Itasca Meal Planning 101: High Protein Breakfast, Lunch & Supper Guide #4
For years patients and clients have been asking us for more guidance surrounding meal planning and recipes. We are commonly asked “what do you eat?”
Right now, we both really focus on high protein and a variety of vegetables and other plant foods.
The following recipes are some of our favorite staples.
Protein Overnight Oats
Ingredients
1/2 cup old fashioned oats, not instant
3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 – 2 scoops vanilla protein powder, (25g total)
1/2 Tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup frozen berries
Greek yogurt: Add 1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt to the overnight oat mixture. This addition will add about 4 grams of protein, depending on what brand you use.
Cottage cheese: Add 1/4 cup cottage cheese to the overnight oat mixture. This addition will add about 7 grams of protein.
Nuts and nut butter: Chopped nuts and/or nut butter are a great way to add a little bit of extra protein to your overnight oats. They also add healthy fats, which will make the oats even more filling!
Optional toppings: sliced almonds, almond butter
Instructions:
Prep oats: Combine all ingredients except the toppings in a small container.
Soak: Cover container with a lid and place in the fridge overnight (or at least 1-2 hours).
Stir: Take out of fridge in the morning and stir. You’ll notice that the protein powder, oats, and chia seeds soak up a lot of the liquid so you may want to add a little more almond milk or water before serving.
Add toppings and enjoy!
Macro (AKA Buddha) Bowl
This is a staple in Jaclyn’s household. It is simple, fast, and easy to prepare. It is great for any meal including breakfast and easy to transport for lunches at work or eating on the road, picnics, etc.
I get together with college friends a couple times a year, several of whom are vegan, and this recipe works phenomenally to accommodate everyone’s dietary needs. It is gluten and dairy free! Last summer we each brought different sauces to try.
The nice thing about this recipe is that you can use up produce from your refrigerator and people can mix and match what they like so it can be different every time you eat. There are so many sauces to choose from at the store and a myriad of homemade sauce options online and in magazines.
Ingredients:
1 head red cabbage, shredded
Carrots, shredded
3 sweet potatoes, diced
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 lb cooked lean ground meat (Jaclyn loves to use baked bacon) or baked tofu/tempeh or canned beans
1 bunch watermelon radish or red radish, thinly sliced
Microgreens/Sprouts (Dr. O loves fresh mung bean sprouts)
Mixed baby greens
Avocado, sliced or prepared guacamole
Siete jalapeno hot sauce or sauce of choice
Sea salt & freshly cracked pepper
Lemon/Lime, quartered
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Toss the sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and spread onto the baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
3. Assemble individual bowls with cabbage, radish, quinoa, carrots, sweet potatoes, protein, sprouts, greens, avocado, squeeze of lemon/lime, and sauce of your choice.
Sweet Potato Chili Cheese Casserole
I just made this recipe last weekend and it is a definite keeper! For those of you avoiding dairy (specifically cheese) I think that could easily be omitted and this could be served as a skillet/stew and the last step could be skipped! As usual we doubled the recipe so that we would be able to eat leftovers during the week; doubling a new recipe is always a risky proposition if the recipe is a dud so thankfully, we lucked out! This recipe serves 4-6 (not doubled).
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground meat (I used 93% grass-fed beef)
Olive oil (I use as little as possible to keep the calorie count lower and minimize the fat macros)
3 medium sweet potatoes (1.5 lbs), diced
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 organic red/yellow/orange bell pepper
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 can organic black beans, drained
1 can/1 cup organic corn, drained or thawed
1 jar salsa (I used green salsa as Cascade is allergic to tomatoes; the original recipe called for 1 can diced tomatoes; regular red salsa could also be used)
2 c. low-fat shredded cheese, optional
Scallions, diced, at least 1/4 c
Radishes, sliced (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
Instructions:
1.) Preheat oven to 400-425 degrees.
2.) Toss sweet potatoes with a splash of olive oil and some sea salt
3.) Spread on large baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes
4.) Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees when sweet potatoes are done roasting
5.) While sweet potatoes are roasting, brown the meat; when meat is partially cooked add the onion and bell pepper, spices, and salt; cook until meat is fully browned and vegetables are tender. Add salsa/tomatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, and beans (we made 2 separate pans and only included the black beans in 1 batch since I do not do well with legumes even though I love them). Mix ingredients then put into ceramic casserole dish/glass baking pan.
6.) Bake casserole for 10-15 minutes, then spread cheese on top; bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is to your liking.
7.) When serving, top with scallions, radishes, and/or cilantro!
Bon Appetit!
Rachel Oppitz, ND
&
Jaclyn Rebekah Roberts NBC-HWC, CIHC, E-RYT 500
