Menu Plan and the Chiropractor
(has it really been 4 weeks?)
Hi there friends and Happy Friday to you all. Can you believe it’s the final week of our 4-Week Cooking Habit? Have you been following along with us in this cooking club? If you’ve missed any posts, be sure to check out previous weeks’ menu plans here, here, and here.
The goal this month was to get us all into the habit of cooking dinner a few times a week. Eating at home definitely saves on money, time, and gas. We’ve talked before about how to save money on groceries. But the process of cooking dinner can be frustrating because we all run out of ideas of what to cook and how to put together meals.
I find that making dinner always comes easier if 1) there is a plan in place, 2) recipes are at the ready, and 3) ingredients are purchased. This is how the 4-Week Cooking Habit was born. The goal was to make #1 and #2 easier, especially if you’d gotten off-track.
Sometimes we just need a realignment.
The Chiro Visit
You might remember that I had what seemed like the 1,000 day cough this winter. I had another touch of it this past week. While things are clearing up, I’ve noticed my ribs are sore and tender.
A few years ago I had an acquaintance who fractured a rib from several weeks of coughing. At the time, I thought that sounded so crazy. Cracked a bone, really? Well, it turns out the occurrence is rare but can happen especially for those who have osteopenia or osteoporosis. Praise the Lord I have neither of these conditions but I did get a small painful taste of what my friend experienced.
My weeks of coughing managed to misalign some ribs on my right side and cause enough discomfort that I needed to visit the chiropractor. People have differing views on chiropractic care and that’s okay. I find that it helps me and relieves my back pain.
The most common type of chiropractic adjustment is what I call the “cracky crack.” You’ve seen it or experienced it. During the spinal manipulation, they twist and turn your body, apply pressure, and you hear the pop. I went to a chiropractor for a few years who used this technique successfully on me and I was happy with it. But he decided to retire early and move to Idaho. Rude, I know.
My friend Kim recommended her chiro who uses a different technique using an activator. This small instrument, which amusingly looks a little bit like a crafting glue gun, applies low-impact pressure on specific areas of the spine. I like that it is precise, concise, and effective. I actually prefer it better than the other style of chiropractic adjustment. There’s no twisting, cracking, or jerky movements, just sweet relief.
It was this week that I got my ribs realigned. So, I can now get back to the gym!
Menu Plan
This week brings some fun flavor profiles including Indian-ish, Asian-y, and Ashkenazi-influenced. The proteins include tofu (don’t be afraid, you will love this), pork, and chicken.
Vegan Curry
Asian Pork and Mushroom Burgers
Tzimmes Chicken with Apricots
4-Seed Chocolate Bark (for paid subscribers)
This marks week four of our cooking club, but is it the end? Maybe it’s just the beginning! I’d love to hear how it went (or didn’t) for you over the past month of cooking. Would you like another round of menu plans and recipes? What kinds of meals would you like to see included? Let me know in the comments or send me a DM.
Recipes
Vegan Curry
Serves 4
Total time: 1 hour
The first time I made this I couldn’t get over how the baked tofu pieces looked like chicken. This is warm, hearty, plant-based protein at its best. A substitute for garam masala is 1 teaspoon cumin mixed with 1/4 teaspoon allspice. While this is not a spicy dish you can turn up the heat by adding a teaspoon of cayenne or serving with a chili sauce garnish. It’s delicious and I think you will love this.
Ingredients:
16 oz. extra-firm tofu
1 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
3 cups cauliflower florets
2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup diced onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp curry powder
1 can (14 oz) unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
Chopped cilantro for garnish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F/220C. Move the oven rack to the center position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Tear the tofu with your hands into bite-sized pieces. Tearing instead of cutting gives them the craggy texture you want. Add them to a mixing bowl and sprinkle with the soy sauce, garam masala, salt, and curry. Stir gently to coat the pieces. Sprinkle on the cornstarch and stir again to evenly coat.
Place the pieces on the prepared baking sheet so that none of the pieces are touching each other. They need their space. Bake for 20 minutes.
While the tofu bakes, tip the cauliflower, carrots, onion, and garlic into a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle on the salt and curry powder evenly. Pour on the coconut milk.
Remove the tofu from the oven and lower the heat to 400F/200C. Arrange the tofu over the veggies and coconut milk. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until carrots are tender. Garnish with lots of chopped cilantro. Serve with hot steamed rice or naan.
Asian Pork and Mushroom Burgers
Yields 6 burgers
Total time: 40 minutes
While this isn’t a plant-based burger, it is a blended burger. Meaning, it contains equal amounts of meat and mushrooms (surprise!) in a juicy and tender patty. Blended burgers are a great way to incorporate more veggies into our diets. You can adjust the ratio of meat to mushrooms to your liking. Here it is a 50-50 blend but you can start off with 25% shrooms to 75% meat if you are unsure how everyone will like it.
Burgers:
1 lb button or crimini mushrooms
2 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
⅓ cup dry bread crumbs
1 lb ground pork
6 brioche hamburger buns
Crunchy Slaw:
½ cup sliced red onion
½ cup julienned red bell pepper
½ cup grated carrot
¼ cup cilantro leaves
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Spicy Mayo:
½ cup mayo
1 Tbsp sambal oelek or sriracha
Directions:
Finely chop the mushrooms (or blitz them in a blender until the size of peas). Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until their released liquid evaporates, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir the mixture constantly so it does not get too brown in some areas. Set aside to cool slightly.
Dump the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and cilantro in a large bowl. Add the cooked mushrooms, bread crumbs, and ground pork. Mix everything together until combined.
Using your hands, divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form 6 burger patties. Place the patties on a sheet of lightly greased aluminum foil.
Heat the grill to 400 F/204 C. Transfer the foil with the patties onto the grill and close the cover. Allow to cook on each side for 4 to 5 minutes, flipping once. The internal temp should be 160 F/71 C. Remove from the grill and let rest. Toast the buns on the hot grill, if desired.
Make the slaw while the burgers cook by adding the onion, bell pepper, carrot, cilantro, and vinegar to a bowl. Toss to combine and season with salt and pepper.
Put the spicy mayo together by stirring the mayo and sambal oelek in a small bowl until incorporated.
To assemble the burgers, spread the top and bottom buns with spicy mayo. Place a burger on the bottom bun, then add a spoonful of the slaw. Place the top bun on the burger and devour!
Tzimmes Chicken with Apricots
Serves 4
Total time: 55 minutes
What is tzimmes? It’s a traditional Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish dish made from stewed carrots and dried fruit. Here the tzimmes is paired with chicken and roasted together on a sheet pan for an easy meal.
However, don’t be fooled. In the photo it looks like enough food for a basketball team but in reality the chicken thighs I purchased were somehow tiny, half the size of normal thighs. So for the first time in my life I can say, “In this photo, my thighs are small.”
Ingredients:
2 to 3 lbs chicken thighs
1 lb rainbow (or orange) carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 red onion, peeled and quartered
1 cup dried apricots
⅓ cup olive oil
⅓ cup honey
⅓ cup lemon juice
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 Tbsp minced garlic
Chopped parsley for garnish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F/204 C. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and set aside.
Place chicken, carrots, onion, and apricots in a large bowl.
Stir together the oil, honey, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon, cumin, lemon pepper, and garlic in a small bowl. Pour the oil mixture over the chicken mixture and toss to coat everything.
Arrange the chicken on the prepared baking sheet then add the carrots, onion, and apricots around the chicken. Pour any remaining juices over everything.
Roast for 40 to 45 minutes or until chicken is done (meat thermometer reads 160 F/71 C) and carrots are fork tender. If carrots are not yet tender, remove the chicken from the sheet pan and cover it to keep warm while the carrots continue cooking for an additional 10-ish minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
Dessert, printable recipes, and a shopping list are below for paid subscribers.