Simple dinner ideas?

Lately wholegrain rice and wholegrain porridge have been the main staples of my diet.

I make porridge with water and in the microwave, then add cinnamon and a chopped banana. It's healthy, nutritious, and very filling.

Wholegrain rice is always a cheap, quick, healthy, and filling option. It takes ten minutes to boil and can be eaten with most anything. Mushrooms, bell peppers, green onions, turkey, beans, chick peas, and any variety of herbs and spices go perfectly with it. I just boil it, drain most of the water, then toss everything in the pot for a few minutes to let it heat up and evaporate off the remaining water. Makes a filling and tasty meal and takes no more than 15-20 minutes from start to finish. I also add herbs and spices to the water before boiling to add more flavour.

If you find that boring or monotonous you could always mix it up. You can change the fruit, protein, or spices to make the dishes more interesting and add new flavour, although I don't really mind eating the same thing over again as long as it's good and filling.

I make quesadillas with whole grain tortillas. I get refried beans (vegetarian variety is fat-free, tasty and healthy) and mix some taco seasoning and/or salsa. Spread on half the tortilla, sprinkle a little cheese and then fold over and spread a little butter or use the olive oil cooking spray on the outside of the tortilla and then "fry" in a pan to crisp up. Easy peasy and you get a little dairy, a lot of protein and whole grains. You can add other stuff, based on what you have leftover in the fridge.

Chicken breast and broccoli - toss in olive oil and a bunch of spices - put on tinfoil on a baking pan and broil for 10-12 minutes - turn the chicken halfway through. So yummy the broccoli comes out crispy mmmm such a treat if you need a carb throw a little Italian bread with garlic and olive oil for the last 3 or so minutes, or chop up some potatoes real small and add to the broccoli. Dinner ready in under 20 minutes, and toss the tinfoil so no cleanup!

If you don't like to cook, the steam in the bag microwave Uncle Ben's type ready rice is super easy. Pair with frozen microwaveable grilled chicken strips and a veggie or salad. Baked potatoes and sweet potatoes in the oven aren't hard, brush with a bit of oil (about 1 tsp per potato) and bake at 350 until soft through. You may have to test with fork or knife because depending on size they take 60 - 90 minutes. I usually eat half a potato with some meat and veggies or salad. On white potatoes, sprinkling something like Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb seasoning on the outside makes it taste great if you like to eat the potato skins. On sweet potatoes, a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg blended with the oil is good. You can still add a bit of butter, sour cream, ketchup whatever you like on your potatoes as long as you count it! And my go to meal is whole grain pasta (spaghetti, rotini, penne - whatever) with spaghetti or marinara sauce and steamed veggies like yellow squash, onions, and broccoli mixed in. You can add a bit of lean ground beef if you like or eat it meatless. Add parmesan, too, if you want - a little cheese won't hurt you and adds calcium. You can find a microwave steamer pot that makes steaming veggies fast - done in 3 1/2 - 4 minutes - if you don't want to steam them in a metal steamer basket type pot on stovetop or have a specialty steamer.

Turkey burgers. I buy ground turkey when it's on sale and make up my own. Buffalo, italian southwestern, greek...whatever flavors you like. The secret to keeping them moist (turkey burgers tend to be dry) is adding lots of finely chopped veggies to them. I freeze them and then pop them into individual bags. They cook in about 8-10 minutes from frozen on the george foreman grill and since you can change up the flavors you don't tend to get bored with them.

Depends on what you like & how many calories you allot for dinner.
And if you can spend an hour or so some evening or on a weekend doing prep work, you can pull the ingredients
from the fridge, warm them up (or cook them, saute or steam).

Sometimes I'll have a cup of greek yogurt with a cup or 2 of fruit, maybe add a T of honey & some dry oatmeal.

Tonight I'm planning a fairly large lunch/dinner - pasta w/ LOTS of veggies, plus an entire package (12oz) of surimi
(fake crab). It's easy to make pasta (boil water, set a timer), easy to chop & saute veggies. Doesn't take much time.

Couscous is a very fast grain, esp. the small variety. Boil water, dump in the grain, turn off the heat, let it sit 5 min.
To flavor the couscous, put spices in the water. Meanwhile, nuke or saute some veggies & chop a chicken breast
that you pre-cooked in a big batch one evening (or weekend day, or in a slow-cooker while you were at work).
The chicken can be tossed with the veggies to re-warm it. You can have it in separate piles, or mix them all
together in a big bowl.

Nuking or pan-grilling fish is fast. Steam some fresh veggies on the other burner, do some couscous or re-warm
some brown rice you cooked another night (or again, in a larger batch on the weekend).

A stir-fry doesn't take much time, most of it in chopping the veggies. Add chicken, shrimp, tofu for protein.
The veggie prep can be done on the weekend while you're waiting for the rice to cook or chicken to poach.


And here's a really good site for tasty recipes. Can't go wrong with Taste of Home.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/cooking-style/quick-recipes


Some other possibilities:
http://www.bhg.com/recipes/quick-easy/dinners-30-minutes-less/
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/menus_meal_plans/five_fast_prep_dinners_for_busy_nights
http://www.theleangreenbean.com/weekend-prep-for-easy-weekday-meals/
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/quick-easy/make-ahead-meals-0

may I suggest https://tendaymeals.com

felicianicolemfp wrote: »

im honestly not the best cook and dinner has been difficult for me lately. Something quick and filling is what I'm looking for that is healthy! Any ideas? Thanks!

A quick and filling meal that I've made is an avocado filled with black beans and 2 balsamic seasoned good size pieces of chicken on the side. If they are sasoned well it taste great!