Everybody Needs to Eat and Other Truths about Meal Prepping.

Everybody needs to eat. 

Whatever your body type, activity level, and whether or not you “have time” to eat, literally everyone has to do it. 

And yet, so often we stand in front of the fridge or pantry, overwhelmed by the options or lack thereof, wondering what sounds good or what our bodies actually need. We get distracted or go for the bag of chips because it’s close and easy and then pray for our sanity when 5 o’clock rolls around and the kids start asking what’s for dinner. 

Sound familiar? 

At Fuel to Thrive, we are all about making nutritious, intuitive eating practical and accessible to every person. If meal prep and planning have felt paralyzing or ineffective for you in the past, then stick around. We’re here to help you gain some tips and tricks that should add delicious, easy food and NOT more tasks to your plate! 

In the next four weeks, we will be sharing emails that help you meal plan by giving you access to tried and true recipes that are nutritious and delicious. But to get us started, let’s talk about what works when it comes to meal planning.

When we first think about planning a balanced meal, we want to think about three key components:

1. A starch, 2. A protein, and 3. A fruit or vegetable. That’s it - so simple! 

• Great examples of starches can include pasta, bread, potatoes or sweet potatoes, rice, and so on. You won’t hear us demonize carbs; they literally fill our stomachs and give us the energy we need to keep going throughout the day! 

• Protein is crucial and we want to focus on getting enough protein on any given day. Meats, eggs, beans, and legumes are all great sources of protein. 

• And yes, we said a fruit or vegetable. You’re a real person with a real life. Grab a banana or some berries at breakfast and add carrots, cucumbers, greens, broccoli, and so on to your lunches and dinners. 

With these three items, you have all of the building blocks you need for a strong nutrition plan. 

Over the next month, we’re going to be sharing practical recipes that hit on the three categories above that not only nourish you and your family, but also taste good, won’t break the bank (in fact, you’ll probably even save some money!), and keep your food prep time to a minimum. 

Subscribe to our email chain today so you don’t miss anything along the way!

Easy Crockpot Tortilla Soup

Tortilla soup is an all time winter fave around here! And I love this recipe because it is a super easy one!! Check out this delicious, filling and healthy quick meal!!

Crockpot Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breast, cleaned

• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth

• 1 1/2 cup verde salsa

• 1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 cup frozen corn

• 1 TBSP cumin

• 1 TBSP chili powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1-2 bell peppers sliced

• 1/2 onion, diced

• 3 TBSP lime juice

• Topping options: avocado, Cotija cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, cilantro

  • Tip: instead of buying tortilla chips, I buy baked tostadas and use them like tortilla chips.

How to:

1. Place chicken, broth, salsa, black beans, corn, cumin, chili powder, salt to crockpot and set on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-5 hours.

2. When ready to eat, saute peppers and onions. Mix into soup with lime juice.

3. Shred chicken with two forks (may have to remove from crockpot to do this)

4. Enjoy with your favorite toppings!

Side suggestion:

Simple Slaw

Ingredients:

• 1 bag shredded cabbage

• 1 bag shredded carrots

• 1-2 TBSP lime juice

• 1-2 TBSP olive oil or avocado oil

• salt, pepper and cumin to taste

How to:

1. Mix together and enjoy!

Greek Turkey and Rice Bowl

Here is another simple, quick and delicious meal. I am a huge fan of mediterranean flavors- if you are too, try this one out!

Greek Turkey and Rice Bowl

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey

• 1-2 cups uncooked brown rice

• 1 bunch asparagus

• 1 TBSP olive oil

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 4 handfuls of spinach

• 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, sliced

• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced

• 2 cups chicken broth

• handful parsley, chopped

• 1 lemon, zested and juiced

• feta

• salt and pepper

How to:

1. Cook rice by placing in a saucepan with with chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat and cook.

2. Preheat oven to 400F. Wash asparagus and mix with 1/2 TBSP olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place in oven and cook 25ish minutes, or until cooked.

3. Meanwhile, add olive oil to a saute pan. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Then add ground turkey, oregano, salt and pepper and cook until turkey is cooked through.

4. As the rice is getting close to being cooked, add olives, sun dried tomatoes, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix. Then add spinach and parsley and cover until it steams down.

5. Once everything is cooked, serve rice topped with turkey and feta with asparagus on the side. Enjoy!

Quick and Spicy Tuna Quinoa Bowl

I am always looking for quick, healthy and delicious recipes and this has been one I have been using for a while. This one literally takes 25 minutes! And not like one of those recipes that says it takes 25 minutes and then it takes 60! HA!! And it is so easy, you actually can get other things done while its going! Here are the details…

Quick and Spicy Tuna Quinoa Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1-2 cups quinoa

• 4+ cups kale

• 2 (5oz) cans tuna, drained

• 1 TBSP sesame oil

• Sriracha

• 1-3 green onions, sliced

• 1/2 avocado

• sesame seeds

• soy sauce

• pepper

How To:

1. Place quinoa in a pot with double the amount of water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat and cook until water is absorbed. Then add a little bit of soy sauce and pepper for flavor.

2. Place kale in a pan over medium heat. Add some water and cover and allow it to steam down.

3. Drain tuna. Mix with sesame oil and sriracha to taste.

4. Chop avocado and green onion

5. Serve quinoa with kale and tuna on top. Add avocado, green onions, sesame seeds and more sriracha if desired.

Cheers to easy and healthy meals!!

Weeknight Curry

Guys… I finally found my go-to quick curry recipe!! I have been on a long time hunt for one that is packed with flavor but also really easy to make and this is it!!

One great thing about this recipe is it can be made with lentils and beans or with chicken, or, if you can’t decide like me you can do all three: lentils, beans and chicken!! February is Heart Health Month, so I am trying to emphasize more plant based proteins in my diet and this recipe has been a perfect fit! Plant based proteins are a great way to get protein in a way that is healthy for your heart. They are packed with fiber which can help lower cholesterol AND have no saturated fat, which is also great for the heart!

You have to try this recipe!

Weeknight Curry

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

• 1 small onion, diced

• 1 tablespoon garlic, grated or minced

• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated or minced

• 2 tablespoon yellow curry powder

• 1 can diced tomatoes

• 13.5 oz. can lite coconut milk

• 1 lime, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)

• 1/2 cup dry red lentils

• 3 cups broccoli florets

• 1 - 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• Red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, to taste

• Cilantro, for topping

• Naan bread and/or jasmine rice, for serving

How to:

1. In a large pan heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add onion to pan and saute for 2 minutes. Then, add garlic, ginger, yellow curry and stir until onions are coated.

2. Add diced tomatoes, coconut milk, lime juice, and lentils and let come to a simmer. (If you like a thinner, more soup-like curry, add ½ cup of water at this step.)

3. Once it reaches a simmer, turn heat down to low, cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Then, stir in broccoli florets and chickpeas and let simmer for 5 more minutes, until broccoli and lentils are tender.

5. Season with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, to taste.

6. Garnish with cilantro and serve over basmati rice or naan bread. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Note: If you want to use chicken in this recipe, simply replace the 15 ounce can of chickpeas with 1 pound of cubed chicken breast. Ensure the chicken reaches a temperature of 165 degrees before serving.

Nutrition information:

Without chicken: 6 servings, 287 calories, 38g carb, 11g fat, 11.5g protein

With chicken, no chickpeas: 6 servings, 319 calories, 22g carb, 12.5g fat, 30g protein

Lemon, Fennel and Olive Tuna

This is one of my FAVORITE summer meals. Not only is it quick to make and perfect on a hot day BUT it is also packed with flavor!!

Here are some unique flavors this meal consists of:

• Lemon rinds: what?! Trust me, I thought it was weird too! But if you slice them thin, then the flavor is just right with each bite and not overwhelmingly sour (like citrus rinds can be)!

• Fennel: if you’ve never had fennel, this might make you nervous. Don’t be! Fennel has an awesome flavor, similar to licorice (but not really cause I don’t actually like licorice, but I like fennel!!)

• Dill and Kalamata olives: you can’t go wrong with either of these ingredients… am I right?!

Okay, so now that we’ve determined this meal is delicious, here’s how to make it:

Lemon, Fennel, and Olive Tuna

Ingredients:

• 1 lemon

• 1/2 bulb fennel, stalks trimmed

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 30 oz canned tuna, drained

• 2 TBSP olive oil

• 2 TBSP capers, drained

• 1/3 cup Kalamata olives, chopped

• 1/3 cup dill, roughly chopped 

How to:

1. Slice lemons very thinly. Quarter lemon slices and remove any seeds. Slice fennel bulb in the same way. In a medium bowl, mix together lemon, fennel and salt and let sit for 20 minutes.

2. In a medium bowl, toss together tuna, 2 TBSP olive oil, 2 TBSP capers, 1/3 cup olives and 1/3 cup dill. Add the lemon-fennel mixture and combine.

3. Enjoy!!

We like to eat ours with sourdough bread, grapes and green beans!!

The best AND easiest chicken salad recipe

So Kevin and I have been meal prepping for a couple months now. What that looks like for us is making 1 lunch for the week, all breakfasts, and usually 2 dinners to get us through Sunday night through Friday lunch. We usually spend a couple hours on Sunday afternoon making this all happen.

Because of this, I am constantly searching for meals that can be made easily in bulk and taste good throughout the week. That is where this meal comes in… Apricot Almond Chicken Salad. WE LOVE THIS MEAL!! So naturally, I have to share :-)

This can be made with canned chicken, rotisserie chicken or baked chicken. We have been using canned chicken. If you are using one of the other two, you may need to add a little bit of salt to the recipe. I have found the canned chicken tastes fairly salty, so usually don’t add anymore.

You can also use either fresh or dried apricots. If you are using dried, try to find ones without added sugar!

And lastly, you can buy already roasted almonds or roast them yourself in the oven or on the stovetop.

Okay… here are the details!

Apricot and Almond Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 16 oz chicken, shredded

• 1/4 cup almonds, roasted and chopped

• 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped (can also use fresh if they are in season)

• 3+ green onions, sliced

• 2+ stalks celery, sliced

• 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

• 1 TBSP olive oil

• 1 TBSP dijon mustard

• 1/2 tsp honey

• rosemary and pepper

How to:

1. Prep chicken (drain if needed). Mix with green onions, celery, apricots and almonds.

2. Make the dressing by combining Greek yogurt, olive oil, dijon, honey and rosemary and pepper.

3. Add dressing in with chicken and mix well.

4. Serve with a starch and vegetables on the side!

We served ours with roasted green beans and homemade sourdough bread!!

Mustard Garlic Pork Tenderloin

I don’t know about you, but pork tenderloin was something we ate only for special occasions growing up. That is the idea that I brought into adulthood. Until I dug a little deeper…

• We have found that pork tenderloin is actually cheaper than chicken.

• Also, it is a very lean cut of meat, so is not an unhealthy thing to throw into your protein mix!

• Pork tenderloin is also generally easy to cook, which is another bonus!!

This is just one of our favorite ways to eat pork tenderloin. It is very flavorful, and like I mentioned, very easy!

Mustard Garlic Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

• 1 pork tenderloin

• 1 heaping TBSP dijon mustard

• 1 TBSP olive oil

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1-2 TBSP Italian seasoning (or a mix of oregano, basil, garlic power, onion powder, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary)

• 1 tsp salt

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Clean and trim the fat from the pork tenderloin.

3. Mix remaining ingredients together. Spread over the surface of the pork tenderloin.

4. Place in oven safe dish

5. Roast for 30 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145F. Let rest for 5 minutes and serve.

To make your life easier, serve with potatoes and a vegetables that can all be roasted at the same time!

Mediterranean Eggplant and Chickpea Ragout

This is one of those recipes that we used to eat a lot and then somewhere along the way we kind of forgot about it. Then, the other day I was with one of my friends at My Fresh Basket and she got a dish that looked just like this. Then I HAD TO MAKE IT! It has such great flavor!!

I got all the ingredients before the chaos of COVID-19, but the good news is, all of these ingredients should still be available!!

One more thing, if you think the idea of eggplant sounds gross, it isn’t. You actually don’t even taste it much in this recipe!!

Here is a healthy dinner recipe to try tonight!

Mediterranean Eggplant Ragout

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground turkey

• 1 large eggplant, chopped into cubes

• 1 tbsp avocado oil

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 2 cups canned unsalted diced tomatoes

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

• 1 15oz can low sodium chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 2 TBSP capers

• 3 oz goat cheese

How to:

1. Heat 1/2 TBSP avocado oil in a saute pan. Add onion and eggplant and saute for 5-7 minutes, or until eggplant softens.

2. Add raisins, salt, pepper flakes and cinnamon. Mix to combine. Then add canned tomatoes, 1/2 cup water, chickpeas and capers. Increase heat to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, or until eggplant is tender.

3. Meanwhile, using the other 1/2 TBSP avocado oil, cook the ground turkey. As it is cooking, add salt and pepper and break up into bite sized pieces. Cook until no pink remains.

4. Once ragout is cooked, add the ground turkey!

5. Serve with goat cheese and a starch and vegetable! We served with polenta and green beans, but you can serve with any starch and vegetable!!!

Miso Lime Shrimp Bowl

We have started taking meal prepping more seriously and are loving it!!! I know I will always go in seasons with this, but we have started a meal each week for our lunches, we prep our breakfasts and then make 2-3 dinners each week that we eat fresh one night and have the leftovers the other nights. It has like changed our world!!! We have so much more time in our evenings and so much less stress around making dinner. This recipe was so easy and quick to make that I had to share!!!

You may notice that I have a lot of shrimp recipes posted. This is because we often use shrimp as a quick protein. We buy the already cooked (but frozen) shrimp, and then literally just heat it up and throw it in whatever sauce we have made. SO SIMPLE!

If you have never tried soba noodles, don’t be afraid of them! They are buckwheat noodles (meaning they are a good source of whole grains!). You can often find them in the Asain Food Aisle of the store. My one tip is to make sure it is made out of buckwheat… I bought some one time that had yams added, which made them kinda sweet and not as good.

Check this healthy, easy weeknight meal out!!

Miso Lime Shrimp Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 lb already cooked frozen shrimp

• 10 oz green beans

• 10 oz mushroms

• soba noodles

• 3 TBSP white miso paste

• 3 TBSP lime juice

• 3 cloves garlic

• 1 TBSP fresh grated ginger

How to:

1. Chop vegetables and saute in a little bit of avocado oil.

2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook soba noodles for 8-10 minutes, or until they are the texture you desire.

3. Meanwhile, make the sauce by combining the miso, lime juice, garlic and ginger in a bowl.

4. When vegetables are done, add shrimp and sauce and mix together. Cook until shrimp are heated through.

5. Serve with soba noodles!!

Quick Mediterranean Quinoa Turkey Bowl

Kevin was out of town last week for 8 DAYS!!! That is a long time in my world. Anyway, because he usually eats more than me and is willing to eat leftovers for days, I knew I had to be strategic about my meals. I didn’t want to be eating one meal all week AND I wanted my meals to be easy to make and easy to clean up. This turned out to be a great option and will continue to be a quick weeknight meal!

Quick Mediterranean Quinoa Turkey Bowl

Ingredients:

• 16 oz lean ground turkey

• 2 tsp avocado oil

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa

• 3 medium zucchinis, chopped

• 1 (15oz) canned diced tomatoes (look for low sodium)

• 1/2 yellow onion, diced

• 5 cups spinach

• 10 oz mushrooms, diced

• 1 TBSP oregano

• 1 tsp dried basil

• 1 tsp rosemary

• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper

• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar

• 1/3 cup water

• Shredded parmesan cheese

How to:

1. Place quinoa in a pot with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat and cook until water is absorbed.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp avocado oil in a skillet. Add ground turkey. Season with salt and pepper and allow to brown. As it cooks, break it up into bite sized pieces. Once cooked through (no pink left), set aside in a bowl.

3. Add another 1 tsp avocado oil to the saute pan. Add mushrooms, onion and zucchini. Cook until they begin to soften. Add spinach and canned tomatoes.

4. As spinach is wilting, add seasonings to vegetables.

5. Mix vinegar with water.

6. Mix quinoa with ground turkey and vegetables. Add vinegar mixture. (add more vinegar if necessary)

7. Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

Everyday French Toast

French toast is one of those foods that I LOVE but rarely eat. The reason being, when I know if I have a sweet treat for breakfast, I will likely need a nap and be pretty much useless for the day. When I do have it, I make sure I balance it with some eggs, so the sugar doesn’t hit my system so drastically! There is so much to say about a balanced plate!!

So, Kevin came up with this lovely idea for french toast that doesn’t leave me down and out for the rest of day. He was like, what if we use the ingredients we usually use for breakfast and make it into french toast…? Brilliant!!

This french toast is made of our normal whole wheat bread, sweetened with yogurt, berries, banana and peanut butter AND has no added sugars!! If you are looking for a fun a different breakfast to have that keeps you on track with your goals, try this recipe out!!

Everyday French Toast

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat bread (5 pieces)

• 4 eggs, whisked

• 1/4 cup milk

• a splash of vanilla

• 1/2-1 tsp cinnamon

• Dash of cloves and allspice

• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt

• 1/4 cup peanut butter

• 1 cup frozen berries

• 1 banana

How to:

1. Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice and cloves in a flat dish.

2. Heat a skillet. Soak 1-2 pieces of bread in the egg mixture. Flip so that the full toast is soggy.

3. Place in the skillet and cook 3-5 minutes on each side, or until toasted and egg is cooked.

4. Continue steps 2 and 3 until all the pieces are cooked.

5. Meanwhile, stick the frozen berries in the microwave to 20-30 seconds. Mash with banana. Then mix in yogurt and peanut butter. Mix in more cinnamon if desired!

6. Top french toast with berry mixture and ENJOY!!!

Chili and Cornbread

Halloween always means it is time to make chili and cornbread! Here is the recipe I’ve been diggin this year!

Three Been Crockpot Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground turkey or ground beef

• 1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes

• 1 (15oz) can tomato sauce

• 1 (15oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 (15oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1/2 red onion, chopped

• 2 TBSP red wine vinegar

• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 TBSP chili powder

• 2 tsp cumin

• 1 TBSP oregano

• 1 tsp basil

• 2 tsp parsley

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp chili flakes

• 1/2 cup shredded cheese

• 1 tsp ghee/avocado oil

• 1 1/2 -2 cups water

How to:

1. Cook ground turkey in a saucepan in 1 tsp ghee/avocado oil on the stove until slightly browned.

2. Place all ingredients up to cheese in the crockpot. If you need additional liquid, add 1 1/2- 2 cups water. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

3. Top chili with shredded cheese and serve cornbread and a vegetable on the side

Cornbread Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 TBSP baking powder

• 1 cup cornmeal

• 1 egg

• 1 cup milk

• 1/4 cup butter

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder into a bowl of mixer.

2. Add cornmeal and mix.

3. Add egg, milk, butter and mix until combined (no more that 1 minutes)

4. Grease 9 muffin tin slots and fill each evenly with batter.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until browned and toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

6. Can also make cornbread squares by using a 8x8 pan and baking for 20-25 minutes.

7. Serve with honey butter

*Cornbread recipe from Bob's Red Mill cornmeal package. 

Peach Season Favorites

It is peach season again!! I always forget how much I love peaches until I bite into a freshly picked ripe peach and juices fly everywhere and I feel like I am eating a Peach-O… then I am quickly reminded about how lovely a ripe peach is.

I shared another great peach recipes last year in the Seasonal Eating: July Edition post. The recipe is for a peach salsa that we have used on all kinds of meat, white fish and even in cottage cheese! I highly recommend checking the recipe out.

This year, I wanted to share a couple more of our favorites… Five Spice Pork Chops with Peaches and Peachy Tacos. Both are fun ways to add peaches to a meal! Here are the recipes:

Five Spice Pork Chops with Peaches

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pork chops or pork cutlets

• 1 TBSP five spice powder (buy this if you don’t have it cause it is SO good)

• salt and pepper

• 4 peaches, chopped

• 3 cloves of garlic minced

• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• 2 tsp olive oil

How to:

1. Preheat grill

2. Cover the pork chops in a little bit of olive oil. Then salt, pepper and rub the Five Spice all over the surface.

3. Grill until cooked through

4. Meanwhile, place peaches, garlic, cayenne and salt and pepper in a bowl and mix to combine.

5. Heat a saute pan and add peach mixture. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the peaches soften and the mixture thickens.

6. Serve peaches on top of the pork.

Peachy Tacos

Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP Ghee/avocado oil

• 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped

• 1 glove garlic, minced

• 1/4 cup chipotle chili in adobo

• 2 ripe peaches, chopped

• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

• 1 lb chicken breast

• 3 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

• 2+ TBSP lime juice

• Corn tortillas

• 2+ peaches, thinly sliced

• 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced

• 1 avocado, thinly sliced

How to:

1. In a large pot, add 1 TBSP Ghee/avocado oil. Add onion and garlic and cook until slightly softened.

2. Add chipotle chili, tomato sauce, and peaches and cook on low for 20 minutes.

3. Transfer the sauce to a blender and carefully blend, until a sauce has formed. Set aside.

4. Meanwhile, heat the same pot with 1 TBSP Ghee/avocado oil. Add chickens and cook for about 5 minutes. Flip the chickens and add 1/4-1/2 of the sauce back to the chickens. Cook on low covered with a lid for 20 minutes. (Ours ended up being saucy enough that we saved the other half of the sauce to make the meal again!)

5. Once cooked through, remove from pan and shred, using to forks.

6. Place chicken back in the sauce.

7. Meanwhile, combine cabbage, cilantro and lime juice in a bowl.

8. Serve tortillas with chicken and sauce, cabbage slaw, peach slices, avocado slices and jalapeno. Enjoy!!

Sweet Potato Cakes with Blackberry Salsa

This is literally one of my absolute favorite meals! It is usually a summertime necessity and I literally scheme ways to have them available at all times! The sweet potato cake portion is a phenomenal mix of flavors, but then you add the blackberry salsa and these are TO DIE FOR!!

A few tips I have for making them are:

• Bake sweet potatoes ahead of time. It is the absolute worst to have piping hot potatoes that you are trying to work with!

• Make the quinoa ahead of time too!

• Once your form the cakes, put them in the refrigerator for at least a couple hours or overnight. This will make them easier to cook.

• Use frozen blackberries if fresh ones are not in season.

Here is how to make them:

Sweet Potato Cakes with Blackberry Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lb sweet potatoes

• 1/2 red onion, diced

• 3/4 tsp salt

• 3/4 tsp pepper

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa

• 1/3 cup bread crumbs

• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

• 1/4 cup basil, chopped

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• 1 TBSP Ghee/avocado oil

How to:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Clean sweet potatoes, and poke holes all around them with a fork. Place in the oven for 45+ minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork.

2. Place 1/4 cup quinoa in a saucepan with 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat and cook until water is absorbed. Set aside.

3. Once potatoes are cooked, let them cool. Then remove the flesh and discard the skins.

4. Heat a saute pan with 1 tsp Ghee/avocado oil. Place onion and garlic and saute until softened. Mix into the potatoes. Add salt and pepper.

5. Add breadcrumbs, cheese, cilantro, basil, and egg and mix well.

6. Form mixture into patties using hands. Place on a plate or baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

7. When you are ready to cook, heat a saute pan with 1 tsp Ghee/avocado oil. Add patties and cook until golden brown on each side. You may have to work in batches and add oil each time.

Blackberry Salsa

Ingredients:

• 3 cups frozen blackberries, slightly thawed

• 1/2 red onion, diced

• 1/2+ jalapeno, diced

• 3/4 cup cilantro, chopped

• 1 1/2 TBSP lime juice

• salt and pepper to taste

How to:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Serve patties topped with blackberry salsa. We often pair these with eggs and vegetables!

Rhubarb Salsa on White Fish

I am just going to come out and say it… I am not a huge rhubarb fan. It would never be my choice of pie or anything for that matter. BUT… we got some rhubarb in our LINC box and I wanted to challenge myself to make it in a way that wasn’t doused in sugar. This salsa with fish was the perfect combination! Like maybe to the point where I would buy rhubarb myself and make it again!! Here is the recipe:

Rhubarb Salsa on White Fish

Ingredients:

• 6 sticks of rhubarb, diced

• 1 red bell pepper, diced

• 1/2 sweet onion, diced

• 1/2 jalapeno, diced

• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped finely

• 4 tbsp garlic sprouts or green onion, diced

• 3 TBSP lime juice

• 3 TBSP apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• 1-2 TBSP honey

• 1 lb white fish

How to:

1. Preheat the oven to 475.

2. Prep the fish and place on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, or until cooked through.

3. Meanwhile, combine rhubarb, pepper, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, garlic sprouts, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in a bowl.

4. Serve salsa over fish

5. Enjoy!!

We served ours with roasted broccoli and potatoes as well!

Quinoa Crunch Bowl

One of my favorite things to do is to find a meal I really like at a restaurant and then try to recreate it. I used to get a Quinoa Crunch Bowl at one of my go-to restaurants in Denver- Life Kitchen. I loved it so much, I decided to recreate it and I think I figured out the perfect recipe! When we picked up our LINC box this week, it nearly had all the ingredients to make this bowl!! So, I had to…

The seasonal veggies that we used were:

• Radishes

• Carrots

• Peas

• Spinach

• Kale

• Cilantro

• Oregano

• Garlic Shoots

Here’s the recipe!

Quinoa Crunch Bowl

Ingredients:

-1 cup uncooked quinoa

-Kale and/or spinach

-1 bunch radishes, chopped

-4 large carrots, chopped

-1 cup snap peas, chopped

-1 avocado sliced

-Hummus

-1/2 cup olive oil

-1/4 cup lime juice

-2 garlic shoots, chopped (1 tsp minced garlic would work too)

-1 TBSP minced adobo chilis

-1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

-2 tsp cumin

-salt and pepper

How to:

1. Place the quinoa in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat and cook until water absorbs.

2. Chop all vegetables and mix together with greens

3. Make dressing by combining olive oil, lime juice, garlic shoots, adobo chilis, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper. Shake or whisk to combine.

4. Serve salad with a dollop of hummus, avocado and quinoa on it and pour dressing over the top.

We served ours with grilled chicken!!

Sweet Potato Kale Shrimp Bowl

I am working on cleaning out some of the “extras” we have in our fridge this week, which means, I am winging recipes for dinner. Last night, we made this lovely dish and I was SO proud of it, that I thought I should share. I love this meal because it is full of healthy ingredients, is very balanced and was super easy.

Shrimp is a lean and healthy protein and is extremely easy to cook, so it is one that I recommend frequently! Also, if you haven’t tried the Murasaki sweet potatoes- DO IT! They are so delicious. I literally had to hold myself back from eating the whole pan full!!

Heres the recipe:

Sweet Potato Kale Shrimp Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lb sweet potatoes (we used the Murasaki ones from Trader Joes)

• 1 lb already cooked shrimp

• 10 oz kale, chopped

• 1/2 red onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 head broccoli, chopped

• 1 ½ TBSP coconut oil (or olive oil)

• 1 lemon, zested and juiced

• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

• 1/2 bulb fennel, chopped

• 1 avocado

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Clean and cube sweet potatoes. Melt 3/4 TBSP coconut oil, and pour over sweet potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and stick in the oven for 35 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, chop the broccoli and cover with ¼ TBSP coconut oil, salt and pepper and place in the oven to roast.

3. With 20 minutes left on the roast time, heat ¼ TBSP coconut oil. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion softens. Add kale and cover to let the kale wilt down. Mix occasionally.

4. In another saute pan, heat the remaining ¼ TBSP coconut oil. Add fennel and cook until slightly softened. Add shrimp, lemon juice, lemon zest and red pepper flakes.

5. Serve potatoes with kale and shrimp on the top and broccoli and avocado on the side.

This meal was made to make 4 servings and should take about 40 minutes to make (most of that time is the sweet potatoes roasting)

{Not Fried} Fried Rice

19.5 is finally here! I am feeling extra nerves around this workout because I know how badly it is going to hurt!! With that said, I know my fueling has to be on point! This workout requires a lot of minutes to be worked at a high intensity- which means carbohydrate stores will be a hug factor. Also, this workout requires a lot of mental fight, which means immediate carbohydrates will be crucial. We don’t often think about the fuel our brains need, but trust me, your brain can make you quit a lot sooner than your body quits if it senses it isn’t fueled well.

Today I am fueling with fried rice for lunch. I will also consume an apple and RX Bar prior to the workout, and possibly a Fig Bar right before depending on my energy. All of these are carbohydrates that I know my body likes and utilizes well. As the workout gets closer, my carbohydrate intake switches to quicker carbs (fruit) vs slower carbs (brown rice).

This fried rice recipe is a fun way to get some carbohydrates in! And good luck to everyone competing this week!

{Not Fried} Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice

• 10 oz mushrooms, sliced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 carrots, grated

• 1 TBSP fresh ginger, grated

• 1 cup edamame, thawed

• 4 scallions, sliced

• 3 TBSP low sodium soy sauce

• 1 1/2 TBSP Sriracha

• 2 TBSP sesame seeds

• 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil

• 3 eggs

• 1 1/2 tsp Ghee/avocado oil

• 1 1/2 lb shrimp

How to

1. Place rice in a saucepan with 3 cups water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat and cook until water is absorbed.

2. Add 1 tsp Ghee/avocado oil to a saute pan at medium high heat. Add mushrooms and garlic and saute until browned (4-6 minutes). Turn heat to low. Add carrots, ginger, edamame, and scallions.

3. Add vegetables to rice.

4. Whisk eggs together. Heat another saute pan with 1/2 tsp Ghee/avocado oil. Cook eggs without scrambling (like an omelet). Once cooked, let cool and then cut into bite sized chunks. Mix in with rice and vegetables.

5. Make sauce by combining soy sauce, Sriracha, sesame seeds and sesame oil. Add sauce to rice and mix.

6. Heat shrimp and serve with rice.

Crockpot Butternut Squash & Sage Beef Soup

I found this recipe and knew I HAD to try it and I am SO glad I did! The mix of flavors creates a cozy bowl of goodness perfect for this cold weather! I highly recommend it!

Here are a few tips:

1. It took me a lot longer than I anticipated to get all the ingredients in the crockpot because I was using the same pan for all steps (using the bacon grease to cook). If you are hoping to speed this process up, cook all portions in separate pans and part ways with the bacon grease :-)

2. We used turkey bacon, which was great, but real bacon would be good too!

3. As usual, I made this the night before and stuck everything except the liquid into the crockpot and then refrigerated it. I added the broth and vinegar in the morning.

4. You could totally make this on the stove and it would turn out delicious too!

Crockpot Butternut Squash & Sage Beef Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb bacon

• 1 lb stew beef

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 15 sage leaves, minced

• 3/4 yellow onion

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced

• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed

• 1 TBSP each oregano, rosemary, thyme

• 32 oz low sodium chicken or beef broth

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

How to:

1. Cook bacon in a saute pan until crispy. Remove and set aside. Once cooled, chop into small pieces and add to crockpot.

2. Keep the pan heated. Sprinkle the stew meat with garlic powder and salt. Add to pan and brown on all sides. Remove and put in crockpot.

3. Keep pan heated and add onion, sage and minced garlic. Cook until the onions begin to brown (about 5 minutes). Add to crockpot.

4. Add remaining ingredients to the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.

Serve with a veggie on the side to make a complete and balanced meal!