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salad

Protein Bowls- Vegetarian and GF

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I find that I eat healthy at breakfast and dinner, but tend to struggle at lunch to not either a) eat out or b) eat a bunch of random poor choices that don’t keep me full. Full disclosure- I’m currently eating Annie’s Mac n Cheese for lunch- like, at this moment- because I ran out of spinach (a staple in my house) and this was the best I could do today. It happens. But on a normal day, this is one of my favorite lunch salads because it can be prepped the night before or even served for dinner the night before with leftovers the following day. Terra’s Kitchen (my fav meal delivery service- click the link for a discount) calls them “Sweet Potato, Spinach, Apple and Quinoa Bowl”, but I think they could use a bit of help in their titling department so I renamed them. Here is the adapted version from their bowl!

Serves 4. Time to Table 30 Minutes. Calories 477

16 ounces sweet potato chunks (roughly 2.5 chopped)

6.5 ounces red quinoa (or any color)

3 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 1/4 tsp dijon mustard

1 1/4 tsp honey- preferably local for the anti-allergens!

1/8 cup pecans, chopped

half an apple, chopped into chunks

2 loose cups of spinach

Feta to sprinkle on top

olive oil, salt, and pepper.

1. Roast the sweet potatoes: Preheat oven to 425°F. On a greased rimmed baking sheet, toss sweet potatoes with 2 teaspoons olive oil and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Bake 15 minutes, or until browned and tender, tossing halfway through.

2. Rinse the quinoa: Place the quinoa into a fine mesh strainer. Rinse under cold water for a solid minute, swishing the quinoa with your hand while rinsing. Drain.

3. Cook the quinoa: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and the drained quinoa. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add 1¾ cups water and ¼ teaspoon salt to the pan. Bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let stand, COVERED, for 5 minutes. Fluff the quinoa gently with a fork.

4. Make the dressing: While quinoa and sweet potatoes are cooking, whisk together vinegar, mustard, honey, 3 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl.

5. Toast the pecans: Place pecans in a dry small skillet over medium heat and cook 3 minutes or until toasted.

To Serve: Arrange quinoa, sweet potatoes, apple slices, spinach, the pecans and feta in serving bowls. Drizzle with dressing.

Pro Tip- Meal prep the sweet potatoes and quinoa at the beginning of the week and grab as needed! I can usually get 4-6 lunches out of this one. Not looking to go meatless? Shredded chicken and wild salmon are also great add ins!

Recipe of the week: Honey Mustard Chicken Salads

By recipe

We eat a lottttt of salads over here. Like… a lot. Salads are versitile, they’re a great way to sneak a bunch of veggies into your daily diet and they travel well (just put your dressing in a separate container). What’s not to love? They get a bad rap, but if you’re branching out of the lettuce-tomatoes-croutons-ranch salad trap, there’s a million variations to keep things interesting. One of our favorite tricks is to mix in a few surprises- maybe even something you wouldn’t let yourself eat normally so that you’re now excited to eat this giant bowl of green stuff. Case in point? Today’s recipe has bacon in it! Not into bacon? Skip it or replace it with something that makes you happy. You can find the original recipe HERE. We made a few edits because we thought it was too sweet.

Prep Time      Cook Time           Total Time
 10 mins             15 mins                  25 mins

Here’s our take!

Dressing / Marinade:
  • Roughly 1/6 cup honey
  • 3 tablespoons whole grain mustard
  • 2 tablespoons smooth and mild Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • tablespoon Apple cider vinegar (or any vinegar), (OPTIONAL — to cut through the sweetness)
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • Salt to season
  • 4 skinless and boneless chicken thighs or chicken breasts
For Salad:
  • 1/4 cup diced bacon
  • 4 cups Romaine lettuce leaves , washed
  • 1 cup sliced grape or cherry tomatoes
  • 1 large avocado, pitted and sliced
  • 1/4 cup corn kernels
Instructions
  1. Whisk marinade / dressing ingredients together to combine. Pour half the marinade into a shallow dish to marinade the chicken fillets for an hour if time allows (we skipped this step and just put it on the last 2 minutes of cooking – {no time!} and it still turned out great). Refrigerate the reserved untouched marinade to use as a dressing.
  2. Heat a nonstick pan (or grill pan or skillet) over medium heat with about a teaspoon of oil and sear / grill chicken fillets on each side until golden, crispy and cooked through. (Grill in batches to prevent excess water being released.) Once chicken is cooked, set aside and allow to rest.
  3. Wipe pan over with paper towel and fry the bacon until crispy. Remove to paper towels and dry off excess oil.
  4. Slice chicken into strips and prepare salad with leaves, tomatoes, avocado slices, corn and chicken.
  5. Whisk 2 tablespoons of water into the remaining untouched marinade / dressing and drizzle over the salad. Sprinkle the bacon over the top and season with a tiny bit of salt and cracked pepper (optional).

Voila! Speedy, delicious salad that makes a great lunch or dinner. Send us a message if you make it and let us know what you think!