Kuiper Family Menu: December 21 – 27, 2015

Hey guys, I hope your weekend was better than ours. We struggled. Kids were sick, we were sick, and it felt like we were hanging on minute by minute! It’s days like this when I long to live closer to family so we could wave the white flag and ask for a little help. We did get out for an anniversary date last night which was nice! On the 22nd we’ll celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary – we have a tradition of going to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and once again it didn’t disappoint!

Anyway, it’s Sunday night, we made it through, and I feel like it can really only go up from here!

I was really tempted not to meal plan tonight, but I know if I wait it won’t happen and we’ll find ourselves struggling even more this week!

The good news is it’s a short week! With Christmas on Friday, I’m not going to try to plan the entire weekend because I know things will come up anyway! I’m just going to plan to have some extra healthy snacks to munch on so that I don’t overdo it with holiday goodies!

Monday

Breakfast: Oatmeal & Turkey Sausage

Lunch: Shakeology for me, deli turkey & cheese for the kids, with fruit and veggies

Dinner: Crockpot Chicken Burrito Bowl (Adapted from Simple Clean Fitness)

-3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, frozen

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-3 tsp onion powder

-2 tsp garlic powder

-2 tsp cumin

-1 tsp salt

-3 cups low sodium chicken broth

-1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

-1 can black beans, drained

-2 3/4 cups instant whole grain brown rice

-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Place chicken breasts in slow cooker.
2. Pour chicken broth over chicken breasts and stir in canned tomatoes, olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.
3. Cook on low for about 4 hours.
4. Remove chicken breasts from slow cooker.
5. Turn slow cooker to high and stir in instant rice and black beans.
6. Let cook 30-45 minutes on high, or until rice is tender.
7. Add chicken back in, cook for 20 minutes on high, or until chicken is warm.
8. Serve with fresh diced tomatoes, sour cream, green onions, avocados or guacamole, top with cheese.

Tuesday

Breakfast: Frozen waffles and eggs

Lunch: Shakeology for me, leftover chicken burrito bowls for the kids

Dinner: Meatloaf

-2 eggs, beaten

-3/4 cup milk

-2/3 cup old fashioned oats

-sprinkle of onion flakes

-1 tbsp parsley

-1 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp basil

-1/2 tsp oregano

-1/8 tsp black pepper

-1 1/2 pounds ground beef

Grease a loaf pan and preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients in bowl, then put mixture into pan. Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Spoon off fat. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and return to oven for 10 minutes, then serve.

Wednesday

Breakfast: Greek yogurt parfaits with greek yogurt, clementine oranges, unsweetened coconut flakes, sliced almonds, old fashioned oats

Lunch: Shakeology for me, meatloaf, fruit, and veggies for the kids

Dinner: Crockpot Hamburgers and Sweet Potato Fries and steamed veggies (Check out how I cook my hamburgers in the crockpot in this blog post.)

Slice sweet potatoes in wedges, put in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and grease. Line wedges on foil, then bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes! Turn over half way through.

Thursday

Breakfast:  Greek yogurt parfaits with greek yogurt, clementine oranges, unsweetened coconut flakes, sliced almonds, old fashioned oats

Lunch: Shakeology for me, leftover burgers and veggies for the kids.

Dinner: Crockpot Jambalaya (one of our favorites!) from Red Beans & Eric

• 1 lbs boneless chicken breasts, frozen
• 1 lbs smoked sausage, cut to ¼-inch rounds
• 1 10-oz can Rotel tomatoes with chiles, undrained
• 1 14-oz can chicken stock
• 1 6-oz can tomato paste
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves
• 3 tsp parsley flakes
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce
• 1 cup instant rice, uncooked *
• 1 lbs shrimp (optional)
• green onion for garnish

1. Place the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot along with the sausage and diced vegetables.
2. Combine the tomatoes, broth, tomato paste and the seasonings in a small mixing bowl then add to the crock pot.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours.
4. With 30 minutes remaining, add instant rice to crockpot. Make sure the rice is well mixed into the ingredients. Recover the pot.
5. Also, after the rice is added, with 30-minutes of cooking time remaining, this is the point you would add thawed shrimp to the crock pot (we don’t always add shrimp).
6. Shred the chicken with a fork and serve!

I also plan to make for the weekend to have on hand in the fridge when I want to eat cookies but should have something healthy instead. 🙂

Healthy Chicken Salad from Fit Baby Steps

• 3 cups chopped rotisserie chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
• 1/2 cup chopped green apple
• 1/2 cup seedless red grapes, cut in half
• 1/3 cup raw almonds
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup honey mustard salad dressing (see below)
• 8 cups shredded romaine lettuce

Honey Mustard Salad Dressing

• 1/2 cup reduced fat (2%) plain greek yogurt
• 3T Dijon mustard, gluten-free
• 3T raw honey
• 3T rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• pink salt to taste

Combine the yogurt, mustard, honey, and vinegar in a medium bowl and whisk until combined

Then slowly add oil, whisking until well blended.

Combine all ingredients except for the lettuce in a large bowl, mix well, and refrigerate (covered) for 2 hours

Serve 1 1/4 cups of the creamy chicken salad over 2 cups of romaine lettuce.

I hope you have a Merry Christmas with your darling families!

XOXO,

Amber

 

P.S. For more reflections on parenthood and life, follow us on Facebook (Hun Let’s Run) and on Instagram: @ambermariekuiper and @jakekuiper! We’d also love for you to subscribe to our Hun, Let’s Run Podcast! For more info about joining our fitness community as a customer or coach, please email us at amber@mommysmetime.com!