When things around me are crazy, I find solace in food. Cooking and baking takes my mind off of everything going on around me and I find comfort in tastes that I know and adore. I can control food when I can’t control everything else. That’s why my menu this week is heavy on comfort food. I’ve taken recipes and made some changes to lighten them up, so they all fit within my macro goals.
As you know, this month I am focusing on nutrition as the core component of my health and wellness. By focusing on one aspect, I can go deep and make sure I’ve nailed it before adding other elements. One aspect of nutrition is water intake. This past week daily I hit my water goal. I’m not going to lie - it wasn’t easy. I’ve been seriously under-consuming water so it felt like I was drinking way too much. Using this water bottle helped (it didn’t seem like so much) and I could visualize where I needed to be. I definitely recommend it (and the link is not an affiliate link).
Like always, I’ll be enjoying my Fab4 Smoothie for lunch on Monday and Tuesday, overnight oats on Wednesday and Thursday, and my Starbucks Dupe Chia Seed Pudding on Friday. I hope you enjoy the meal plan and remember, proteins can always be swapped for your protein of choice. Enjoy!
Sunday
Image: Half Baked Harvest
Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
Butter chicken is a favorite in our house but it can be loaded with unhealthy fats and oils. I was happy when I found the Slow Cooker Butter Chicken recipe on Half Baked Harvest however, it still had too much fat. I used lite coconut milk in place of the full-fat version (in a can), almond milk greek yogurt, and instead of heavy cream, I used unsweetened coconut milk (the kind you drink). I serve this with rice and naan for the kids and I eat it over quinoa.
Monday
Image: Half Baked Harvest
Salmon Coconut Curry with Spinach and Chickpeas
Yes, this is the second-night Indian food is on my menu and I’m super happy about it. I love the warmth and depth of flavors you find in Indian food. This Salmon Coconut Curry dish is a super simple, one-pot meal that can be made in 20 minutes or less. Again, use lite coconut milk (canned) to keep the fats down.
Macros: Carbs: 23.5g, Protein: 41g, Fat: 20g
Tuesday
Image: Recipe Tin Eats
Mexican Slow Cooker Carnitas (Pulled Pork)
This recipe is flavorful, juicy, crispy, and delicious! I like to make the rub the night before and add it to the pork then. I find that the flavors better penetrate the meat when I do this. In the morning, you just need to add the pork, onion, garlic, and orange juice, set the timer for 8 hours on low, and let it do its thing. I will turn it over every few hours when I’m in the kitchen, but it’s not necessary. Shred the pork and serve in tortillas.
Macros: Carbs: 1.7g, Protein: 45g, Fat: 42g
Wednesday
Image: Half Baked Harvest
Creamy Thai Tumeric Chicken and Noodles
Another warm, delicious comfort food that takes roughly 30 minutes to make. I love a good curry and this Tumeric Chicken and Noodles is one of the best. This already is relatively healthy but to make it even more so, use canned lite coconut milk instead of full-fat and omit the rice noodles and eat this curry over quinoa. You can add your favorite veggies if you’d like (I add carrots or sweet potatoes) and this is even better the next day.
Thursday
Image: Kimberley Kasper Fitness
Green Bean Beef
My kids love broccoli beef however, I found they weren’t eating the broccoli and were only eating the beef. So one day when the kids asked for it and I didn’t have broccoli on hand, I used the green beans I did. The entire family loved it, eating both the green beans and the beef. In fact, they loved it so much that the kids added it to our kitchen calendar (I put the menu for the week there) every week for the following month. This is a super easy recipe, is healthy, and can be served with brown rice or quinoa. To make, lightly oil (olive oil) a pan and heat the pan. Add 1 pound stir fry beef and cook to desired doneness. While this is cooking, wash and slice green beans (I cut whole green beans in half) and make the sauce. To make the sauce, add 1/3C soy sauce liquid aminos, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of ginger, a pinch of salt and pepper together. Once mixed, add 1 teaspoon cornstarch. When the meat is done to desired tenderness, add green beans and cook for 2 minutes (stirring frequently). Pour the sauce of the beef and green beans to coat and continue to stir while the sauce is warming. As the sauce starts to boil, it will thicken to coat the green beans and beef. Serve immediately.
Friday
Image: Kimberley Kasper Fitness
Tomato Soup
Nothing is better than a warm bowl of soup on a cold day so on Friday I’ll be making this creamy, dairy-free tomato soup. You’ll use ingredients you already have in your kitchen and it can be made in about 30 minutes. I like to let it sit on the stove once cooked for an hour or so to let the flavors continue to come together and cool a bit before I put it in the blender (or use the immersion blender). Serve this with some great sourdough bread or grilled cheese. Yum!
Saturday
Support Restaurants Night
Once a week, we order food for pickup. In our area, we are still in a shelter-in-place due to COVID which means local restaurants are open for pickup only. This has really hurt the restaurant business so we do our part and order in once a week. So with my meal plan, you’ll find dinners for six days and I encourage you, if your budget permits, to join me in supporting your local restaurants.