You guys know how much I enjoy meal planning, right? It’s typically a lot of fun for me– everything from coordinating the recipes and grocery shopping list to creating new meal ideas and prepping everything on Sunday afternoon. Hey, it’s a good time for me! Although, like a lot of people, there are some weeks that I’m just not super motivated to meal plan, but I’m not someone who can totally wing it because I know that even a little planning goes a long way with regard to our budget and healthy eating.
With that, here are four recipes that I continuously rely on when I want a quick and easy week of healthy meals, but I just don’t have the brainpower/drive/time to put together a healthy meal plan. These recipes are so simple and so incredibly versatile. I swear, you can’t go wrong with them! I make them on Sunday and then mix and match them throughout the week. I hope you guys find them as useful as we do! 🙂
Oh, how we love breakfast potatoes in our house. We make a huge batch on Sunday and then just reheat them in the microwave all week long. I typically eat them with eggs– usually solo, but sometimes mixed with other roasted veggies (zucchini, broccoli, asparagus) and ketchup/salsa/avocado/buffalo sauce. I mix it up from day-to-day. FYI: I make my Breakfast Potatoes with unflavored coconut cooking oil nowadays and they turn out SO WELL. The coconut oil is already in liquid form, so it’s just like using olive oil, but the potatoes get crispier. I actually don’t think I’ll ever go back to olive oil now!
CROCK POT SHREDDED BARBECUE CHICKEN
We love this recipe because it’s so easy to make and soooo versatile. The recipe isn’t really even a recipe. I just put a few chicken breasts (~1.5 pounds) in our crock pot, pour in about half a bottle of barbecue sauce (~9 ounces), and then cook it on low for about 4 hours. After that, I allow the chicken to cool slightly, shred it with a folk, and then store it in a Tupperware container in the fridge. It’s crazy-easy. As far as meals go, we use the shredded chicken in lettuce wraps, as a sandwich, on top of salads, mixed into rice bowls, and by itself with roasted veggies. The options are endless! FYI: This “recipe” also works with buffalo sauce.
THE EASIEST CHICKEN FAJITAS YOU’LL EVER MAKE
Here’s another crazy-easy recipe! If I use a bag of frozen peppers and onions (I especially love the fire-roasted ones from Trader Joe’s), I can throw together this recipe from start to finish in less than 5 minutes… actually, probably less than 3 minutes. It’s so simple to prepare and, once again, it’s really versatile. We like eating these fajitas with tortillas, rice, cheese (as a quesadilla), or on top of a green salad. There are lots of options!
COWBOY CAVIAR CAULIFLOWER RICE BOWL
I typically use the jarred Cowboy Caviar from Trader Joe’s for this recipe, but salsa (fresh or jarred) also works well. I often pair the ground beef with cauliflower rice and guacamole, but white/brown rice works as well as salad greens (it’s almost like a taco salad). We’ve also paired the meat with pasta, which is a tasty dish too!