Welcome to Kiki's!

Author

Christina Chen
November 14, 2024

I know we are all very busy people so I will keep this short and sweet. In this newsletter I will be sharing recipe and interior inspiration. 

Everyone defines “healthy” a little differently. I try to choose recipes with mostly whole foods, unprocessed meats, and limit carbs and dairy - though I will be more indulgent on the weekends :). I’ll try to share links to the original recipes as much as I can, but I’ll also be sharing some simple meals from my own kitchen!

Without further ado, here’s some meal inspiration: 

Breakfast: 

Breakfast for me usually needs to take 5 minutes or less, so if it’s more than a protein smoothie, I’ll prep it over the weekend.

Strawberry protein smoothie 

  • Inspired by Green Farm Juicery’s “Strawberry Shake” - 1 scoop of protein powder (I use this one), frozen strawberries and equal parts almond milk and pomegranate juice

Starbucks Copycat Egg White Bites

Lunch: 

On Sunday I like to prep one large pot or casserole to take for lunch during the work week. These recipes make at least 5 servings and keep well in the fridge.

Turkey Chili

  • Full recipe here

  • I like to use 1 can black beans and 1 can red kidney beans rather than two cans red kidney beans as the recipes states

Cornbread

  • Full recipe here

  • I usually make this subbing ⅓ cup of the sugar for honey 

Dinner: 

Roasted Buddha Bowl (vegetarian friendly)

  • Full recipe here

  • I always add roasted red onion to my bowl and usually skip the chickpeas just to avoid the extra step 

  • I love cooking my quinoa in chicken broth when I have some leftover from other recipes 

  • To save time on a weeknight, I’ll make the sauce and chop the veggies over the weekend

Juicy Chicken Caesar Salad

  • “Juicy chicken” is probably my favorite way to make chicken. I use boneless skinless chicken breast. Pat chicken dry and season however you like (we like cajun seasoning with caesar dressing). Sear chicken on stove top on med-high heat for 5 min in an oven safe pan, then flip and transfer to 400 degree oven for 13 minutes (or internal temp is 165)

  • We like this Caesar dressing

  • If you’re lucky enough to live near a Breadsmith, they have awesome croutons. If you have leftover bread, I love these homemade croutons

  • If you live in Cincy, I highly recommend 80 Acres Farm’s “Forever Summer” lettuce

Papa’s Tomatoes and Eggs (vegetarian friendly)

Crockpot Crispy Pork Ramen

  • For something a little more fun and a little less healthy, we loved this Crockpot Crispy Pork Ramen

  • Topped with hard boiled eggs (~6 minutes of boil time gave us the perfect “jammy” eggs) and chopped green onions

Snacks & Dessert: 

Protein bites

  • These are the best

  • The first time I made these I used creamed cinnamon honey (from the Madison Farmer’s Market - S/O to my favorite Madisonian, Alex)  and it was 12/10

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

Home: 

Entryway details

One of the last places for me to finish decorating in our new place was the entryway, but it’s slowly evolved into one of my favorite spaces. The entryway table itself was a Goodwill find, but I’ve included links to as much as I can below in case anyone is looking for similar pieces!

  • Vase, Mirror, Lamp

  • Picture frame is from Home Goods, Olive stems are from Crate and Barrel 

  • Baskets are from World Market - My friend Nadiya shared a scavenger hunt World Market has everyday until 11/27 - I included some details from their website below…. I’ll be participating this weekend :) 

90% of my home is furnished via Facebook Marketplace. I’ll include a few of the listings I bought and how I use/style the pieces in my own home next week! 

I hope you enjoy!

I want to make this as helpful and useful as possible, so please let me know what you would like to see more or less of! 

I’m always testing new recipes and would love to try your favorites too. Please feel free to reply with any feedback, photos or recipes!

Thank you so much for checking out the first edition of Kiki’s 🤍 

Christina