Outfit Details: Leith Ruffle Sleeve Sweater
Woohoo! We made it to Week 2 of the BTD Meal Plan! I am so excited to share these meals with ya’ll because they are SO SO yummy. Last week we focused on eggs as a protein choice and found different ways to incorporate them into meals. This week we are featuring winter fruits into every meals as a way of combining sweet and savory. It was so fun trying to find different ways to incorporate apples and pears and I was surprised by all the variations we were able to find. I hope you enjoy this weeks meal plan and let me know if you find other ways to use fruit! I’d love to hear your feedback!
Winter Rotisserie Chicken Salad
Serving Size: 1 cup; Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 3 cups pulled rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup halved red seedless grapes
- 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt (regular or Greek is fine)
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts (drained & rinsed)
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1 1/2 cup diced celery (about 3 stalks)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt + more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper + more to taste
- 1 slice whole grain bread (if desired for an open face chicken salad sandwich)
- 1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves
Directions:
- Add the walnuts to a small skillet and turn the heat to medium. Cook the walnuts in the skillet for about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until toasted (you will know they are done when the nuts start to brown, you can smell the nuttiness of the walnuts, and the oil from the nuts begins to be released into the pan).
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, Dijon mustard, salt & pepper.
- In a large bowl combine the pulled chicken and the yogurt – mustard mixture, mixing well to combine.
- Add the red grapes, water chestnuts and celery to the chicken mixture and toss gently to incorporate all ingredients.
- Add the toasted walnuts to the mix and gently mix them into the chicken salad.
Roasting the celery adds a fun twist and brings out a lot of flavor in the chicken salad. However, if you don’t have time for roasting, raw celery works well also.
Also – if this is your first meal to make for the week, we recommend roasting a big batch of walnuts at this time, instead of just what this recipe calls for, so that you can use them throughout the week and not have to roast them each time.
Roasted Apple Walnut Salad
Serves 1
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups spinach (I removed the arugula part here)
- 1/2 cup diced apples
- 2 tablespoons toasted walnuts
- 1/2 cup large white beans
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinaigrette
- 1 1/2 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
Ingredients for Champagne Vinaigrette (Adapted from Ina Garten):
Serves 6 – 8 but you can store in the refrigerator to use throughout the week
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
- 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup good olive oil
NOTE: We love the Champagne Vinaigrette for this salad, but if you can not get all of the ingredients for this, the Balsamic vinaigrette from last week will work as well.
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a small mixing bowl or a salad emulsifier, whisk together all Vinaigrette ingredients. Set aside for later use.
- Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small mixing bowl toss the diced apples with the 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice and spread on the lined baking sheet. Place in preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until apples have softened.
- While apples are roasting, place walnuts in a small skillet over medium heat. Toast walnuts by allowing them to cook in the skillet about 5 minutes, stirring fairly frequently so the nuts do not burn. You will begin to smell the nuttiness of the walnuts as they begin to toast and release their oils (no oil is needed in the skillet to toast these because there is already so much oil in the nuts!). Once walnuts have toasted, remove from the burner and allow to cool.
- To assemble the salad:
- Place 2 1/2 cups of spinach onto a dinner plate.
- Top the spinach with the diced apples, followed by the white beans, the toasted walnuts, a drizzle of the champagne vinaigrette, and the crumbled goat cheese.
- Enjoy!
Note: Pick a one or two items to pair with the salad such as hearty whole – grain bread with a mix of good olive oil & balsamic vinegar as a dipping sauce, Greek yogurt, a cup of soup, or you favorite granola bar, if desired.
Simple Citrus Salmon with Orange Balsamic Sweet Potatoes
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- Two 5-ounce salmon filets
- 5 cups diced sweet potatoes (about 2 – 3 sweet potatoes)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice (from 2 large navel oranges)
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
- salt & pepper
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
- 1 – 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, balsamic vinegar, honey, 1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the diced sweet potatoes with HALF of the orange – balsamic mixture.
- Spread sweet potatoes out on a roasting pan and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, stirring half-way (at about 15 minutes) to make sure all sides roasting evenly.
- While potatoes are roasting, lay the two salmon filets on a small baking sheet, skin side down. Top each filet with about 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.
- Once potatoes are done remove from oven and add back to the large mixing bowl they were in originally and pour the REMAINING orange juice mixture over potatoes. Mix ingredients well and set aside.
- To your already preheated oven, add the salmon filets, cooking for about 15 minutes or until desired doneness (general rule is about 10 minutes for every inch thickness).
- While salmon is roasting, add the chopped walnuts to a small skillet and heat to medium heat. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently until toasted. Once done, allow to cool slightly and then add to the sweet potatoes along with the pomegranate seeds. Mix well to combine all ingredients.
- Once salmon is done, remove from oven and squeeze lemon juice over the top.
- Add a salmon filet, 1 cup orange – balsamic sweet potatoes, and 1/2 cup fresh spinach to your dinner plate. Serve salmon filet with an extra lemon or orange wedge, drizzle the spinach with olive oil and a sprinkle of Parmesan and enjoy!
Chicken Apple Panini
Makes 1 sandwich; Serves 1
Ingredients:
- 2 slices hearty whole grain bread
- 2 tablespoons stone ground Dijon mustard
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup pulled rotisserie chicken
- 1/4 cup fresh spinach
- 3 – 4 thin slices of apple (cut about 1/4 inch thick)
- 2 slices provolone cheese
- 1/2 cup carrot sticks
- 1/4 cup hummus (for carrots)
Directions:
- Spread one slice of bread with one tablespoon Dijon mustard.
- Top the spread with the chicken, followed by the spinach leaves, apples slices and then the provolone cheese.
- Spread the second slice of bread with the second tablespoon of Dijon mustard and place it, spread-side down onto the top of the cheese to complete the sandwich.
- Grease a medium skillet with 2 teaspoons of butter (or can use olive oil if desired) and heat to medium heat.
- Place the sandwich in the heated skillet, placing another heavy pan on top of the sandwich to press it down while cooking. After about 5 minutes, flip the sandwich, pressing the other side. Cook sandwich until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melty and warm. Alternately – use a panini press to keep this even simpler!
- Serve with carrot sticks and hummus and enjoy!
Fig, Pear & Brie Panini + Chunky Tomato Bisque Soup
Makes 1 sandwich
Serve with a cup of Amy’s Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque Soup
Note: you want your pears fairly firm here so that they can withstand the heat and press of the panini!
Also – you only use a little of the fig preserves here. However, keep it handy so that you can add to a peanut butter sandwich, morning toast, brie as an appetizer for guests, or put a tad in your oatmeal in the morning to add a little sweetness and a fruity component.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup sliced pears (about 1/8 inch thick)
- 1 tablespoon fresh fig preserves
- 1/4 cup sliced brie cheese OR 2 tablespoons
- 1/4 cup fresh spinach leaves
- 2 slices hearty whole grain bread
- 1 cup Amy’s organic chunky tomato bisque soup
Directions:
- Spread one slice of the bread with 1 tablespoon fresh fig preserves.
- Top with spinach leaves.
- Tope spinach with pear slices.
- Top pear slices with sliced brie (about 3 slices) OR spread second piece of bread with the brie spread.
- Grease a medium skillet with about 2 teaspoons of butter or olive oil and heat over medium heat.
- Place sandwich in heated skillet, placing another heavy pan on top of sandwich to press it down while cooking. After about 4 minutes, flip the sandwich, pressing the other side. Cook sandwich until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melty and warm.
- Serve with warm tomato soup and enjoy!