Hi peeps! 

Can you believe next week is Easter? Because of that, our meal plan is a little short. But I've given you a few extra options for the weekend :) 

A few people asked where I grocery shop -- 

I use Safeway Drive up and Go and for meat and produce, I use Amazon Whole Foods! 

Here's this weeks meal plan!

• Sunday: Lamb Bolognese 
  
• Monday: Chopped Buffalo Chicken Salad
• Tuesday: Turkey Curry Lettuce Cups
• Wednesday: Chicken Piccata + Little Gem Salad
• Thursday: Chili 
• Friday: Chrissy Teigens Kings Hawaiian Mini Cubano Sandwiches
• Saturday: Takeout! 

 Another week, another meal plan. 

Did you meal plan last week? Did it help start your week off easier? 

What are you making this week? 

• Sunday: Salmon, red potatoes & side salad
• Monday: Slow cooker chicken tacos
• Tuesday: Chopped Salad
• Wednesday: Chicken Shawarma
• Thursday: We have a date night - so treat yourself! It's doordash night! 
• Friday: Jalapeno grilled cheese 
• Saturday: Cajun chicken Pasta

 My goal with weekly meal plans is to help give you guys a week of recipes with the shopping lists to go with it. I want to give you ideas for meals that even if you don't go with my specific recipe, you know a recipe you can use.

Example - if I say fajitas, you don't necessarily have to use my recipe, but you have an idea for dinner. 

Use this as a guide. 

One of the comments I get most, is that people cannot believe I cook every night. Let me set the record straight - I cook Sunday - Wednesday and then usually 1 weekend meal. But with that being said, I meal plan every single Saturday, with grocery delivery and/or pickup on Sunday. 

I realized, as a working mom, that if I don't do this before Monday, it'll never get done and then we'll be scrambling every night of the week. The best part about meal planning, I have food and meal ideas for the week. If on Monday, I decide to cook Tuesday's meal, then great! At least I know I have all the ingredients ready for whatever meal I've planned for. 

Keep in mind, because I'm home on Sunday, I usually pick a "bigger" meal for Sundays. Aka - meals with more prep, because I have the time. My weekday meals are usually a little simpler. 

Here's your meal plan and shopping list for the week. 

• Sunday: Home made chicken noodle soup with cheese bread
• Monday: Beef tostadas (the recipe I'm using calls for chicken, but I wanted beef)
• Tuesday: Strozzapreti with Spinach and Preserved Lemon (pasta! sounds fancier than it is!)
• Wednesday: Chicken Quesadillas (recipe below!)
• Thursday: Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai
• Friday: Treat yourself, it's time to order out! Friday is our pizza nights! 
• Saturday: BLTs - try them with some chipotle mayo, so delish! 

• So many choices - paleo, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, all the meat, pasta. Whatever you want.  
• No subscriptions - this is my favorite part. You can order a meal. You don't have to spend your lifesavings on meals you may or may not like. 
• Delicious food - This is always hit or miss for me when it comes to meal subscription boxes. But not with Chef'd. I was honestly so surprised at how amazing the food was! It was so dang delicious. 

Happy Monday friends! Cheers to good food we didn't have to prep.

 Please know I am not a doctor. I cannot tell you what the best thing for you is. But this works for me. It's a great re-start after eating like crap for months. I usually incorporate certain rules when I start super clean eating. Keep in mind, if you're doing hard workouts or extra long days you may need to modify this. You don't want to starve your body. Clean eating doesn't mean no eating. 

1. Choose Fresh Foods over Refined Foods. You'll see in these recipes that everything is fresh. 
2. Stock Up on Protein. This is where you'll get your energy. I usually stay away from red meat and stick to fish and chicken. 
3. Stop eating sugar. 
4. Feed yourself. 5 small meals during the day rather then one large dinner or breakfast. 
5. Don't Drink Your Calories. I'm talking to me here. No booze, no pop, no coffee, just stick to water. I usually give up coffee when I first start and drink green tea but usually get back to black coffee later. 
6. Listen to your body. You may find yourself a little hungry since you are regulating meals, but if you go on a 10 mile run and are starving, you gotta eat. Just keep it clean.
7. Cook with a friend/spouse. The key to success with this is prepping your meals and snacks. Life is so busy during the week, don't make it harder by not being prepared. Also, if you've prepared everything, it makes it easier to stick to your meal plan.

Dinner:
• 1 serving of salmon with avocado salsa

Happy eating friends! I hope this meal plan helps get you back on track to healthy and delicious eating!

• Flank steak - Get the good stuff or else it's chewy. I recommend Whole Foods 
• Handful of arugula 
• Handful of Raspberries
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds 
• 1/2 cup goat cheese
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms 

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• drop of anchovy paste
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. Wait until the oil is very hot, it will be shimmering. 
2. Add the steak to the pan, do not touch it. Cook for 3 minutes, flip, and cook for another 3 minutes. 
3. Transfer the steak to a plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting into strips.
4. While the steak rests, combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. 
5. Shake together all vinaigrette ingredients in a small shaker, then pour over the salad and toss to coat evenly. 

• Really good sausage
• 1 sweet potato, diced
• 1 onion, either diced or cut into circles
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• handful of mushrooms
• 4 eggs (or if you have a hungry husband, 6) 
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Start here if you used pre-cooked sausage. Add sweet potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes. This will vary on how thick your pieces are. 
2. Add the onions and bell peppers. Cook for about 5 minutes or until tender. (If you are using pre-cooked sausage, add it in now to heat up).
3. Add the sausage back in. Stir. Add in the mushrooms and the seasoning. Cook until tender. 
4. Now the egg, you can do this multiple ways. I break all my eggs in a bowl, mix them and then pour them into the pot with everything. Some people like them separate. So use a separate saute pan, make your scrambled eggs and then mix. 
5. I hate doing dishes, so I prefer the one-pot method. It does take a little longer for the eggs to cook since there isn't as much pan. 
6. Top with a little sriracha or if not-paleo, cheese! 
7. Enjoy! 

Spicy Chicken Soup: Sometimes it's time to call in the big guns and get out the crock pot. Throw some ingredients in, scoop it out 8 hours later and voila! The best part about this one, it makes leftovers, it's healthy and the avocado crema I make with it is the best ever.

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno, diced (leave the seeds if you want the spice)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (big) jar of diced green chilis
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• juice of 1 lime (or 2) 
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (leave out if less spice) 

How to Make: 

1. Put everything in the crock pot. 
2. Low = 8 hours; high = 4 hours. 
3. Shred chicken. Top with goodies, Enjoy!
4. I topped ours with the avocado crema I made Monday! 

Spicy Shrimp + Sweet Potatoes: I know what you're thinking, gross. I agree, it is a semi-weird combo, but please trust me on this. It is insanely good. Adam requests it. That is saying a lot considering he hates sweet potatoes. Something about the sweet of the potato and the spicy of the shrimp. It's delish!

Ingredients:
Shrimp: 

• 1 pound shrimp
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Avocado Crema

• 1 avocado
• 2 tablespoons almond milk
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• red pepper flakes for garnish

Sweet Po's

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• salt and pepper
• olive oil 

How to Make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Wash sweet potatoes. Rub with olive oil, salt and pepper. Poke holes in the top. 
3. Place sweet po's in the oven for 45 minutes or until soft. 
4. While sweet po's are cooking, make the crema. Combine all ingredients (minus the red pepper flakes) in a blender and blend until creamy. 
5. In a bowl, combine shrimp and all the spices. 
6. Heat a cast iron with 1 tablespoon oil and add shrimp. Cook until opaque. 
7. When sweet pos are done, carefully scoop out insides until a thin layer of flesh remains. 
8. Load up with shrimp, top with crema and devour. 

Dessert: Paleo Donuts. Just do it.

Saturday? My suggestion, go out and treat yo'self. You worked hard this week. It's time for someone else to do the cooking.

There ya go peeps. Everything I'm making this week. I hope your Monday is going fast!