Clean Eating and Gluten Free Meal Ideas

Because my last post with clean eating and gluten free meal ideas has been the most viewed on my blog by far, I decided to publish a similar post with more food inspiration.  (I also included my “food rules” in that post).

In my experience, eating clean has had the most impact on my figure, the way I feel, and my health overall.  I work on staying healthy in other ways as well, but my diet is a top priority for me.  So, if you’re stuck in a rut and bored by eating healthy, I hope these ideas will help you!

Some general tips:

• Lean protein with LOTS of veggies is my general go-to
• If possible, make your own sauces, dressings and marinades.  I like to make those ahead of time and use them for multiple meals throughout the week
• One way to use those sauces?  Use leftovers to make a salad.  This always happens at our house. Any leftover protein and veggies are used to top a bowl of spinach for a salad
• Something I do buy: hummus.  The original tahini-free kind from Trader Joe’s is our favorite
• Something else I buy: salsa.  Our favorite is from, where else?, Trader Joe’s!  I posted a picture below
• Incorporate healthy fats: avocado, cage-free eggs, salmon, healthy oils (coconut, olive oil, etc)

GF sprouted grain wrap (freezer section at Whole Foods) with baby spinach, scrambled egg, tomatoes, avocado, and goat cheese. 

Spinach salad with cucumber, tomato, goat cheese, avocado, hard boiled egg, avocado

Nature’s Path Organic GF waffle with strawberries

Homemade falafel lettuce wraps.  I used this recipe, but substituted the flour with almond flour to keep it gluten free.  Next time I would reduce the onion by half.  I made a Greek yogurt dressing like this one.  We served them on pieces of butter lettuce and added fresh dill, red onion, cucumber, and tomato for toppings. 

My new favorite lunch: toasted corn tortilla, hummus, chopped spinach, 1/2 an avocado mashed with salt, pepper and lime juice, chopped tomato, crushed red pepper.  Toast again for a minute or two. 

Tuscan Kale Salad with grilled chicken.  We are addicted to this salad!  For the salad, I chop the kale in the food processor, and I leave out the bread crumbs to keep it gluten free.  This chicken was marinated in a balsamic/Greek yogurt marinade (Greek yogurt, lemon juice, balsamic, garlic powder, olive oil, salt, pepper). 

This Asian Noodle Salad with marinated and grilled chicken (use the same marinade for the salmon for the chicken) served over spinach and romaine.

Mexican Pizza.  You can do any toppings you like, but I used corn tortillas, then topped with black beans slightly pureed with sautéed onion and jalapeño, lime juice, salt and pepper.  Then we added cooked chicken, avocado, pepper jack cheese, tomatoes, and cilantro.  Served with salsa and sour cream. 

Spinach salad with red beans, mushrooms, avocado, and tomato

Gluten Free Banana Oat Muffins.  Recipe in this post.  I make extra of these and keep them in the freezer.  They’re perfect for my son’s breakfast!

Potato, Kale, and Chicken Soup.  Even though it’s getting warm, I need to make this again soon.  We loved it!

Sesame Ginger Salmon with Asian Noodle Salad 

Same recipe as above.  Use leftover marinade on chicken, and serve it all over spinach/lettuce as a salad.

Breakfast Burrito Bowl

Chicken Stuffed with Spinach and Goat Cheese with Green Beans with Mushrooms and Balsamic

Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Shrimp

No-Canned-Soup Broccoli, Chicken, Rice, and Cheddar Casserole

Tuscan Kale Salad (mentioned above) with cooked chicken and turkey bacon added

A Friday night dinner: quesadillas on corn tortillas with chicken, spinach, black beans and white cheddar.  Served with salsa, sour cream, and homemade guacamole. 

Another Friday night dinner.  Brown rice penne (gluten free), tomatoes, spinach, ground turkey, garlic, onion, crushed red pepper, and cheese. 

Vegetable dinner.  Recipes found here.

Avocado Pepper Jack Chicken with Sweet Potato and Black Bean Hash

I marinated this salmon in the Sesame Ginger marinade mentioned above.  The green beans are just blanched and seasoned with salt and pepper.  The cucumbers were a new recipe we tried.  They were delicious!  Here is the link to the recipe. 

Simple lunch at the beach: spinach, tomato, avocado and salsa (the kind pictured is from Trader Joe’s and everyone in our family loves it!  Plus, no preservatives!) 

This was an empty-out-the-refrigerator meal all heated in a sauté pan: steamed broccoli, chicken, kale, wild rice, grape tomatoes, and goat cheese.  Side of avocado.

This pic is small because it was blurry.  The Tuscan Kale Salad – told you we’re obsessed!  Roasted fingerling potatoes (toss with olive oil, TJ’s Everyday Seasoning and roast at 375).  Chicken with a caprese topping (tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, balsamic, olive oil, salt and pepper).

My lunch yesterday.  Fresh veggies with hummus + half an avocado with salt and pepper. Not gonna lie, though.  I did have a few tortilla chips with this. Stuffed Sweet Potatoes.  I sauteed a minced shallot, chopped kale, then added some shredded cooked chicken and 1/2 can rinsed and drained garbanzo beans.  Season with juice from one lemon, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper.  Serve the mixture inside a baked sweet potato.

I hope these ideas are helpful for your meal planning.  Eating clean is something I’m very passionate about!  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me in the comments!  I will answer as quickly as possible.  Thank you for reading!