Menu plan Monday and Bison Briyani

So, first things first, I will share our menu plan for this week.

Monday - Leftover bison biryani (recipe to follow)
Tuesday - Stir fry with chicken and greens
Wednesday - Spaghetti squash stuffed with sausage
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Calzones with homemade sauce
Saturday - Sausage grinders with peppers and onions on homemade whole wheat rolls
Sunday - Lentil sloppy joes on homemade rolls (same as Saturday, just in hamburger bun shape)

Breakfast will be the standard: toast, cereal, eggs, smoothies and muffins.
Lunches will be leftovers, PB&J, smoothies, and fruit with nut butter.
Snacks continue to be granola bars, muffins, protein bars and veggies with hummus.

Need more ideas? Visit Orgjunkie for lots of options.

On the workout front, I was able to walk/run twice last week. That means this week I will finally reach my 3x/week goal that I set for myself two weeks ago! :) I actually came to the realization this week that I am able to train for a 5-K, as long as I take it slow (I haven't really shared on here about my medical history, but I was in a severe car accident 12 years ago that resulted in some residual joint issues. I really didn't think I would ever be able to run any extensive distance.). So, that's what I'm working towards. 5-K by Thanksgiving...hopefully!

So, onto the recipe. I have been meaning to share this recipe for awhile. It's simple, fairly inexpensive and yummy. The best part is that it's easily adaptable for my tummy-troubled toddler and she's thrilled that she's eating the same thing we are. I need to find more recipes like this! :)

Without further ado (recipe from Clean Eating magazine):

Bison Biryani

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup dry quick-cooking barley (the original recipe called for 1/2 cup, but that just didn't seem like enough)
1 medium onion, sliced into rounds
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, sliced into thin rounds
1 cup fresh mango, cubed, or 1 cup frozen cubed mango
1/2 cup frozen peas
16 oz ground bison (the original recipe called for bison sirloin tip, which is $$$. Ground bison is cheaper. :))
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Biryani Spice Blend
1 tsp cumin, ground
1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
1 tsp coriander, ground (I omitted this)
1 tsp turmeric, ground
2 tsp ginger, ground

Instructions:
1. In a medium pot, bring 2 cups water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, add Biryani Spice Blend and salt to a small bowl, mix and set aside. When water comes to a boil, add barley, sir, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 10-12 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.
2. While barley is cooking, in a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat, saute onion in oil for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent garlic from burning.
3. Stir in spice-salt mixture, mango, peas, and bison. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir again to make sure all ingredients are nestled in cooking liquid. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Combine barley with bison mixture before plating, then top each portion with tomatoes and serve.

Cost: approx $1.33-1.60 per serving. The recipe says it serves four, but I easily got three portions from it last night (albeit one small portion for my toddler) and will get another 2-3 servings out of it tonight.
Consensus: Delicious! Pretty quick to put together and my darling daughter loved it (had to adjust the spices a bit for her).
Sorry no picture of the final product. I promise to upload it later. I hope you'll give it a try! :)