This recipe is highly easy, highly versatile, and gives you a chance to use all your apples you’ve been overloaded on while it’s apple picking season. I LOVE Royal Gala apples, so anytime they are on sale I stock up, but you use whatever type of apple you prefer.
You can easily other fruits such as mandarin oranges, strawberries, blueberries, etc.
You can also use different types of seeds to suit your taste.
Nutrition (for the dressing):
1 serving = 1 tablespoon (15 mL)
Nutrition (for one serving of the bowl):
Servings for each individual item can be manipulated to fit your macro targets as needed
Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used 5 for my own meal prep, which lasts me approximately 3 days)
Raw pumpkin seeds (Or bought pre-roasted)
3 apples (chopped, I only use 1 apple per serving, I save the rest for the following days)
1-2 pomegranates (OR store-bought pomegranate seeds that are already separated)
1 cup quinoa (any colour)
2 cups chicken broth (low sodium preferred)
1 bag chopped kale
salt and pepper to taste
Cooking Spray (I used extra-virgin olive oil)
For the Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon honey (I love a more citrus flavour, add more and cut down on the lemon if you prefer this a little more sweet)
1 garlic clove, grated or minced
1/2 large shallot, finely minced
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
On a baking tray, add the pumpkin seeds, spray an even layer of cooking spray, and add salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.
Add to the oven for 10-20 minutes or until they just start to become slightly golden. The longer you leave them the crunchier they will become.
In a medium-sized pot, add the quinoa and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to minimum and let it simmer with the lid on for approximately 15 minutes or until the liquid is evaporated and the quinoa is cooked through.
While the quinoa cooks, sauté the chicken breast until fully cooked through. Set aside to let cool.
In a small to medium mixing bowl, add all the ingredients for the dressing and whisk until combined.
Separate your seeds from your pomegranates (unless you have pre-separated seeds bought from the grocery store).
Chop your chicken, apple and combine all your ingredients into a bowl, mix and enjoy!
Meal Prep Tips:
I do not combine all the ingredients into one large bowl unless this is for a family dinner. If this is meal prep for myself, I keep the quinoa, chicken, pumpkin seeds, pomegranate seeds, and dressing all separate. This makes it so you can easily measure out how much of each ingredient you need and are able to measure accurately for each meal.
I only chop the apples when I am ready to eat so they don’t turn brown.
The quinoa typically lasts a couple extra days past what the chicken will last, same with the seeds. After 3-4 days I simply cook up another batch of chicken and buy more fruit if needed and you have meal prep for the second half of your week done.
