Dinner Ideas

HollyMac20

Dinner/Meal 5 is the hardest meal of the day for me to get my grasp on. And I believe it is the thing that is holding me back from seeing more inches lost. By the time I get home from work and the gym it is close to 7pm or 8pm. I have little to no energy to cook something and I am already really hungry. What are some dinner ideas that are quick, easy, satisfying but also healthy and relatively low carb/paleo? I have grilled chicken and veggies for lunch most days, so would like to at least modify that a bit.

Thanks!!
Holly

Sbiscotti

Love this question. I know the feeling. I get home at 9 from the gym, and I've just downed a protein shake, but because I know I'll be back at the gym at 5:30 am I know I need a real meal.

I seriously do a lot of my prep work 2-3 times a week (sunday, tuesday, thursday - when I don't have my O-lift class and I can get home by 8). I've gotten into the habit of making good roasted vegetable meals so the long slow part of the cooking is done and I can just reheat it. Roasted veggies just have so much more flavor than doing the quick steam in a bag in the microwave. I also like roasted butternut squash, carrots, or sweet potatoes w/some cinnamon and nutmeg. These also work well if you want to quickly turn them into soup by throwing them in a blender w/some chicken stock and water (or less chicken stock lets them be similar to mashed potatoes).

Last night I had a roasted cauliflower w/tomatoes, crushed red pepper, and pine nuts (good carbs and healthy fats and tons of vitamins) dish that I made on Sunday night. To add a little protein I quickly sauteed shrimp that I had moved to the refrigerator in the morning to defrost. Shrimp take less than 10 min to cook, while the roasted veggies reheat.

Lean pork tenderloin chops, I buy in bulk at Sam's club and freeze them individually so I can take out 1-2 at a time and they'll be defrosted by the next dinner. Cook in about 10 min as well. Frozen tilapia is the same as the shrimp, though to change it up i throw seasoning on it and throw it under the broiler for about 7 min.

Hope this helps.

Sbiscotti

Whoops - one more thing. Asian stir fry if you cut up the veggies ahead of time make a good cook dinner.

rachmaree

Not too familiar with paleo... how about omlettes? Tuna with a green salad... stir fried veggies with chicken, fish...