Thursday, January 6, 2011

Starting the Year


The start of the new year has brought busy times. I know everyone who reads this can relate: house, work, training, spouses, pets...it just never ends. And somewhere in there I am encouraging folks to cook meals and eat healthy; you bet!

One of my very favorite foods are beets. Yes, I am serious. I love to eat them shredded and raw on top of salads. But, there is nothing messier than shredding beets. They stain: hands, counters, sinks. One of my indulgences is to grab a container of already shredded beets from the salad bar at Whole Foods. I don't shop there every week, but when I am there I always sneak a peek at the salad bar and then treat myself. Sometimes you have to cheat and make life easier!
Menu for this week: Sunday - Tuesday: Homemade Spinach Pizza and Salad
(I had roasted chicken salad)
Tuesday - Friday: Spelt Chicken Tenders with roasted potatoes, peas, and salad

Spinach pizza is an easy house staple:
Whole Foods wheat pizza crust out of the freezer
Tomato sauce (which I always keep a container in the freezer)
Low fat mozzarella
Fresh Spinach

Defrost the crust. Roll it onto a pizza tray; put sauce, fresh spinach, and sprinkle cheese. Place in the 375 oven for 10-15 minutes until cooked through. That's it!

Spelt Chicken Tenders with roasted potatoes
Spelt Flakes (think corn flakes but better) crushed...I use my hands to crush them
Chicken breasts or Chicken Tenders
Egg Whites
Whole Wheat Flour
New Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes




Dredge the chicken in flour, then egg whites, then coat in the flakes. Place on a olive oil spray, sprayed cookie sheet. Cut the potatoes into wedges and place on a cookie sheet drizzled with olive oil. I like to cook this in a hot oven 415+ the chicken, if tenders, 15 minutes and the potatoes 20-25 min.
95% of dinners come with a salad and an extra vegetable. I LOVE salads, so they are a staple. My preference is the protein I create placed on top of a salad for my meal, and then I put Paul's dinner together with a bit of everything. By doing this Paul gets the portions he needs and I am not creating two entirely separate meals.

Once dinner is over, I divide the leftovers into containers for Paul's lunch. He gets an exact portion of everything, so that his lunches have enough food.

**Make sure when you package up leftovers that you are making sure you round out the meal with extra vegetables if you are short on other parts.
Eat and Enjoy!
mer

4 comments:

  1. I love beets too! I bought a cheap industrial size carton of disposable gloves for cutting them up. :-)

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  2. My grandmother used to tell me that beets would make my cheeks rosy. I TOTALLY bought in!

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  3. So Spelt Flakes you can get in cereal form? and then you crush them? What is the nutritional benefit of spelt over cornflakes? do tell..baked chicken tenders sound delicious as a healthy meal paired with salad and mock mashed cauliflower!

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  4. Yes! They are by Arrowhead Mills. I just used my hands to crush them :) Corn Flakes have High Fructose corn Syrup and more salt and less fiber and less protein than the spelt flakes. The spelt flakes also added a nice nutty flavor. You will really like them!!

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