Our Favorite Go-To Meals

Hello and welcome back to another post in our FYLMealPrep series! We are grateful to have you follow along with us as we share our tips for fueling our bodies with nutritious food and having a little fun along the way!

In this post, we are sharing many of our go-to meals! We love to use cook books, Pinterest, and our favourite food bloggers when looking for inspiration. We hope you find some here as well!

Salads
The Best Shredded Kale Salad - Oh She Glows
Soba Noodle Salad - Oh She Glows
Thai Quinoa Salad - Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow
Chickpea Apple Broccoli Salad - Ambitious Kitchen
Tomato and Roasted Broccoli Quinoa Salad - The Dish on Healthy
Shredded Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad - Eating Bird Food

Veggie Lover’s Pasta Salad - Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow
      Ingredients

• ½ box penne or rotini pasta
• 1 head broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
• 4 cups baby spinach
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup crumbled feta
• ½ cup Kalamata olives

      Dressing

• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ⅓ cup lemon juice
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tsp miso paste
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper

      Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. In the last 2 minutes of cooking, add the broccoli to the pot. Place in a colander, rinse under cold water until chilled and drain thoroughly.
2. In an extra-large salad bowl, combine the pasta, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, chickpeas, feta and olives. Mix ingredients for dressing together. Add dressing to bowl and toss to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or until ready to serve. Leftovers will keep for up to 3 days.

One Pot/Dish

Black Bean and Avocado Enchiladas - Budget Bytes
Sheet Pan Garlic Ginger Chicken - Pinch of Yum
Easy and Healthy Pad Thai - Nutrition in the Kitch
Sweet Potato Peanut Soup - Veggie Lexi
Butternut Squash Turkey and Lentil Chili - Tone it Up
White Chicken Chili - Add a Pinch
Slow Cooker Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps - The Comfort of Cooking
Best Damn Vegan Lasagna - Pass the Plants
Vegan Ginger Beef - To Die For
Cheesy Spaghetti Squash - Minimalist Baker
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas with Avocado Cream Sauce - Oh She Glows
Stir Fry

• Cook protein of choice. Add vegetables of choice. Serve with soy sauce, tamari, flavoured vinegar, or other favourite sauce over a bed of rice or quinoa.

Buddha Bowls
We love buddha bowls for our families. They provide opportunities for everyone to find something to eat and each person can cater their bowl to their liking. It also allows you to continually expose your Littles to different food and encourages them to try new things. When we plan buddha bowls, we choose a protein source, a grain, veggies and a sauce. Mix and match to your heart’s desire or choose from some of our favorites below for inspiration. The options are honestly limitless. Add anything you think your family would enjoy and have some fun with what you create.

Protein	Grains	Veggies
Chicken Beef Turkey Tofu Fried eggs  Tempeh Beans and Chickpeas Shrimp Fish Edamame	Rice Quinoa Buckwheat Farro Bulgur	Avocado Cucumber Peppers (roasted or raw) Roasted Sweet Potatoes Spinach Kale (raw or chips) Zucchini (raw or roasted) Roasted Asparagus Carrots (shredded raw or roasted) Mushrooms Beets Cabbage Corn Tomatoes

Sauce
Sometimes we make elaborate sauces to tie everything together and sometimes we leave them plain. Sometimes though, we use flavoured balsamic vinegars as our sauce. Drizzle one and two overtop of your bowl and enjoy! We love light balsamics to keep meals light, like lemongrass, coconut, and honey ginger. We also love dark balsamics to deepen flavours and richness like Vermont maple, and dark fruit flavours (i.e. cherry, blackberry, raspberry).

If creating your own bowl seems daunting, check out some of our favourite recipes below for inspiration.
Tofu Edamame bowl with Cabbage and Carrot - Running on Real Food
BBQ Salmon bowls with Mango Salsa - Pinch of Yum
Sweet Potato Grain Bowl - Budget Bytes 
Crispy Miso Chickpea Bowls with Garlic Sesame Dressing - Minimalist Baker
Quick and Easy Falafel Salad with Tahini Lime Dressing - Turnip the Oven

Sauce inspiration
Spicy Peanut Sauce - An Oregon Cottage

Quick Ginger Garlic Miso Tahini Dressing - Minimalist Baker
Vegan Green Goddess Dressing - Cotter Crunch

Green Goddess Tahini Sauce - Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow
      Ingredients

• ½ cup whole milk yogurt
• ½ cup basil leaves
• ¼ cup parsley leaves
• ¼ cup tahini
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt

      Directions

1. In a small food processor or high speed blender, combine the yogurt, basil, parsley, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Process until smooth and creamy. Add water to thin to your desired consistency.
2. Stays fresh in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Creamy Ginger Cashew Sauce - Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow
      Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashews
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp soy sauce

      Directions 

1. Boil ¾ cup water, add the cashews, cover, remove from heat and soa for 30 mins. (Do not discard the water) Place the cashews, soaking water, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, oil, and soy sauce in high-speed blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth.
2. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. This sauce also freezes well. 

Other Entrees
Crispy Smashed Potatoes - Oh She Glows
Lemon Baked Salmon with Garlic Dill Sauce - Minimalist Baker
Vegan Herbed Tofu Ricotta - Running on Real Food
Mushroom Bourguignon - Smitten Kitchen
Tacos

Turkey Trot Meatballs - Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow
      Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup finely grated Parmesan
• ½ cup almond or oat flour
• ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ¼ tsp black ground pepper
• 1 pound ground turkey [lean ground beef or bison also works great!]
• 1 egg

      Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment and drizzle the oil across the paper (use your fingers to spread evenly).
2. In a large bowl, combine the Parmesan, flour, parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add the turkey and egg and use your hands to combine. Set aside for 15 minutes to absorb moisture.
3. Use a spoon to scoop and your hands to form the meat into golf-ball sizes, about 16 total meatballs. Place the meatballs evenly spread on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, flip each meatball, and return to oven for 15 minutes, or until meatballs are crispy and lightly browned. Cut open a meatball to check for doneness (no pink).

Honey Balsamic Grilled Chicken - Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow
      Ingredients

• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 2 pounds chicken

      Directions

1. In a large freezer bag, combine all ingredients except chicken and massage until combined. Add chicken.
2. Place in the fridge and allow the chicken to marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
3. Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 mins prior to grilling. Remove chicken from marinade, shaking off any excess. Grill and enjoy!

There you have it!!
Some of our favourite go-to meals that can be enjoyed weekday or weekend with those you love most!
We hope that this gives you inspiration to find joy in the kitchen and excitement in exploring food and how you fuel your body. Happy meal planning Fit Moms!

xox
Jamie & Kellie