Chicken Pesto Linguini, Toasted Curry Cauliflower, Spring Green Salad

For dinner my husband made:
>Pan-Fried Chicken
>Whole Wheat Linguini & Basil Garlic Pesto
>Oven Toasted Curry Cauliflower
>Farm Fresh Spring Greens

This is one of those super fast meals. I'm usually not excited about pasta because I feel like it goes through me so quickly and makes me hungry, but whole wheat or rice pastas keep me full with just a little bit.

You can search the internet for pesto recipes and or ask your friends.

This pesto he made with basil, almonds, garlic, olive oil, parmesan and salt tossed in a food processor and done.

Recipe: BuzzwordFood Salad

The concept of this salad makes me laugh. It comes from the 'Superfood Salad' movement. Apparently they have these at Whole Foods (I don't really shop there except for urgent situations or quick natural food finds) so I don't know. But I actually got one on a road trip back from Oregon to Oakland at a Fred Meyers. I thought 'oh what a great idea!'. I liked the salad a lot, and I've decided I will go on to make various versions and themes of superfood salads, except I will be calling them BuzzwordFood because basically it's all the trendy new foods that we are going crazy about these days. Lol!

In this Salad:
Quinoa
Sunflower Seeds
Pomegranate
Avocados
Kale
Cherry Tomatoes
Black Beans
Red Onions
*and in my snootiest voice* all tossed in a home-made acai berry juice dressing (acai berry juice, non-fat yogurt, olive oil, salt, black pepper).

You too can make your own BuzzwordFood salad with these or other 'superfoods'.

Baked Chicken, Creamed Spinach and more

Baked Chicken
Roasted Potatoes
Creamed Spinach
Spring Greens Salad

-Grub this plate!

Chicken & Veggie Stew, Delicata Squash...

-Chicken & Mixed Veggies stew in Fresh Tomato sauce

-Roasted Delicata Squash

-Spinach, Cabbage & Raisin Salad

An in-season plate, with Fall veggies (Squash, Spinach, Cabbage). This meal was relatively quick, filling and delish. And I have to say, I really notice the difference between organic produce (not like huge manufacturer organic, but some good ol' small farm food). That shit is GOOD!  It just tastes better, it really does. We had the privilege of getting these delicata squashes, tomatoes and other veggies from a friend's farm, and boy I tell ya. Yum!

For the stew: Chopped up some skinless chicken thighs, threw in a pot with chopped onions, garlic and tomatoes (no added oils, just the juice from the chicken and the tomatoes) season with salt, dried rosemary from our backyard, ginger powder, let it stew. Once chicken was cooked to my standard, threw in some organic frozen mixed veggies, let it sit for a bit and it was done.

for the squash: threw it in whole into the oven, 475 degrees, for about 30 mins or until tender.

for the salad: bag of 'coleslaw' mix, spinach, raisins, lemon cucumbers, apple cider vinegar, honey and some fresh herbs, toss.

A World of Tastes: WIC Calendar 2013

OMG. This is some healthy. tasty. nutritious-food-geek stuff! A CALENDAR, with cool printed layout to boot. Just peeped the 2013 WIC Calendar 'A world of tastes...on MyPlate'. And I'm too juiced, makes me inspired to cook. For each month they feature a Plate inspired by different geographical regions on the continent. The only thing that I can hate about this is that they don't have more menus/plates. At least one per week would have been cool (hehe). But that's fine, because that's what we get to do here at GrubAPlate... create some together. With the WIC calendar you get 12 yummy looking recipes... I can't wait to make them and share them with other grubbers. I can't find good images on the internet to share, but I will keep searching. Maybe I'll be able to post some scans or pictures from Plates that I make.

Dinner: Turkey Quinoa Loaf et. al

Turkey Quinoa Loaf
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Steamed Green Beans
Fresh Cabbage & Raisin Salad


-Submit/View Recipes for this plate!

How to 'Grub a Plate'

Okay here's the short of it:

• A bunch of people send in menus (in form of plates*)
• They are collected (with a collection goal of at least 70 unique menus)
• Then put into a calendar + list + blog article
• Shared with folks

What Else?

Well the format for submissions is inspired by the Plate Method, so you don't just submit a dish, but a balanced 'complete meal' that is:

• Healthy + Nutritional (Avoid/minimal deep-fried, artificial & highly processed)
• Easy + Accessible (Consider foods that can be made in reasonable amounts of time, with ingredients that can be found easily)
• Tasty + Edible (please!)

*The 'Plate Method'?

Take your Plate. Divide it into 4. Put in:

• 1/4 lean protein
• 1/4 healthy carbs
• 1/4 low-carb cooked veggies
• 1/4 fresh vegetables

click to read more about the Plate Method

Certain dishes such as soups, wraps and salads can also be 'plate' worthy if they include a combo of two or more 'sections' of the plate.

Wanna participate?

You can:

• Simply SUBMIT a list for a meal idea
• Then SHARE this blog with your family & friends
• Also include RECIPES for one or more the dishes (feel free to include vegan, veggie or meat-lover variations)
• Take it a step further and include TAGS about special diets, allergies, or cultural info (e.g. diabetic, gluten-free, halal)
• If you know how include HOW to obtain 'special' ingredients (where to shop, how to grow, how to make)

Imagine the possibilities

These help to create more fun around making healthy food.

• Theme Nights: create themes to inspire variety & excitement in meals (Indian, Game Night, Out in the Woods, etc)
• Potluck: have people bring different items from parts of the plate
• Invite Yourself: Tell a friend or family member you would like to come over to eat
• Cook for someone: Make a plate you think someone else would like and invite them over or make them a plate to take to eat at home or take to work.

Grocery!