What to Eat this Week: Balanced Deliciousness and Making the Most of Leftovers
Hi friends,
Welcome back to What to Eat this Week - your weekly food inspo that takes the guesswork out of eating well. These meals are straight from my kitchen, and they’re all about ease, balance, deliciousness and making the most of leftovers (with zero diet noise).
Whether you're in full plan mode or just need a few new ideas, here’s what’s on the menu this week👇
This Week’s Menu Overview
Breakfast
Cocoa Overnight Oats
Lunch
Chicken Filling (Great for Wraps, Sandwiches or Bowls)
Dinners
Chicken Fajitas
Pesto Pasta with Prawns
Chilli Bean Nacho Bowls
Leftover Pesto Pasta (Reworked!)
Scroll down for full recipes and prep tips!
Breakfast: Cocoa Overnight Oats
Chocolate for breakfast? Always yes.
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 Tbsp Greek yoghurt
1/2 cup milk of choice
Toppings
1 Tbsp Greek yoghurt
Handful of frozen blueberries
1 tsp almond butter
Method
In a container combine oats, chia seeds, cocoa powder, yoghurt and milk. Mix well to combine. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
When ready to eat add topping or you can ad the toppings once mixed so its ready to just grab and go from the fridge.
[serves 1]
Lunch: Prep-able Chicken Filling
This is a really convenient hack to prep a protein mix at the start of the week, that can be kept in the fridge for quick, easy lunches. It's perfect in a wrap, spooned over greens, or stuffed in a pita.
2 chicken breasts, cooked
1 spring onion, chopped
1/2 cucumber, diced
3 small tomatoes, seeds removed & diced
1 handful parsley, chopped
1/4 cup sundried tomato, sliced
2-3 Tbsp greek yoghurt
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
Method
Chop or shred cooked chicken. Add to a bowl with all of the other ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Store in the fridge for easy lunches by adding to wraps, sandwiches or salads.
[Serves 3-4]
Dinner: Chicken Fajitas
I love a dinner that involved just baking everything on tray in the oven. Then served with soft warm tortillas, avocado and picked onions. Yum! Also would be a great meal if you are cooking for a few people.
3 chicken breasts, sliced
2 red capsicum, sliced
1 yellow capsicum, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
1 drizzle of olive oil
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp minced garlic
To serve
1 avocado, mashed
Squeeze of lemon
Soft tortillas
Pickled onions, optional (find out how I make mine at the bottom of these recipes)
Fresh coriander or parsley
Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Slice chicken, capsicums and red onion. Add to a large bowl with oil, spices and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Spread out on a baking tray and bake in the oven until veggies are tender and chicken is cooked through.
Mash avocado with a squeeze of lemon juice and season to taste. Heat tortillas before serving.
Fill tortillas with baked chicken and veg, avocado, pickled onions and herbs.
[Serves 4]
Dinner: Throw together Green Pesto Pasta with Prawns
This was really a bit of a throw together and way to use up leftover veg in the fridge but it turned out great and tasty!
Pesto sauce
2 handfuls parsley
100g feta
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp honey
1/2 cup water
Pasta
4 serves fettuccini pasta
4-5 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 capsicum, sliced
Prawns
300g frozen prawns, defrosted
1 drizzle olive oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
Method
Bring a pot of salted water to the bowl and cook pasta.
Meanwhile, make pesto sauce by adding everything to a blender and blending until well combined.
Heat a pan over a medium heat, add prawns with a drizzle of oil and paprika, toss to combine and cook until prawns are cooked through and fragrant. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Cut mushrooms, red onion and capsicum. Add to the pan you cooked prawns in and sauté vegetables until tender. Add pesto sauce to the pan and mix. If it is too thick add some pasta water to loosen. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Once pasta is cooked add to the pan with sauce and toss to combine.
Serve pasta topped with prawns and sprinkle over extra feta and fresh parsley.
[Serves 4]
Dinner: Chilli Bean Nacho Bowls
This one’s a go-to for a quick weeknight dinner with plenty of fibre and spice.
Chilli Bean Mix
1 onion, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
2 cans chill beans (I use these one - Chilli beans)
1 can chopped tomatoes
To Serve
3 tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cucumber, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
Corn chips
1 avocado, mashed
Cheese, grated
Fresh salad greens
Jalapenos, chopped, optional
Method
In a large pan sauté onion and garlic in a drizzle of olive oil. Add paprika and cumin, sauté for 1 minute until fragrant.
Add chilli beans and canned tomatoes. Mix to combine and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine tomato, cucumber and red onion in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mash avocado and season with salt and pepper.
Serve chilli bean mix with corn chips and fresh greens. Top with grated cheese, tomato cucumber salsa, avocado and jalapenos.
[Serves 4]
Dinner: Leftover Pesto Pasta (Reworked!)
Making use of your leftover by reworking them is a smart way to not only save money and food waste but also your time. This week, I had leftover pasta from the pesto pasta recipe above so made it into a tasty leftovers dinner on a busy evening.
Portion of leftover pasta
Cooked fresh batch of paprika prawns (included in pasta recipe)
Feta, crumbled
Fresh parsley
Pickled onions (I make these by slicing red onion and adding to a jar with 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, pinch of salt and cover with boiling water, leave to pickle for at least 30 minutes or prep ahead and have on hand in the fridge)
[Serves 1]
I hope you enjoy these recipe ideas to help you eat well this week, and let me know if you make any of these by tagging @harriet_well on IG.
See you next week for another menu full of feel-good food!
-Harriet x