With the busy holiday season coming up, some quick and healthy meal ideas are a must! Enjoy some of the seasonal flavors from butternut squash, cranberries, and apples below!
Quinoa Harvest Bowl
This meal is a prime example of the fact that you don't need to follow a detailed recipe to get a tasty meal on the table. Learning simple cooking processes will help you out more in the long run than always trying to follow a detailed recipe to the T. I was strolling through Trader Joes when I spotted these pre-chopped bags of Brussel Sprouts and butternut squash spirals and realized they could create an easy and flavorful plant-based meal. A few fun facts about quinoa: 1) It's a seed, not a grain 2) It's naturally gluten free 3) It's higher in protein than most plant-foods (about 8 gram of protein/cup).
To Make: Heat up the quinoa. Heat some avocado or olive oil in a hot skillet and add in the squash spirals and the Brussel Sprouts. Add some minced garlic if desired. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Once the vegetables are tender to your liking, stir in 1-2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup (this adds some seasonal flavor and sweetness- omit if you want to limit sugar). Serve the vegetable mixture over quinoa and top it with pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and dried cranberries for extra flavor and crunch.
Copycat Panera Bread Fuji Apple Chicken Salad
The Fuji Apple Chicken Salad from Panera Bread is pretty much the best salad ever. It can get expensive going there regularly, so I figured out a way to re-create it at home. By making it at home you both save money and have more control over the ingredients. At Panera, they also add tomato, but I left that out of the picture per my personal preferences, but tomatoes are super nutrient dense so go ahead and add those in if you like them! I used apple chips since that is what they use at Panera, but you could also use diced fuji apples.
To make: Grill the chicken (or use shredded rotisserie). Combine the lettuce, red onion, gorgonzola (or feta) cheese, and apple chips in a salad bowl. Make your own balsamic vinaigrette to go on top or you can buy the actual Panera Bread Fuji Apple Chicken Salad dressing in the refrigerated salad dressing section of most major super markets. Top with some walnuts or pecans for crunch. Enjoy!
Butternut Squash Noodles with Salmon
Fall is certainly the season of the butternut squash, but squash can be time intensive to prepare, so I'm glad I was able to find these veggie noodles already prepared at the supermarket. You can serve with whatever protein and sauce you choose.
To make: If you want to make a brown-butter sage sauce, heat up about 1/2 of a stick of butter on the stove with about 1/4 cup of chopped fresh sage and a couple cloves of garlic. Add in the "noodles" and sauté for 5-7 minutes. Either grill salmon or chicken to serve on top of the noodles. A red sauce or pesto would also go well with the noodles if you don't like sage.
Pasta with Autumn Harvest Alfredo Sauce and Sautéed Kale
I ran across this seasonal pasta sauce at Trader Joes and had to try it. I would suggest adding a bit more flavor to the sauce with parmesan, herbs, or a splash of tomato sauce. I served the pasta with kale that was sautéed in garlic and olive oil, but any vegetable would do. If avoiding gluten or if you want a higher protein pasta, opt for black bean, lentil, or chickpea pasta instead of regular.
To Make: Boil water and make pasta. Strain and stir in the harvest alfredo sauce and whatever other herbs and flavorings desired. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in another skillet and throw in some garlic and kale. Cook for about 5 minutes until it starts to wilt down. Serve the garlicy kale as the side to the pasta. Add on extra protein like chicken or salmon if desired.
Kelsey Stricklen, MS RD CLT is a Registered Dietitian who specializes in women's health and food sensitivities. She runs a primarily virtual private nutrition practice out of Grand Rapids, Michigan called Nutrition in the Mitten. You can check out her services and website here. Or find her on Instagram here.
