5 Back-to-School Lunches for Parents w/ #21DayFix + #giveaway

I was given samples of Willow Tree Farm’s NEW Avocado Chicken Salad and Sriracha Chicken Salad to try out at home. As always, opinions are my own! Come see how I incorporated these delicious salads into Beachbody’s #21DayFix!

When it comes to the back-to-school routine, we are really working it here! From meal prepping to clothes choosing 5 full days in advance, there’s a rhyme to everything we do. I have a schedule for when I am going to clean certain rooms, and make sure to stop myself from being too compulsive unless there’s a really big spill! Knowing that the laundry is done and there will be no outfit questions, bags are packed, and each meal and snack is planned leaves us plenty of time to do other activities. With preparation becoming our norm, we’ve spent more time at the park, doing crafts, and snuggling than we ever did before.

One of the biggest time sucks for us were meals. The cost associated with eating out is astronomical, and for two people who used to work in the industry, we know we can do better at home. I choose to have my Shakeology each morning, as I wasn’t eating breakfast before, and that gives me great energy all day long. This means my lunchtime is often split between the same old salad, or eating what the kids want. Because I use dinner as a catalyst for new foods, I often let them decide what they want for lunch.

While we always keep it nutritious, Addie and Millie choose lunches that aren’t as fulfilling to me as an adult. Some favorites include splitting half a spinach bagel and adding sauce, cheese, fresh spinach and baking in the oven, dino chicken nuggets and yogurt, or PB&J. While all of these are filling for the girls, I found them to not be nutrient dense enough for me… nor did they fit well with my 21 Day Fix.

New Willow Tree Farm Chicken Salads

All Willow Tree Salads are made right down the street from me in Attleboro, at their USDA inspected, HACCP certified facility. They’ve searched far and wide, using only the best available ingredients to make their line of fresh salads, all of which are absolutely delicious… and they’ve done it again! Willow Tree has come up with two new chicken salads that are taking my lunches up a few levels. I get to have lunch for me- a fulfilling healthy meal- while the girls still get to have their favorite midday meals!

The NEW Sriracha Chicken Salad is an all white meat mix with the hot and tangy taste of Sriracha. There’s a hint of sweetness in there too, sure to add a little zing to your lunchtime routine!

The Avocado Chicken Salad is made with avocado mayonnaise! The cranberry studded chicken salad has 70% less fat and 50% few calories than the original and is gluten-free! This salad is creamy and delicious- the perfect addition to my lunchtime menu.

21 Day Fix

If you aren’t familiar with the 21 Day Fix, it is a program that shows you how to eat [most] of the foods you already are, just in better proportions. I was shocked to find that I wasn’t eating nearly as well as I thought I was! …shocked and 14 pounds lighter after 2 months, in fact!

Because I’ve been feeling so much better, I opted to stick with the 21 Day Fix eating plan after I did 2 rounds of it, just bumping myself up a bracket to maintain my weight loss. This has meant a slight adjustment in containers- which has made for some fun mealtime experiments.

The idea that the 21 Day Fix is a diet is false! It’s actually a whole lifestyle change that will give you all the tools and knowledge you need to to make healthy food choices and decisions about proportions every single day. With this knowledge, the world is your oyster and your kitchen a whole new world of foods and recipes to create.

So… how can one use something as readily available as Willow Tree Farm’s Chicken Salads to create lunches that will carry you through the afternoon, rush hour drive and creation of dinner? Let me show you!

Willow Tree Sriracha Chicken Spinach Salad

This is a simple, but delicious salad that is beautifully flavored with the heat from Willow Tree’s Sriracha Chicken Salad.

If you are doing the 21 Day Fix, the container equivalents are:
2 Green
1 Red
1/2 Blue
1T Oil

Eat your salad with a small apple (or even cut one up and toss it in there) to get yourself 1 Purple for the day! Hooray for all the fruits and veggies!

Willow Tree Avocado Chicken Salad Wrap

 

This wrap is a real favorite around here! The amount of goodness you can fit IN the wrap is sometimes too much  to actually wrap up! Overflowing lunches filled with delicious are always my favorite!

 

The 21 Day Fix container equivalents are:
1 Yellow
1 Red
1 Green
1 T Oil
1/2 Blue
For this side, add some raspberries. The fresh sweetness goes really well with the wrap, and gives that sweet-tooth something to talk about! Add 1 Purple to your Fix count for them.

Open Face Willow Tree Sriracha Chicken Salad Sandwich

A delicious meal of fresh, crunchy veggies and heat packed chicken is a taste-bud pleaser! This lunch is both beautiful and delicious, giving your eyes, belly and soul all the nutrition it needs.

Your 21 Day Fix container equivalents are:
1 Yellow
1 Red
1 Green
T Oil
1/2 Blue
Serve fresh raspberries and strawberries on the side to give you 1 Purple, and add a delicious unsweetened iced tea with fresh mint as a refreshing beverage with lunch.

Willow Tree + Ezekiel Bread Avocado Chicken Salad Sandwich

I love Ezekiel Bread– have since my college days working at Wholefoods- and it’s a truly great sandwich bread (LINK). This sandwich is sure to please and is full of veggies and creamy goodness!

For the 21 Day Fix containers you have:
2 Yellow
1/2 Red
1 Green
1/2 Blue
1 T Oil
Enjoy your lunch with plain, 2% yogurt and fresh strawberries for 1 Red and 1 Purple container.

Willow Tree Sriracha Chicken Salad Boat

These are a fun and invigorating lunch! The crisp coolness of the lettuce brings the heat from the chicken down, while the addition of veggies, specifically mushrooms, gives your lunch a meatier taste.

For the lettuce wrap, your 21 Day Fix portions are:
2 Green
1 Red
1/2 Blue
1 T Oil
And enjoy a small apple sprinkled with cinnamon with this lunch to give yourself 1 Purple on the meal and keep you satiated longer! This  lunch is pretty looking, pretty tasting, and pretty packed! Enjoy!

Menu Planning for the Week

So now you have 5 meals and none of them include PB&J or chicken nuggets! Willow Tree Chicken Salad comes in 2 cup containers; following these recipes, you can get 8 lunches out of each… so what are you waiting for? Pack up lunches for you and your partner and make the week an easy WIN for nutrition goals!

Try before you buy? Win the giveaway!

This giveaway is only open to my neighbors in New England because you will be receiving some of your very own Willow Tree Sriracha and Avocado Chicken Salads to your doorstep! So enter below and tell me… which lunch can you not wait to try?!

 
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