Coconut chicken tenders, roasted broccoli + two dipping sauces
Coconut chicken tenders, roasted broccoli + two dipping sauces
And three Labor Day menus for the long weekend ahead
Hello! I have a wonderful, low-carb recipe for coconut chicken tenders with perfectly-roasted broccoli and two different types of dipping sauce (peanut sauce or a sweet mustard sauce).
Plus, I put together not one, but three different menus that are fitting for the long weekend ahead and will let us savor the last bits of summer.
It’s just after 9:30 p.m. the night before this newsletter is going out and I have finally found a quiet moment in my day to write this.
The after-bedtime time is one of my favorites. I love the stillness and peacefulness in a home when tired children finally give in to sleep, and the occasional sounds of their steady breaths muddle with the hum of the dishwasher. These nighttime sounds are the final part of our daily rhythm, a time when I can sip on hot tea, and write, which can feel just as restorative as sleep.
My dog Gus knows this rhythm, too. He always steals a place at the foot of our bed and no matter how many times I push him off, we both know it’s in vain.
The last-minute writing is predictable for me, and it reminded me of Alison Roman’s latest post in which I can 100% relate to.
“This happens a lot, the last minute thing. I’m writing the newsletter the day of. I’m writing recipes the night before a shoot (or…during a shoot). I’m a last-minute person. I’ve been this way my whole life, since I was old enough to have a deadline… “
“When it comes to my cooking and writing, the last minute-ness feels more than appropriate, like it couldn’t happen any other way. I feel this way NOW, I want to cook this NOW, I want to eat this NOW. So I have to write about it now, process it now, document it now…then move on forever.”
Do you work that way too?
I used to blame my former reporter mindset (the pressure of working up to a 5 p.m. deadline for eight years is a tough habit to break), but come to think of it, I’ve been an always-last-minute, always-running-late, slightly scattered person my whole life. And even though I’ve worked to force more organization and planning into areas that need it, I do think there is a sense of NOW-ness that comes with the cooking territory that you just can’t plan away.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve scheduled out a month’s worth of recipes to test, make and share, and then changed up everything for whatever reason.
I know it’s because we often cook based on what we want to eat right in that moment, which is where the balancing act of eating what I want, eating what is good for me, and eating what I have, comes into play.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this- the amount of time it takes to simply plan what to cook, then the time it takes to grocery shop, then the time it takes to make the meal itself. That’s two parts planning, one part cooking, if you’re counting. So much effort before you even step into the kitchen.
But what if I took care of the planning for you?
In the business of recipe development, recipe testing, and writing about it, I have learned how to make the most of time, ingredients, and budget. I will be sending out a free, low-carb meal plan for all subscribers next week, so you can give it a try and take the planning and guesswork out of your dinner prep.
If you have any requests, let me know!
Three Labor Day menus for you
This weekend is a big one for us and so much more than just a long break from work and school. My sister-in-law (hi, Grace!) and her family are making the move from Maui to be close, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. They’ll be arriving on Sunday- after a red-eye flight and a short-ish drive from San Diego- with their lives packed in suitcases, plus a toddler, a baby, and the cat.
I can’t wait for cousins to make memories together and for large family dinners to become a regular thing in our home.
So, in honor of the long weekend and cooking for those you love, I made three Labor Day menus for you, each featuring a different type of main, side dish options, even a dessert. They’re each really quite interchangeable too.
It’s all in a PDF for easy viewing/printing. :) If you love it, feel free to share this post with a friend!
Weeknight coconut chicken tenders
This one is the final in my Back-to-School Bites series (which includes tomato soup with pan-friend cheese curds, and mini zucchini fritter pizzas!).
As part of the series, I’m also offering a 20% discount on all annual subscriptions when you sign up this month. That means you can get a healthy low-carb dinner recipe every week- plus other bonus recipes and more- for less than the cost of a latte per month. There are only two days left!
Who doesn’t love chicken tenders? These are homemade, and I promise, they’re much simpler than you might think. Chicken tenderloins are coated in a low-carb mixture of coconut and almond flour and spices, then baked on a sheet pan along with seasoned broccoli.
And what good is a chicken tender without a dipping sauce? I have a recipe for a simple peanut sauce as well as a sweet honey mustard sauce, and both of them are easy enough to make while the chicken and broccoli bakes.
The recipe is viewable below for paid subscribers. Any questions? You can join my subscriber chat or shoot me a message directly.
My kids love these just as much as we do! The chicken tenders are low-carb, gluten free and incredibly high in protein. I am partial to the mustard sauce but if you’re into the peanut sauce option and want a spicy kick, you can always 1-2 teaspoons of sriracha.
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