Living Simply October Challenge: Day 24 Menu Planning

     I've had a few requests for healthy meals to add to a weekly menu planner. We've talked about healthy eating and starting to add in a few healthy meals here and there before the holidays are here.

     Today I challenge you to choose one (or more) of these simple, quick, inexpensive, healthy meals to plan into this week. Feel free to make healthy substitutions based on your own needs, like gluten-free or dairy-free options, or adding chicken if you don't eat shrimp.

1.  Lettuce wrapped turkey tacos - just brown some ground turkey (instead of beef), add just a dash of salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, onion powder or onion salt. Add the turkey crumbles into lettuce leaves, top with a little shredded cheese (pepper jack works great), and chopped tomatoes or some salsa. Only takes a few minutes.

2.  Shredded BBQ chicken sandwich wrap - buy an already cooked rotisserie chicken. Shred the meat from the breast with 2 forks (google it if you don't know what I mean). Add a little BBQ sauce and either serve it on a low-carb wrap, tortilla, healthy bun, or even top a salad with it. You'll be able to have the legs, thighs, wings, etc. for another meal too, and it's already cooked - or chop remaining chicken and make a chicken salad with reduced fat mayo, celery, and whatever else you like.

3.  Salad that tastes like a Big Mac - This is actually a recipe from the Trim Healthy Mama plan/cookbook, so instead of reprinting it, which would be wrong, I'll sum it up. Brown some extra lean ground beef with some diced onion mixed in. Use it to top shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes (like a salad). Add some shredded cheddar cheese. Top with Thousand Island Dressing (lite is preferable, or make your own with lite mayo, ketchup & relish). Add one piece of healthy bread that's been cubed if you want, although I like it without the bread.

4.  Try an open faced tuna (with light mayo) sandwich, under the broiler, with a slice of tomato on top, then cover with one slice of cheese. Just be careful to watch it closely so the cheese doesn't burn.

5.  Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup - One quart box of chicken broth, add a can of chunk chicken (fresh is better if you already have it), add about a cup of pico de gallo (easier to buy it already made at the grocery store in the produce section and it's pretty cheap), warm it all up in a pot. When you serve it, add a spoon of sour cream, or shredded cheese. It's got so few calories and fat you can add a handful of either tortilla strips or fritos. Easy. Cheap. Quick.

6.  Parfait - An easy, quick breakfast is to take a cup, add some fresh berries or a sliced banana, then add an Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt (sweetened with Stevia, not sugar), top with either more fruit or lowfat granola.

7.  Healthy snacks under 100 calories - 1/2 a small melon, 1 cup of berries, 2 cups of popped popcorn, 1 sweet potato, 30 grapes, 1 small banana or 1/2 a large one, 14 almonds, 1 apple, 1 Tbs. peanut butter (which you can spread on celery that has no real calories), 1 hard boiled egg (add to a salad of just lettuce, tomato and cucumber and top with 1 Tbs olive oil and 1 Tbs of balsamic vinegar).