½ cup kale, finely chopped

6 eggs, whisked

½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp black pepper

Heat cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp, turning once. Remove and set aside to drain on a paper towel covered plate. Pour all grease except about 1 tsp into a bowl and set aside. (Throw grease away later in trash once cooled)

In skillet, add pepper and broccoli. Cook 5 minutes. Add kale. Cook 3 minutes until wilted. Add eggs, salt and pepper. Cook until scrambled to desired doneness.

GREEN SMOOTHIE

Serves: 2

1 cup broccoli florets

½ medium cucumber, large diced

½ large avocado

2- 3 cups kale with stems

1 mango, large diced

1 small apple, quartered

1 cups frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries and black berries)

2 cups water

Place all ingredients in a blender in the order listed. Blend! Enjoy!

Just a side note: we have vitamix blender and I do not know what we did before we got it. It is so easy to be healthy with this blender. 

Banana Cinnamon Bun Muffins

I am so happy to be sharing this recipe with you. Since discovering it I make it at least once a week when I have extra ripe bananas. This week I made it twice! It is from the blog Multiply Delicious. She has amazing recipes since going Paleo. I did adapt the recipe a little. We are learning more about the Paleo diet and quickly incorporating it into our daily meals.

These were my first experience cooking with coconut flour. I used Bob's Red Mill and it was delicious. Coconut flour is naturally sweet so you do not have to add sweetener. Also it has lots of great fiber: 5 grams in only 2 tablespoons of flour. I am now ordering it from the same company we order our coconut oil from, Tropical Traditions. Their oil is great and I expect their flour to be of the same quality.

I hope you make these and enjoy them as much as we do!

BANANA CINNAMON BUN MUFFINS

Makes: 9 muffins

Adapted from: Multiply Delicious

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

4 omega-3 eggs

1/3 cup coconut milk (canned full fat coconut milk)

1/2 cup ripe banana, mashed (1 large banana)

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

Cinnamon Topping

1 tablespoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons ripe banana, mashed

2 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

1 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking oil in nine of the muffin spots.

Whisk dry ingredients together.  Set aside.

In a small bowl add mashed banana, eggs, and coconut milk and whisk until well blended.  Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until well combined.

Add batter until prepared muffin cups.  Filling to about 3/4 filled. (I use a cookie scoop so all the muffins are even)

In a small bowl, combine cinnamon, mashed banana, melted coconut oil, and honey .  Drizzle mixture over top of muffins and using a toothpick or knife swirl the topping into the muffin batter. 

Bake muffins for 20 – 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Allow muffins to cool in pan 5 – 10 minutes then transfer to wire rack.  Enjoy.

Brussels Sprouts Chips

I discovered brussels sprouts chips by accident the very first time I made roasted brussels sprouts a few years ago. They are a delightful crunchy, salty to eat sprouts. I hope you make some soon. I will warn you, though, make a lot because they will be devoured right from the oven!

BRUSSELS SPROUTS CHIPS

Serves: 4

1 lb brussel sprouts

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1. Wash sprouts and chop off stem ends. Tear off as many outer leaves as you can from the sprout (I usually get at least 10 leaves).

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add sprouts. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until brown and crispy.

3. Devour