Stepping Up My Stay At Home Game: 4 Meals I Made this Week

Inspired by, and in absence of, my New York go-to’s (anyone else missing their CAVA, Chop’t, or Sweetgreen fix?), these are the 4 meals I made this week.

Are you missing those lunch time runs to CAVA for their falafel, brown rice, hummus, tzatziki, red onion salad bowls? Or Sweetgreen and Chop’t’s chicken, brussel sprouts, and sweet potato harvest bowls? So am I friends, so am I. That’s why this week, I decided to make room in my parents fridge for some of MY go-to lunch ingredients to make my own meal. I’ve hit the point were naked salads with avocado, eggs and bagels, and cheese and ham tortilla’s just aren’t going to cut it anymore. Am I right people? It’s time to take back the fridge. and lunchtime. Here are the 4 meals I made this week to step up my stay at home game.

About the meal: It’s mostly just a lot of vegetable chopping, the oven and the rice cooker do the rest.

This week I virtually ‘traveled’ to the Mediterranean and made myself my own personal CAVA bowl. The most difficult part about this meal was finding the falafel, but 3 grocery stores later I found it!

1. Grains: If you choose to have grains with your greens, prep brown Basmati rice in the am in a rice cooker. Other grain options include Saffron Basmati Rice or Black Lentils. 
2. Protein: Cook your protein (chicken, lamb, or meatballs with lemon, oregano, salt, and pepper, or if you chose falafel like me, just read the instructions on the packaging.
3. While your protein and rice is cooking, prep your favorite toppings:
   1. Tomato and Onion Salad: Slice some sweet baby tomatoes in half and chop up a slither of red onion. Mix them with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley flakes.
   2. Tomato and Cucumber Salad: Same deal. Chop up some baby tomatoes into fourths, not halves like before, and mix them with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and oregano.
   3. White Bean Salad: Soak white canellini beans overnight in water. The next day, boil them according to the packaging instructions. Once drained mix them with lemon juice, dill, parsley, and basil.
4. Once everything is ready to go start by putting the grains on the bottom of your bowl (optional). On top of the grains place your choice of greens: I had my arugula ready to go on the side, but you can substitute arugula with spinach, romaine, or kale.
5. Dips + Spreads: You can either make these from scratch or do what I did, which is go straight to Whole Foods and buy my favorite CAVA dips from there. Whole Foods is one of the few stores that sells exclusive CAVA dips! I purchased some hummus, but you can also find the eggplant and red pepper dip, tzatziki, roasted red pepper hummus, and more. Place a small scoop of your favorite dip on top of the greens and grains.
6. Mix in the various toppings and proteins and you have you’re Mediterranean bowl, just like you would at CAVA!
7. Additional: I am a big fan of olives, but Pat and my mom don’t like the strong taste of them. If, like me, you like olives, add 3-5 chopped up Greek Kalamata Olives to your bowl.
8. Additional Side: You’ll find that the bowl is surprisingly really light. If you’re in the mood to make you’re own little gyro or just accompany the bowl with some pita, heat a slice up in the oven. I bought my pita from Whole Foods.

About the meal: Super easy to make, just requires a fruit carving tool.

Everyone’s taken to Instagram for the Banana Bread fad, but I took a different interpretation of the fad. Back when I was in San Francisco for work last Fall, post a Barry’s Bootcamp class I stopped across from my office for breakfast. I had ordered a slice of toast with almond butter, bananas, and honey. It was one of the most amazing combinations I had ever had. Inspired by that breakfast, I added a different spin to it. I found my mother’s fruit carving tool and decided to make little Spring flowers from my bananas before drizzling it with honey. I was inspired by the fun banana shapes when coming across Davelle in New York while putting together my New York Food Bucket List for When This is All Over. Davelle is a Japanese cafe that offers some of the most fun and Instagram worthy toast, one of which is this fun banana one. It’s a fun and pretty breakfast packed with protein and healthy nutrients.

1. Toast your choice of toast, I chose white bread but any type works really.
2. Spread a light layer of your choice of nut butter onto the toast. I used organic peanut butter because it was what I had on hand, but almond butter works just as well (although is considered a little bit less eco-friendly).
3. Cut a banana into slices.
4. Optional: Using a fruit carving tool, make whatever fun shape you’d like out of the bananas. Flowers, hearts, stars…
5. Place the bananas onto the toast and drizzle some gold honey on it.

RELATED

NYC Food Bucket List for When Things Go Back to Normal

About the meal: It takes a lot of multi-tasking and some time, but is so worth it. Side bar, after making this myself I am willing to pay the $12 at Chop’t or sweetgreen for it because I now realize how much work goes into it.

Sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts, my go-to comfort food. This meal is inspired by Chop’t’s harvest bowl. It’s similar to sweetgreen’s harvest bowl, but includes cauliflower rice. It was so fun to make and tastes delicious, but it takes a lot of time and multi-tasking so make sure you have about an hour dedicated to this.

1. Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes: Cut the brussel sprouts in half and lay them on an aluminum foil tin. Cut the sweet potatoes into cubes and toss them in with the brussel sprouts. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper to them. Put them in a 450 degree oven for 20 – 25 minutes. At the 15 minute mark, flip the vegetables.
2. Warm Roasted Chicken: While the veggies are roasting, cut the chicken into small bites and marinade it with lemon, oregano, salt, and pepper.
3. Cauliflower Rice: In the meantime, prep the cauliflower rice according to instructions, it should only take about 7 minutes
4. Quinoa: Simultaneously prep the quinoa according to instructions, should take about 7 minutes as well. You shouldn’t have that much quinoa, just enough to add some texture to the kale and cauliflower rice. Like 1/3rd of a cup.
5. Marinated Kale: Add lemon, olive oil, salt, and pepper to the kale. When the quinoa is ready, throw it on top of the kale to soften it.
6. Toasted Pumpkin Seeds: Add them to the brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes for the last 5 minutes in the oven

About the meal: It looks complicated, but is so easy and takes less than 5 minutes to put together.

I had been dreaming about this fruit cake for about a year now, since my last trip to Martha’s Vineyard when I had a similar baked good–cape cod cranberry muffin–at the Nobnocket Boutique Inn for breakfast. But, I was also dreading making this delicious fruit cake for the last few days. Mainly because I was scared of how long it would take. But when I finally took a look at the recipe, I realized it was wayyyy easier than cooking a pie from scratch. This cake would be delicious and quick to make, the hardest part was just finding the buttermilk.

1. Butter a cake pan, 9×13″ would be ideal.
2. Whisk together 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
3. In a separate bowl, beat 1/2 stick of butter softened and 1 cup of sugar with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes and then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
4. Add the 2 eggs to the butter/sugar mixture and beat well.
5. Gradually alternate mixing the flour mixture and 1 cup of buttermilk into the butter/sugar mixture, mixing everything until its combined.
6. Fold in blueberries and raspberries and spoon it into the cake pan.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.
8. Cool for about 10 minutes then flip into a plate and voilà!

>> Next: 13 Things to Do when Social Distancing at Home

Follow SVADORE on: