Recipe

Paleo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I’m always trying to mix up our meal prep because chicken, tilapia, and veggies on repeat is just… ugh. So, a few weeks ago when we were invited to a paleo potluck, I jumped on the chance to try something new – making P.F. Chang’s-style lettuce wraps more macro-friendly.

I started with Cave Girl Cuisine’s P.F. Paleo Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe and added a few extra ingredients for more flavor + volume {=macro goodness}. The result was so good that we’ve already made it two more times since! The macros for one serving came out to 5f / 15c / 26p for two decently sized wraps with 4oz ground chicken.

Egg White Bake

Let’s be honest. We don’t always have time in the morning to whip up a healthy breakfast, and even on the mornings we do, it may not be top of our priority list. Enter this healthy, hearty egg bake. It packs a HUGE protein punch, and is a great way to use up those spare stir fry or fajita night veggies. Split an entire casserole dish into 4 servings for a breakfast that reheats well {break a slice into 3-4 smaller sections and microwave for 1-2 min, then if you’re like me, smother in hot sauce}. Made per below, it’s only 4f/6c/18p per serving!

Want to mix it up a bit? Swap the ham for turkey sausage or crumbled bacon. Add in spinach and tomatoes and swap the cheddar for mozzarella for a little mediterranean flavor. Mix in some cottage cheese for extra fluffy eggs and even more protein.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

All this hot and cold weather has me craving Mexican food, totally unsure why. But, flour enchiladas filled with fatty ground beef and dripping with cheese would likely not sit well these days, so I went searching for an alternative that met my cravings without sacrificing dozens of those precious fat grams.

The result: Chicken enchilada casserole. I got the idea from Gimme Some Oven, one of my favorite recipe sites. Unfortunately, 3 cups of cheese still wasn’t gonna do it for me. I swapped the full fat cheddar for reduced fat, cut the amount in half, and loaded up the dish with extra veggies. The result? A HUGE hearty slice of casserole with plenty of kick at just 9f/37c/26p per slice {that’s just 333 calories for you non-macro counting folks}.

Leftover Soup

One of our goals for this year {I stray from using the word “resolution” – more on that another time} was to cook more at home. With our hectic travel schedules and late nights at the office, it became all too easy to pick up Chipotle or pre-made meals from Central Market on the way home. The food was healthy enough, but our sodium intake was soaring and not having food in the house when we were home led us to rely a little too heavily on sugary snacks and protein bars on the weekend.

The one downside of all that cooking – we inevitably have some leftover vegetables in the fridge, canned goods that we accidentally bought two of, and meat in the freezer that we keep forgetting is there. Enter leftover soup. It’s a standard base made of things we typically have in the pantry, mixed with extras from meals earlier that week. Each ladle {I ate 2 per meal} was 3f/17c/12p for our version, which included added veggies and pasta.

Easy Breakfast Options

When I first started tracking macros last July, I ate the same meals. Every. Single. Day. It can really wear on you, and isn’t the whole point of flexible dieting the freedom to mix it up?! Knowing what to swap for what is difficult, though.

Thankfully, some of my fellow Grit Girls have let me into their daily diaries as input to a little data mining/programming project I’m working on {more to come on that}. Armed with data about what a lot of girls tend to eat in the morning, I’ve compiled a sampling of delicious, easy breakfast ideas. They’ve been modified to all hit similar macros targets, enabling easy swaps from one day to the next without jeopardizing the numbers you have saved up for other meals.

Greek Pasta Salad

Summer is almost over {I know it’s past Labor Day, but temps are still 90+ in Dallas}, and I’m still trying to squeeze in a few last rounds of my favorite warm weather recipes before everything swaps to stew, soup, and pumpkin. A few weekends ago I whipped up one of my favorites for a…

Semi-Homemade Protein Pudding

This girl’s always looking for new protein packed snacks I can grab on the go – and this super easy, 5 minute protein pudding in a jar may be my new favorite! {No lies – I’ve brought a Tupperware and pudding mix on trips with me to make this in my hotel room with skim…

Zucchini Lasagna

In my pre-fit girl life, I loved me some pasta. Now, I’d rather eat a waffle for those carbs – but the craving sometimes comes back. The fix? Zucchini lasagna, complete with all the gooey cheese and rich meat of the pasta version, but none of the guilt (extra points for the serious protein macros…

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Sunday night, I was seriously craving comfort food – specifically something filled with cheese and pasta. Yum. But, lots of cheese and pasta means no Oreos to cap off my nights, and let’s be honest – that’s not an option. So, I set about finding a happy medium. The result: a super flexible, mix-to-your-macros cajun…

Mexican Quinoa Casserole

This post was originally published in March 2015, and was updated to modify a few changes I’ve made to the recipe and add new photos. This post has been moved. Find the new post HERE.

Mediterranean-Themed Meal Prep

I don’t know how you feel about it, but eating the same thing day after day gets old. I always try to mix up my meal prep to vary my options from day-to-day without expanding my grocery shopping budget. Enter themed lunches. This week, we’re going Mediterranean after I fell in love with these Joseph’s Middle East…