This Fit Kitchen

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Grilled Chicken Taco Salad

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This is pretty much the definition of flexible food.  I almost always make my taco salad with ground turkey, but this week I decided to switch it up and use grilled chicken breast – just as delicious!

Serves 1

🥄 1 c sliced grilled chicken breast
🥄 ⁣½ c cooked brown rice
🥄 1 small head romaine
🥄 ⁣Diced red and orange bell peppers
🥄 Pickled banana peppers, optional

Dressing:

🥄 2 tbsp Greek yogourt
🥄 ⁣Juice of ½ lime
🥄 1 tsp taco seasoning
🥄 ⁣2 tbsp salsa

Other add ins:

🥄 diced avocado
🥄 shredded cheddar cheese

Warm up your sliced chicken and your brown rice.  In a separate bowl, mix together the chopped romaine, and your veggies of choice.  I’m bell pepper obsessed!  To make the dressing whisk together the Greek yogourt, taco seasoning, fresh lime juice and salsa.  Top with the chicken, brown rice any other add ins you like.

Taco Salad Cups

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I so very much believe that small tweaks can totally change a meal.  Case in point: the other day I ran out of cooked brown rice to throw into my taco salad.  But I had broghies around, so I tossed my salad onto these shells, and it was like a whole new meal had emerged!  These are a bit messy to eat, so I don’t recommend them as first date food, but otherwise they’re magic!

Serves 1

🥄 ½ – 1 c cooked ground turkey flavoured with taco seasoning
🥄 ⁣1 small head romaine
🥄 Diced red and orange bell peppers
🥄 ⁣Pickled banana peppers, optional

Dressing:

🥄 Juice of ½ lime
🥄 ⁣1 tsp taco seasoning
🥄 2 tbsp salsa

Other Add Ins (Optional):

🥄 shredded cheddar cheese
🥄 ⁣diced avocado

 

As many broghies as you need/would like for serving

Taco salad is endlessly flexible: just start with your cooked ground turkey (or any other ground meat you like), flavoured with taco seasoning.  Add chopped romaine, and your veggies of choice.  I’m pepper obsessed!

The dressing I like to go with is a combination of Greek yogourt, taco seasoning, fresh lime juice and salsa.  Just whisk all this together.  The dressing will be thin but so good.  Also, this dressing is fat free.  Which means more cheese and more avocado.  Add these to our salad as you like.

Once you’ve got this goodness all mixed up and thoroughly dressed, put it on your broghies and enjoy!

Blackened Tilapia

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So tilapia…it’s one of my hands down favourite VOLUME foods.  That means so much on your plate for so few calories.  So, the practical implication is more food in your stomach = you feel fuller.  So, tilapia definitely gets to be part of our rotation on this basis alone!

Serves 2

🥄 1 lb tilapia filets
🥄 ⁣1 tbsp smoked paprika
🥄 1 tbsp surkin gold, or other brown sugar style sweetener
🥄 ⁣1 tsp dried oregano
🥄 1 tsp garlic powder
🥄 ⁣1 tsp cumin
🥄 ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
🥄 1 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients except the tilapia in a small mixing bowl.  Use your fingers to spread the rub over the fish, making sure to coat both sides.  Spray the coated fish with a little non-stick cooking spray (I love to use coconut oil.)  Cook in batches in your air fryer.  In total you’ll probably need about 8 – 10 minutes.  I recommend flipping the fish halfway.  Do this gently and carefully.  The tilapia is delicate, and the sides of your air fryer will be hot.  If you need to cook the fish in batches do not worry.  Simply hold the cooked fish warm in your oven on a baking sheet.  Set your oven to 170 – 200F.

Pulled Pork on a Bun

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Just because I’ve got big goals (like visible abs) does not mean that I don’t eat a wide variety of foods.  I woke up the other day and was really feeling pulled chicken.  No problem!  This fully fits within my eating plan.  I loaded up heavy on the chicken, watched how much mayo I was using, and made sure to use a whole grain bun.  This was still one finger lickin’ good lunch!

Serves 1

🥄 ¾ c shredded chicken breast, reheated
🥄 ⁣2 – 3 tbsp sugar free barbeque sauce  (I like G Hughes brand)
🥄 1/3 c cauliflower slaw
🥄 ⁣1 tbsp light mayo
🥄 1 whole grain bun

Mix the shredded chicken with the barbeque sauce.  Mix the mayo with the cauliflower slaw.  Toast the bun, top, and enjoy!

PS: I like to buy bagged all of cauliflower, broccoli and kale slaw at my grocery store for easy to prep meals like this one.  I also sometimes wilt it a little in a frying pan, or just throw some salad dressing on it straight out of the bag.  These prepared slaws are great time savers and a perfect way to up your veggie intake.

Open Faced Hot Chicken Sandwich

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For some reason, this meal reminds me of my dad.  He loved to eat leftover turkey on toast with gravy on top.  The other day, I decided to channel this into my own lunch.

Serves 1

🥄 2 – 3 slices whole grain bread, toasted
🥄 ⁣¾ c shredded chicken breast, reheated
🥄 2 – 3 tbsp gravy

So let’s talk now about how I made sure that this lunch would match up with my nutritional goals.

First, I used whole grain bread.  I wanted three slices, so I used to this great “Little Big Bread” by Silver Hills. The slices are still a good size, and only 55 kcal per slice!  Woohoo!

Second, I loaded up on the shredded chicken breast.  This is one of the leanest protein sources going.

Third, I used a packet of low sodium Swiss Chalet chicken gravy.  I am 100% aware that whole foods are better, and that packets of gravy are not a good ongoing choice.  But, I used it in moderation, and it helped me to bring together a favourite meal in no time flat.  So, I decided it was worth the trade off.

Salmon Power Bowl

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I love bowls of everything and anything.  They are super easy to customize to your own tastes and to suit the individual tastes of your family members, and you can do the prep ahead of time and then just put together when it’s time to eat.

Serves 1

🥄 1 salmon filet, cooked and broken up (I grilled mine on the barbeque)
🥄 ⁣½ c brown rice
🥄 ½ avocado, cubed
🥄 ⁣1/3 cucumber, diced
🥄 Siracha sauce, to taste

If you’ve prepped ahead, warm up the rice and salmon gently.  Add the avocado and cucumber to the bowl, top with siracha, and enjoy. 

Birthday Cake Protein Bars

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Birthday Cake Protein Bars

If you weren’t feeling the chocolate protein bars I made a few weeks back, maybe these birthday cake protein bars are more of your jam?  I won’t judge…okay…maybe I will judge, but only a little.  Let me know in the comments below if chocolate or vanilla wins for you!

Makes 8 bars

🥄 ⁣1 1/3 c quick cooking oats
🥄 4 whole eggs
🥄 ⁣2 scoops vanilla protein powder
🥄 1/2c + 2 tbsp almond milk
🥄 ⁣1 – 2 tbsp birthday cake sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix all ingredients, except the sprinkles together in a mixing bowl.

Line an 8 x 8 baking tin with parchment paper, and pour the batter in.  Pop into the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes.  5 minutes into baking, sprinkle the bars with the birthday cake sprinkles.

Shrimp & Turkey Bacon Salad

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Shrimp and Turkey Bacon Salad

This play on Cobb salad is super-fast to put together, and is perfectly cool for the hot summer days ahead!

Serves 1

🥄 1 c cooked shrimp
🥄 ⁣2 slices turkey bacon, cooked and diced
🥄 2 tbsp feta cheese
🥄 ⁣1 small head romaine lettuce
🥄 Your favourite salad dressing

Top the romaine with the shrimp, turkey bacon and feta.  Dress as you like and enjoy.  Preferably outside and in the shade!

Turkey Taco Boats

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Turkey Taco Boats

It’s not really zucchini season yet, but pandemic times call for playing grocery roulette and then making meals based on what you’ve got…and so I give you these turkey taco boats!

Serves 2

🥄 1 lb extra lean ground turkey
🥄 ⁣1 tbsp taco seasoning
🥄 2 large zucchinis
🥄 ⁣½ c salsa
🥄 ½ c cheddar cheese, shredded

Pan fry the ground turkey, breaking it up as it cooks.  Once fully cooked, drain any excess fat, return to the pan, and stir through the taco seasoning.

Slice the zucchinis in half lengthwise, and hollow out the middles.  A melon baller is perfect for this.  Set the zucchini halves on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Stir the salsa into the cooked turkey, and then distribute into the zucchini boats.  Top with cheddar cheese and then bake for about 25 minutes at 350F.  Enjoy with additional salsa and plain Greek yogourt!