Need QUICK healthy meals, what's your fav?

jamara28
jamara28 Posts: 7 Member
edited September 27 in Food and Nutrition
Okay, so I'm ready to go grocery shopping for the first time since re-committing to loose weight. My biggest downfall when eating healthy is TIME!

It gets to be the end of the day and I'm wiped out and looking for whatever is quick and easy. That used to be when I went for the junk! Quick and easy for me used to be throughing a pizza in the oven.

What's your favorite easy fix for dinner?

Replies

  • denise007
    denise007 Posts: 55 Member
    BUMP
  • JLervold86
    JLervold86 Posts: 93 Member
    Throw some Tilapia in a pan with a tsp of olive oil and some salt free seasoning, cook for about 3 minutes per side and eat with a salad. I also cook a huge pot of brown rice on Sunday and just eat 1/2 cup reheated with my dinners usually, having it done makes my meals take about 8 minutes from fridge to plate :o)
  • brandilea_willoughby
    brandilea_willoughby Posts: 45
    If you have a crockpot, slice open and chicken breast or two half way, stuff with spinach, tomato and your fave cheese. Cook on low while you are gone for the day. Easy, delicious, and most importantly healthy!
  • brendi_lynn
    brendi_lynn Posts: 19
    What about some of those under 60 calorie tv dinners by the smartchoice and stuff? They have a variety of stuff and are pretty good. plus.. you can throw it in the oven or the microwave. or the veggies they have with cheese sauce would be good with some unbreaded grilled chicken breast meat.
  • kennysrush
    kennysrush Posts: 124
    Same with pre-grilling boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cutting up as salad topping.
  • Djbass728
    Djbass728 Posts: 71 Member
    bump
  • nurse_christieyne
    nurse_christieyne Posts: 231
    bump for later.
  • leslielove
    leslielove Posts: 251 Member
    take one of your days off and cook/pref in bulk. bulk greens are easy.. just pull em out of the bag!

    batch cook rice, lentils, beans, even pasta and keep it in your fridge. all you have to do is scoop and microwave. fish doesn't take very long to cook and neither does ground beef. chicken cooks quicker if you slice it into medallions or bite size chunks before you toss it in a pan.

    combine a meat with a bulk cooked carb, add a chopped veggie (which can also be bulk prepared, sliced bell peppers, cut up carrots or broccoli, etc) and you've got a zillion combinations. you can always add the veg in with your cooking meat for a stir fry/fajita type deal too.

    seasoning helps take the monotony out of eating the same thing all the time which helps when you're staring at 4 cups of cooked rice for the next week.
  • DarlingThief
    DarlingThief Posts: 78 Member
    I rely on the Hungry Girl books/emails/website. She has some great crock pot, no cooking needed, or egg mug recipes that are fast and healthy. I usually double up on an egg mug for a fulfilling meal.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Have to disagree with the TV dinners - full of sodium and other additives. It's really easy to find good clean healthy real food, rather than pre-packaged stuff.

    Quick dinners?

    Salmon fillets - can be microwaved from frozen, add a slice of lemon or a dash of white wine and some capers. Serve with steamed green beans or broccoli, or a big leafy salad or your choice.

    Grilled meat - steak, lean pork chop or lamb. Make sweet potato mash (microwave for 10 mins, scoop out the flesh and mash with a little olive oil and black pepper). Cheesey leeks - steam some chopped leeks until soft, then stir in one or two cheese wedges (laughing cow or dairylea)

    Quinoa pilaf with a good quality burger.
  • tgh1914
    tgh1914 Posts: 1,036 Member
    Throw some Tilapia in a pan with a tsp of olive oil and some salt free seasoning, cook for about 3 minutes per side and eat with a salad. I also cook a huge pot of brown rice on Sunday and just eat 1/2 cup reheated with my dinners usually, having it done makes my meals take about 8 minutes from fridge to plate :o)
    Gonna try this ^^^

    Also, one I do if you have meat already thawed. Tear up chicken breast or lean strip steak & throw it in a skillet with whatever veggies are on hand (broccoli, peppers, squash, onion, etc.). Add a little terriyaki sauce + pepper to taste. I can do it in under 15 minutes & quite healthy.
  • sweetCJ
    sweetCJ Posts: 144
    I don't have any easy fast healthy meal, but what I do is on Sunday, when I come home with my groceries, I prep all my meals, boil my eggs, cut all my veggies and prep my fruits (wash and individual portion / cut all my pineapple)...that way it's fast and easy to grab something healthy and it's even easyer to just put something in the microwave for your dinner... Good luck
  • fitmom4ever
    fitmom4ever Posts: 130
    My 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook from Cooking Light has been a life-saver countless times! It provides a grocery list, nutritional info, complete meal ideas (sides and veggies to go with the main course), and hardly any of the meals take longer than 20 minutes from the time you start cooking to the time you set it on the table.
  • jmgj27
    jmgj27 Posts: 531 Member
    Stir frys with prawns, I like seafood salad as well and there are some great low sodium, low fat ready meals. In the UK Waitrose does a healthy range which is low fat and low sodium and incorporates at least 1 of your 5 a day and they're pretty tasty too. I know how you feel - by the time I get home from the gym it's almost 8pm and I just want to eat and crash!
  • teetees40
    teetees40 Posts: 30
    I got this recipe from a health book years ago (when I wasn't even caring about health - lol) and it is super easy and super yummy! My fam LOVES it!

    1 - 1 pound package of ground turkey and/or chicken (or very lean beaf...it's your preference)
    1 can black beans
    1-2 cups of instant rice (white or brown but I'm assuming the brown is healthier!)
    1 cup salsa
    1 to 1 1/2 cups of FF shredded cheese

    In a skillet, brown/cook your ground meat. While that is cooking, microwave the rice in a rice cooker. Drain any grease from the pan and mix the rice, the beans and salsa all together with it. Warm for a few minutes and just before serving, add the cheese. SO good and depending on what products you use and the amounts, you can get the nutrition stats from this website when you build a recipe! :)

    Hope this helped.
  • Claudia007
    Claudia007 Posts: 878 Member
    Stir-fry! SO quick and easy. Also, chicken fajitas. Pizza too using flat-out wraps for the crust.
  • jamara28
    jamara28 Posts: 7 Member
    Lot's of good ideas here! Thanks for sharing :)
  • ekicinsk
    ekicinsk Posts: 92 Member
    Stir fry is great and quick. Take meat of choice sliced super thin, put a little oil in the pan and cook it. When I'm feeling very lazy, I defrost and drain a bag of frozen veggies (look for a stir fry/asian combo) and just toss it in. Add any of the following:

    Soy Sauce
    Sesame Oil
    Teriyaki Sauce (or the roasted garlic kind)
    Sriracha Sauce
    Fresh Garlic or Ginger, Minced
    Red pepper flakes
    Hoisin Sauce
    Fresh green onions, sliced up

    (you really cant make a bad combo from those things)

    Serve over brown rice, enjoy leftovers :)
  • freerange
    freerange Posts: 1,722 Member
    Five strips of bacon and three fried eggs. Quick, easy and full of healthy fats and protien.
  • MissKim
    MissKim Posts: 2,853 Member
    I like to cook on Sunday for the next few days. Since it's gotten warmer I am love love loving the grill!! You can throw just about any kind of meat and veggie on there! I made some vegetable packets on there sunday, and I'm still eating on them today. I put squash,zuchinni,onion,bell peppers, and tomatoes in there, yum. We are grilling a bunch of chicken and veggies tonight too.

    before it was warm enough to grill, i would bake a bunch of 4oz meats, tilapia, chicken, porkchops, just whatever we had. and made veggies on the stove and seperated everything out into tubaware bowls. easy and awesome, yes it takes a little prepwork, but totally worth it during the week!
  • jesslarocque
    jesslarocque Posts: 5
    :love:
  • kaitimae
    kaitimae Posts: 727 Member
    my favorite is an omlette. couple eggs, half an avocado, a slice of cheese and/or a laughing cow wedge of cheese, maybe some other veggies if i have them around, and salsa. takes me less than 10 minutes.
  • kathyhull
    kathyhull Posts: 327 Member
    I don't have any easy fast healthy meal, but what I do is on Sunday, when I come home with my groceries, I prep all my meals, boil my eggs, cut all my veggies and prep my fruits (wash and individual portion / cut all my pineapple)...that way it's fast and easy to grab something healthy and it's even easyer to just put something in the microwave for your dinner... Good luck

    I too find it easier to do a lot at one time and then use it all week. Those big bags of frozen chicken tenderloins are great - can be cooked quickly, even frozen, or set out in a marinade to thaw during the day and cooked even more quickly in the evening. I cook the whole bag and then get creative - just chicken in teriaki or some other marinde the first night, chop some up with some celery, grapes, nuts, an apple and some light mayo for salad the second night, chopped up on a tortilla with some salsa another night. I also keep containers of chopped onions, green peppers, celery, carrots, and lettuce in the frige at all times so I can make a quick salad at any time or throw chopped onions and peppers in whatever I'm cooking. If I'm going to chop or cook, why not do enough for 3 or so days at one time?
  • stevemcknight
    stevemcknight Posts: 647 Member
    Throw some Tilapia in a pan with a tsp of olive oil and some salt free seasoning, cook for about 3 minutes per side and eat with a salad. I also cook a huge pot of brown rice on Sunday and just eat 1/2 cup reheated with my dinners usually, having it done makes my meals take about 8 minutes from fridge to plate :o)
    Gonna try this ^^^

    Also, one I do if you have meat already thawed. Tear up chicken breast or lean strip steak & throw it in a skillet with whatever veggies are on hand (broccoli, peppers, squash, onion, etc.). Add a little terriyaki sauce + pepper to taste. I can do it in under 15 minutes & quite healthy.

    This is very close to every one of my meals. A ton of meat (any kind) in a skillet with a ton of veggies and eat it. Just don't eat anything that comes in a box.
  • ka_42
    ka_42 Posts: 720 Member
    My 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook from Cooking Light has been a life-saver countless times! It provides a grocery list, nutritional info, complete meal ideas (sides and veggies to go with the main course), and hardly any of the meals take longer than 20 minutes from the time you start cooking to the time you set it on the table.

    Sounds awesome! I just bought this on amazon.com for 5$ including shipping.
  • Losingitin2011
    Losingitin2011 Posts: 572 Member
    I use the slow cooker a lot to make meals in advance. You can freeze them, then just take them out as you need them. Fish is also one of my faaaaaavorites. I avoid the TV dinners unless I am just feeling rotten from fibro and need to eat but don't have the umph to actually cook, or I'm too spacy, mostly because of the sodium, but I keep some in my freezer for those days anyway.
  • MontanaB
    MontanaB Posts: 439 Member
    some super ideas here.. going to buy me some tubs when my student bursary comes through and then start doing all my veg and rice and stuff on the same day.. would really cut the time i spend in the kitchen in half!

    my fave meal at the moment is onions, peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes all chopped up and fried/softened before being mixed together with 75gs cooked couscous.. I love it! takes maybe 15mins to cook depending on how much you want the pepper to cook and if you can do the two at the same time (soften the veg and put the couscous in a bowl with water - i still cant!)
  • AmyNVegas
    AmyNVegas Posts: 2,215 Member
    I cook several dishes on Sunday then mix and match during the week for lunch and dinner. All of my meals take less than 30 minutes start to finish most of the time. Ground meats cut down on cooking time one of my favorites is ground chicken with veggies (celery, zucchini, and onion) seasoned with taco seasoning and Mrs. Dash chili lime. I portion out all the dishes I make into plastic bowls for reheating and hit the easy button each day when I get home just microwave and I'm ready to eat in less than 5 minutes. Takes me about 2 hours or less to prep and cook 3-4 dishes and they are already in portions and measured so easy to put in my food diary too after I add the recipe to my recipes.
  • kathyhull
    kathyhull Posts: 327 Member
    my fave meal at the moment is onions, peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes all chopped up and fried/softened before being mixed together with 75gs cooked couscous.. I love it! takes maybe 15mins to cook depending on how much you want the pepper to cook and if you can do the two at the same time (soften the veg and put the couscous in a bowl with water - i still cant!)

    Sounds good and easy.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories