We are getting little sleep around this house these days. I had heard about new parent sleep deprivation, but I was hopeful I would escape it. I thought for a moment I had, then we traveled for several weeks during the holidays. Since then, quality sleep has been hit or miss. My prayer is that this is a growth and developmental spurt, and it will pass soon. Until then my husband and I are doing everything in our power to help her get some sleep and try to stay sane.
Since I am sleep deprived and focusing so much of my energy on getting my little nugget to sleep, the last thing on my brain is cooking dinner. Take out or a quick bowl of cereal seems so much easier than planning and cooking a meal. The struggle is real!!
YET one of my intentions for the new year is to plan and prepare healthful meals for my family. My husband and I need to eat well in order to function through this sleep deprivation. Plus my little girl will soon be eating food, and I want to ensure she gets the nutrition she needs to thrive.
So how do I stay focused on my new years intention in the middle of the chaos of our lives right now?
Prepare the most simple healthful meals I can find that make great leftovers.
I don’t have all those meals figured out just yet, but I do have one: Crockpot Salsa Chicken.
It truly is one of the easiest and tastiest healthful meals I have ever made. Plus it is husband approved!
You do need a crockpot for this recipe. I cannot recommend having a crockpot on hand enough! It helps me save time and energy on cooking. Most recipes for the crockpot require simply dumping in the ingredients and letting them sit for hours while going about the day. I love recipes like that! I use the Cruisinart. I love it because it because it will slow cook, brown/saute, and steam food so you can use one pot for many different recipes with minimal clean up. There are many pots like this on the market ranging in prices so you can easily find one that fits your needs. This one is perfect for us right now (I’m not getting any compensation for this, it is truly how I feel!).
If you are busy (which everyone is these days, right?!) and want to eat healthfully in this new year, having a crockpot and preparing this recipe will be a lifesaver for you. You can prepare it for dinner one night with a simple green salad (no major prep for that!) and wrap the rest of it in a whole wheat tortilla topped with avocado slices, a handful of freshly chopped cilantro, a scoop of black beans, and a little Greek yogurt to make a burrito for lunch the next day.
Simple. Easy. Healthy.
Now if only I could find such a simple solution for getting little nugget to sleep!
Crockpot Salsa Chicken SAVE RECIPE
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts (I recommend buying organic chicken)
1 jar of salsa (any kind you prefer - all work well!)
Directions
Place chicken breasts in crockpot, top with jar of salsa, turn on slow cook function, and leave to cook for 3 - 4 hours (if on the high slow cooking function) or 6 - 7 hours (if on the low slow cooking function).