If you’re looking for a couple of recipes to add to your weekly low carb routine, both of these are good options.
First up is a Carne Asada using flank steak. Marinaded over night and served alongside Cauliflower Cilantro Lime Rice. I think that’s inspired by Chipotle, but I haven’t been to one in about 2 years so I’m not sure.
Then the next was a Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Casserole. I think it’s a casserole, not sure what the definition of one is. But it uses some chicken sausage as well to add a bit more flavor along with peppers and onions.
I find meal prepping really important when it comes to sticking to any diet, and I try to rotate good tasting recipes as often as possible, so it doesn’t feel like I’m struggling to stay on target.
What I Used:
Carne Asada
- flank steak
- cilantro (½ cup)
- garlic (5 cloves, minced)
- juice of 1 ½ limes (use 2, I used ½ for another recipe)
- olive oil (¼ cup)
- apple cider vinegar (1 tbsp)
- Worcestershire sauce (2 tbsp)
- salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper
- zip-lock bag
- butter
Cauliflower Rice
- cauliflower (2 heads, riced)
- cilantro (½ cup)
- garlic (4 cloves, minced)
- olive oil (2 tbsp)
- juice of 1 lime
- salt, pepper, garlic powder
Carne Asada w/ Cauliflower Lime Rice
What I Did:
Carne Asada
This meal prep started the day before, by marinating the flank steak. In a bowl I combined the chopped cilantro, minced garlic, squeezed in the juice of 1 and a half limes, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce.
I seasoned the flank steak separately, but you can add the seasoning directly to the marinade instead, it’s all going to the same place. I didn’t do this myself, but I would advise cutting down the steak to equal sized pieces and pounding them down if necessary. Seasoning is salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.
Placed everything into a Ziplock bag, squeezed all the air out and tried to get the marinade over each piece of meat. Stored this in the fridge overnight.
The next day, I heated some butter in a skillet, and seared each side. Flipping over every few minutes to make sure it was cooked evenly throughout without burning, adding butter as needed. I also poured on the extra marinade from the steak while cooking.
Since this is meal prep, I cut it up to make it easier to store and reheat.
Cauliflower Lime Rice
For this one, I bought my cauliflower already riced, since they were the same price as the whole head, and much less work on a meal prep day.
In a bowl I added the rice, cilantro, minced garlic, olive oil, and squeezed in the juice of 1 lime. Then seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mixed it all up and set it to the side.
I cooked this in the left-over juices of the flank steak. If not, I would have cooked it in olive oil over medium heat until the raw cauliflower taste disappears. Mine came out a little closer to cauliflower fried rice because the higher temperature.
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Casserole:
What I Used:
- onion (diced)
- pepper (diced)
- ground chicken (2lbs) *
- chicken sausage (1lb) *
- salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
- broccoli (2 bags, frozen)
- olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder
- cheddar cheese
- mozzarella cheese
*This makes a lot of servings, the idea is to keep the ratio 2:1, the sausage is optional and can be replaced with seasoning.
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Casserole:
What I Did:
To start this one, I preheated the oven to 375. Then in a casserole dish, added the broccoli as well as olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. That will go into the oven uncovered for 20 minutes.
Onto the stove, I added avocado oil in a pan over medium heat. Once hot, added in the diced onion and pepper.
I used a mixture of ground chicken and chicken sausage (2:1). Folded it over multiple times to make sure they were fully combined, then seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Then mixed it up again.
After the onions and peppers were cooked, took them out and put the chicken to cook in the same pan with a little more avocado oil.
Once the chicken was cooked through, added the onions and peppers back in along with half the cheddar cheese.
Once the broccoli was done, layered on the chicken, then the other half of the cheddar cheese as well as mozzarella cheese. Placed back into the oven for 5-10 minutes until the cheese melts.
