Hi friends,
I’ve missed being able to share my weekly meal plans and recipes with you this past month! In mid September I was in Baltimore for several days attending Expo East. That was such a fun experience and I’m looking forward to sharing more about what I found there with you all in coming weeks. The week after that was my husband’s and my 6th anniversary (you guys showed us so much love on this post!!), and since then we’ve been juggling a lot of big decisions, which I’ll fill you in on very soon! (Hint: they involve some big changes around here!)
I also had a big project deadline that wrapped up with the end of the September Whole30 challenge, and I’m happy to say that I met my goal! I definitely could not have done it without all of your help, and I wish I could personally thank each and every one of you who supported me through the finish line.
There has been lots of positive feedback when I share my Friday night meal preps on stories, along with requests to continue to provide the recipes in a written format. With that in mind, I’m going to continue to do both as often as possible for now! How many of you actually use the step by step flow (where I break down how to do all of this in an hour, like this)? Let me know in the comments of this post over on IG. If it’s helpful, I’ll keep doing it!
Here is this week’s meal plan:
Breakfast: Chicken in Ginger Lime Sauce with Cauli Rice and Spaghetti Squash // I have been making this recipe by AIP Lifestyle for years, and it never disappoints! This week the store was all out of whole chickens (at least in the only brand I’ll buy from the regular grocery store; I prefer to buy from US Wellness Meats or my local farmer), so I used chicken tenders instead. I made this in my Instant Pot by cooking it on manual high pressure for 20 minutes and then letting the pressure naturally release. I also cooked the spaghetti squash in my IP: just cut in half (you can even leave the seeds in!) and steam for 8 minutes with quick release! At the same time, I cooked the cauliflower rice on my stovetop by simmering it in some bone broth that I needed to use up. I’m always looking for opportunities to work more broth into my diet!
Lunch: No Cook: Sardines, ZUPA, Apple // You can find more about how I put together a no-cook meal here. Lately I’ve been doing Safe Catch tuna or salmon or Wild Planet sardines at lunch to try and get more seafood into my diet on a regular basis! For more on why I only eat Safe Catch brand tuna, check out this post. I usually use a bottle of ZUPA NOMA as my lunch time veggie (wholedailylife for 15%), but I also like to take sliced carrots, cucumber, radish, etc! I also grab a fruit. (Organic apples this week!)
Dinner: IP BBQ Beef with Green Beans and Potatoes // This beef is about 1/3 of what came in my Bulkbox delivery, which includes about 5# of grass fed/finished beef trip tip (along with 8# of organic veggies, all for around $55 with free delivery!! wholedailylife saves you 15% off your first three orders). I cut it up into small pieces (about 1” by 1/2”) and then marinated in half of a bottle of Tessemae’s BBQ sauce overnight. When ready to cook, I just transferred it to my IP and cooked on manual high pressure for 35 minutes with a natural release! I shredded this batch with two forks and added some extra sauce for a flavor boost. Super simple, tender and full of flavor! While the meat cooked, I steamed the green beans on my stovetop and roasted the potatoes in the oven.
Snack: RX Bar // I always bring a bar or something similar just in case I need a little extra food during the day. I eat based on my hunger, and hunger naturally varies! This week it is the pumpkin spice RX Bars that just came out for this year!
That’s it for this week! Because I used my Instant Pot three times in this prep, it took me a little longer since I had to wait for the pressure to naturally release. If you’re in a time crunch, I recommend doing the ginger lime chicken in the oven or on the stovetop, which would allow you to get everything done in an hour!
Have a great week!
-Tracey