Alright friends, let me be real for a second. Life and schedules have gotten crazzzzy lately. We have Ridge in ISR swim lessons every afternoon, Davis has tennis on Monday nights, flag football on Tuesday nights, and I play tennis Wednesday nights. Todd travels some, we have an almost 6 month old, I work some, and homeschool is still going. Needless to say, I haven’t had hours to spend in the kitchen.

We are still doing our best to eat every meal at home, and eat healthy food. Dinners have become quick and routine, but it’s still a better option than the drive through. I hope this will encourage you to know that homemade dinners do not need to be fancy, complicated, or expensive. Sometimes straightforward is best! Here are some of the clean eating meals we have had lately.

Breakfasts:

I’m not currently eating eggs or peanuts, because eggs seem to bother Granger, and I’m being cautious with peanuts and other inflammatory foods, but the rest of the family can eat those things. I still do not eat any gluten, and the only dairy I eat on occasion is from goat’s or sheep’s milk. Though I am still breastfeeding, we also added some formula to his diet, because he needed to gain more weight. 

Smoothies and yogurt with granola.

• Make a large batch of granola over the weekend, or when you have time.
• Let your kids help!
• Fill your freezer with the ingredients for one of the smoothie recipes below.
• Try using frozen organic kale instead of fresh spinach to save some money.
• I personally do not love yogurt, but my boys do. So I will buy either plant based (Kite Hill or Forager) or goat’s milk yogurt, always plain and unsweetened, and add a drizzle of raw honey and a couple drops of vanilla to flavor it ourselves. Sometimes the boys will have their smoothie in a cup and a bowl of yogurt and granola.

Granola Recipe

Make this nut free by using 3 cups total of assorted: unsweetened coconut flakes, flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds. You can also replace one cup of oats with one cup of ground flax seed/meal. This is a really flexible recipe!

• 5 cups gluten free organic oats
• 3 cups of chopped, raw nuts and/or seeds (I like to use unsweetened coconut, pecans, flax seeds, and sunflower seeds)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a large rimmed baking sheet or pan, mix together the oats, nuts, seeds, salt, and cinnamon. Melt the coconut oil and then stir in the honey and vanilla. Drizzle the coconut oil mixture over the oat mixture, and stir well to coat. Bake at 300 degrees in 4, 12 minute increments. Between each 12 minute session, stir well with a heat-proof spatula. Make sure to get the spatula to bottom of the pan well. Bake for 40-50 minutes total.

Frozen waffles.

• I don’t rely on these, and if they have frozen waffles, we typically have a smoothie with them. But these are nice to have on hand for those crazy mornings!
• I usually buy Nature’s Path Organics GF waffles.
• Typically I will put almond butter or peanut butter on them with a drizzle of maple syrup, rather than drenching them in syrup.

Eggs or Chicken Sausage, Avocado, and Fruit.

• Super straightforward: fried eggs (in coconut oil) with avocado, and some fruit. Usually the boys dip their fruit in almond butter.
• If you can’t do eggs, try chicken sausage! We buy Aidell’s brand, or use another paleo brand found at Costco. I either roast it or sauté it.
• My boys enjoy their avocado with everything but the bagel seasoning.

Banana or Avocado Toast

• Toast with all the toppings is one of our favorite breakfasts around here!
• I turn the broiler on in the oven and toast all of our bread at once. It’s faster than our toaster oven.
• One flavor combo we love: almond or peanut butter with sliced banana, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and just a little pink sea salt on top. SO yummy.
• We also have avocado toast, sometimes with an egg on top, sometimes without. I mash up avocado with lime juice, sea salt, and usually top it with some hemp seeds.

Oatmeal

• This is Todd’s specialty, and something our boys love. We like to use Bob’s Red Mill organic gluten free quick cooking oats.
• We add frozen wild blueberries at the end of the cooking time.
• For extra flavor we add maple syrup and cinnamon.
• To make it more filling, we add almond butter, chia seeds, and banana.

Lunches:

For the Boys

• Sandwiches with turkey or ham and Violife cheese. Veggies + hummus. Fruit. GF pretzels or plantain chips or something like that.

Salads or Veggie Bowls

I typically have a salad, and if Todd is working from home, he usually has the same thing as I do. Here are my salad/bowl tips:

• Start with greens. Currently we are loving mixed greens or arugula. We also use the mesclun from our garden.
• Load your bowl with plenty of crunchy veggies: bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, celery, broccoli, radish, etc.
• Chop everything into small pieces! This is key to a delicious salad or bowl.
• Add a protein – whatever is leftover from dinner the night before! Make extra grilled chicken, shredded chicken, salmon, steak, or ground beef with dinners so that you have it ready for lunches.
• Include some seeds or nuts – something for an extra crunch.
• Add a fat like avocado or goat cheese.
• Use a yummy dressing, like Tessemae’s or Primal Kitchen, or make your own. Sometimes I simply drizzle on a little olive oil and squeeze on some lemon juice.
• For veggie bowls, we like to take any leftover roasted veggies and meat, and sauté it all together. We also like to add some chopped spinach, or put the sautéed mixture over greens. You can add some of the same toppings as on a salad.
• Anything is better in a bowl, and it’s a delicious way to pile in the good-for-you ingredients.

Veggie Wraps

• Using the cassva or almond flour tortillas again for this one.
• I chopped some mixed greens, warmed leftover roasted veggies (bell pepper, potatoes, onion) in a sauté pan, and added some fresh cucumber and avocado.
• Drizzle with Tessemae’s ranch dressing.

Dinners:

One of my main tips would be to keep your freezer stocked with proteins so that you are not having to dash to the store each day. I have come to terms with the fact that I cannot currently keep 100% perfectly sourced meat readily available. So, we are choosing the “better” option for now. Most of our groceries come via Instacart from Costco, because time is limited! Here is what I keep on hand:

• grass fed ground beef or bison (Costco, Trader Joe’s, Harris Teeter)
• grass fed local steaks (if I order from The Produce Box)
• wild caught Alaskan salmon (Costco)
• wild caught shrimp (Costco)
• organic boneless chicken breasts and thighs (Costco)
• Aidell’s chicken apple sausage (Costco) – we keep in the refrigerator

Burrito Bowls:

• These are on regular rotation in our home. They usually include: chopped up greens as a base, rice (right now we are loving organic white jasmine rice), black beans, chicken or beef, guacamole, plant-based sour cream, Matteo’s salsa from Costco.
• We just bought a rice cooker, which I’m sure will make this so much easier.
• I like to cook the chicken in the crock pot. I season it with taco seasoning and add some of the Matteo’s salsa and cook for around 3 hours.
• Cook extra chicken for lunches or dinner the following night!
• Make sure to buy grass-fed ground beef if you can!
• I really haven’t loved any other dairy free sour cream I have tried, but my friend introduced us to Simple Truth Organic plant-based sour cream, and it’s actually really good. If you don’t have that, try using Forager or Kite Hill plain unsweetened yogurt.
• Adding a squeeze of fresh lime juice at the end is great, too!
• One night I roasted some veggies: squash, zucchini, sweet potato, peppers and seasoned them with some chipotle powder, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, and added those to our burrito bowls. I also made a sauce with the sour cream, a little mayo, lime juice, and the same seasonings that I used on the roasted veggies. This combo was SO good! We loved the smoky chipotle flavors!

You can prep all of the warm components ahead of time, then add them to one casserole dish like in the picture below. Refrigerate until ready to eat dinner, then heat everything in the casserole dish in the oven. You can also chop all of the fresh veggies, and make the sauce, in advance.

Leftover Crock Pot Chicken for Tacos

• This night I sautéed the veggies we had in the fridge that needed to be cooked – mushrooms, broccoli, and zucchini.
• I added them to cassava flour tortilla tacos with the leftover crock pot taco chicken, plus some goat cheese and guacamole.
• Add a squeeze of lime and a little hot sauce!

Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs and Veggies

• We have loved this chicken marinade recipe for years. I change it up based on what I have on hand. Basically any honey mustard combo is delicious.
• Last time I used a little dijon mustard, a lot of yellow mustard, some smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes and it was so yummy.
• With marinades, try making them the night before, then putting the meat in the marinade the morning you’re planning to cook it. Then you’ll be able to simply throw it on the grill for dinner.
• Save some marinade for grilled veggies, too, and you’ll have a very simple side dish.

Grilled Chicken Fajitas/Fajita Bowls

• Simply season some boneless chicken thighs with taco seasoning and avocado oil. Grill those and slice.
• Sauté sliced bell peppers and onion in avocado oil and season with taco seasoning.
• Chop up some mixed greens (we used some mesclun from our garden).
• Heat your preferred tortillas on the grill or a hot pan on the stove – no oil. We used almond flour tortillas from TJs. We also love the 365 brand cassava or almond tortillas from Whole Foods.
• Serve with the plant based sour cream and Good Foods brand guacamole – we buy it from Costco.

Shrimp and Zucchini Sauté

• I like to keep peeled and deveined wild-caught shrimp stocked in my freezer for an easy protein.
• This night I chopped some zucchini, garlic, and basil.
• Sauté the shrimp in a mix of Miyokos vegan butter + olive oil + garlic + red pepper flakes. Remove the shrimp from the pan once cooked.
• Add the zucchini to the pan and cook over medium heat.
• Add the shrimp back to the pan, sprinkle the fresh basil over, and toss together.
• Top with grated Violife parmesan cheese.

Grilled Salmon with Sides

• Thaw the salmon in the fridge overnight. When you remove it from the package, drain off all of the liquid and pat dry with paper towels. Check for bones!
• Season with a little sesame oil and olive oil. Add salt and pepper, chopped fresh garlic if you have it, and some red pepper flakes.
• Grill it skin side down until it’s almost done, then flip it over for the last minute or two.
• I use a digital meat thermometer and aim for 130 degrees internal temp, or slightly under that. Wild caught salmon is best around medium, in my opinion. In a restaurant, I’d probably order it medium rare.
• Serve with quinoa and a chopped salad!

Greek-Ish Bowl

• This was a type of clean-out-the-fridge meal. I seasoned chicken with an olive oil/lemon/salt/pepper/garlic/dill mixture, and did the same for sliced bell peppers and large-chopped carrots.
• I grilled the meat and the veggies.
• I made a sauce with goats milk plain unsweetened yogurt, lemon juice, a little mayonnaise, garlic, salt, pepper, and fresh dill.
• For the base, we used chopped arugula, added the sliced chicken and veggies, olives, some of the yogurt sauce, and sheep’s milk feta. Garnish with fresh dill.

Shrimp Caesar Salad

• Lately I have relied on ready-made dressings more often. One of our favorites is Primal Kitchen Caesar dressing.
• I used a mix of romaine and mesclun from our garden, added some radish from the garden, and sautéed some shrimp in olive oil, garlic, and a little red pepper flakes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
• To make really easy homemade croutons, dice a couple pieces of GF bread. In a sauté pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil, then toss in the bread cubes. Sprinkle on some garlic powder and dried Italian herbs. Cook, stirring often, until the bread has browned slightly. Allow to cool before using.
• Violife parmesan has been something I keep in the fridge, and I like to grate it with a microplane like this. If you can tolerate sheep’s milk, Costco has a pecorino romano that is great as well.

Chicken Sausage + Roasted Veggies

• This is always one of our go-tos for an easy dinner. I buy the Aidell’s chicken apple sausage from Costco. We slice that, roast it along with whatever veggies we have on hand: broccoli, zucchini, potatoes, sweet potatoes.

Lentil Pasta

• Some of my pantry items I always have on hand are lentil pasta and Rao’s marinara. I make a simple sauce with grass-fed ground beef and the Rao’s.
• We usually serve the pasta with some roasted or steamed broccoli.

Rotisserie Chicken with Sides

• Some nights, a rotisserie chicken is the way to go. $5 and this fed us two dinners.
• I also “braised” some white beans, cooked some rice, and made a chopped salad.
• For the beans, take 2 cans of white beans, drain and rinse them well. Simmer in chicken stock or bone broth with a few sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper at the end, and add DF parmesan if desired.
• The chopped salad included red onion, cucumber, kalamata olives, bell pepper, grape tomatoes, fresh basil and dill, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

Hibachi Bowl

• This is not the easiest of the bunch, but it was really yummy.
• I chopped up mushrooms, zucchini, and broccoli. I spread them all out on rimmed baking sheets topped with parchment paper – one type of veggie on each pan. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toss the veggies in a little bit of sesame oil and some avocado oil. Season with garlic, salt, and pepper. Roast until lightly browned and done.
• Roast some chicken as well – use the same seasonings.
• Sauté some shrimp in the same seasonings.

Can you tell we love a meal in a bowl? haha! I hope these clean eating meal ideas are helpful!