Happy Monday folks!!! Well, it’s a new year. And with a new year often comes resolutions. One that frequently tops peoples list is to eat better, whether it be to lose weight, maintain or simply feel better. Often this resolution fails within months either because of too strict of restrictions or inadequate menu planning. If you know what you are going to eat over the course of the day it can make it easier to avoid getting stuck in the situation of being overly hungry, which pretty much always leads to crummy food choices. Especially at the end of the day when you are getting home from work and just want to eat dinner then relax before bed. If you don’t have a plan for dinner it’s a lot more tempting to swing through that drive through or arrange for pick-up/delivery.
Maybe eating better isn’t necessarily on your resolution list but it’s something that is important to you anyway. Regardless of whether it’s at the center of your goals, healthy eating should be a part of everyone’s life. But our lives are busy and with the laundry list of things you have to tackle, it can be hard to find time to think about what to put on the table every night. This can be especially difficult if you are newer to healthy eating.
That’s where we come in! We’ve got you covered with five nights of healthy, dietitian-approved menu ideas to get you through the week. Whether its recipes we created ourselves or ones we’ve found, if we think you’ll like it, we’re going to share it. Even better we’ll give you tips about each recipe, straight from the registered dietitian’s (RD) mouth. Come back next Monday for five more and then five more the week after that! We’ll keep ‘em coming as long as you want ‘em because sometimes we all need a little help to get it all done.
Now onto the food…
This week we have five delicious menus with recipes that were created by a bunch of very talented ladies!
MONDAY | Lemon Broccoli Pasta
RD tips: This one can be cooked in 30 minutes or less so is perfect for a busy Monday! Use whole wheat spiraled pasta for added fiber. Substitute the recommended amount of butter with 2 Tbsp of olive oil then double the amount of lemon juice added towards the end for a heart healthier version.
TUESDAY | Hummus Crusted Chicken with Quinoa Tabbuleh Salad
RD tip: The hummus crusted chicken recipe is total amaze-balls (in my professional opinion). Pairing it with the quinoa salad makes for a mini mediterranean night. Yum!
WEDNESDAY | Slow Cooker Winter Squash Beef Stew
RD tip: Gotta love a good stew. Word to the wise, cook this recipe on high. Not any fault by the author but I interpreted “slow cook” to mean “low” and by the end of 6-8 hours by vegetables were still crunchy. It took several more hours on high to get my veggies right but once I did, it was quite tasty. So, set your crockpot to high from the get-go for the perfect stew.
THURSDAY | Pan Seared Cod in White Wine Tomato Basil Sauce with Basil Pear Salad
RD tip: Eating fish twice a week can help to keep your heart healthy! Fish is full of omega-3 fats which have protective benefits. This menu will get you half way there. Add tuna to your lunch one day or order salmon if you go out to eat this weekend to get the rest of the recommended amount.
FRIDAY | Black Bean Stuffed Peppers
RD tips: For canned beans, try using the “no sodium added” option or at least rinse your beans to remove as much added salt as possible. You can also choose to use dried beans! About 3/4 cup of dried beans yields one 15 ounce can after being cooked. Since it takes an hour or more to cook dried beans, and thats after a period of soaking, you might want to consider pre-cooking the beans the night before making this recipe so they are ready to go when you walk in the door and need to start putting ingredients together. The morning before, rinse beans and place into a bowl of water before you leave for work or starting your day. That evening, drain and add to pot with clean water twice the height of the bean, bring to a boil then cover, reduce heat and simmer until tender (check after 1 hour). Skip the cheese for reduced fat/calories!
Here’s to a happy and healthy week!!
Brooke & Erica
All of these sound delicious – especially the hummus crusted fish!! xo, Biana – BlovedBoston
Love hummus! Such a great idea! And all of these sound amazing!
http://www.theclosetcrush.com
Oh my goodness, I definitely need to follow this weekly meal plan.. ahh everything sounds so yummy! xx
Hummm… sounds healthy and this a definatly an up resolution for the new year.
Xo
http://www.sofrenchychic.com/
This makes me so happy! I am in the lookout for healthy new recipes so I’m all over this! Anything hummus makes my tastebuds happy too!!
I needed some healthy recipe ideas! I start the day off right and then it usually goes downhill with snacking. All of these sound so good, especially the hummus crusted chicken!
Jill
Doused In Pink
Yum this all looks delish! I’m always on the hunt for new quinoa recipes <3
Green Fashionista
The black bean stuffed peppers sound yummy! I agree with planning being important. I rarely do take out, but instead I do a lot of mish mosh dinners if I don’t plan. Basically eating snacks for dinners which is by no means the best dinner. I like make a large serving of rice, veggies and pasta during the beginning of the week and have on hand for dinners. Tends to work pretty well! Thanks for sharing! Xo, Ellese
Rock.Paper.Glam.
I think that’s great! I sometimes do that as well, especially if my husband is out of town because I don’t need anything formal as long as I’m hitting various food groups. Sometimes it’s just broccoli, black beans and quinoa or berries, cheese and cucumbers with hummus. Thanks for coming by!! 🙂
Awesome I’ll keep that in mind! 🙂
Yay! So glad this was helpful. The hummus chicken, no lie, is so freaking good! 🙂
Awww great!! I’m so glad to hear that 🙂 I love hummus too so I’m sure you will see many hummus incorporated menu ideas in the future!
Thank you!
Wonderful! I hope you enjoy this week’s lineup and look forward to providing you with more menu plans in the future!!
Me too!! Thank you! 🙂
Hummus makes for such a yummy ingredient! I had never thought to put it on chicken until I found this recipe. Totally opened my eyes to possibilities!
I am in a total food making rut. So this is perfect. I will be adding the lemon pasta to my list for Friday.
These all sound so delicious! And simple enough to be realistic when I’m busy, haha. I’ve made stuffed peppers in the past, and they are such a tasty dinner.
Kathryn • simplykk.com
These recipes all sound delicious! Meal planning is a must for me, and really keeps me on tract.
Rachael
http://www.threadsforthomasblog.com
Oo I should try these out! I definitely want to eat healthier this year!
http://www.rdsobsessions.com
Yum! I see a few of these I really want to try out! Thanks for sharing this!
All of these sound delicious, and I am in need of some dinner inspiration. Great ideas girls!
xo, Whitney and Blaire
Peaches In A Pod
I love these recipes, girls! Need to pin ’em so I can try them out!
-Ashley
Le Stylo Rouge
I absolutely need to plan my meals better. I know I could be way more efficient. The lemon broccoli pasta sounds fab. :]
// ▲ itsCarmen.com ▲
Ooh I love making my menu every week and I’m always on the lookout for new recipes to try. These sound good, especially that hummus-crusted chicken. Hummus anything and I’m there! 🙂
True that girl! I tend to avoid recipes with a bajillion ingredients because not only does it overwhelm me but I feel like I’m more likely to have a lot more extra stuff left over that might end up going bad.
Awesome! Let us know if you do and what you think!
Awesome! I’m definitely noticing that hummus is favorite ingredient for many so I’m going to majorly be on the lookout for/play around in the kitchen to create more recipes that incorporate it!