Global Search
Whole Story
The Official Whole Foods Market® Blog
Share Your Best Meal of The Week
| Meet the Blogger | More Posts by Paige Brady Oh yeah, this ongoing Best Meal of the Week post is starting to rock. You posted some great recipe ideas on the last post and my meal planning has gotten a lot easier since we started this…thanks! (I assume that many of you are finding it helpful too!) Remember, "best" is highly subjective: healthy, super quick, inexpensive, fabulously delicious - or a combination of all that and more. Here are a few featured Best Meal ideas. Post yours in the comments below.
Sunday was the most gorgeous day imaginable here in Austin. I spent all day gardening and before I knew it, 7 p.m. had arrived and I didn't have much of a dinner plan. Fortunately, I had two great staples in my pantry: canned garbanzo beans and tuna. With these ingredients, I knew I could figure out something tasty and quick when paired with a few other ingredients from the fridge.
First I whisked up a quick vinaigrette of mustard, sherry vinegar and olive oil. Then I rinsed the beans and tossed them with halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, parsley leaves from my garden and a drizzle of vinaigrette. I let that marinate while I washed and chopped romaine, tossed the leaves with more vinaigrette and piled them on plates. Next I arranged the beans and tomatoes all around the lettuce. I flaked the tuna over the salad and topped with a few leftover cooked asparagus spears. As soon as dinner was finished, I added canned beans and tuna to my shopping list-I wouldn't want to be caught without these in my pantry!
I really like to cook once and eat about four times. It saves money and calories!
My best meal this week was a combination of a go-to staple for me (roast chicken) and a green bean concoction I made up. To make the roast chicken, I buy a smallish chicken (2-3 pounds), rinse and pat dry completely and then coat with kosher salt (inside and out) and roast in a 450º oven for about 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer reaches 165º when inserted in the thigh. Remove it from the oven, tent with foil for about 10 minutes, then carve. Later, I can make quesadillas, tacos or salad with the leftovers.
Meanwhile, I filled a three quart sauce pan with low-sodium chicken broth and water and cooked some 365 Organic Haricots Verts until just al dente. Then I cooked a piece of bacon in a smallish skillet and minced a shallot and two cloves of garlic. Took the bacon out, cooked the garlic and shallot for about two minutes, added the green beans and tossed around until all were a little crispy/blistered. Then I crumbled the bacon in it and served with the chicken. It sounds a lot worse for you than it is, I promise! I had some leftover baby creamer potatoes that I threw in the skillet with this. The leftovers could be used as part of a Salad Nicoise the next day too!
So, what are you eating this week that is the "best?"
From Kate, a team member:
Sunday was the most gorgeous day imaginable here in Austin. I spent all day gardening and before I knew it, 7 p.m. had arrived and I didn't have much of a dinner plan. Fortunately, I had two great staples in my pantry: canned garbanzo beans and tuna. With these ingredients, I knew I could figure out something tasty and quick when paired with a few other ingredients from the fridge.
First I whisked up a quick vinaigrette of mustard, sherry vinegar and olive oil. Then I rinsed the beans and tossed them with halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, parsley leaves from my garden and a drizzle of vinaigrette. I let that marinate while I washed and chopped romaine, tossed the leaves with more vinaigrette and piled them on plates. Next I arranged the beans and tomatoes all around the lettuce. I flaked the tuna over the salad and topped with a few leftover cooked asparagus spears. As soon as dinner was finished, I added canned beans and tuna to my shopping list-I wouldn't want to be caught without these in my pantry!
From Meg, a reader:
My best meal this week was the linguine with white clam sauce I made in literally 15 minutes one night after work. It uses two cans of clams with juice, a little white wine, butter, parsley, garlic, and spicy Italian sausage. I posted the recipe on my blog. Enjoy! I know I can't wait to make it again. (And here are a couple of recipes from the Whole Foods Market recipe pages if you want to avoid the sausage: Linguine with White Clam Sauce (with fresh clams) and Linguine with Red Clam Sauce.)
From Jaye, a team member:
I really like to cook once and eat about four times. It saves money and calories!
My best meal this week was a combination of a go-to staple for me (roast chicken) and a green bean concoction I made up. To make the roast chicken, I buy a smallish chicken (2-3 pounds), rinse and pat dry completely and then coat with kosher salt (inside and out) and roast in a 450º oven for about 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer reaches 165º when inserted in the thigh. Remove it from the oven, tent with foil for about 10 minutes, then carve. Later, I can make quesadillas, tacos or salad with the leftovers.
Meanwhile, I filled a three quart sauce pan with low-sodium chicken broth and water and cooked some 365 Organic Haricots Verts until just al dente. Then I cooked a piece of bacon in a smallish skillet and minced a shallot and two cloves of garlic. Took the bacon out, cooked the garlic and shallot for about two minutes, added the green beans and tossed around until all were a little crispy/blistered. Then I crumbled the bacon in it and served with the chicken. It sounds a lot worse for you than it is, I promise! I had some leftover baby creamer potatoes that I threw in the skillet with this. The leftovers could be used as part of a Salad Nicoise the next day too!
So, what are you eating this week that is the "best?"
64 Comments
Comments
Tilapia with Sauce Recipe
Feel free to use any tender white fish fillet with this recipe, for example cod or red snapper.
INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sliced cremini or button mushrooms or canned, but fresh is preferred
1 can stewed tomatoes with green chiles, lime juice
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt, preferably sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 6-8 ounce tilapia fillets
Optional
capers to taste
red pimientos, sliced
METHOD
1 In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute more. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring sauce to boiling.
2 Gently place the fish fillets in the pan and scoop some of the sauce over the fillets. Return to boiling. Reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. With a wide spatula, lift fish from skillet to a serving dish. Spoon sauce over fish. Do not overcook! Serve with rice, and/or crusty bread.
Serves 4. P.S.
03/26/2009 9:10:32 PM CDT
Here's a quick and nutritious chili that can be made in 30 minutes and has lots of fiber too! I use all organic ingredients as well.
Black Bean Chili
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans
1 cup salsa
1 (8-ounce) can of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili seasoning
Chopped green onions (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Preparation
Start out by opening both cans of black beans. With a potato masher, mash one can of the black beans in a bowl. In a small, Dutch oven, over medium heat, add the ground beef; cook until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain the meat well. Add the remaining ingredients to the meat (black beans, salsa, tomato sauce and chili seasoning); bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle chili into individual bowls, and garnish with shredded cheese, a spoonful of sour cream, and chopped onions, if desired.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)
03/27/2009 8:17:51 AM CDT
We are not fortunate enough to have a Whole Foods located near the town we live it, so we take frequent 100 mile Sunday drives to shop at the Walnut Creek Store. We were poking around on one beautiful pre-Spring day tired of the heavy comfort foods of winter. The store had a sample of freshly made salsa that had pineapple, red peppers, jalapenos, mango and cilantro as the ingredients. After one taste, we knew we had a start. Walked about 6 feet and the fish monger was bringing out a wonderful specimen of filet of halibut and we were caught...pardon the pun. We grabbed a french baguette, some spring greens for a salad and drove home. It took us all of about 15 minutes to prepare an incredible Sunday dinner that whispered the dreams of all things Spring to come. Whole Foods is ALWAYS worth the drive!
03/27/2009 10:27:54 AM CDT
Quick, healthy & tasty!
Turkey bolognese over arugula
Saute 1 lb of ground turkey for 5 minutes. Add 1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce and 1 5oz can of diced tomatoes. Add your favourite herbs (oregano, parsley, basil, garlic powder, red pepper flakes) and add as you like.
Wash and thoroughly dry 1 large bunch of arugula.
Poor turkey bolognese over arugula and tent with foil for 5 minutes to let the arugula wilt.
03/27/2009 10:50:21 AM CDT
Vegetable Soup with Greens. I made this last night in a 3 quart Saladmaster pot. I used 4 of the larger fingerling potatoes, a large handful of baby carrots, half a yellow onion, and 3 stalks of celery, including the leaves, and sauted all that in a little olive oil. Then I added 1 can of diced tomatoes with seasonings, 1 can of kidney beans, half a can of garbanzo beans, drained, and 3 or 4 cloves of minced garlic. Then at the end, I added 3 or 4 large leaves of Swiss chard and a large handful of baby Arugula + dried parsley and basil. I had to add more water, and my pot was full. Finally, I added a few shakes of Mrs. Dash for extra seasoning. It was very good. I had a big bowl and packaged up 4 more for later. When I warm it up, I will add more greens.
03/27/2009 11:49:12 AM CDT
Our best meal this week, so far at least-one can always be optimistic for more to come, right?-was not a very original one, but it was quite tasty. We had a super tasty Sword Fish sample at the Fresh Pond WFM while shopping there on Sunday. They used Garlic Olive Oil & <a href="https://www.dennymikes.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=41" rel="nofollow">DennyMike's Fintastic rub</a>. We figured we could roll our own garlic olive oil, but picked up the rub, which comes in a nice ready to repurpose tin (reusable containers are often the tipping point factor in our decision to buy products), and ~1.75lbs of sword fish from the seafood counter.
Before prepping the potatoes I pressed 3 cloves of garlic and put that into ~1/4 cup of olive oil, for our garlic olive oil. I made some roasted potatoes to go along with the sword fish. Just cut up ~1.5 lbs of red potatoes, a couple small onions cut along the center into crescents, some thyme, oregano, salt & pepper, and 3-4 cloves of pressed garlic put it all into a greased roasting pan (we greased with saved bacon drippings) & stirred it all up well with . The taters take about 45 minutes to cook in 375 oven, stirring 'em up every 10-15.
The garlic stewed in the olive oil for ~45 min. After I had cut the sword fish into ~2" cubes they got tossed with a very healthy Tbsp of the DennyMike's Fintastic and the garlic olive oil. We cooked the sword fish in the oven too, in a small, shallow roasting pan with parchment paper, about 6 min then flip over and another 6 min. The meal was super tasty and we had enough for a nommy leftover dinner for 1 later in the week.
03/27/2009 1:23:45 PM CDT
We've had freezing rain, and a bug going around that's knocked me off my feet. Consequently, I needed super easy comfort food. I found it in the form of tomato soup, into which I mixed O-shaped pasta.
By starting with a 32-ounce tetra pack of soup, I was able to pour one serving at a time, keeping the rest in the fridge. I also prepared enough pasta for several servings, so that I could add it to soup as needed. (Sometimes I switched to chicken broth with pasta!).
That was my best meal and I had it about four times.
03/28/2009 10:22:07 AM CDT
For a super quick and easy meal, I like baked quesadillas. Simply take whole wheat tortillas put shredded cheese of your choice on half of each tortilla, include small amounts of other ingredients like black beans, chicken, shrimp, carmelized onions, red peppers or jalapenos. You can use whatever you have as leftovers tht sounds good. Just keep it to small amounts so you don't over power the tortilla. Fold the tortilla in half and place on a cookie sheet. Place in oven at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and tortilla is slightly golden. Top with sour cream and salsa. Using low fat cheese makes this a very healthy dish.
03/29/2009 9:47:58 AM CDT
I had made pea soup, and tossed the leftovers w/ WW pasta, fresh mozzarella cheese and black olives. It was delicious!
03/30/2009 11:23:05 AM CDT
Recently I have had lots of work that demand all my time. I was tired of having sandwiches and I was craving for something warm and flavorful. There were not many things on my fridge either so I had to make use of what was left there. A beautiful bunch of red swiss chard, a pair of carrots.
In 1 Tbsp of olive oil I sauteed a finely diced shallot and added the carrots in small slices (not very thin) after few minutes (medium temperature) I added the rind of an orange that was around, and I had on the freezer ginger that I grinded over the pan (not sure of the amount but I like it a lot!) then I added the swiss chard in small pieces and the juice of half the orange I used for the rind and I mixed, sauteed for another 2-3 minutes, salt and pepper.
When i was in the middle of the preparation I thought that some carbs might make this nice and the fastest thing I found was whole wheat cous cous...
I served a bed of couscous covered with my legumes and some sliced almonds I found on the pantry.
It was very tasty, fast (less than 10 min) and very, very, satisfying.
03/30/2009 7:05:29 PM CDT
My favorite- and go to meal- is a variation on roast chicken. I cook a chicken in a dutch oven at 400 for an hour. (Rinsed, salt, pepper, garlic in cavity, or onion). At the same time, I roast veggies- sam 1 hour, same 400! Too easy- and great leftovers.
03/31/2009 4:59:25 PM CDT
The best meal I had all week was a garlic and rosemary beer can chicken. You take a whole chicken, small enough to fit in your grill with the lid closed, and rub it with olive oil and whatever spices you want. I like to stuff some onions, garlic, and rosemary inside of the chicken. Next, you take a beer can half full of beer and put some garlic and rosemary in it. You slide that can into the bottom of the chicken so it can sit upright on the grill. Put the chicken with the beer in it over indirect medium heat with the lid closed. It should take about 2 hours to cook, but it's well worth the wait! Bon Appetit
04/02/2009 2:28:31 PM CDT
please create a print option for meal of the week.
Thx
09/23/2009 5:05:16 PM CDT
I am looking for a great recipe using TVP (textured vegetable protein)
Anne
01/11/2010 1:26:26 PM CST
Pages
- « first
- ‹ previous
- 1
- 2
- 3