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Week 22 (September 28th): Menu at a Glance


lentil soup









chia pudding

Cozy Lentil Soup

Tex Mex Salad

Warming Moroccan Stew

Three Herb Pesto w/ Sundried Tomatoes

Chocolate Drizzled Cookies

Almond Cacao Chia Pudding

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Grocery List – Week 22

Print or Save All Week 22 Recipes (PDF)

All Recipes – Week 22

The Recipes:

1. Cozy Lentil Soup

 
lentil soup

Cozy Lentil Soup

This lentil soup is originally based on a recipe by Laura Wright (in her cookbook The First Mess). It's a pretty classic basic lentil soup and it's always so comforting on a cool fall evening. You can definitely add other vegetables into the soup and simply use the following recipe as a base. Zucchini, bell peppers and root veggies would all be welcome here. We've made this recipe before with a can of fire roasted tomatoes and highly recommend it- the fire roasted tomatoes adds a whole other level of deliciousness!

  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion (diced)
  • 1 tsp dried thyme (or 2 tsp fresh thyme)
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 2 carrots (diced)
  • 2 stalks celery (diced)
  • 4 cloves garlic (sliced)
  • 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup French lentils (or brown or green lentils)
  • 6 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
  • sea salt to taste

Optional

  • 1/2 lemon (squeezed)
  • 1/4 cup parsley (chopped)

  1. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and saute for around 5 minutes, until beginning to turn translucent.

  2. Then add the thyme, paprika, carrots, celery and garlic and give everything a good stir. You can add a pinch of sea salt here too if you like.

  3. Pour in the diced tomatoes, vegetable broth and the lentils. Stir everything together and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the lentils are tender.

  4. Taste and add sea salt and pepper if you like, to your taste preference. You can also stir in lemon juice and fresh parsley if you like.

Substitution Guide:

  • Diced Tomatoes:  If you don’t eat tomatoes, you can omit the can of diced tomatoes, it’ll still taste good
  • Vegetables: You can add other veggies if you like, such as zucchini, bell peppers, root veggies (potato, sweet potato, turnip, parsnip or sub them instead of the carrots).

 

Prep Guide:

  • This soup will keep well leftover for many days, 4-5 days, and gets more flavourful when it’s in the fridge.  It’s also freezer friendly if you want to pack some away for the future.

2. Tex Mex Salad


Tex Mex Salad

Since we're still holding onto late summer days, we thought this week definitely needed a more summery inspired salad. But, we'll be wilting and cooking a bunch of the vegetables in here, so it can be served as a warm salad if you're done with the cold salads this season.

  • 1 zucchini (sliced in spears or discs)
  • 1 medium sweet potato (cut in cubes)
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes
  • 1 bunch green kale (chopped)
  • 2 ears corn (kernels cut off)
  • 1 avocado (peeled and sliced)
  • 1/4 cup cilantro (chopped, or sub parsley)

Optional Protein

  • 1 15-oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 1 lb chicken breast or thigh (boneless, skinless, cut in cubes)

Dressing

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 Tbsp lime juice (around 1.5 limes)
  • 1 small clove garlic (minced)
  • 2 tsp honey (or maple syrup)
  • sea salt and pepper (to taste)

  1. Preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. Spread the zucchini and sweet potato out on the baking sheet and rub with some avocado oil (or extra virgin olive oil), sea salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes, or until the zucchini and sweet potato are starting to get crisp on the edges.

  3. Place the cherry tomatoes (leaving them whole) on another small baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Rub them with a little bit of avocado oil (or extra virgin olive oil) and sea salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes just start to blister. You'll see the inside of the tomatoes get really tender and it'll look like they are about to pop out of their skins.

  4. This step is optional! While the vegetables are roasting, saute the kale in a skillet with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil so that it lightly cooks and looks wilted. If you prefer leaving the kale raw in the salad, don't worry about cooking it.

  5. Peel the corn and then steam in a pot with a bit of water until tender. We usually steam it for around 3 minutes, once the water is boiling. Remove from heat and remove the corn from the pot. Once it's cool enough to handle, cut the kernels off.

  6. If you're adding a protein to the salad, the black beans can simply be added in once you've rinsed them off from the can. For the chicken- we like to sear it quickly in a skillet with some extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and pepper to make sure it's cooked through.

  7. Now for the assembly! Lay the kale (cooked or raw) down in a large bowl. Top with the roasted sweet potato, zucchini, cherry tomatoes and corn. Add black beans and/or chicken.

  8. Lastly, add the chopped cilantro (or parsley) and the sliced avocado.

  9. Whisk together the dressing and toss all together right before serving.

Substitution Guide:

  • Green kale: Lacinato kale or another leafy green/lettuce that you prefer will work instead (romaine, red leaf, green leaf, mixed greens…just don’t cook the lettuce if you use that option!)
  • Black beans: Other beans can be used instead, chickpeas, white beans, etc.
  • Lime: Lemon can work in a pinch for the dressing instead.

 

Prep Guide:

  • Roasted Veggies: These can be roasted the day before and then added to the salad.  You can eat the salad at room temp or reheat the roasted veggies before adding into the salad, whichever you prefer.
  • Dressing: Always easy to make the dressing in advance and store in the fridge.

3. Warming Moroccan Stew


Warming Moroccan Stew

Another fall-time recipe to keep you feeling cozy. But, if you're not quite ready for a root veggie focused meal, you could easily use lighter vegetables to keep it a little more summery. Cauliflower, zucchini and even bell peppers could all work well here if you want to try something different and make a lighter meal. You'll love the smell of the spices as this stew simmers away!

  • 2 tsp coconut oil or avocado oil
  • 1 small yellow onion (diced)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 tsp ginger (peeled and minced)
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 medium sweet potato (diced)
  • 1 parsnip (peeled and diced)
  • 1 carrot (peeled and diced)
  • 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup cilantro (chopped or sub parsley)
  • 1/2 lemon (squeezed or add to taste)

Protein Options

  • 1 15-oz can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
  • 1 lb chicken breasts or thighs (skinless, boneless)

Optional

  • 1 cup quinoa

  1. If you'd like to serve with quinoa: Put the quinoa up to cook with 2 cups of water in a small pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer on low heat, covered for 15 minutes.

  2. Heat the oil in a large pot or deep pan. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic and ginger and saute for a few minutes. Once the onions are starting to turn translucent, stir in the dried spices and saute for 30 seconds.

  3. Toss in the sweet potato, parsnip and carrot and give everything a stir to combine.

  4. Pour in the chickpeas or chicken, along with the diced tomatoes and broth. You can add a pinch of sea salt and pepper here.

  5. Bring everything to a boil. Once it's boiling, turn the heat down to low and simmer the stew, covered for around 25-30 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender and cooked. If you're using chicken, make sure it's cooked through completely.

  6. Once the stew is cooked, stir in the chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Substitution Guide:

  • Root veggies: You could use potatoes instead of sweet potatoes. Other root veggies can be used instead of the parsnip and carrot, such as turnip and rutabaga.  For a lower-carb option, cauliflower and zucchini would be delicious.  
  • Chickpeas: White beans can be used instead
  • Broth: Vegetable or chicken broth both work.  Bouillon cube can also be used if needed.

 

Prep Guide:

  • This stew keeps well leftover for 4-5 days in the fridge.  It also is freezer friendly!

4. Three Herb Pesto with Sundried Tomatoes


Three Herb Pesto with Sundried Tomatoes

We hope you still have some fresh herbs hanging around! If you had any herb plants over the summer, this is a great way to use up your harvest. We like making this pesto because it's a nice variation on the traditional one and doesn't require any cheese. Mint and parsley add extra flavour to this pesto that's much more interesting than just basil on its own. Toasted walnuts are a little sweet and creamy, but feel free to sub other types of nuts if you don't have them.

  • 4 servings GF pasta (or pasta of choice)
  • 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (sliced)

For the pesto

  • 1/2 cup mint leaves
  • 1/2 cup basil leaves
  • 1/2 cup parsley
  • 1 clove garlic (minced)
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup walnuts (toasted)
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice (or add to taste)
  • sea salt and pepper (to taste)

Optional

  • 1/4 cup dairy-free parmesan "cheese" or real parmesan

  1. Prepare the pasta according to package instructions.

  2. To make the pesto, add all of the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until everything is chopped up finely and you have a nice pesto mixture. You can blend if you prefer a smoother mixture. Or just pulse if you prefer a chunky mixture with some pieces of herbs.

  3. Once the pasta is cooked, toss together with the pesto and the sundried tomatoes.

  4. Sprinkle the dairy-free "parmesan" or parmesan over top before serving.

Substitution Guide:

  • Pasta: We like to use a legume based pasta for this recipe since it’s high in protein (lentil pasta, chickpea pasta, etc.). These pastas make the meal much for filling because of their protein content.  If you’re not eating any type of pasta, you could sub spiralized sweet potato or zucchini noodles instead- they would both be delicious with the pesto!
  • Walnuts: Almonds and pinenuts can be subbed. Or for a nut-free option, try using sunflower seeds instead.
  • Sundried Tomatoes: You can omit if you don’t like them. Or sliced olives or artichokes work here instead.

 

Prep Guide:

  • Pesto: You can make the pesto the day before and store in the fridge.  If you have leftovers, you can store in the fridge for a few days too.  
  • Make extra: If you love this pesto, make a double batch and the use it for snacks or lunches later in the way.  It’s great for dipping crackers or veggies into, spread on sandwiches or toast, or even as a marinade for fish or poultry.

5. Chocolate Drizzled Cookies


Chocolate Drizzled Cookies

Instead of classic chocolate chip cookies, we like drizzling melted chocolate over top of these cookies for a different look. These are high in protein, thanks to the almond flour and tahini, which is one of the ways we recommend supporting blood sugar balance when eating dessert- the protein (and healthy fat) slows down the amount of time it takes for the sugar to raise your blood sugar. We hope you enjoy these cookies!

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil (softened at room temp (not melted))
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 3 Tbsp coconut flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • pinch sea salt
  • 1 cup chopped dark chocolate bar

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. Mix together the softened coconut oil with tahini and coconut sugar in a mixing bowl. You can use a food processor or an electric mixer, if you prefer (but it's not necessary). Then whisk in the egg.

  3. Fold in the dry ingredients, almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and a pinch of sea salt.

  4. Gently melt the chocolate in a small bowl, placed over a small pot with around 1/2 cup of water in it. Once the water is boiling (or even before it's fully boiling) the steam will melt the chocolate in the bowl.

  5. Scoop out the dough into cookies, around 1.5 Tbsp each, and place out on the parchment paper.

  6. Drizzle the melted chocolate over top of the cookies.

  7. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned, but still seem a little soft inside. They will solidify as they cool down.

Substitution Guide:

  • Tahini: Almond butter or peanut butter can be used
  • Chocolate bar: Chocolate chips work

 

Prep Guide:

  • If you have leftover, they can be kept in a cool, dry place for a day (a cool counter top).  If keeping longer, then store them in the fridge.

6. Almond Cacao Chia Pudding

chia pudding

Almond Cacao Chia Pudding

In case your mornings have gotten a little busier with the start of September, this chia pudding recipe is a really easy and quick way to prep breakfast the night before and save time in the morning!

  • 1 1/4 cups dairy-free milk (unsweetened)
  • 1/4 cup chia seeds
  • 2 Tbsp almond butter
  • 2 Tbsp cacao powder
  • 2 Tbsp maple syrup

Toppings

  • 1 cup strawberries (or other berries )

  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir together until evenly combined.

  2. You can pour into 2 mason jars or containers. Or, if you prefer, pour into 1 large container. The mixture will need to sit for 2 hours in the fridge to solidify. We recommend letting it sit for longer if you have time (such as over night).

  3. Top with any berries or fruit that you like when serving.

Substitution Guide:

  • Almond butter: Peanut butter or tahini will work
  • Dairy-Free milk: Coconut beverage, almond milk, macadamia nut milk or any other dairy-free milk that you like can be used
  • Cacao powder: Cocoa powder 

 

Prep Guide:

  • Make this the night before you want to eat it- then it can just solidify in the fridge overnight and it’ll be ready for you in the morning!

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