Hey! It’s a new year and a time when most people set new goals and expectations for themselves. If eating healthier, cleaner & making better food in general is one of your goals, Simple Eats is here to help. I met with Nutritional Therapy Practitioner Kristi Carlson earlier this week to do some recipe testing and pick her amazing brain to gain some extra knowledge about easy swaps and tips on how to approach the new year with food. We are sharing the recipes we made together with you and offering them on the new menu for next week. I am so excited to be working with her and I can’t wait for you to get to know a bit about her too. Feel free to reach out to Kristi or myself with any questions. I promise to make the upcoming menus at Simple Eats as fresh and clean as possible. Adding as many vegetables and new flavors as I can think of. If you have any special requests, please let me know. Always looking for fun and exciting new health-forward menu items.

Thanks for reading & Happy New Year!! —Krysta

Hi! I’m Kristi and I had a blast cooking with Krysta this week in the Simple Eats kitchen!

We all want the biggest bang for our time and money, especially when it comes to our health. So when your health is a top priority in the new year, it can be a little overwhelming to figure out where to start that’ll make a lasting impact. Although the latest diet trend or detox can be tempting, I’ve seen over and over again in my practice that it’s the small steps that make the biggest impact over time and stick for life.

Start here! These are my favorite, simple tips to help you get on track, feel great, and keep you motivated through all of 2021 and beyond.

Chew your food. Ever feel a little bloat or indigestion within an hour or two of eating? “Chew more” may feel trivial, but I can’t tell you the number of times this has made a significant difference in my clients’ digestion and absorption of nutrients.

When you chew each bite at least 20 times, you’re doing your digestion a huge favor by properly breaking down the food and giving the stomach enough time to produce the necessary gastric juices to further break it down and absorb it.

After all, if you’re not properly digesting your food, you’re likely not properly absorbing the nutrients either.

Try it for one meal (preferably your biggest meal of the day), and feel the difference or lack of digestive symptoms in the hours following.

Eat a wide variety of whole foods. Our brains love routine (and who has the time?), so it's no wonder we can find ourselves eating the same ten foods (or less) week after week. Even if these ten foods are whole foods, the lack of variety also means we’re lacking in variety of nutrients.

This is why I love Simple Eats MKE. Not only are the meals well-balanced, nutritious and whole-food-based, but the variety of foods means your body is getting a rich variety of vitamins and minerals throughout the week, too.

Boost your hydration. You already know hydration is important, but your body may be literally flushing much of those 80 oz down the toilet if it doesn’t have the right balance of minerals to transport it to cells across your body.

My top hydration tip is to add a dash of sea salt to your water (a favorite is pink Himalayan salt) to boost your electrolytes and improve the hydrating efficiency of the water you’re drinking. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, too, and you have yourself a healthier electrolyte drink than most options on the market.

Eat balanced snacks. Ever notice you find yourself back in the cupboard shorting after snacking on crackers or chips? There’s a reason for the saying “once you pop, you can’t stop.”

It’s important to reach for snacks high in protein and/or fat to keep your blood sugar from crashing again and hold you over until your next meal. Some of my favorites are veggies with almond butter or hummus, jerky, or roasted chickpeas.

And if you find yourself always needing a snack at certain times of the day, consider upping the protein or fat content of the prior meal to help better meet your energy needs and keep you satisfied for longer.

Chicken & Butternut Squash Enchilada Bake

Chicken & Butternut Squash Enchilada Bake - 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 cup packed fresh baby spinach

2 cups enchilada sauce

1 poblano pepper

8 corn tortillas

2 tbsp Avocado oil

1.5 lb chicken thighs, cooked and chopped

1 Avocado

2 limes, juiced

1/4 cup cilantro

1 Tbsp mayo

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Toss butternut squash in1 tbsp avocado oil, and place in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, tossing halfway through. Lower the temperature to 350°F.

3. While butternut squash is roasting, saute onion in 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat until tender, about five minutes. Set aside.

4. Place peeled avocado, lime juice, cilantro and mayo in a food processor. Pulse until smooth.

5. Transfer the roasted butternut squash and onions to a large bowl with the chicken, 1 cup enchilada sauce, black beans, spinach, and chopped cilantro.

6. In a greased 9x13 pan, spread a thin layer of the enchilada sauce along the bottom, followed by three tortillas, butternut squash/chicken mixture, remaining tortillas, and remaining sauce. Bake for 20 minutes. Top with avocado cream and cilantro.

NUTRITION:

Calories 339

Fat 10g

Carbs 37g

Fiber 8g

Protein 24g

Brussel Sprout & Goat Cheese Frittata

Brussel Sprout and Goat Cheese Frittata - 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 red onion

2 cups brussel sprouts

12 eggs

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp Italian seasoning

2 oz goat cheese

Avocado oil / ghee

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Sauté red onion in avocado oil. Once translucent, add shredded Brussel sprouts until slightly wilted.

2. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, vinegar, and seasonings.

4. Sprinkle goat cheese on top of veggies in the skillet. Pour eggs over veggies.

5. Carefully place the skillet in the preheated oven, and bake for 20 minutes, or until firm and golden brown.

NUTRITION:

Calories 197

Fat 13g

Carbs 5

Fiber 1g

Protein 16g

Kale Detox Salad

Kale Detox Salad - 10 servings

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups shredded kale

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 cups chopped cauliflower

2 cups matchstick carrots

2 cups shredded Brussel sprouts

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 tsp fresh diced ginger

1 tsp fresh diced garlic

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup roasted chickpeas

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients through the Brussel sprouts.
In a small bowl or food processor, pulse lemon juice, ginger, garlic and olive oil until combined. Pour over the veggies in the large bowl, and toss to combine.
Top dried cranberries, almonds and chickpeas.

NUTRITION:

Calories 226

Fat 12g

Carbs 25g

Fiber 7g

Protein 7g

Pesto Spaghetti Squash Bake

Pesto Spaghetti Squash Bake - 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 spaghetti squash

1 lb raw chicken sausage

2 cups carrots

Tomato sauce 2 cups

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp avocado oil

Pesto:

1/4 shredded Parmesan

1 cup packed basil leaves

1/4 cup arugula

1 tbsp garlic

1/4 olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400F. Place whole spaghetti squash in the preheated oven, and bake for 40 minutes. Remove, and once cool to the touch, slice in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, and scrape out squash from the skin. Reduce oven heat to 350F.
While spaghetti squash is roasting, preheat a pan on medium-high heat, and brown chicken sausage until no longer pink, and set aside. In the same pan, add carrots, and sauté until tender. Add sausage back to the pan, pour in the tomato sauce, and simmer on low for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Toss red tomatoes in avocado oil, place on a sheet pan, and broil for four minutes, or until blistering. Add tomatoes and remaining juice to the pan with chicken sausage and sauce, and continue to simmer while you make the pesto.
Add all pesto ingredients to the food processor, except olive oil. Pulse until a paste forms. Continue pulsing, and slowly pour in the olive oil until combined.
Add spaghetti squash to the tomato sauce mixture, and toss to combine. Top with dollops of pesto.

Nutrition:

Calories 325

Fat 22g

Carbs 21g

Fiber 3g

Protein 14g

Cauliflower Shepherd’s Pie

Cauliflower Shepherd’s Pie - 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb ground chicken

32 oz frozen or fresh cauliflower

1/4 almond milk

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3 garlic cloves

16 oz frozen veggie mix (peas, carrots, corn, green beans)

16 oz chicken broth

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp rosemary

2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 Tbsp coconut aminos

3 Tbsp arrowroot flour

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease a large baking dish (9×11 or something similar).
Steam cauliflower until fork tender. Add to a high speed blender with almond milk and blend until combined. Add salt, garlic powder, and black pepper, and blend once more until smooth, set aside.
While the cauliflower is cooking, place a large deep pan over medium heat. Add ghee and onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until soft. Add ground chicken then use a wooden spatula to break into small pieces. Add 1 tsp of salt and cook until no pink remains. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant.
Add in the frozen veggie mixture, broth, thyme, rosemary, tomato paste, coconut aminos, and 1 last teaspoon of salt then mix until completely combined. Cover to steam the veggies and bring mixture to a low boil. After about 8 minutes, remove the lid and add in arrowroot flour 1 tablespoon at a time, completely dissolving the arrowroot flour before adding the next tablespoon. Once combined, taste to see if the mixture needs any more salt, then add the black pepper and mix once more.
Pour into a greased baking dish and smooth throughout. Scoop the cauliflower mixture on top of meat mixture and spread evenly to cover. Broil on medium heat for five minutes, or until the top starts to slightly brown.

NUTRITION:

Calories 247

Fat 9g

Carbs 25g

Fiber 7g

Protein 20g