What a strange time we are in! Currently, we are under “Stay at Home” orders by the state of NC, and many other places around the world are doing the same. We’ve been social distancing for around 20 days now, and it has certainly been an adjustment. Though I am at home a good bit, none of us are used to being home THIS much! I understand the reasoning, though, so I am not trying to complain! Going into this, I was determined not to become a couch potato – not that that is an option with kids anyway! I had goals of continuing to eat healthy and exercise throughout this, because I know that doing those things will help us feel our best mentally and physically. I wanted to share what we’ve been eating lately, with hopes that it may give some meal inspiration to others.
P.S. One note of advice? Turn off the news, and don’t believe everything you hear. Now is a really great time to research, use discernment, and also to pray and read our Bibles. I know that reading mine in the mornings has helped calm my mind and remind me that God is still sovereign. I started a new devotional that a friend sent me, and this was the first verse in the book: “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.” Isaiah 26:3-4
Kitchen Tools
If you’ve been in the kitchen a lot more lately, I have some favorite cooking tools that I wanted to recommend. We use our Vitamix daily; I use my food processor for sauces, marinades, granola, the vegan parmesan, etc; my chef’s knife is used constantly; and here is my new go-to nonstick clean(er) pan. Also, our coffee pot, obviously. 🙂Â
Breakfast
We’ve had smoothie bowls almost every morning for breakfast. Without having to rush out the door, we’ve been able to take a little more time to eat together in the mornings. This smoothie post has the recipes we’ve been using.
The toppings include: chia seeds, nut butter of your choice, Purely Elizabeth granola, unsweetened coconut, hemp seeds, and nuts.
The boys and I have also made my gluten free dairy free banana bread twice!
Today I made Rachael’s Good Eats 20 Minute Paleo Granola and served it with fruit and almond milk.Â
Lunch
Lunches have been a way to use up leftovers, and make giant salads with any veggies we can find. The boys have had similar lunches to what they typically have at school, or some leftovers from the previous dinner.
We have also enjoyed some Simple Kneads GF vegan bread! They sent us a box, and it’s delicious!
Snacks
We have been trying to keep snacks to a minimum, because we want the boys to eat a sufficient dinner. If we let our boys snack too much in the afternoons, then dinner time is rough! We usually do a snack around 3 if they have been playing hard all day.
We’ve done smoothies, pretzels with hummus, applesauce, they’ve shared Rx or Lara bars, fruit, or banana bread.
Dinner
I’ve been cooking nonstop, and we have run our dishwasher a thousand times already! I know everyone feels like they’re constantly in the kitchen these days. For dinner the first week and a half, I didn’t meal plan at all. I just shopped for lots of produce, some grains like rice and quinoa, some beans, and whatever meat the grocery store had in stock. So a lot of dinners were thrown together without a “theme.”
I’ve used the TJ’s lentil noodles with ground beef or lamb with Rao’s sauce.
We’ve had veggie burrito bowls. These were made with sautĂ©ed purple cabbage, rice, black beans, sautĂ©ed bell pepper and onion, avocado, cilantro, and salsa.
We’ve also had regular burrito bowls, using ground beef, purple cabbage, avocado, salsa, bell pepper, cilantro, tomato, cucumber, and green onion.
The first time I went grocery shopping I found a pork tenderloin, so I marinated that in some homemade balsamic dressing (2 Tbsp raw honey, 2 Tbsp whole grain mustard, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper). I grilled the pork and served it with some sautéed cabbage and kale, pumpkin seeds, apple slices, and leftover baked regular and sweet potato.
I have made bone broth in the crockpot twice, so soup has been on the menu. The first time I made a creamy (dairy free) simple potato soup topped with parsley and bacon. Chop a sweet yellow onion, 2-3 large carrots, 3 stalks of celery into a small dice. Sauté those veggies plus a bay leaf in some ghee in a large pot. Stir in diced (small-medium size dice) potatoes and allow to cook for a couple minutes. Add the bone broth, to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then allow the soup to simmer until the potatoes are softened and can be easily pierced with a fork. Add the soup mixture to a good blender or food processor. Blend until creamy. Return to the pot and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve with parsley and chopped bacon.
This week I have felt the urge to create and cook in a more intentional way. On Monday I made zucchini noodles with Trader Joe’s vegan pesto, roasted grape tomatoes, sautĂ©ed shrimp, and The Minimalist Baker’s vegan parmesan.
Tuesday night we had Paleo Gluten Free Eats cassava flour tortillas, with this grilled chili lime cilantro chicken, and pineapple salsa.
Wednesday night we had 40 Aprons Egg Roll in a Bowl. I only use green onions, and leave out the red onion. I also like to use a whole head of cabbage and chop it myself or in the food processor.Â
We also made Rachael’s Good Eats Nutter Butters!
More Meal Ideas:
- Burger Salads/Burger in a Bowl
- Frozen Wild Caught Salmon with Roasted Veggies
- Cobb Salad with Bacon and Boiled Egg
- Sheet Pan Meal with Aidell’s Chicken Apple Sausage and Veggies
- Crockpot Chicken Thighs with TJs Salsa Verde and Chili Lime Seasoning – Use on Tacos
- Soup – Potato, Chicken and Rice, Black Bean, Lentil, etc.
I hope you all are doing well, staying sane ;), and keeping away from the germs.Â
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