I also had another revelation. We had a get together with a few families this weekend. All us ladies are on the Daniel Plan. The men were in charge of the meat on the grill and we made the sides. All sides were Daniel Plan accessible. It was so awesome to eat at a gathering without having to think about what was "good" and "bad." I also didn't gain any weight the following day. Try this if you regularly get together with a group. Maybe you can convert others, or at least, not damage all the good you're doing.
Meal 1 - Crockpot Black Bean Soup
The best thing about this meal is that you can make it the night before and just turn on the crockpot as you walk out the door. It's so easy, so cheap, and so good.
16 oz. dried black beans, rinsed and picked over
1 bell pepper, diced
1 lg. onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 tomatoes, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 qt. chicken broth
2-4 cups water
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
salt & pepper, to taste
lime juice
cilantro, chopped
avocado, sliced or cubed
Place everything but the lime, cilantro, and avocado in the crockpot. Make sure the beans are completely covered, adding more water if necessary. Cook on low for 8 hours. Mash half of the beans with a potato masher or immersion blender. Squeeze in juice of the lime and stir well. Top with cilantro and avocado.
Meal 2 - Orange and Pineapple Shrimp
This is as good or better than the local Chinese place. Make sure to cook the shrimp in batches so not to crowd the pan and other than that, it's very fast.
2 egg whites
1/4 cup cornstarch
salt & pepper
1 1/2 lbs. shrimp, deveined and peeled
1/4 cup coconut oil (more if needed)
1 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 inch ginger, grated
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1-2 cups pineapple, cubed
4 cups brown rice, cooked as directed or follow my perfect brown rice recipe.
Whisk egg whites, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a large bowl until frothy. Dump shrimp into bowl and swish around to coat. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet on medium high heat. Drop in a few shrimp at a time and cook 2-3 minutes per side. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Mix together remaining ingredients in a bowl. When all shrimp are cooked, add sauce to empty skillet and cook until the sauce thickens. Slide shrimp back into skillet to coat with sauce. Serve with rice and a side of veggies.
Meal 3 - My Oven Baked Fried Chicken
I wasn't impressed with the recipe in the book for "fried" chicken. I looked back through my old recipes and found a recipe that I know I liked and made some changes to make it diet friendly. The kids loved it!
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
poultry seasoning or seasoning salt, what ever you normally use
1/4 buttermilk
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon hot sauce
3 cups Uncle Sam cereal, crushed (or any other whole grain cereal)
salt & pepper
vegetables to roast, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.
extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a cooling rack inside a cookie sheet. (Line the cookie sheet with foil for easier clean up.) Sprinkle the chicken with seasoning salt. Mix egg whites, lemon, buttermilk, and hot sauce in a large bowl. Place crushed cereal, salt, and pepper on a plate. Dip chicken in buttermilk mixture then cereal and place on prepared cookie sheet. Coat all chicken. Bake 40-45 minutes. While chicken is baking, place veggies on another cookie sheet. Coat with extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake the last 20 minutes of the chicken being in the oven. They both should be done at the same time.
Meal 4 - All Nuts Granola
This is the most addicting recipe I'll post today. It has a ton of uses, which I will list later. It sounds expensive to make but you only use a couple of tablespoons at a time. It's totally worth it! You must use parchment paper. It will keep the granola from sticking.
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup pumpkin seeds or pepitas
1/2 cup nuts of your choice, walnuts, pecans, cashews, etc.
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup real maple syrup
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried fruit, raisins, cranberries, strawberries, whatever
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Heat coconut oil in a large bowl in the microwave until liquid. Add in all ingredients except fruit. Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. This is super important if you want to actually be able to eat the granola. Pour granola onto cookie sheet and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven with all is deep golden brown. Quickly mix in fruit. Let cool. Break it into bite sized pieces and store in an air tight container.
Here is how I ate mine: parfait with yogurt and fruit, as cereal mixed with berries and bananas topped with almond milk, sprinkled on to of brie with a little honey and baked for an appetizer, as a topping for ice-cream. I'm sure you'll find a million things to put it on or just eat on it's own. It's delicious!
Snack 5 - Garlicky Bean Dip
This is modified from the Daniel Plan book. It wasn't flavorful enough for me so I tweaked it just a little.
1 can cannelloni beans, drained with liquid reserved
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 pinch red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
In a food processor or blender, pulse oil, garlic, lemon, and couple tablespoons of reserved liquid until garlic is finely chopped. Add beans and spices. Blend until smooth, adding more liquid as needed. Eat with veggies, chips, or on sandwiches instead of mayo.
I'm working on some other new recipes as well. One just came out of the oven and I haven't had time to taste it yet. I'll report back next week and let you know how it turned out.
With all natural goodness,
Brooke
Love your recipes Brooke! I have made the garlicky bean dip with a few variations - used sundried tomatoes in it. Mmmm.
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