Crispy chicken schnitzel on dill pickle chop

And a week-long eating plan that is meal prep friendly!

Hello and happy last Thursday of March! This week’s newsletter is all about a crispy chicken schnitzel (low carb! grain free! easier than you might think!) and dill pickle chop salad combo.

The salad, with its dilly flavor, tastes light and fresh and crunchy and spring-like. It’s super delicious on its own, but it goes without saying that anytime you can toss a crispy chicken schnitzel cutlet on a salad, you should.

Traditional chicken schnitzel is a thin-cut of chicken breast that is coated in a breadcrumb mixture and pan-fried until golden brown for a crispy, crunchy exterior. Think of it as one big chicken tender (especially if any little eaters ask!).

My version uses a “breadcrumb” coating mix that combines crushed, grain-free crackers with almond flour and flaxseed meal.

While you could certainly use all crackers, adding the almond flour and flaxseed makes the crumb coating a bit more low glycemic and nutrient dense. And, it crisps up beautifully, especially in an air fryer which is my preferred method for cooking these. If you don’t have one, no worries, I included stovetop instructions for you as well.

Also! I have March’s meal plan for you, a week of eating that includes five dinners + one breakfast idea and a shopping list. It’ll take the planning out of meal planning, at least for a week!

Here’s a look at what we’re making! The printable PDF and shopping list is below, along with a few meal prep and time-saving tips to keep in mind.

What you can prep ahead of time:

• roast the spaghetti squash for meal 3

• pre-cook enough chicken for meals 3 and 5

• make the breakfast biscuits

Time-saving tips:

• make a double batch of garlic sauce in the recipe for meal 2 and then add dill, vinegar and smoked paprika to any remaining to create your sauce for meal 1

• use leftover peanut sauce from meal 4 as your lettuce wrap sauce for meal 5

• be flexible with the veggies and use what you have!

Any of these meals would turn into wonderful next-day lunches, too!

Meal Plan 5

889KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

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• The book Good Energy by Dr. Casey Means has been on my must-read list for so long and I’m finally listening to the audio book. It’s so fascinating and explores the connection between metabolic health and nearly any chronic disease. I highly recommend!

• Basil seed pudding has been on repeat for quick breakfasts and snacks and I finally have this recipe up on the blog. If you’re new to basil seeds, they are very similar to chia but with even more fiber and 0 net carbs. You can use them nearly interchangeably, but I will say that basil seed pudding does not blend the same way as chia pudding. Basil seeds are more gelatinous and blending the pudding will leave you with a goopy, blob-y mess (speaking from experience when I tried to make a basil seed chocolate mousse similar to my chia chocolate mousse and ruined the whole batch).

• This delightful read on how to get your kids to actually eat dinner. Emma Frisch shares some practical tips for getting little eaters on board with what’s on their plate (did you know that a child may need to see a new food 30 times before accepting it?!) and she even weaves in fun conversation starters and family-friendly games to build connection around the dinner table. I loved many of these ideas!

• I’ve been craving this coconut panna cotta, one of the simplest desserts you can make. Top it with fresh berries, some fresh citrus or kiwi or whatever sounds sweet and cheery.

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Now for this week’s recipe!

The chicken schnitzel is easiest and most low-effort when using an air fryer. You’ll coat the chicken, pop it into the air fryer, and they’re ready in about 10 minutes or so.

I often start to glaze over any recipe when the term “dredging” comes into play, and so I understand if the coating process alone is enough to deter you (too many steps! pounding the chicken!?). If that’s you, I just want to reassure you that it all goes pretty quickly, and the thin pieces of chicken will cook quickly, too.

And if you’re still not convinced? You can always skip the coating, season up that chicken well, and toss it into the air fryer. It’ll still taste delicious with your dilly chop salad.

Yield: 5-6 servings

Prep time: ~30 minutes

For the chicken schnitzel: