Healthy Lunch & Dinner Recipes

If you are looking for the perfect balanced meals to power you through your day, look no further! Well, I do want you to read the rest of the post, but... you get the idea.

These recipes were inspired by Annie Jaffrey, who is my favorite health & lifestyle blogger. She recently posted about how she decided to go entirely gluten and dairy free, which is very challenging to maintain in our fast-food available everywhere society. She re-inspired me to cut those foods out of my diet. What I love most about Annie's blog is that she never focuses on what she can't eat - she always focuses on what she can eat, and she makes delicious, wholesome meals.

One thing I want to remind anyone who may have stumbled upon this post is that weight loss and being healthy are less about knowledge and more about action. It doesn't matter how much you think you know about being healthy - everyone knows how good they feel when they eat more wholesome, delicious, homemade meals. 

Chicken Breast, Quinoa, and Avocado/Tomato Recipe

• 1 chicken breast, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 large avocado, sliced
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• Olive oil
• Chicken or vegetable broth
• Various seasonings (garlic, onion, pepper, salt)

Start by preparing your quinoa, which takes the longest. 

1. Place one cup uncooked quinoa in a medium saucepan; add a splash of olive oil to the dry quinoa.
2. Turn burner on medium heat and toast quinoa for 1-2 minutes with olive oil.
3. Turn burner to high and add 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock. (If you are vegetarian, this is a really awesome broth you can use to give the quinoa nice flavor.)
4. Bring quinoa broth mixture to a boil.
5. Turn heat to lowest setting, cover, and allow quinoa to simmer for 15 minutes. (Make sure to set your timer! Even though the low setting seems very low, I promise it will cook. Unless your burner is broken... I can't help you there!)

While quinoa is cooking, start your chicken. Here's what you'll need:

1. Cut one chicken breast in half length-wise. I do this by holding the top of the chicken breast down with my hand, and using a sharp knife to slice back and forth to get an even split.
2. With clean hands, season your chicken breast with the following. Season both sides of the chicken by lightly coating both sides with the following spices. There is no measurement needed - just be weary of over-using salted spice mixtures:
• Garlic-pepper seasoning
• Onion salt
• Mrs. Dash 
• Black pepper (I like fresh ground best)
3. Using a medium-size non-stick pan, turn your burner to medium-high. 
4. Add one tablespoon of olive oil.
5. Once pan is hot and oil is either smoking (or about to smoke), add both chicken breasts to your pan. Make sure your pan is big enough to give some space between the breasts but still allow for consistent heat.
6. Turn heat down slightly, about medium high. Since the breasts are sliced fairly thin, the chicken will cook quickly. 
7. Cook each chicken breast for about 2-3 minutes per side. They really don't need much time, since they are so thin. When you first place them down, down move them for at least 2 minutes to get a nice sear on the outside.
8. Once the breasts have browned on both sides, leave the chicken in the pan and remove the pan from heat (I normally move mine to another burner that is off.) 

By now, your quinoa should almost be done cooking. Check by removing the lid and fluffing with a fork - if you see any broth left on the bottom of the saucepan, the water or broth has not entirely evaporated and you should cover the pan and give it about 3-5 additional minutes, depending on how long it's been simmering.

While your chicken breasts rest, take this time to prepare your veggies - use any variation of vegetables you like. For this meal, I prefer a sliced avocado and some fresh cherry or roma tomatoes for a nice crunch and "pop". You can add fresh chopped peppers, celery, or any other vegetables.

Healthy dinner: Seasoned chicken breast, half an avocado, one cup cooked quinoa, half-cup sliced cherry/grape tomatoes

Nutritional Breakdown:

Calories: 475

Fat: 16

Protein: 46

Carbs: 38  

Fiber: 8

Sugar: 14

As pictured above, layer one cup quinoa along the bottom of your plate; slice chicken breasts and place on top of quinoa. Add veggies according to your preference.

Baked Cod with Sauteed-Garlic Kale, Mushrooms, and Baked Sweet Potato

• 8 ounces fresh cod
• Seafood seasoning of your choice (I love this one from Pike Place Market)
• 1 medium sweet potato or yam
• 1 large bunch curly kale (there are so many different ones; curly is my favorite)
• 1/2 - 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• Red Wine Vinegar (you absolutely need this!)
• Minced garlic (I like the minced garlic in jars. Keeps longer than fresh garlic and it's less messy.)
• Olive oil
• Various seasonings (garlic, onion, pepper, salt)

Start with your cod!

1. Preheat your oven to 375. 
2. Find a baking sheet or glass pan, and tear a piece of foil big enough for your 8 ounce cod filet. Place cod on foil and place into baking sheet/pan.
3. Apply a bit of olive oil to cod; season with Northwest Seasoning or combine your favorite seafood seasonings.
4. Once oven is preheated, place cod on middle oven rack and bake for 9 - 12 minutes. 
5. When your cod is cooked through, it should be opaque but not pure white. If it's pure white, it's overcooked and will be very chewy. Make sure not to overcook your fish as overcooked food loses it's nutrients and is far less tasty.

While your cod is in the oven, prepare your potato. This is the easiest part! Make sure to do this as soon as your fish is in the oven since they take about the same amount of time to cook.

1. Place sweet potato in microwave. I'm lucky to have a microwave that auto-senses how big the potato is and cooks it perfectly, but if your microwave doesn't have that option, a medium size potato usually takes about 6-8 minutes to bake. 
2. Turn the potato over halfway through cooking (about 3-4 minutes into it.) If it helps, set the microwave for 4 minutes first, then turn potato over.
3. Your potato should be done if you can easily poke through it with a fork.

Garlic Sauteed Kale with Mushrooms - the yummiest part! 

Okay - I must admit, this is not my recipe! I copied this recipe from Bobby Flay's Sauteed Kale Recipe, but for convenience sake, I will post the recipe here as well.

• 1 bunch curly kale, chopped, stems removed (unless you like them, I don't)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-2 teaspoons minced garlic, or 2 cloves minced fresh garlic
• 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. 
2. Add garlic and cook until soft, but not colored. Be careful with garlic because it burns easily and becomes very bitter - if it turns brown or black, it's burnt.
3. Turn heat to high; add chicken stock and kale and mushrooms; toss to combine. 
4. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until stock has evaporated.
5. Add red wine vinegar.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Lunch: Northwest-spice blend coated cod, baked sweet potato, one large bunch kale, half-cup sauteed mushrooms

Nutritional Breakdown:

Calories:481

Fat:28

Protein: 30

Carbs: 33

Fiber: 8

Sugars: 1

I hope you enjoy these recipes. The recipes are for one person, but just doubling up the protein makes more than enough for two people. 

If you'd like to see more, please comment below and let me know!

Homemade Turkey Chili

Hi loves!!

Last night I made this delicious chili to help get my husband and I through the week on our grocery budget. All in all, this recipe cost about $10 for the ingredients and makes about 10 servings. That's pretty good considering most lunches cost upwards of $5-10 bucks a pop!! That's not including your morning Starbucks run...!

Since our wedding, Matt and I have actively been trying to get back on the financial band wagon- a feat not so easily achieved. We've found that (obvious to most people already...) when we stopped eating out we lost weight and saved money - together.

When I go grocery shopping, I sort my list by order of where the items can be found in the store (hence the recipe in this order):

Meat:
2 Lbs ground turkey*, or meat of your choice

Canned:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 or 2 15 oz cans mixed beans
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 15 oz can plain diced tomatoes
1 12 oz can gluten free or regular beer

Produce:
2 jalapeño peppers*, seeded and chopped
1 habanero pepper*, seeded and chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow vidalia or sweet onion, chopped
2-3 cloves or teaspoons garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Spices:*
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cumin
Cayenne pepper
Fresh ground pepper
Salt

The way I prepare this recipe gives it the most flavor. I have tried it the way the original recipe calls for, and it isn't as tasty. I've noticed that when I don't flavor the meat while its cooking, it comes out tasting very bland. Who wants to bite into a delicious chili only to find bland chunks of turkey??

In a large stovetop pan, heat olive oil on medium. While olive oil heats (but make sure it's not so hot that it smokes), chop all your veggies. Once the onion and peppers are chopped, add them to the pan and sauté for 5-7 minutes or until onions are translucent and peppers have softened a bit. Do not add the garlic yet, as garlic burns and becomes bitter very quickly when applied to heat.

Now, leaving the large pan burner on medium high, transfer your sautéed veggies to a large pot. (Don't turn on the heat for the large pot just yet.) Add ONE pound of the turkey back into the sauté pan and start browning your meat. Once the turkey starts to sizzle (should be right away), start adding your seasoning. You can also add garlic at this point to help further season your turkey.

The reason I don't include seasoning amounts for this recipe is because unlike baking, cooking and flavoring are really up to the chef. Whoever is doing the cooking gets to decide how it tastes! I use a liberal amount of chili powder, cumin, onion, and garlic powders. Once you've added the spices, keep cooking and breaking apart the turkey to ensure it is coated and dredged in the spices. Remember to hold back on salt - add a small amount to start, but remember that you can't remove salt once it's added - you can always add more if there isn't enough.

Once the first pound of turkey is done, move the contents to the large pot along with the veggies. Brown the second pound of turkey in the large sauté pan using spices again (trust me, it requires a lot of seasoning). Just make sure your spices do not have salt added to them, or your chili will come out far too salty.

Once the second pound of turkey is done, move the turkey to the large pan and add all of your canned ingredients - including the bottle of beer! The alcohol in the chili cooks off, so this is still safe for children to eat. Be weary of the habanero pepper if your children or family members are sensitive to spice. You'll find though that as long as the seeds are removed from your chilies, the heat will be removed with them. Spiciness comes from the seeds inside chilies!

The last part is easy. Add everything to the large pot and bring to a slight boil, being careful not to burn the contents in the bottom of the pot. Once boiling, turn it down to a bubbling simmer - usually somewhere between low and medium.

This whole process took about $10 worth of ingredients, about 30 minutes of prep time, and about 5 or 6 dishes being dirty. Chili is such a delicious alternative to soup on cold, blustery winter days. Using turkey instead of beef, the recipe is also far healthier than canned alternatives which are packed with sodium, saturated fats and preservatives.

If you can tolerate dairy, add some sour cream, cheddar cheese, and green onions to the top of your chili and serve with tortilla chips. If you are vegan, try using veggie crumbles in place of turkey and replace toppings with vegan alternatives, such as Tofutti Sour Cream or Soy Cheese.

I personally love this chili plain and it's flavor develops even more over the next few days. Keep leftovers and take to lunch for the whole week! Leftovers should be good for 3-5 days as long as they are kept in an airtight container.

Enjoy!! If you try it be sure to share what you thought of the recipe!
Becky