Sunday Meal Planning: Crock Pot Fajita Chicken

Marisa here!

It’s Sunday afternoon, which in my world means it is time to make sure my fridge is packed with easy to grab breakfasts and lunches for the week. I’m constantly on the look out for ways to make eating whole a whole lot easier, and I thought I’d share a few of my current favorite go-to meals.

Breakfasts:

If I am being honest, my weekday breakfasts often consist of hard boiled eggs (I make a bunch on Sundays, peel them using this life altering hack and keep them in a container in the fridge), hot sauce (we are Louisiana hot sauce fans in this house), and a bag of veggies (often carrots, but sometimes I feel fancy and throw in peppers instead). I live a glamorous life, I know.

You want the big bottle of this stuff. Promise.

This week, though, I decided to make Marissa’s breakfast casserole, made with spiralized sweet potato (or shredded sweet potato, if you are like me and have a wimpy spiralizer), breakfast sausage, onions, and eggs. This casserole is life changing, and it keeps really well in the fridge, making easy breakfasts all week. Full recipe coming soon!

I am also making a batch of chia pudding as a mid-morning snack, because chia pudding is delish and full of all sorts of healthy fats and anti-oxidants. Check out my Ode to Chia Pudding for recipes!

Lunches:

Lunches often consist of leftovers from the night before – I always try to make extra of whatever protein I am cooking each night. Right now, I have leftover lemon-garlic chicken just waiting for my Monday lunch box as an easy salad topping.

To avoid surviving solely on left-overs and hard boiled eggs, I always try to make at least one or two dishes each weekend that I can eat throughout the week. This week, I decided to break out my trusty old crock pot (I inherited mine from my mom when I moved to Mississippi – it is pretty ugly and is missing a handle but it works like a charm!) for fajita chicken, which I’ll use in wraps and on salads all week. This recipe could not be any easier or delicious, so I’m sharing it with you!

Frozen veggies aren’t cute but they are cheap and they cut down on prep work!

• 1 lb chicken breast, cubed
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 1 bag frozen peppers and onions (or just 2 cups of fresh chopped bell peppers)
• 1-3 c frozen kale or other veggies if you want to sneak extra veg. into your diet
• 1-2 c organic, sugar free chicken stock
• 1 tbs garlic salt (more or less to taste)
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper (more or less to taste)
• 1 tsp red pepper (more or less to taste)
• 1 tsp cumin (more or less to taste)

Brown the chicken and the onions in a frying pan (or skip this step, you’ll lose a bit of flavor, but you’ll save on time and dishes. #priorities).

At this stage, if you are like me, you’ll be tempted to just eat the chicken and the onions because they look so deliciously caramelized. Hold out, though, my friend, because greatness is coming your way.

Next, pile on all the veggies, add your spices, cover with a little bit of chicken stock, give it a stir and let everything cook away in the crock pot on high for a good 4 hours. You’ll know things are ready when the chicken shreds easily with a fork.

LOOKS. SO. GOOD.

When everything has become all wonderfully entangled, serve this mixture over salads, in lettuce wraps, or as a stew. You could also dip plantain or sweet potato chips in this if you are feeling fancy, or make some of Against All Grain’s grain-free wraps for a burrito. #nom

Whatever you make, top it with avocado, fresh cilantro, hot sauce or salsa, lime juice, and possibly some salt or pepper and enjoy!

An Ode to Chia Pudding

MM here! As I was preparing meals for the week, I was really missing my old breakfast standby of overnight oats, so I decided to make some chia pudding for breakfast tomorrow.

What are chia seeds?

Chia seeds are tiny edible seeds that come from a plant in the mint family that is traditionally grown in Mexico. Chia seeds have gained a lot of popularity in recent years because they are so full of Omega-3 fatty acids, protein, fiber and anti-oxidants (you can read more about chia seeds from the experts over at WebMD). Chia seeds are not something I eat everyday, but I definitely enjoy a great chia pudding with breakfast now and again!

In the Mississippi Delta (and other such places), where do you get chia seeds?

When I first started buying chia seeds, I really had to hunt to find them and when I did find them somewhere, I would stock up. I had the best luck in the exotic foods aisle of TJ Maxx, and barring that I would buy from Amazon or sneak off to Whole Foods when my work trips would bring me to a big city. In the past six months, though, our local Kroger has beefed up their natural foods aisle and has started carrying chia seeds, which is wonderful (though sometimes I still buy my chia seeds at the TJ Maxx just out of loyalty).

Why would I want to eat this?

If you are new to chia seed pudding, don’t freak out and stay with me! Chia pudding has a texture sort of like tapioca and takes on the flavor of whatever you put in it. I usually make mine with vanilla extract, coconut milk and mango, which is pretty magical. Eating chia pudding is a fairly similar experience to eating one of those vanilla pudding cups that used to come in your school lunches in elementary school, but with zero chemicals and all the healthy sources of energy.

So, how do you make this magical pudding?

There are lots of recipes out there for chia pudding and if you are like me, you might feel a little bit overwhelmed as you try to sift through them all to find one that will be simple, Whole 30 compliant and still delicious. After some reading and some experimenting, I have learned that all chia puddings follow the same basic formula:

2 cups of liquid + 1/4 cup of chia seeds + flavor + time = magic

You can double that recipe, or halve it, but you have to keep the 4 parts liquid to 1 parts chia seed ratio right or you end up with not magic. VERY not magic.

A note on time: All of these recipes require at least an hour in the fridge for the magic to happen. I like to make mine on Sunday evenings and then it is ready to rumble the next morning when I have a case of the Mondays and am in need of a pick me up.

My favorite combinations:

I pretty much always make the same base:

2 c. coconut milk + 1/4 c chia seeds + 1 tsp vanilla extract

And then I mix in whatever sounds most appealing the next day: frozen mango; banana; sliced apples and cinnamon; pecans; shredded coconut; almond butter; coconut manna. THERE ARE SO MANY CHOICES. You really can’t go wrong, as long as you get that ratio right!

Doesn’t that look delish??

In The Beginning

We are just finishing up our first Whole30, and after spending the past month eating only healthy, whole foods, we are converts to the grain-free, dairy-free, additive-free Paleo lifestyle. At the same time, as busy young professionals, living in rural Mississippi, living whole isn’t always easy. We are writing this blog in hopes of making whole living more accessible for others. We believe that whole living needs to be delicious. It needs to be affordable. It needs to be easy to understand and convenient and not intimidating or exclusive. Whole living is for all. 

Who We Are:

Two Maris(s)as: We started out as co-workers. We had the same name, the same job title, and the same zodiac sign (our birthdays are two days apart, is life not wonderful??). We later found out that we share a middle name (also with different spellings) as well as a love for yoga and dogs and cooking and rainy day naps and writing letters by hand. We also share a passion for equity and education and doing what we can to make this world more just and well and fair.

What’s the Whole30?

The Whole 30 is a thirty day program where you only eat healthy fruits, vegetables, meats, and nuts. You specifically avoid all grains, all dairy, all added sugars, all sulfites and other additives, and all processed foods. The purpose of doing this is twofold: 1) by eating foods that are easy to digest and that our bodies are designed to consume, you are able to heal your gut and cut down on inflammation in the body and 2) by eliminating foods your body may be sensitive to, you are able to pinpoint how your body reacts to different foods. After the 30 days, you may choose to experiment with dairy or natural sugars to see how your body reacts. For more information, visit the Whole30 site here to learn more about the program guidelines, check out the awesome resources and community, and read about all the benefits of eliminating grains and added sugars.

Two Maris(s)as’ Food Philosophy and Guidelines:

Now that we have finished our first Whole 30, we are both transitioning to a set of guidelines that is a bit more lenient than what is required under the Whole 30. Here is the deal:

Marissa: Growing up food was the central element of every gathering. I learned tricks and tips about preparing tasty staples at an early age and loved picking raspberries from my dad’s backyard garden to use for pies on my imaginary one-woman cooking show. In my early college days, I had a number of vegetarian friends, and it was the first time I was aware of how central meat was to the meals I grew up eating. I started cooking mostly plant-based meals from college on and loved being inventive with veggies. My digestive system has always struggled with dairy and some gluten and I’ve often wondered about food intolerance. When MM proposed the Whole 30 challenge, I was instantly interested. The last month was the first time in years I’ve consistently added meat in my diet and have been able to completely stay off dairy. I noticed changes in my energy levels, skin and more. I don’t believe there is a right diet or lifestyle for any one person. I believe we all must be aware of our bodies and find what is right for our own health. These are the guidelines I hope to follow as I maintain a healthy lifestyle but I know that food has and will always be a celebration of life, people and place so I’ll be leaving wiggle room for those little joys.

• Largely whole 30 approved foods = aiming for about 75 percent of my diet to be whole veggies, fruits, and nuts. I plan to include fish and small portions of meat 1-3 times throughout the week.
• As a lover of baked goods, I’ll be experimenting with grain-free treats as much as possible allowing for honey and maple syrup.
• I’m continuing to slowly add dairy into my diet with awareness of which dairy is okay for my body. I plan to minimize processed grains in my diet as much as possible.

Marisa: I am a huge skeptic of fad diets, so I was a little leery of the Whole 30 at first, and the paleo label makes me cringe, but it is hard to be skeptical of a diet that simply encourages you to eat tons of fresh fruit and vegetables and humanely raised, additive-free meat, right? That same natural tendency towards skepticism comes out in full force when I see Paleo recipes that call for complicated ingredients like fermented cod liver oil. I really believe you should know what you are eating, where it came from and how it was made, as much as possible. At the same time, I’m working really hard to beat my sugar addiction and to find ways to make eating Whole quick, easy and affordable. With that in mind, here are my guidelines for myself and for the recipes I’ll post:

• For the most part, I plan to continue eating Whole 30 approved foods.
• I am particularly focused on making sure that most of my meals consist of proteins, healthy fats and non-starchy vegetables, though honey or maple syrup for baking is fine.
• I believe that food should be a joyful experience, so I am leaving room for occasional treats that are off plan, like wine, great cheese, or a croissant. Like all things in life, they should be consumed in moderation, though.