Post your two "go-to" healthy low prep meals/recipes

I don't have any "go to" healthy meals yet but one that I used to make when I lived on my own was boneless, skinless chicken (very low fat) that I squeezed lemon juice onto. Put it in the oven until done and served with some canned carrots or another type of veggie... hmm, I may need to make this for my family lol!

Almost every morning I have dippy eggs with 2 pieces of lightly buttered toast. It's easy for me to make and tastes just so yummy! It's such a classic though lol

1lb ground turkey browned with no added oil or fat, drain off the juice, add 1 can of rinsed black beans, 1 cup of homemade salsa, 1 packet of low sodium taco seasoning and the called for water. Let it simmer until most of the liquid is gone. 1/2 cup is approx 180 calories. I eat it on salad, tortillas or with mini tortilla chips.

6-8 oz poached chicken, thinly sliced and made into a sandwich with light wheat bread, lettuce and mustard with green beans as a side. I also like to do this minus the mustard and mixing the chicken in a little salsa instead before making it into a sandwich.

Jar of salsa, 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, bag of frozen corn, 2 cans of drained/rinsed beans (kidney or black) into the crockpot for 6 hours. Shred chicken, mix back in... eat as is, make a burrito, eat over rice. This makes enough for my family of 4 and then enough leftovers for everyone to have lunch from it too.

1 pound ground turkey (browned), jar of picante sauce, 2 cans of drained/rinsed beans (kidney or black) - heat through and eat. I also added a little more salsa verde and 4 mini bell peppers to it tonight. Same as above - as is, burrito, or over rice. I had mine as is with a little shredded cheese, a small dollop of sour cream, and some avocado. I put this at 5 servings, but I'm fairly certain it's more like 8 as well for my family.

oh that first one sounds really really good...might have to steal this!

I love Chicken Thighs with Artichoke Hearts and Feta Cheese. It is very easy to make and does not take long to cook.

I do a big salad for lunch almost every day. The day after I go grocery shopping, I chop and wash all my lettuce and separate it into meal sized containers in the fridge. Then I wash and chop all my produce. Carrots, celery, cucumbers, peppers, etc. all chopped up and put into little containers in the fridge. Once a week, I roast a chicken and de-bone it and put all the pieces of meat into another container. Then I make a week's worth of balsamic vinaigrette. By taking an hour once a week to prep everything, I have a week's worth of super healthy and filling lunches that can be ready in less than 5 minutes.

I like this idea very much, but just wondering if your lettuce lasts all week. This is the one part of the salad that seems to go bad after a few days.

I find that if the lettuce is washed and thoroughly dried, I don't have a problem. By the end of the week, I might have to pick out a few pieces that got a bit wilty, but the majority is fine.

Oh, and this is without the dressing. If you put the dressing on the greens, they'll be gross within an hour. I keep everything in separate containers and then just mix it together when I'm ready to eat.

Nothing to share, but some great ideas I will come back to.

I do a big salad for lunch almost every day. The day after I go grocery shopping, I chop and wash all my lettuce and separate it into meal sized containers in the fridge. Then I wash and chop all my produce. Carrots, celery, cucumbers, peppers, etc. all chopped up and put into little containers in the fridge. Once a week, I roast a chicken and de-bone it and put all the pieces of meat into another container. Then I make a week's worth of balsamic vinaigrette. By taking an hour once a week to prep everything, I have a week's worth of super healthy and filling lunches that can be ready in less than 5 minutes.

I like this idea very much, but just wondering if your lettuce lasts all week. This is the one part of the salad that seems to go bad after a few days.

I find that if the lettuce is washed and thoroughly dried, I don't have a problem. By the end of the week, I might have to pick out a few pieces that got a bit wilty, but the majority is fine.

Oh, and this is without the dressing. If you put the dressing on the greens, they'll be gross within an hour. I keep everything in separate containers and then just mix it together when I'm ready to eat.

I find if I put a paper towel in the lettuce container, it soaks up any remaining moisture and helps keep the lettuce crisp.

My easiest go-to filling meal is a refried bean and cheddar quesadilla. Even a half ounce of cheddar feels like a lot when it's next to the creamy beans. It's a super easy and pretty filling little lunch or dinner.

I also like to keep a rich meaty spaghetti sauce portioned in the freezer (I make mine with Italian sausage instead of beef). To balance out those rich meaty calories, I use zucchini zoodles instead of pasta.

In the 5 minutes it takes to heat the sauce, I was and spiralize the zucchini, then saute it in a touch of olive oil spray, then after a minute or two add a few tablespoons of water and put the lid on the pan. Three minutes later the zucchini is ready for a good strain, then to be topped with sauce and a little fresh grated Parmesan. So simple, and even better with a little glass of red wine.

Dang, there are some yummy looking recipes in here. I'm really gonna have to try a few of these.

In the 5 minutes it takes to heat the sauce, I was and spiralize the zucchini, then saute it in a touch of olive oil spray, then after a minute or two add a few tablespoons of water and put the lid on the pan. Three minutes later the zucchini is ready for a good strain, then to be topped with sauce and a little fresh grated Parmesan. So simple, and even better with a little glass of red wine.

I'm so gonna have to try this later this week. Zucchini noodles


One go-to lunch for me is a glorified grilled cheese sammich. Sounds horrible right?

Ingredients:
1 Green bell pepper
1 Yellow bell pepper
Whole Wheat Bread
One serving of Pepper Jack Cheese.
Optional: Thin Cut Ham

Quarter both peppers. For each sammich you only need a 1/4 of each pepper (assuming they are average size).
Grill peppers over LOW heat. The idea here is to make them tender, not sear them.
From there, slap them on a couple pieces of decent bread with some Pepper Jack cheese, and ham at your preference, and grill it all over low heat. You really got to watch for the bread sticking to the pan (unless you use mayo or butter, though that will increase the calorie and fat count by considerable margin.)

Estimated Calorie Count: 300-ish (mind you, I'm using el-cheapo wheat bread and no mayo/butter). 360-ish if you add the ham.

It fills me up, tastes pretty good, and smells awesome. I typically eat a piece of fruit with the sammich. Though, I'm still tinkering with the recipe, considering grilling the peppers with some spices next time (cayenne?), and trying to think of something to add that will increase nutrients.

Most often when I grill one of these up, I'll only use a half serving of cheese. This lowers the fat intake (roughly 80 grams for a single serving of cheese) to 40 grams. If you do add ham, you will significantly increase protein. Also, though obvious it bares to state that the higher quality of bread you use, the better the quality of sammich you will make.