Meal Plan, Workout Recap, and a Recipe
Hi everyone!
I'm taking a break from my allergy/eczema posting to quickly bring you my meal plan and workout recap for the week, plus a recipe. I'll be back tomorrow with part 3 of our story!
Let's do the recipe first, shall we?
This recipe is a twist on an a recipe from The Tightwad Gazette that I used to make on repeat before we had food allergies to worry about. It was always a hit with the kids, so one day recently I decided to try to make an allergy-friendly version that is free of gluten, dairy, and fish/shellfish (all of which were present in the original recipe). It came out great, tastes much like the original, and is slightly lower in fat and calories. It's still plenty indulgent, though, don't get me wrong! Perfect for a night of comfort food, which I'm finding myself craving in these uncertain times. A little stress eating never hurt anybody, right??
As an added bonus, many of the ingredients for this casserole keep well in the pantry for long periods of time... so I made sure to stock up back when I did my food hoarding. We have enough supplies to make this casserole many times over in the coming weeks.
Here it is!
Chicken Noodle Casserole
Gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, fish- and shellfish-free, egg- and soy-free option
(or, "tuna poodle casserole" as my girls call it, quoting from Skippyjon Jones)
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons dairy-free butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup gluten free flour
(we use this or any gluten-free grain flour, like brown rice flour, millet flour, oat flour, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, etc.)
2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
(we usually use soy, hemp or cashew)
12 oz gluten free pasta
1 cup white cooking wine
1 cup mayo
(we use this mayo which has healthier oils; if you're vegan or egg-allergic you can use a vegan mayo)
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
(we get ours on Amazon)
10 oz canned chicken
1/2 tsp dried dill
2 cups gluten free bread crumbs
(if you can't find GF bread crumbs at the store, make your own by grinding gluten free bread in the blender or food processor)
Additional 4 Tablespoons dairy-free butter
Instructions:
1. Melt the 2 T dairy-free butter into the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the gluten free flour, then slowly add the 2 cups of non-dairy milk, whisking as you go. Heat the mixture for 5 minutes or so, whisking often, until it thickens slightly to the consistency of cream of mushroom soup (this is a dairy-free substitute).
2. Cook the gluten-free pasta "al dente" according to package directions. It should be just barely done as it will absorb more liquid when the casserole cooks-- don't overcook to avoid the dreaded soggy gluten free pasta.
3. Preheat the oven to 350. Combine the cooked pasta, the cream of mushroom substitute from step 1, the wine, mayo, nutritional yeast, and canned chicken. Stir well, then transfer to a 9x13 pan or 3-quart casserole dish. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
4. While the casserole cooks, prepare the crumb topping. Melt the 4 Tablespoons dairy-free butter and stir into the 2 cups of gluten-free bread crumbs until well combined. Remove the casserole from the oven and uncover. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the casserole and return to the oven. Bake 5 more minutes until browned on top. Remove and serve!
Here's my workout recap:
Friday 3/20: I got up late and it was raining, so I just did a quick 3.26 miles on the treadmill, 9'18" pace. I purchased a refurbished Garmin VioFit for $35 on Amazon, so I can now track my runs on the treadmill! Cool!
Saturday 3/21: rest day
Sunday 3/22: Outside with a running buddy, 8.62 miles at 10'18" pace
Monday 3/23: outside run, 5.03 miles at 9'51"
Tuesday 3/25: this Fitness Blender upper body workout I discovered the other week... a nice break for my tired legs.
Wednesday 3/26: met my running friend again, 6.3 miles at 9'57"
Thursday 3/27: I did this abs workout with a warm up before and cool down after. It was only a 20 minute workout but I got super sweaty!
And here's our meal plan for the week! I decided that, in order to avoid too many trips to the grocery store and lessen my exposure to germs, I would shop for two weeks this time instead of my usual 1 week. So I just bought enough to double each of these meals, and we'll repeat the same menu next week. I'll let you know how it turns out!
Suppers
Saturday-- homemade empanandas with salsa, avocado, and sour cream... we did this yesterday and they were a big hit! Good thing I have enough beans and flour in my pantry to repeat this meal for at least 8 more weeks!!
Sunday-- mac and cheese, green salad
Monday-- subs, chips, strawberries (frozen fruit or smoothies week 2)
Tuesday-- lentil/quinoa tacos (I use this recipe and sub in lentils for half of the quinoa, to up the protein content a little bit)
Wednesday-- leftovers
Thursday-- chicken noodle casserole (see recipe above!)
Friday-- leftovers or tea & biscuits
Lunches
bagels
sub leftovers
cold cut sandwiches or pbj/sbj
shakes and smoothies
salad leftovers
Breakfasts
homemade waffles or pancakes
cereal/granola
eggs
Snacks
hippeas
snap peas
made good bars
tortilla chips and salsa
oyster crackers and cheese
fresh fruit: strawberries, apples, oranges, grapefruit, grapes, watermelon?
fresh veg: sweet peppers, cucumber, carrots (with hummus or dip)
homemade cookies
peach/pear cups
applesauce
yogurt quick bread
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