Meal Prep: Post Holiday Detox

It's a brand new year, and I don't know about you, but I acquired a few new pounds over the holiday season.  Most of us have the New Year's resolution to be mindful of our health whether it's to eat better, exercise more or the dreaded loose weight goal.  In any case, even if it's not a resolution, most of us tend to indulge during the holidays with rich food, more sweets and desserts than we would normally consume and of course, for some of us, those libations get kicked up a notch, as well, during the many celebrations.  So I like to kick off January with a meal prep designed to make that transition back into healthy, clean eating and detox some of those indulgences from my system.

On the Menu

Citrus Fruit & Hard Boiled Eggs

Blueberry-Coconut Steel-Cut Oatmeal Bake 

Asian-inspired Tofu Wrap

Spinach & Roasted Beet Salad

Turmeric Chicken with Spicy Cabbage & Detox Veggies

Lemon & Garlic Salmon with Steamed Squashes 

Citrus Fruit & Hard Boiled Eggs

It's a simple start to the day, but a perfect carb to protein ratio.  I make four hard boiled eggs, (click here for a guaranteed technique to make them easy to peel).  For the citrus fruit accompaniment, I personally eat 1/4 of a large grapefruit.  If grapefruit is not something you enjoy or are able to eat* substitute it with an orange or pineapple.

Blueberry-Coconut Steel-Cut Oatmeal Bake

Ingredients - makes 4-6 servings:

spray cooking olive oil or coconut oil 

2 cup steel-cut oats

pinch of cardamom

pinch of allspice

4 tbsp. ground flax seed

1/2 tbsp. of truvia (or other preferred sweetener)

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

2 egg whites

2 tbsp. melted coconut oil

1/2 cup frozen blueberries (or fresh)

2-3 drops pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Spray baking dish with cooking oil to grease it.
3. In a baking dish, mix all the dry ingredients together until well blended.
4. Add in milk, egg whites, coconut oil, frozen blueberries and vanilla extract to dry ingredients, mixing until all ingredients form an almost thick batter-like consistency.
5. Ensure the mixture is spread evenly within the baking dish.
6. Top with fresh blueberries and shredded coconut.
7. Bake in oven for approximately 45 minutes or until coconut toasts up on top and blueberries start to burst.

Asian-inspired Tofu Wrap

Ingredients makes 3-4 waps:

1 pkg. tofu

4 low-carb tortilla wraps

light olive oil (high temperature) (You'll need enough to cover the bottom of a frying pan or wok by about an 1.5")

2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce 

1/2 cup Asian peanut sauce

2 cups Spicy Cabbage (See below)

1. Pour light olive oil into bottom of a completely dry skillet or wok over a medium to high heat.
2. Cut tofu pack into 1" cube pieces, and lay on a paper towel. 
3. Using another paper towel, blot tofu cubes to absorb as much moisture as possible.
4. Using tongs, drop tofu cubes into oil to lightly fry and occasionally turn over to get all sides to a light golden brown. (Do not overcrowd the cubes in the pans so it will be approximately 3-4 batches, depending on the size of your pan.)
5. Place cooked tofu in a paper towel lined bowl and let set for approximately 10 minutes.
6. Remove paper towel from bowl and drizzle tofu with soy sauce.
7. Take each low-carb tortilla wrap and evenly divide Asian peanut sauce, Spicy Cabbage and tofu.
8. Wrap and enjoy!

Spinach & Roasted Beet Salad

Ingredients:

4-6 handfuls of fresh spinach

3/4 cup water

4 beets, greens and roots removed, peeled and chopped

3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp. garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. On a baking sheet (I lay down tin foil for easier handling of beets and easier clean up), arrange chopped pieces of beets in a single layer.
3. Drizzle with 2 tbsp. of olive oil, 1 tsp. of garlic powder and salt & pepper to taste.
4. Roast in oven for approximately 45 minutes or until beets soften.
5. While beets are cooking, over a low-medium heat, put water and spinach in a skillet and loosely cover.
6. Steam spinach for about 10 minutes are until the leaves cook down and wilt.
7. Remove from pan and place in a colander to drain as much liquid as possible.
8. In your Tupperware/ dish, toss spinach and beets together and add remaining olive oil and garlic powder.

Turmeric Chicken with Spicy Cabbage & Detox Veggies

Ingredients - makes 4-6 servings:
3 skinless chicken breasts, trimmed 
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. garlic powder, divided
1 tsp. ground ginger
1-2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 a cabbage, chopped/ shredded into strips (makes about 8 cups, enough to accommodate this and Asian-inspired Tofu Wraps above))
1 cup water
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow onion
3/4 cup Bella mushrooms (stems removed)
2 celery stalks
3 tbsp. coconut oil
salt & pepper to taste

1. Prepare and heat up your grill.
2. Season chicken turmeric, paprika, ginger and 1 tsp. of the garlic powder. (salt & pepper if desired).
3. Drizzle chicken with olive oil.
4. Grill each side until it is a deep golden brown and the internal temperature is 165 degrees F at the thickest part of each breast.
5. In a large stock pot, over medium heat, place water and cabbage and loosely cover.
6. Let steam for approximately 15-18 minutes or until cabbage softens (slightly cooked down).
7. Drain excess liquid from pot and place back on stove but reduce heat to low.
8. Mix in 2 tbsp. coconut oil and red pepper flakes and salt & pepper to taste until all cabbage is even coated.
9. Cook for a few more minutes to blend flavors and remove from heat.
10. In a skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tbsp. coconut oil.
11. Thoroughly wash all veggies: then finely dice onions, julienne red bell pepper (exclude seeds and stem), slice celery stalks and saute in skillet.
12. Slice mushrooms and add into skillet.
13. When veggies start to soften, reduce heat and add in remaining garlic powder (salt and pepper if desired), stir to blend in flavors.
14. Serve sauteed veggies over "bed" of cabbage and slice 3 oz. of chicken breast for each serving.

Lemon & Garlic Salmon with Steamed Squashes (served with steamed brown rice)
Ingredients - makes 4 servings:

Spray cooking olive oil or coconut oil 

2 fresh salmon filets

1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning (I use salt-free)

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp garlic paste

1 lemon, halved

1/4 cup water

2 zucchini

1 medium yellow squash

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Prepare a baking sheet (I line mine with tin foil for easier clean up) by spraying with cooking oil.
3. In a skillet over low-medium heat, melt butter and mix in garlic paste and juice from half a lemon.
4. Take filets, rinse and lay on prepared baking sheet.
5. Season filets with lemon pepper. Evenly spread garlic, butter, lemon mix over filets.
6. Bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes (depending on thickness of filets) or until fish lakes with a fork.
7. Wash and remove ends from zucchini and yellow squash.
8. Slice into 1/4" slices. In a skillet over medium heat, put in water and sliced veggies and loosely cover to steam.
9. Steam for approximately 15 minutes or until squash begins to soften. Remove from heat and drain water.
10. Drizzle with olive oil and season with garlic powder and salt & pepper to taste. 
11. Cut salmon filets in half, serve with veggies and rice. Slice remaining half lemon to sprinkle over filet half, rice and veggies.

For more healthy, detox options from That Sexy Dish!, check out these other Detox Lunches:

Detox Lunch 1: Warm Spinach Salad & Miso Soup
Detox Lunch 2: Chicken, Tomato & Cucumber Salad
Detox Lunch 3: Salmon, Avocado & Tomato "Salad"

*Grapefruit can have adverse interactions with several types of prescription medications and should not be consumed if you are currently taking any medications, i.e.  Zocor/ Simvastatin (for cholesterol). Be sure to consult with your physician regarding food interactions with any of your prescription medications before following any diet or meal prep plan.