Buffalo Chicken & Chickpea Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing. If you love Buffalo everything, this amazing bowl is for you!
To make: Cook a chicken breast in your slow cookers shred with two forks and toss with buffalo sauce. Open a can of chickpeas, drain, rise and toss with buffalo sauce. Roast the chick peas either in your airfyer or in the oven until they are crispy (mine took 20 minutes in the airfryer). To make the dressing stir together 1/4c crumbled blue cheese, 1/4c plain Greek yogourt, the juice of half a lemon and a splash of almond milk. Toss some store bought kale slaw with the dressing, top with your buffalo chicken and roasted chickpeas. You’ll be in heaven!
Do you agree that Buffalo Sauce anything is great?
Dinner
Spicy Shrimp & Avocado Bowl
Spicy Shrimp & Avocado Bowls 🦐 🥑
This was a super awesome meal and the prep couldn’t be simpler. Double or triple up to make a few days worth!
Prep: In a non-stock pan over medium heat, pan fry 1/2 lb shrimp coated in cajun seasoning. Cook quinoa according to package directions – I always use chicken stock for extra flavour!
Dressing: mix together 1/4c Greek yogourt, the juice of 1 squeezed lime, finely chopped cilantro, salt and pepper and enough almond milk to thin the dressing to your preferred consistency.
Serve: In a salad bowl, layer pea shoots (or greens of choice), cooked shrimp, sliced ripe avocado and quinoa. Top with dressing, enjoy! 😋
Sweet Potato Nachos
So, you know everyone’s always waiting for #TacoTuesday? Why aren’t we all just celebrating #𝐍𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 every night? Seriously…it’s barely a hashtag!
These nachos were totally drool worthy! 🤤
Slice your sweet potato about 1/4-inch thick and space out on a cooling rack set on a cookie sheet. Roast in the oven at 425 for about 30 minutes.
Pan fry extra lean ground beef with garlic powder, onion powder and paprika. Drain any excess fat.
Make your guac: mash an avocado then add the juice of 1 freshly squeezed lime & 1/2 tsp salt. If you want to be fancy add some finely diced red onion & cilantro.
Assembly: top your roasted sweet potato with the ground beef and plain Greek yogourt. Top again with guac and salsa. Enjoy! 😋
Black Bean Tomatillo Soup
Despite the weather being a bit all over the place lately, overall it’s feeling like fall. 🍂🍁🍂 That means soup season!
This BLACK BEAN TOMATILLO SOUP is amazing!
Poach & shred 4 chicken breasts, set aside. In a stock pot over medium heat fry diced yellow onion, 3 diced jalapeño peppers (seeds and membranes removed), 3 cloves of garlic and 1 tbsp cumin. Once the onions and peppers are softened, add 8 c chicken stock, 1 cup of prepared tomatillo salsa and 1 can black beans. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to make this soup nice an creamy. Stir in the shredded chicken. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Divide into 4 portions. Top each with a dollop of plain Greek yogourt, shredded cheddar cheese, diced avocado and a bit of cilantro. Enjoy! 😋
Shrimp Noodles
Are you into zoodles? I don’t make them much, but every time I do I think to myself I’ve got to make them more often. Zucchini noodles are the perfect pasta stand in.
To make this shrimp & pesto zoodle bowl:
Spiralize 1 medium zucchini (I love my @padernokitchenware one) and set aside. Sauté 2 small cloves of garlic in a pan, and add 8-10 shrimp. Cook through and set aside. Add the zoodles to the pan, and cook until just heated through. Toss together the zoodles, shrimp, and 2 tbsp pesto. Top with a few diced cherry tomatoes and enjoy! 😋
Kale, White Bean & Meatball Soup
I’m loving this kale and white bean soup with mini meatballs right now! This is a great lunch to pack up and take with you to work. It freezes really well and can easily be made in a batch. This recipe looks long, but it’s pretty simple, and when you get 4 days of lunches as the result, it’s well worth it!
For the soup ➡️ sautée 1 diced yellow onion and 3 cloves of chopped garlic in a stock pot. Once softened, add 1.5L chicken stock, 1 can drained and rinsed white kidney beans, the juice of one lemon and the zest of one lemon, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about an hour. Add 1 bunch of ribbed and cut kale, allow to heat just until the kale is softened, and remove from heat.
For the meatballs ➡️ while your soup is cooking mix together 1 lb extra lean ground turkey, 1 egg, salt, pepper and the zest of one lemon. Roll the mixture into meatballs. I like mine to be minis so that they fit easily on my spoon while eating the soup. Cook the meatballs in your air fryer (about 13 minutes) or in the oven (25 min @ 350). Please double check to make sure the meatballs are cooked through! If not, add a little more time.
For the parmesan crisps ➡️ finely grate 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Lay a sheet of parchment paper over a cookie sheet. Divide the cheese into quarters, and gently pile each quarter onto the cookie sheet. Broil for 5 minutes. Keep a close eye here! Once the Parmesan is melted and starting to brown, remove from the oven. The crisps will “crisp” as they cool.
To assemble ➡️ portion soup into 4 bowls. Add 1/4 of the meatballs to each bowl and top with a Parmesan crisp. If making ahead, store the crisps separately and add to the soup after reheating.
Deconstructed Fajita
Sometimes you just need a new twist on an old favourite, right?
This week I cooked up some sweet potato stuffed fajitas. I was digging fajitas, but was looking for a change from a soft tortilla shell. So, here we go!
I like to keep some cooked and thinly sliced beef sirloin in my freezer to have handy for whatever meals strike me. I typically cook my sirloin with my immersion cooker and then finish it on the grill. But you can also just as easily grill your sirloin to cook it entirely.
Prick a few sweet potatoes with a fork, and roast in the oven at 425F for about an hour. (Save your cookie sheet and put a sheet of parchment paper down first!) The potatoes are done when you can easily press a fork into the flesh.
Pan fry your veggies (sweet onion, red and green pepper) with fajita seasoning until tender crisp. Toss in your beef, if it was pre-cooked to reheat.
Once your potato is cool enough to handle, split it, and stuff with fajita goodies.
Top with Greek yogourt, salsa, avocado or any other toppings that strike your fancy! Enjoy! 😋
Thai Turkey Quinoa Bowl
Thai Turkey & Quinoa Bowls
I’ve been loving Thai flavoured ground turkey lately! These bowls make for quick and easy lunch or dinner.
Cook 1 cup of quinoa per package directions.
To a large frying pan over medium heat, add 2 tbsp red Thai curry paste, 1-1/2” piece of ginger (peeled and finely diced), and 2 cloves of peeling and finely diced garlic. Once fragrant, add 1 lb extra lean ground turkey, and cook, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon as you go.
To make the dressing, whisk together 1/4 c crunchy peanut butter, 1 tbsp fish sauce, and the juice of two limes.
In a bowl, top your favourite green/slaw mix with the quinoa and ground turkey. Add the dressing, top with chopped peanuts, and more lime juice. Enjoy! 😋
Chai Spiced Quinoa
Chai Spiced Quinoa
So, quinoa for breakfast? Heck yes! This is delicious and perfect for fall.
In a small pot, bring 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups of almond milk, 1 tsp chai spice, and 1 tbsp brown-sugar stevia sweetener to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until all of the almond milk is absorbed. (Keep an eye on your pot and try to avoid letting the almond milk bubble over.)
Divide into 4 portions and top each portion with chopped pecans, cinnamon, and additional almond milk. Enjoy! 😋
Poutine
Tag a friend who wants to eat healthy but also loves poutine! 😍
You’ve gotta spin this up yourself because it’s so simple and so good!
First, make your pulled pork in your crock pot ➡️ Pul 1 diced yellow onion, 1 can tomato paste, 1/4c stevia-based brown sugar sweetener, 1/4c apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp yellow mustard, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper into your crock pot. Add 2 c chicken stock and mix well. Add 2 pork tenderloins, and top with sufficient broth to cover the tenderloins fully (about 4-5 cups). Set your slow cooker on low for 8h. Once cooked, remove the pork tenderloins and shred both with two forks. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker.
Next, make your fries ➡️ peel and fry cut russet potatoes, and cook in your air fryer (mine need about 35 minutes).
On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, lay out a pile of fries, top with pulled pork, and then with cheese curds. Put this under your broiler for just a few minutes to melt the cheese. Top with stevia-based BBQ sauce and enjoy! 😋😋😋
Freeze leftover pulled pork so that you can make this poutine quickly another night!