February flew by fast, anyone else agree?
We also had some unseasonably warm temps in Boston. I managed to get some nice runs in along the Charles. I doubt it’ll last long and I’m sure warm weather now will mean we’ll be in for it with nasty weather in March, always the way when you live in New England.
Given what a quick month it was, I’m keeping my favorites post from the month short and sweet by sharing some of my new go-to meals that have made eating healthy during the week a breeze.
Favorite Pre-workout or Energy Snack
If you missed the Chocolate Tahini Bites Recipe from my Instagram post, I’m sharing the recipe here because they were so good that they have been on repeat this past month.
The best part, they require no baking.
No-Bake Chocolate Tahini Bites
RECIPE:
(makes 12 bites)
1/2 cup of tahini
2 tbsp of raw honey
2 tsps of coconut oil
1/2 cup of raw cacao
1 cup of oats
DIRECTIONS:
1. Melt tahini, honey and oil in microwave for 25 seconds
2. Remove and stir in cacao until mixed well
3. Mix in oats well the form into bite size balls and let them harden in the fridge for an hour or until ready to eat .
Tahini
If you are not sure what tahini is, it’s sesame seed butter which is what is used to make hummus. It’s also great as a dressing/sauce for salads and Buddha bowls. See below for my favorite salad dressing to make with it. I buy mine at Trader Joe’s since it can be expensive.
Favorite Salad
This next meal is my new favorite salad which is great for lunch or dinner and can all be prepped ahead of time.
A lil prep work goes a long way.
I washed and cut my lettuce ahead of time using my salad spinner and stored it in the fridge for up to a week.
I also made homemade dressing and croutons for the week.
Homemade Croutons
Preheat oven at 350 F degrees
Cut a few slices of bread into cubes. (I used sourdough bread but I also love Trader Joe’s sprouted multi-grain bread or Ezekiel’s)
Lay bread prices on a baking pan, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, olive oil (enough to evenly coat the bread).
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until crispy/browned to your liking.
Homemade Dressing
Mix equal parts (about two tablespoons each) of Tahini + Djon or German mustard + EVOO until well combined. Dilute with a little water if too thick. That’s it!!
Favorite Veggie Burger
For my protein I top my salads with pan-seared chicken (seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked on a non-stick pan with a little coconut or avocado oil) or Hillary’s Veggie Burger — which in my opinion, are the best store-bought veggie burgers because of their minimal ingredients.
Favorite Pasta Dinner
My next (and last one for this post) favorite simple weeknight meal is also a favorite of my husband’s. It’s a Chicken Sausage and Mushroom Pasta Dinner.
This dish can be thrown together in less than 20 minutes.
What you’ll need:
- Good quality chicken sausage– I used Nature’s Promise (Stop and Shop’s organic brand) Spicy Italian
- Baby organic spinach
- Pre-sliced mushrooms
- Pasta
- EVOO or avocado oil
Recipe:
(Makes 2 large portions)
10 ounces of sliced mushrooms
8 ounces of pasta (I used Trader Joe’s gluten-free brown rice & quinoa fusilli)–my favorite pasta (btw).
3 nitrate-free chicken sausages
1 cup of baby organic spinach
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
2 teaspoons of avocado oil
2 teaspoons of EVOO
Directions
Start by boiling water with a pinch of sea salt
While water boils, heat a pan to medium heat with 2 teaspoons of avocado oil
Remove your chicken sausage from its casing with your hands, breaking it into pieces and add it to your pan. If no casings then slice your sausage instead.
Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage starts to brown. Once it’s almost fully cooked (with a little pink left) add in your sliced and washed mushrooms with sea salt to the pan and cook while stirring occasionally on medium-to-low heat for about 5 minutes.
While mushroom is cooking, add pasta to boiling water and cook based on directions
Reduce pan to a simmer and add in baby spinach and EVOO, stirring until wilted.
Drain pasta once cooked and add to the same pan and toss.
Optional, serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
Xoxo
Marisa
What are some of your favorite easy weeknight meals?
