Superfoods are nutrient packed, disease fighting, body energizing foods that are great for you, and believe it or not, can actually taste great, too.

I typically like to meal prep on Sundays, but Monday happened to be President’s Day so I was already off work  have AND it also snowed, which always makes me want to cook and/or bake. So, I did!

As i mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been focusing more on nutrition and eating more mindfully, and few things make me feel better than prepping healthy, nutritious meals to set me up for success for the week.

[I also do my best not to keep junk in the house. If it’s not there, you can’t eat it, right??] side note: this can be hard with a teen and *tween* as J has dubbed himself. I try to keep all “their” food in it’s own place in the pantry, and try not to be tempted by it. 🙂

Today, I hard boiled eggs for the week- I usually eat two every morning for breakfast. I allow the water to boil with them already in the pot, and I’ve found that boiling  for 10 minutes allows them to turn out just how I like them. They’re quick, healthy, and I can eat them on my drive to work.

I had a half bag of kale that I needed to use up, and I could use some crunch in my life

Kale Chips

• 1 bag Kale leaves, cleaned and chopped
• Olive Oil
• Juice of 1 lemon(use a real lemon, it makes a big difference)
• Sea Salt & Pepper
• Garlic Powder

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray
3. If needed, wash and dry kale. Arrange leaves in an even layer (try not to overlap or they won’t crisp up as well)
4. Drizzle with Olive oil . (I had an awesome lemon infused Olive Oil that tasted awesome!)
5. Sprinkle with seat salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.
6. Roast at 425 for about 10 minutes, or until crispy and lightly browned.

Voila! Crispy, yummy super snack you don’t have to feel guilty about crunching on.

Since I already had the oven going, I decided to roast some sweet potatoes at the same time. I pick up a bag of these at Trader Joes for less than $2 almost everytime I’m there. They’re healthy, cheap, filling, and versatile. You really can’t go wrong with sweet potatoes.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Garlic

• 1 bag Sweet Potatoes cleaned, peeled and sliced thin.
• Olive Oil
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, sliced thin
• Sea Salt, Pepper and Paprika to taste.

1. With the oven at 425, spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray
2. Toss cut sweet potatoes in a bowl with olive oil, garlic, sea salt, pepper, and paprika to taste.
3. Arrange coated sweet potatoes in a single layer on baking sheet.
4. Roast at 425 for 18-20 minutes or until crispy and lightly browned.

 

AND last but not least…

Tex-Mex Salmon with Lime and Cilantro

• 2 (wild caught, if possible) salmon fillets.
• 1 Lime
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 handful, cilantro, chopped
• Cast Iron skillet or grill pan if you have it (I prefer these because they give you those pretty grill marks!

1. Lightly coat pan with nonstick spray and heat pan on medium until warm.
2. Season both sides of salmon with taco seasoning.
3. Place salmon skin side down in warm pan.
4. Juice one lime over salmon
5. Cook each side 3-4 minutes.
6. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a slice of lime.

 

I also cooked up a cup of Tricolor Quinoa (also from TJ’s) according to the package directions. This was ready in about 15 minutes and was nearly impossible to mess up. I Quinoa is another superfood and is considered a complete protein, meaning it has all nine amino acids we need. Quinoa also gives me another starch combination so I can have a bit more variety in my meals for the week.

I mix and match the above items, and preportion into Tupperware, sans BPAs, please and I’m good to go. I swear the extra ten minutes of sleep I get every morning are worth all the prep it takes.

Happy Eating 🙂