WIAW: Roasted Veggie, Chicken & Quinoa Casserole

Hello, hello!  Happy Wednesday to you all :)

We've had a break in the cold weather and finally get to walk the dogs again (as you can see above).  Bizzy and Reggie are very happy about it, indeed. (My boyfriend is so nice to pose for a picture with them.  He looks thrilled, no?)

Wanna talk about food?  Ok, let's do it!

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Breakfast: Half PB English Muffin & Fruit Smoothie

I made a quick breakfast this morning of half of a toasted wheat English muffin smeared with natural peanut butter.  I also made a fruit smoothie that I didn't finish (until snack time).  It contained: 1/2 frozen banana, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup cherries, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, a sweetener packet and almond milk.  Yum!
Oh, I also had coffee.  It rarely makes it to the breakfast picture...

A.M. Snack: Muffin Top & Shake

I used to buy Vita Tops all the time, but found out Target had their own version of this 100 calorie delight for $2 less!  So, I had a chocolate muffin top with the rest of my shake from earlier.

Lunch: Taco Stuff Sweet Potato & Roasted Veggies

This looks like a mess in a bowl, but it was the most delicious lunch ever!  In the bowl is a medium sweet potato that I baked, topped with taco stuff (93% lean ground turkey cooked with diced chilies, corn and black beans) and cilantro, surrounded by roasted cauliflower and brussels sprouts.  Pure amazingness.
Anyways, I ate this after we took the pups on a great lunch walk!

P.M. Snack: Cheerios!

I had brought an apple to work for afternoon snack but did not get a chance to eat it.  So, I made a snack to eat when I got home of 1/2 cup of Chocolate Crunch Cherrios with almond milk.  Bizzy watched.

Then I went to p.m. boot camp to get my twice weekly butt-kicking.;)

Dinner: Roasted Veggie, Chicken & Quinoa Casserole

Dinner was very tasty and simple to throw together.
I had made roasted cauliflower, brussels and broccoli on Monday, so my veggies were already cooked and ready for a casserole.  In case you are curious on how I roast my veggies, I usually cut them all about the same size, toss them in some sort of oil (here I used 1 1/2 tbsp melted coconut oil), season them with salt and garlic powder and roast them for 25 minutes at 425 degrees.  I heart roasted veggies.  Forever-ever.

Here's how I made it:

Roasted Veggie, Chicken & Quinoa Casserole
serves 4

2 large chicken breasts, diced and cooked
1 cup roasted broccoli
1 cup roasted cauliflower & brussels sprouts
1 recipe of faux-fredo sauce (below)
1 cup quinoa, cooked (I didn't have quite enough quinoa to make this, so I added some whole wheat couscous to make this a full cup)
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup of shredded cheese for the topping (I used Muenster)

Combine all except shredded cheese. Grease an 8x8 pan (with non stick cooking spray) and pour it all in.  Top with cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes.

"Faux-fredo" Sauce
makes 1 1/2 cups of sauce

1 1/2 tbsp light butter spread
1/4 cup flour
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
2 wedges Laughing Cow Swiss Lite cheese
salt & pepper

Heat a small skillet to low-medium and add butter and garlic.  Once the butter has melted, add in flour and whisk.  Pour the chicken broth in and whisk some more.  Let this cook for about 5 minutes on low-medium heat.

If you like this, you should check out my cajun quinoa casserole!

Clearly I have no patience for food photography when I'm hungry-ha!  Oh well...

For dessert I had a 100 calorie ice cream sandwich.  Bizzy watched.

Here's a picture of my little Bizzy girl after our walk yesterday.  Doesn't she look like a sleepy sea lion?

Ok, have a great week!  Thanks for reading :)

Project Lean and Clean, Part 2

Ok, so I might have been putting off getting this post together.  My millions and millions of food pictures can be pretty overwhelming!  But I am currently stuck at work because my car broke down (lucky?  unlucky?), waiting for my parents to pick me up (best parents ever!!!)...and now I finally have time to work on this-yay!

Too much of an explanation?  Maybe.

So, without further ado.  Here's part 2 of Project Lean & Clean!

I hope that this helps people come up with healthy meal plans and ideas.

Here's a little blurb to remind you all what this is about:

I thought it would be fun to do a quick round up of my self-imposed January challenge that I call Project Lean and Clean.  I have been posting these pics every weekday in January on my Instagram to help me with eating healthy, balanced meals full of all the good stuff.

*Keep in mind that I may have had an ice cream cone or occasional glass of wine after some of these food collages took place...I'm human ;)

I will include links to any recipes I used.

January 16

Breakfast:  Aldi Raisin Bran and an apple
Snack: Orange and a rice cake
Lunch: Leftover Grilled salmon and grilled veggie couscous
Dinner: Cauliflower "rice", fajita veggies and chicken (homemade), smashed black beans and fresh corn

January 17

Breakfast: Toast with pumpkin peanut butter (equal parts PB & pumpkin puree with cinnamon and honey) and a tropical smoothie containing frozen mango, pineapple, splenda and almond milk
Snack: Rice cake with pumpkin peanut butter, apple
Lunch: Leftover Cauliflower "rice", fajita veggies and chicken, smashed black beans and fresh corn (and a tortilla)
Dinner: Store bought wheat pizza crust with spinach, artichokes, mushrooms and parmesan cheese; roasted cauliflower and butternut squash

January 20

Breakfast: English muffin with pumpkin peanut butter, banana slices and honey
Snack: Pear and homemade granola bar
Lunch: Salad of spring mix with roasted butternut squash, salsa and a frozen black bean burger
Dinner: Stuffed Pepper Soup

January 21

This entire day's eats can be seen on this What I Ate Wednesday post (how's that for lazy?)

January 22

Breakfast: Aldi Raisin Bran with banana
Snack: Pear, almonds
Lunch: Some salsa verde chicken soup my mom made, grilled cheese and roasted cauliflower..followed by a cookie bite
Dinner:  Spaghetti Squash Primavera

January 23

Breakfast: Whole wheat English muffin with 1 egg, plus 1 egg white
Snack: apple, homemade granola bar
Lunch: This was a canned soup.  I think it was Progresso heart healthy black bean and vegetable.  Pretty  good..
Dinner: Leftover Spaghetti Squash Primavera topped with a piece of chicken that I baked with pesto on it.

 January 24

Breakfast: Whole wheat English muffin with natural peanut butter, banana and honey
Snack: apple, homemade granola bar
Lunch: Salad with leftover pesto chicken and veggies..followed by a Starbucks salted caramel cake pop
Dinner: Spinach Tortellini Soup (except I added zucchini and mushrooms)

January 27

Breakfast: Chocolate Toast Crunch with strawberries
Snack: apple, homemade granola bar
Lunch: salad with deli roast beef, edamame, cottage cheese and tomatoes..followed by half of a funfetti cupcake (that I made for a friend's bday)
Dinner: Taco Soup

January 28

This whole day's eats can be found on this What I Ate Wednesday post!!

January 29

Breakfast: English muffin with pumpkin peanut butter and bananas
Snack: homemade granola bar
Lunch: Leftover pumpkin enchilada casserole
Dinner: Israli Couscous with veggies and roasted pork loin (I used this recipe)

January 30

Breakfast: Overeasy egg on a half of an English muffin

Snack: Chocolate Toast Crunch cereal with almond milk and an apple
Lunch: Leftover pork loin and couscous
Dinner: Baked crusted tilapia, quinoa pasta with (jarred) butternut squash sauce and steamed broccoli

January 31

Breakfast: Over easy egg over half English muffin with tomatoes and provolone (under the egg), strawberries
Snack: Chocolate Toast Crunch cereal with almond milk
Lunch: Panda Express--I had the mushroom chicken and some sort of pepper chicken (basically the only non-fried entrees) and mixed veggies.  I did not finish this plate, just so you know.  Way too much food!
Dinner: Microwaved sweet potato topped with steamed broccoli, slices of turkey sausage and a little cheese.
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Ok, so that about wraps things up!  Thanks for sticking with me! :)  This challenge was very helpful for me to visually see what I eat and a way to mindfully make better choices on normal days (not just WIAW days).

I doubt that I'll do another challenge where I flood people's social media newsfeeds with my daily eats, but there will always be What I Ate Wednesday for a peek into my current food obsessions.

Project Lean and Clean, Part 1

Howdy, friends.

I thought it would be fun to do a quick round up of the first part of my self-imposed January challenge that I call Project Lean and Clean.  I have been posting these pics every weekday in January on my Instagram to help me with eating healthy, balanced meals full of all the good stuff.

*Keep in mind that I may have had an ice cream cone or occasional glass of wine after some of these food collages took place...I'm human ;)

I will include links to any recipes I used.

January 1

Breakfast: Egg Beater scramble with spinach, deli turkey, side of strawberries (unpictured-coffee..goes for all of these)
Snack: Fruit smoothie (frozen banana, frozen berries, almond milk, honey)
Lunch: Salad of mixed greens with peas, reduced fat cottage cheese, hard boiled egg, sunflower seeds, beets, hummus
Dinner: Salmon in parchment with peppers, onions and zucchini, sweet potato & broccoli, cauliflower

January 2

Breakfast: Banana pancakes strawberries, sugar free syrup
Snack: Apple and fiber bar
Lunch: Mini salad replica from the day before, but with leftover salmon and peppers
Dinner: Turkey meatballs on spaghetti squash with homemade sauce and kale on the side (blech--not a fan)--here's a similar turkey meatball recipe (not the same, though)

January 3

Breakfast: Egg Beaters, toast, strawberries
Snack: Pear, pistachios
Lunch: Another loaded salad with leftover turkey meatballs, peas, hummus, beets, cottage cheese, & peppers
Dinner: Spinach Tortellini Soup (except I added zucchini and mushrooms)

January 6

Breakfast: Egg Beater omelet with spinach, half English muffin, strawberries
Snack: Zucchini muffin, apple
Lunch: Smoky White Bean Chicken Chili, Cornbread Waffle
Dinner: Veggie Enchilada Stack

January 7

Breakfast: Raisin Bran (Aldi brand), banana
Snack: Fruit shake (frozen banana half, frozen cherries, spinach, almond milk)
Lunch: Leftover veggie enchilada stack on a salad
Dinner: Roasted Red Pepper Chili, Cornbread Waffle

January 8

Breakfast: Spinach Egg Beater omelet with 1/2 English muffin and strawberries
Snack: Pear
Lunch: Subway buffalo chicken sandwich with all the veggies, carrots, cookie
Dinner: Tilapia cooked in parchment, roasted cauliflower, sweet potato

January 9

Breakfast: Raisin Bran (Aldi brand), banana
Snack: graham cracker with peanut butter and banana, soy chai latte
Lunch: Big salad with leftover cauliflower and tilapia
Dinner: Buffalo chicken tenders with whole wheat (gobetti shaped) pasta covered in my "faux-fredo" sauce, broccoli

January 10

Breakfast: Quaker date and walnut oatmeal made with almond milk, strawberries
Snack: Apple
Lunch: Leftover chili
Dinner: Chicken taco salad..inspired by, but kind of different from THIS recipe

January 13

Breakfast: Spinach Egg Beater omelet with 1/2 English muffin and strawberries
Snack: Orange
Lunch: Salad of romaine lettuce topped with a leftover turkey burger, cottage cheese, grilled onions and tomatoes...and a pumpkin brownie
Dinner: Southwestern Stuffed Sweet Potato

January 14

Breakfast: Pumpkin flourless pancake, strawberries
Snack: Apple, rice cake with peanut butter
Lunch: leftover Southwestern Stuffed Sweet Potato, pumpkin brownie
Dinner: Grilled salmon and grilled veggie couscous

January 15

Breakfast: Smoked salmon and spinach egg white omelet
Snack: Fiber bar, orange
Lunch: Leftover white bean chili, hot chocolate for dessert!
Dinner: Grilled shrimp with whole wheat (gobetti shaped) pasta covered in my "faux-fredo" sauce, spinach
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See, wasn't that fun?!

Ha ha!  Well, I will post the round up of the second half of January pretty soon.  Time is a'flyin'!

Have a great weekend :-)