If there is one thing I’m learning it’s that I will always thank myself on Tuesday night for cooking up a batch of brown rice Sunday. Food prep like cooking grains, baked potatoes and even shredded chicken in the slow cooker ALWAYS saves me during the school week.

When I find myself unsure of what I want to make for dinner (not to mention, short on time), it’s always incredibly helpful to have a few staples already cooked up and waiting in the fridge. Brown rice is one of those staples and helps to make this super quick and easy Vegetable Fried Brown Rice possible even on the busiest of nights.

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Click Here to Pin this Taco Rice Bowl recipe!

One thing I’m quickly learning these days is that the more prep I do as far as meals go, the smoother dinnertime is during the week. For instance, when you find yourself with some time to spare over the weekend (or while you are in the kitchen already cooking up something else), go ahead and cook up some brown rice to put in the fridge ready to go for another meal.

I’ve been trying to do that each week and because I did last week, for instance, these Taco Turkey and Black Bean Rice Bowl meals were a breeze to pull together for dinner. Cooking up the brown rice ahead of time freed up some cook time at dinner where I just had to pull together the taco meat and bean mixture while assembling the bowls.

Normally a pound of ground turkey doesn’t go very far for my hungry family of 5. I stretch it a bit by bulking it up with black beans, chopped red pepper and onion as it browns. Four out of 5 of us love black beans so adding them to our taco meat is always a more economical (and healthier) option in my book.

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If there is one thing I love, and really appreciate having in the fridge ready for me to eat, is a healthy whole grain salad. I got into whole grains about 10 years ago when I started following The South Beach Diet after having my daughter. There are so many whole grains out there, a lot of them in my pantry still waiting for me to try out. Whole grains make a great base for salads, especially in the summer, because they are so filling yet still light at the same time. They are great for grab-and-go lunches, which come in really handy when you are focusing on eating better or trying to lose weight.

Here are some of my favorites!! Hope you are inspired to try something new!

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Pin this Baked Bean, Sausage and Kale Skillet for later!

First things first, I miss being here on the blog! My last post was weeks ago and I can’t even believe how fast this month has gone. Life has been a little hectic since I started my classes last month – I have humbly admitted to those in my life that have had to witness my craziness lately (my poor husband and kids), taking two science classes with labs (Anatomy & Physiology 2 and Chemistry I) in one semester was not the best idea. (For anyone who doesn’t know, I went back to school earlier this year with the end goal of becoming a registered dietitian). I am drowning a bit and struggling to keep up with the school work, not to mention the learning curve (which I hugely underestimated) that comes with a class like chemistry – think scientific calculators, basic algebra and math equations and safely working in a lab with test tubes, beakers and “stuff” (aka chemicals). Oh my. The math by itself is rocking my world a bit, my brain is definitely rusty in that department!!

Deep breaths.

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We are a brown rice family. I make it pretty much every week because it is one side dish I know everyone loves and will eat. I try to make a big batch of it ahead of time for meal prep to make it easier to make recipes like this 5 Ingredient Vegetable Fried Brown Rice or to include in these Turkey and Black Bean Burritos. It is my go-to base for when I make stir fry so having it made ahead and ready to go definitely helps on nights when all I have time for is to stir fry. 🙂

I found this recipe for Cilantro Lime Brown Rice on the side of the bag of brown rice I purchased from my grocery store, Publix. (I {heart} Publix so much.) Since I was making rice for burritos, I decided to give it a try because, well, cilantro and lime. Doesn’t cilantro and lime pretty much make everything better?

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This Turkey and Black Bean Burritos recipe was created for Bush’s Beans.

My kids were introduced to Chipotle burritos within the last year and they are completely hooked – my son in particular. It’s fun to see them order something other than a cheese quesadilla when we are out for Mexican so I’m happy they picked burritos because it’s given me another family meal idea to work with at home (we make a lot of quesadillas and tostadas already).

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(This post is part of the #ThinkRice campaign that I am participating in as a member of the Healthy Aperture network, sponsored by USA Rice.)

Happy Spring!! I don’t know about you, but Spring is most definitely my favorite season of the year. Depending on where you live, the weather has warmed up (we hit the 90s last week – too warm!) and when the weather is nice like it has been I just crave good, light, fresh food. No offense to winter comfort food, but I am so done with all that. Bring on the crunchy veggies, fresh fruit, all things grilled and my current favorite obsession – grain salads! This Caprese Rice Salad screams fresh, warm weather food and was enjoyed along side our favorite grilled chicken.

I know tomatoes are technically a summer food, but here in Florida they are pretty much available all the time. Especially the smaller varieties like cherry tomatoes, which happen to be one of my favorites. They are sweet and bite sized and are perfect for salads like this one.

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This Toasted Almond Herbed Brown Rice recipe was created in partnership with Fisher Nuts.

I don’t know about you but I have herbs growing like crazy right now. I finally found the sweet spot around my home as far as where my herbs thrive and grow well. While they need plenty of sun, a little shade really helps keep them from burning up and drying out in the summer heat. A spot where the sun is filtered through the shade of a tree and close enough to a hose for easy watering (they need lots of watering, especially if they are in pots like mine) is the perfect location for healthy happy herbs. I’ve definitely learned to move my potted herbs around over the years until I find that sweet spot.

So when you have a ton of herbs, what do you do with them? Well, it’s pretty obvious what to do with some of them (I’m looking at you, basil). Something I tend to do often take some clippings from a few different herbs and add them to recipes for a fresh boost of flavor, like in this Toasted Almond Herbed Brown Rice.

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This week, I am featuring recipes from each of the cookbooks I am giving away (read my reviews and enter my Healthy Cookbook Giveaway post here!). One of cookbook I am giving away was just recently published by a food blogger friend of mine Brenda, from Sugar-Free Mom. Her book is filled with great family friendly recipes that use alternatives to white sugar. I know a lot of us have goals of cutting back on sugar, and Brenda’s book (and blog!) is a great resource to accomplish that.

When I was reading through her cookbook, this recipe for Salmon Spinach Bake immediately jumped out at me. I have been feeling really uninspired when it comes to cooking salmon or any type of fish lately. I don’t cook it often enough anymore and when I do, it’s usually the same way (broiled or grilled). Don’t get me wrong, we love broiled or grilled salmon (especially this one with sweet and spicy rub or this almond crusted one), but it’s time to change things up!

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So last week I was majorly on the ball and had a meal plan that included this recipe for Bison and Brown Rice Stuffed Peppers. This week, not so much on the ball. But for good reasons!! My baby boy got pretty sick (tonsilitis!) over the holiday weekend so I have been in survival mode most of this week. Thankfully he’s on the mend so things are starting to feel slightly more normal today and I am playing catch up with all things life.

Here’s a snapshot of last week’s meal plan:

I have to tell you, having a meal plan and writing it out where everyone can see is life changing. My kids are constantly asking me “what’s for dinner?” and not really listening to or remembering what I tell them. With it displayed in plain sight on our “communication station” wall all I have to do is point and smile. 🙂

Monday night we were at school for teacher night so I made the kids a quick dinner of tortellini with sauce (good jarred stuff) and broccoli. I honestly can’t remember what my husband and I ended up eating that night so let’s move on to Tuesday…I grilled some frozen turkey burgers I get from Costco, roasted some sweet potatoes and threw together my favorite store bought kale salad kit. This is becoming a good go-to dinner for us on busy nights.

I also tried a new recipe last week (something I am trying to do every week to keep things interesting). I saw this recipe for Healthy Crock Pot Butter Chicken on ifoodreal.com a few months ago and I have been obsessing about it ever since. My entire family loved this recipe and I will definitely make it again. If you haven’t visited ifoodreal before you are missing out on some seriously delicious looking healthy recipes – and gorgeous photography too (one of my favorite healthy food blogs for inspiration!).

This recipe for stuffed peppers makes a big batch which is great for freezing or having for leftovers for lunch throughout the week. I shared half with my husband’s parents who actually requested I make them and I’m so glad they did. It had been a while since I had made stuffed peppers. They are a bit time consuming as far as prep goes as well as cook time but so worth it in my opinion. I prepped and cooked them early in the day then reheated them at dinner time. These would be perfect to make on a Sunday to give you a head start on one of your dinners for the week.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

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