For the past couple months I have been cooking my way through the newest SkinnyTaste cookbook "SkinnyTaste: Fast and Slow". I kind of made up my own challenge to make every recipe in the entire book. I thought it would be cool to check in along the way and update you guys on how it is going.
I already touched in a previous blog why I enjoy SkinnyTaste recipes. To recap: They are easy to learn, light on calories, heavy on flavor, and on trend with popular meals/ingredients. I used to use SkinnyTaste just because her meals were healthy, but I fell in love with Gina's simplicity when it comes to ingredients and recipe instructions.
This challenge has been fun because it has taken some of the headache out of meal planning. Its almost like someone is planning my meals for me. I LOATHE meal planning. I think cooking is okay. And, eating is my favorite part.
This challenge has been fun because it has taken some of the headache out of meal planning. Its almost like someone is planning my meals for me. I LOATHE meal planning. I think cooking is okay. And, eating is my favorite part.
Below I will recap our first 20 meals from the cookbook. I had Tom pick his 5 favorite meals, and I picked my top 5. I will cover those meals first. Unfortunately, most of Gina's recipes are exclusive to her cookbook, but if they are available online I will put the link below.
Tom's Top 5
1. Banana Almond Smoothie Bowl
This was, hands down, Tom's favorite meal. It is now his only request when it comes to weekend breakfasts. I have to agree. It was tasty, filling, and fun to make. I love the flavor of the almond butter, and the crunch of the chia seeds.
2. Savory Quinoa Breakfast Bowls
Tom actually made this meal for me one night for dinner while I was working hard on Etsy stuff. It was the first recipe we had out of the new cookbook. Even though it is listed as a breakfast recipe, we had it for dinner. We often do the whole breakfast for dinner change-up, because why not? These were delicious. The quinoa is cooked with vegetable broth which really gives this meal its savory flavor.
3. Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
This meal was so much fun. The soup is tomato based, and then you plop on a topping of ricotta cheese before you serve. It really does trick you into thinking you ate lasagna because the flavor is all there.
4. Sunnyside-Up Egg and Avocado Rice Bowls
This is Tom's favorite dinner out of the new recipes, and one we've already made several times. It is SO simple. Egg, avocado, Brown rice, Cilantro, Tomato, and Siracha. What's not to like? The only change we made is poaching our eggs instead of frying (because I'm obsessed with poaching eggs).
5. Asiago-Crusted Chicken Breasts
This was one of my favorite recipes, too! I can't wait to make it again. I love baking chicken breasts in the oven, especially when the are cutlets. They are so hard to mess up, always come out perfect, and they don't have to bake very long. I served this with a side of zucchini wedges which I'll talk about later.
Caitlin's Top 5
1. Breakfast Banana Split
I think I am just a sucker for things that look "pretty" when I make them. I just love the mix of colors and textures. Studies show that food looks more appealing and you feel more satisfied when it has a variety of colors, so I'm not totally crazy. My favorite part of this meal is the sprinkle of granola (although I went more with a "generous sprinkle," like a "light shower" of granola). It added the perfect amount of crunch. I like this only slightly more than the smoothie bowls. But, only because I don't have to clean my blender with this recipe.
2. Kale Caesar and Grilled Chicken Bowls
This meal was so tasty. I loved making the caesar dressing from scratch. It was so much fun! The week I made this, Tom was getting home from work later, so I was leaving his dinner in the fridge. I love that I did't have to worry about the lettuce getting soggy because kale takes so long to break down. It probably even tasted better for him than it did for me, lol. And even though it is a salad meal (which Tom sometimes has problems with), it packs a punch of protein with the egg and chicken.
3.Butternut Squash Noodles with Pancetta and Poached Egg
Yes. This meal was amazing. The whole time I was eating it, I couldn't believe that I was eating something so "light." It really tricks you into thinking you are eating a super hearty, heavy pasta dish. But, really, it almost all vegetable, and the poached egg makes a great creamy sauce.
4. Korean-Inspired Chicken Lettuce Wraps
This is a strong statement, but I think these are my favorite lettuce wraps of all time. They weren't "drippy" (read: messy) like most asian lettuce wraps I've made in the past that have a soy sauce based dressing. My favorite part was the brown rice and the gochujang. If you have't had gochujang you are missing out!
5. Salad Pizza
This might have been my favorite dinner out of the 20. It is a meatless meal (which is usually not a selling point for Tom, but I don't mind going meatless about once a week). Essentially, it is a spring salad on top of a warm crust with a balsamic glaze. I used garlic naan for our crust. It was perfect!
Other Recipes We Tried:
Cucumber, Tomato, and Lox Avocado Toast
Delicious and simple! Lox are a staple at our house.
Slow Cooker Butternut Apple Soup with Crisp Leeks
Perfect for a soup and sandwich combo. Crispy are were amazing!
Egg Roll Bowls
Nothing too crazy, but tasty. I added a lot of siracha to mine, yum!
Slow Cooker Bahn Mi Rice Bowls
I think if I had done a better job on the pork, this would have made it to my top 5. Looking forward to trying it again. I love the picked carrots and radishes!
Get the recipe here!
Get the recipe here!
Cold Peanut Sesame Chicken and Spiralized Cucumber Noodle Salad
This meal came together so quickly. You can cut off even more time by buying a rotisserie chicken at the store.
Zucchini Wedges with Lemon and Fresh Oregano
Definitely my new favorite side dish! These paired perfectly with the Asiago Crusted Chicken Breasts. I love that it is a stovetop meal!
Not so favorite, but not terrible.
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumpling Soup
This was okay. Tasted great, but a little too labor intensive for a not-so-special soup.
Spicy Lump Crab and Charred Corn Flaco "tacos"
Not a huge fan of shellfish. I'd make this again with chicken! The corn and the dressing were great! And, don't be fooled by the name. These are pretty much lettuce wraps.
Fork & Knife Cheeseburgers
Mushrooms are probably my least favorite food on the planet. However, Tom loved this meal! I had mine as a naked-burger.
Slow Cooker Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
These were just okay. I enjoyed the process of stuffing the cabbage, because I had never done that before. Overall, this recipe was lacking in flavor. And it really doesn't photograph well. There is no way to make a cabbage roll look pretty.
Thanks so much for reading my blog. I have already made several more recipes I can't wait to share.
Laterbug, Caiterbug!
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