What’s for dinner? In our house, this is a question that typically pops up right after breakfast. My family knows I always plan our weekly dinners out on Sunday and so they know I know exactly what we are having for dinner pretty much any day of the week. But since dinnertime seems to be the main meal many people struggle with most, I figured I would start this little “What’s for Dinner?” sub-section of Clean Cuisine in hopes of giving you some healthy, fresh and tasty new dinner suggestions. And maybe an extra spoonful of culinary confidence too 😉 However, instead of putting the whole meal in a traditional recipe format, I thought I would try outlining it instead….

So, What’s for Dinner?

Here is what’s on the menu for tonight…

•  Large Tossed Salad: I used my favorite new greens, mache, along with shredded carrots, jicama and sprouts. Since I always keep a mason jar with homemade salad dressing in our fridge, I always have something handy to dress our salads with. Tonight though, the Carrot Ginger Sauce (see recipe below) that is going on top of our scallops will be serving double duty as a salad dressing too.

 

• Roasted Yellow Squash: This is such an easy veggie side dish to make. Simply preheat the oven to 400 degrees, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and slice your squash into nice rounds. Arrange the squash rounds on the parchment paper, lightly wipe the tops with organic extra virgin coconut oil (extra virgin olive oil will also work) and sprinkle with unrefined sea salt. Roast for about 15 minutes.

 

• Quinoa Polenta:  I cheated here a bit and bought ready-made Quinoa Polenta from Ancient Harvest (see photo right.) I like that the ingredients are simple: Water, Organic Yellow Corn Meal, Organic Red Quinoa, Organic Black Quinoa, Salt, Tartaric Acid*, Ascorbic Acid* (Vitamin C), Beta Carotene (Vitamin A). *A naturally occurring acid used to control pH.  To prepare the polenta, I simply slice it into rounds, wipe a heavy skillet with extra virgin olive oil, and sear the polenta for about 2 minutes each side. Side dish done.

 

• Seared Scallops (Shrimp would also work here): I always look for diver sea scallops and I always rinse and then pat them very, very dry. If you are not totally up on how to buy the best scallops be sure to read this. After you have selected the best scallops and properly prepped them, searing them is super easy. You can follow the basic instructions for searing scallops from Fine Cooking HERE. The only thing I would suggest doing differently is using way less oil and instead of using butter and olive oil, I prefer to use 1 part organic extra virgin coconut oil to 1 part superfood and super heat-stable unrefined red palm oil (click HERE to learn more about this nutrient-rich oil.) I only use about 1 teaspoon of each oil to sear 1 pound of scallops. That’s more than enough oil.

 

• Carrot-Ginger Sauce: Inspired by the Japanese Ginger Sauce often served at sushi restaurants, my Carrot-Ginger Sauce recipe is what really pulls the whole meal together. And it takes about 5 minutes to make. As mentioned earlier, I also use it on top of our salad as a dressing too. The full recipe for the Carrot-Ginger Sauce is below.

 

Looking for More Easy Clean Cuisine Dinner Ideas?

Be sure to check out our upcoming Clean Cuisine Dinners Cookbook scheduled for release July 22nd!

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