It's day five of our 7-day meal plan.
First up? A classic quinoa breakfast bowl, topped with avocado and soft-boiled egg. For lunch: a ~power salad~ loaded with fresh spinach, fiber-rich sweet potatoes, and hearty chickpeas. For dinner, it's pasta night — with whole wheat spaghetti and lemon kale chicken.
DAY FIVE RECIPES: Find complete, step-by-step instructions at the bottom of this post. For a printable doc with the entire's week's recipes, click here.
WANT SNACKS?: We've got you covered. Find ideas and recipes here.
First, you'll soft-boil and and peel an egg:
Then reheat the quinoa you made last night:
Gather your toppings:
And build!
For lunch, a hearty salad with spinach, fiber-rich sweet potatoes, and the prepped veggies and chickpeas.
Plate it, or pack it away — adding the balsamic just before you eat, or storing it separately.
For dinner: It's pasta night! First, cook a batch of whole wheat noodles.
While you're waiting for the water to boil, dice and season the chicken, and stem the kale.
Then cook the chicken. Then the kale — adding lemon juice and some reserved pasta water — and toss the drained pasta back in.
Then serve!
Ready for day six? Find it HERE. (And find today's full recipes below.)
1. Breakfast Bowl With Quinoa, Avocado, and Tomato
INGREDIENTS:
•1 cup cooked white quinoa (*prepped the night before; recipe here)
• ½ cup cherry tomato pico de gallo (*leftovers; recipe here)
• ½ avocado, sliced
• 1 soft boiled egg
• kosher salt, to taste
• ground black pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
Bring a medium pot of water to a rolling boil. Gently add egg directly from fridge (egg must be cold). Boil for 6 minutes, peel under cold running water, and slice in half.
Combine cooked quinoa, pico de gallo, avocado, and soft-boiled egg in a bowl. Finish with kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste.
2. Power Salad With Roasted Chickpeas and Sweet Potatoes
INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup baby spinach
• ¾ cup roasted sweet potatoes (*meal prepped: recipe here)
• ¾ cup roasted chickpeas (*meal prepped: recipe here)
• ½ cup roasted summer vegetables (*meal prepped: recipe here)
• ½ cup quinoa, cooked (*meal prepped: recipe here)
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
•1 tablespoon balsamic reduction (*meal prepped: recipe here)
• kosher salt, to taste
• ground black pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Add everything to bowl, mix, and top with balsamic reduction. (Or, if packing lunch to go, store balsamic in a separate container and dress prior to eating.)
3. Whole Wheat Pasta With Lemon Kale Chicken
INGREDIENTS:
• 4 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 cups chopped curly kale, ribs removed
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• kosher salt, to taste
• ground black pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
Boil salted water and cook the pasta for 1 minute less than the time indicated on the package. (When the pasta is finished cooking, reserve ¼ cup of pasta water.)
Meanwhile, heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet. Season cubed chicken with salt and pepper, add it to the skillet, and brown it on each side. Once cooked through — about 2 to 4 minutes — remove from skillet and reserve.
Heat remaining three tablespoons of olive oil in skillet and add garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minutes.
Add kale, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and reserved pasta water. Cook until kale is tender, about 3 minutes. Add cooked chicken, pasta, stir to coat, and serve immediately.