Easy Weekly Lunches: Slow Cooker "Taco-less" Chicken

This week's lunch specialty had a bit of a Mexican flare, as well as kidney beans. While I'm not anemic, sometimes I just get that feeling my body needs more iron or red meat. Since I was working with a chicken base, I added kidney beans for that extra boost of iron.

I was actually running low on taco seasoning, so I substituted another Mexican seasoning from Goya brand. Their all-purpose Goya Adobo seasoning salt has been a household staple for years.

wonderful all-purpose seasoning salt

I can't live without it when grilling any kind of chicken or pork. I even use it in my quinoa macaroni and cheese (recipe to follow soon).

Of course, this lunch recipe could also be served on corn tortillas with a sprinkling of Colby jack cheese for dinner, or over cilantro lime rice for something a bit more substantial.

Enjoy! Here's to happy and healthy tummies...

Slow Cooker "Taco-less" Chicken

adapted from this recipe by mychocolatetherapy

Ingredients
1 envelope taco seasoning
2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I buy the frozen Market Pantry brand from Target)
8 ounces of jarred salsa (I like the consistence of the Pace Picante kind)

1/4 cup water

Directions
1. Dump everything into a crock pot and give it a little stir to blend the seasoning with the salsa.
2. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours.
3. When done, shred the chicken with two forks and portion into containers.


I added about 1/2 cup rinsed and drained dark red kidney beans to each lunch container, then topped it with the shredded chicken mixture.

Easy Weekly Lunches: Three Bean Turkey Chili

One of the top challenges since switching to a gluten-free diet has been figuring out what to take for lunch to work Monday through Friday. Weekends are a bit easier, because I can scramble up some eggs or an omelet, or get a bit fancier and grill some fresh veggies with chicken or fish.

the weekly lunch dilemma

During the week, though, things get a little but trickier. For me, not only do my weekly lunches have to be gluten-free, but they also need to be:

• Easy (or relatively easy): I need to be able to cook them with minimal effort and cleanup Sunday afternoon and still have time for refresh my manicure, iron my clothes for the week, and relax a bit before Monday morning rolls around.
• Inexpensive: I need to be able to buy the ingredients and have each meal come out to no more than $2 or so. Usually they are actually much less.
• Healthy: While I'm at the point in my health where I'm not dieting per-say, I still watch what I eat pretty carefully. I don't follow any specific diet (Atkin's, low-card, paleo), but I do try to avoid processed foods and cook most of my meals, focusing on incorporating protein and eliminating sugar, salt, high-fat dairy, and anything fried.
• Portable: This means soups are out. I know they make those nifty locking lid plastic containers, but I'm the girl that always manages to spill things, locking lids or no locking lids. This also means salads are usually out for me, because I hate having to bring a separate little container for dressing.
• Reheatable: I've never been a huge fan of leftovers. My lunches for work need to be something that heat up well in our low-power microwaves without drying out or tasting tough or stringy.
• Work-friendly: This means I can't need a steak knife to cut it up. This also means it can't be any kind of seafood or fish, since my coworkers don't complain about an icky smell lingering in the break room microwave.

This week, my meal selection was a Turkey Three Bean Chili based off this recipe from Gina at Skinnytaste. I threw everything into my slow cooker right after lunch, and it was ready to cool down and portion after dinner.

I divided it up into 8 separate portions instead of the recommended 12, which left me with 309 calories per serving. This week's meal was also dairy-free, and packed with fiber filled beans. I also omitted any toppings, since they wouldn't be very portable in my opinion, and they would have just added unnecessary fat and sodium to my lunch. I personally like to save my indulging for dinner, when I find myself the most hungry, and I can really enjoy my food instead of scarfing it down to get back to work.

Slow Cooker Three Bean Turkey Chili

Ingredients
1 1/3 lb (20 oz) fat free ground turkey breast (I like Jennie-O)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes (I like Muir Glen organic fire roasted diced tomatoes)
1 (16 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained
1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, drained
1 (15.5 oz) can small red beans, drained
1/2 can chicken broth
2 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin

Directions
1. Brown onion in a medium skillet over medium high heat until softened and nearly carmelized.

2. Add garlic and turkey. Brown turkey until cooked through, draining fat if desired (I never seem to need to).

3. Transfer turkey mixture to slow cooker (unless using a slow cooker insert that can double as your browning skillet). 

4. Add the beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, and cumin, mixing well.
5. Cook on high 6 hours.

By the way, I am a woman madly in love with her slow cooker. I finally splurged and bought this All-Clad Deluxe Slow Cooker from Williams Sonoma. I got it for a smokin' deal- a one day Saturday sale that was $100 off retail.

Not only does it cook food evenly without it ever sticking to the pot, but the lightweight insert is actually removable, allowing you to place it on the stove to brown onions, meats, etc. on the stove before prepping the rest of the recipe. The digital display allows you to set time in half hour increments up to 8 hours on high or low, and automatically beeps then switches over to "keep warm" when food is done cooking.

Enjoy! Hope this helps give you some inspiration for easy weekly meal planning of your own.

GF Chicken Nuggets: Buy & Cook

It's funny to say this, but one of the things I miss most since adopting a gluten-free diet are chicken nuggets. My friends always laughed at me, but whenever I went to any kind of fast food place, I always ordered chicken nuggets. McDonald's, Wendy's, Arby's, Jack-In-The-Box, Carl's Junior, Sonic, you name it- chicken nuggets were my standby.

Gluten aside, these surely were not the healthiest thing for me to eat, as they are all laden with sodium, MSG, preservatives, you name it. Nonetheless, when my cravings for gluten hit, what I want to reach for and scarf down is not a bowl of pasta, but chicken nuggets.

Luckily, I discovered these beauties while shopping at Target the other day: Applegate Naturals Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets and Chicken Tenders. I wasn't expecting too much, since the other frozen GF chicken nuggets I had tried have been subpar at best- dry and grainy, with a mushy crust and no flavor.

Applegate Naturals Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets (they also come in tenders)

What can I say? Amazing! Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and full of flavor. Delicious! They are pricey, yes, at $5.99 for a box of chicken nuggets and $6.99 for a box of tenders. Most gluten-free items, however, are priced a bit higher that their gluten-filled counterparts, and these babies are worth every penny!

My other go-to solution when I'm having a massive chicken nugget craving is to make them myself. I have developed a wonderful recipe based off this recipe from the The GFCF Lady. Not only are these chicken tenders gluten-free, but they are low-carb and paleo-friendly. Their coating is almond meal, which not only cuts out grains and flours, but helps the chicken nuggets keep their crispy coating. I bake mine, since I'm always trying to cut out fried foods, but I'm sure they would be tasty fried too, if that's what you prefer.

Sarah's Baked Chicken Tenders

Ingredients
2 to 2 1/2 lb. chicken tenders (I use the 40 ounce bag of Market Pantry frozen boneless, skinless  chicken breasts, defrosted overnight)
1 olive oil spray
1 cup almond meal flour (I buy it in the bulk section of Sprouts for about $4.99 lb., which is much cheaper than any of the pre-bagged brands I have found)
1 teaspoon Himalayan pink sea salt or smoked red Hawaiian sea salt (can substitute regular salt; I like the extra dimension of flavor gourmet salts add)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1-2 tablespoons smoked paprika (can substitute regular paprika)

Directions
1. Cut chicken breasts into strips (I like to use poultry shears), cutting with the grain of the meat.
2. Mix together almond meal and seasonings in a large bowl. Use a fork to break up any clumps.
3. Spray tenders with olive oil. A few at a time, toss the tenders in the almond meal mixture to coat.
4. Place tenders on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

These can also be prepared the same way with fish (I've been successful with tilapia), reducing cooking time by about 5 minutes.

Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce (I'm a ranch girl myself) and enjoy!