15ish minute Meals: Cauliflower Rice bowl with Taco Chicken

For me, there's nothing much easier to cook than a pound of ground organic chicken or turkey (mmm that sounded sexy.... oye). Anyway, it's fast, flavorful, healthy, and completely versatile. Lately, I've been creating a variety of rice and quinoa bowls that are full of flavor, protein, and veggies. Since I usually work out at night, these bowls are super satisfying because they are packed with so many nutrients and the complete package of carbs/proteins/fats. As an added bonus, they will please the guys in your life, too. Bowls = can add as much to it as they want. 

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Alright, let's get to the recipe, shall we?

I've been wanting to make cauliflower rice for a while now, but, who has time for that at 8pm when you're just trying to make a fast and healthy dinner? When I found out that Trader Joes sells pre-made frozen cauliflower rice, I basically ran to my closest location and grabbed three bags.

So, what I'm getting at is this meal isn't even made with quinoa or rice. It's essentially carb free if you're into that. (I'm SO NOT into that, I LOVE carbs, but, I do try to balance my meals so for example, if I go carb heavy during the day, I like to lighten it up at night)

Moving on...  Cook up your ground meat with taco seasoning

Heat the cauliflower rice according to the instructions. It only takes a few minutes and I added some frozen corn to the mix for some extra flavor. (The "rice" is good! It just needs some salt and maybe a little evoo.)

Cut desired veggies. Peppers, tomatoes, and avocados are my go-tos.

And then, build those bowls! (See that heat coming off those bowls?!)

I layered baby spinach on the bottom and immediately topped it with the cauliflower rice and taco chicken. The heat will make the spinach wilty so that it mixes in quite nicely with the rest of the bowl. Next, top with desired veggies and give it a couple squeezes of hot sauce or lime juice for good measure. 

Grab a fork and dig in! This meal has protein, fiber, healthy fats, little carb (from the corn), vitamin c, bs, a, antioxidants and more. Let me know if you have any questions and enjoy! Have a GREAT Thursday. xo

15 Minute Meals: Buffalo Chickpea Roll-Ups

Happy Friday! No Friday Favs today but, I have a recipe. That cool? I'm back with another edition of "15 Minute Meals". What I like about this one in particular is it's perfect for when there's nothing in the kitchen besides a can of chickpeas and some veggies. Also, this one will make my vegetarian friends happy! 

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First, rinse a can of chickpeas, throw them on a sheet pan with evoo and salt and put in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes (you could cook them longer for crispier chickpeas). While they cook - chop veggies. Last week, I went with red pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, and iceberg lettuce.

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Toss a couple of corn tortillas on the stove to heat them up. If you want a little cheese... add it right on top to get it melty. We had some extra sharp pepperjack lying around from the weekend. It just made sense to add it, amiright? 

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Toss the toasted chickpeas in buffalo sauce. Then, mix all of the ingredients togther (and some feta) and place on the heated tortillas. A convenient tip: use iceberg lettuce and cut into cups so that all of the ingreients stay together. Or, you could simply do lettuce wraps instead of roll-ups. My recipes are flexible, you know?

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That's about it! Easy, tasty, and healthy. Have THE BEST weekend! xo

15 Minute Meals: General Tso's Protein Bowl

Hello my friends! I hope you are having a solid start to the week. I'm back again with another "15 Minute Meals" post for you! Let me tell you... I've been having internet issues all night and I could have made this meal 6 times in the amount of time it has taken me to complete this post. So there's that! This meal could not be more simple, satisfying, and jam-packed with protein. If there's one thing I know... it's that we are all busy in our own lives. Schedules are jam packed and by the time dinner rolls around, it may be easier to throw in a frozen meal or call for take-out. I started the "15 Minute Meals" series to help with that decision. By the time you're done making a meal like the one I've included below, take-out wouldn't even have arrived yet and the frozen pizza might leave you feeling unsatisfied. Little cheats like using a healthy bottled sauce can make the process of a dinner time meal much easier. I truly believe that whether you are having dinner for one or are feeding a family, it's important to sit down and have a dinner, when possible. I hope this series helps with that. Let's get to it, shall we?

Ingredients (double or triple, as necessary):
- Organic Ground Turkey (1 Lb feeds 3-4)
- Quinoa (1 cup dried makes 3 servings)
- General Tso's Sauce (I like the Whole Foods version as its ingredient list is short and simple and there are no additives)
- Toppings as desired... I used avocado, lime, and parsley from my garden

1. Cook turkey meat and the quinoa separately (both take about 15 minutes to cook through :))
2. While the main ingredients are cooking, dice the toppings and set aside

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3. Once the turkey meat is fully cooked... toss in the sauce until it's throughly mixed.

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4. Spoon quinoa into bowl and top with turkey meat

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5. Add toppings. The freshly squeezed lime and parsley add a nice sharpness to this dish but, feel free to use whatever might be in your fridge such as peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, etc.

6. Eat and relax! How easy is that?
The funny thing about quinoa is that I think it is the most boring food on the planet unless it's covered in awesomeness. Once it's mixed, it takes on the flavor of everything else. This is a good thing because quinoa is jam packed with protein (one of the only plant foods that is considered a COMPLETE protein) and is a great source of fiber, magnesium, b-vitamins, vitamin E, calcium and fiber. Add on protein-rich and b-vitamin rich turkey and vitamin-filled and liver cleansing parsley and you'll be ready for an excellent night's sleep and an energetic day to follow.

Have a great week! xo