Good morning! We had a really fun weekend filled with family + LOTS of food + a little staycation at the beautiful Viceroy in Chicago. We started our Monday with a cup of coffee in bed and ANOTHER meal out. Does anyone else say, “I am going to start eating healthy tomorrow” over and over again? Well, I am serious and we aren’t starting tomorrow, we are starting TODAY, right after one final brunch ;).
We have really been on an unhealthy food bender. We have had lots of visitors in town, which means lots of meals out. And it is starting to add up and I am not feeling like I am at my best. Heavy, unhealthy food really starts to weigh on me after a while. So we are lightening things up this week. If you’re feeling like you’re not at your best either, pour yourself a big coffee, sit down and write a meal plan you can actually stick to!
Even when we try to eat healthy + lighter meals, sometimes I crave one of those traditionally unhealthy meals. Like one of my all-time favs, chicken salad! I started making this “healthier” chicken salad for bb, but ended up loving it myself and 100% switching over. It’s easy, healthy and packed with nutrients!
Here’s how you make it:
AVOCADO CHICKEN SALAD
Ingredients:
1-2 avocado (depending on how creamy you like your chicken salad)
3 chicken breasts
1 cup grapes cut into 1/4ths
1/4 cup sliced scallions
1/4 cup diced red onion
salt + pepper + celery salt to taste
lemon
Instructions:
(1) boil, grill or bake your chicken breasts. Boiled is the healthiest version, but I usually do mine baked with a tiny bit of olive oil and salt + pepper…if you are crunched for time, grab an organic, no-hormone rotisserie chicken. Once chicken is cooked, shred chicken.
(2) smash one avocado into the bottom of a large mixing bowl. season with salt + pepper
(3) stir in chicken, scallions, red onion, and celery salt
(4) squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the chicken salad (this helps the avocado stay fresh if you want to eat it for leftovers and adds a nice summery flavor) if you’re not a fan of lemon, you can skip this step
(5) serve over a bed of arugula + spinach
Here is our light + healthy meal plan for this week! I have talked about intermittent fasting before (post here) but we are trying to stretch our usual 12 hour fast a little longer lately. In full disclosure, this is SO hard to do and maintain a social life. How are you supposed to cut off eating and wine at 6pm and still enjoy a date night or dinner with your girl friends? We are not super strict to the point where we skip those fun social events. But when we are at home, we are stretching our fasting hours longer. 11-5 is the goal (we eat dinner REALLY early). I don’t always make it to 11. I get really hungry some mornings and don’t like to feel light-headed. If I break my fast before 11, it is always with a light smoothie.
BREAKFAST
smoothies
frozen mango + pineapple, spinach, coconut water, flax seed, vital proteins
frozen berries, kale, coconut water, chia seeds, vital proteins
LUNCH
since we are skipping breakfast lately for an early lunch, we have been doing a lot of egg based lunches
avocado “toast” without the toast (avocado + lemon juice + egg + chives + red pepper flakes)
vegetarian chili + eggs + red onion + scallions (I make a big batch of vegetarian chili and freeze it in smaller containers that I take out one by one the night before)
DINNER
to accommodate earlier dinners, everything is really easy
avocado chicken salad + spinach and arugula
salmon tacos in lettuce wraps (we use THIS whole 30 blackened salmon recipe but substitute lettuce tacos for the rice)
leftover salmon + homemade caesar salad (my go to caesar salad dressing here)
GROCERY LIST
avocados
red onion
scallions
grapes
lemon
lime
garlic
chives
spinach + arugula
iceberg lettuce
escarole
cabbage
salmon
chicken breasts
eggs
can of chipotle in adobo + mayo (chipotle aioli for salmon tacos)
ALREADY HAVE
vegetarian chili – tomato juice, can of black beans, kidney beans + chili beans, onion, chili powder
blackening seasoning – cayenne pepper, chili powder, paprika, garlic salt
anchovy paste
mayo
olive oil