*Note: All recipes serve 4.
Supper 1:
Vegetable Quinoa Bowl with Roasted Garlic Sauce
Preheat the oven to 350. Cut the top part of a whole garlic head, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper, and wrap in foil. Roast for 1 hour. Cook 1 cup dried quinoa in 2 cups of no-salt added chicken or vegetable stock. Place in dish and allow to cool after 15 minutes of cooking. Fill same pot with water and bring to a boil for steaming of vegetables. Add vegetables of your choice to the steamer: asparagus, green beans, zucchini, etc. Cut 1 avocado and ½ pint of cherry tomatoes. After garlic has finished cooking, squeeze the bulbs on board and mash to form a paste. Add paste to ½ cup of whole-fat, Greek yogurt (grass-fed, if possible) and season with salt and pepper. Add all ingredients into a bowl and top with sauce.
Supper 2:
Pork Chop with Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes and Spicy Orka
Place 2 large or 4 small sweet potatoes in the oven at 400-degrees for 45 – 60 minutes or until a fork will easily go through the flesh. Remove 4 pork chops (either bone-in or boneless) and allow chops to come slightly up in temp. Season with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. (For spice, hit the chops with a dash of cayenne pepper.). Wash 1 pound of fresh okra and coat with 1 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and a dash of cayenne. On a medium high heat grill, cook the chops for 4 minutes per side. Grill the okra for approximately 4 minutes per side as well. Once sweet tomatoes are completely roasted, transfer flesh to a saucepan and mash with fork. Season with salt, pepper, and cinnamon. You are ready to eat!
Supper 3:
Pesto Chicken
This is one of my all-time favorite go-to recipes! Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. In a baking dish, spoon a dollop of store brought pesto (basil, arugula, or any type of pesto will do). Lay 4 chicken breasts on top of the pesto and cover the breast with the rest of the pesto. Cover and bake for 25 – 35 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken. While baking prep a simple vegetable side such summer squash or zucchini by sautéing slices in 1/2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil plus ½ tablespoon of butter and season with salt and pepper. Cook over low to medium heat for 10 minutes. During last five minutes of baking for the chicken, uncover the dish and sprinkle the chicken with a melting cheese such as mozzarella. Place back into the oven uncover and switch to broiler. Allow the cheese to bubble before taking out of the oven. (If you would like to add a carbohydrate to this dish, farro would be a fantastic choice.)
Supper 4:
Simple Sausage and Tomato Salad
Having a CRAZY week? See my post entitled Simply Sausage and Tomato Salad! It is a fast and yummy option.
Grocery List:
Produce:
Garlic bulb
Green vegetables of choice: asparagus, green beans, or zucchini
Cherry tomatoes
2 large (or 4 small) sweet potatoes
1 pound of fresh okra
4 smaller squash of choice (summer, zucchini)
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
Parsley
Lemon
Protein:
4 pork chops, boneless or bone-in (go for pastured raised, if available)
4 chicken breast (pastured raised or organic)
1 package of chicken spicy sausage (no nitrates, no preservative or additives)
Cold/Diary:
Melting cheese of choice, mozzarella is good option
Pantry:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Quinoa
Chicken/Vegetable Stock (organic, no-salt added)
Greek yogurt (grass-fed)
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cayenne pepper
Cinnamon
Jarred pesto (in refrigerator section)
1 can of hearts of palm
Mari-Chris Savage, MS, RD, LDN 