Clean Meals Mama

Most holiday dinners, when I was growing up, consisted of my Grandma's Sloppy Joes. To this day I can remember walking into her house on Easter or Christmas to the smell of Sloppy Joes cooking on the stove.  Since her passing, my Dad has continued that tradition and has just about perfected her recipe. Because I cannot eat gluten, and I have yet to find a gluten free bun that I love, I choose to eat this with potato chips, using them like the spoon.  The salty crunch the chips give makes it so good!  This recipe results in a tomatoey (is that even a word?), veggie filled, slightly crunchy, Sloppy Joe goodness. Try it out for yourself to see what all the fuss is about. Grandma's Sloppy Joe's Ingredients 3 lbs. ground beef                                     1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste 1 stalk celery (about 8 ribs)              ...

One of my favorite breakfasts is yogurt parfaits. Nothing beats ripe berries, topped with some yogurt, sprinkled with granola. I grew up on my mom's homemade granola, so the store bought versions just do not cut it for me.  One of the things I enjoy about making homemade is being able to add the ingredients that I enjoy. Here is my base recipe.  Feel free to add your own take on this recipe, it is easy to alter. Homemade Granola Yields 7 cups Ingredients 4 cups oatmeal 1 cup coconut 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 2 cups mix-ins (some of our favorites include sunflower seeds, peanuts, almonds, pepitas, etc.) 2/3 cup honey 1/2 cup oil Directions Preheat oven to 325 degrees.   Mix dry ingredients in a large roasting pan, or cookie sheet.   Heat together honey and oil on stove top until mixture begins to boil. Pour mixture slowly over dry ingredients, and mix thoroughly Bake for 30 minutes (or more depending on desired crunch)...

Here we are, back at it for another week. This week is very busy for my family with dance, hockey, and baseball meetings. With that being said, I know that I will be the most successful this week by planning ahead.  With nothing going on Monday evening, I will spend time prepping some of the food to make the rest of the week smooth. Here is the meal plan for the week: April 8th-14th Sunday B- Oatmeal with plain greek yogurt and frozen blueberries L- Salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, chicken, sunflower seeds, dressing D- Sloppy Joes , cut up veggies, potato salad, S-Celery with peanut butter Monday B- Hard boiled eggs, grapefruit L- Leftover sloppy joes, cut up veggies, D- Ham, buffalo cauliflower , baked sweet potato S- Energy balls  and apple Tuesday B- Gluten free toast, cottage cheese, avocado L- Cucumber, cream cheese, lunch meat sandwiches, side salad with dressing, apple D- Baked chicken, quinoa, roasted green beans S- hard boiled egg and clementin...

This week you will notice a lot of my lunches are dedicated to the Thai Peanut Chicken Crunch Salad. I made this for dinner on Saturday night, last week, and let me tell you...it made a TON!  Both my husband and I will be eating it most of the week for lunch.  I have made similar recipes before and knowing it would make a lot, I did not add the dressing on when I made it in order for it to keep better in the fridge.   Other than that, you can see what I will be making this week.   Monday B- Berry Cheesecake smoothie with oats: 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 cup frozen berries, 1 Tlbs. chia seeds, 1/2 cup water (or more). Blend until smooth, then add 1/2 cup dry oats and gently blend.   L- Thai Peanut Chicken Crunch Salad (leftover) D- Pulled pork sandwiches , gluten free bun, steamed green beans Tuesday b- 2 Fried eggs, 1/2 avocado, sliced and 1 tomato, sliced.  Stack avocado and tomato on top of egg, sprinkle with a little s...