Favorite QUICK go to meals? (20 min or less)

Options
fallingwave
fallingwave Posts: 108 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Single mom. Trying to fit work, gym, time with my kiddo and healthy food into each day... Looking for ideas on your quick go to healthy meals.

Tonight I roasted some asparagus and Turkey kielbasa. Simple, doesn't need tending too. Looking for low carb with high protein and veggies. Fast clean up is a definite plus
«134

Replies

  • kzzr
    kzzr Posts: 53 Member
    Options
    Classic Meat and Three Veg

    Meat: Either reheat left over roast meat (I cook lamb every Sunday in the slow cooker and freeze left overs in batches with meat juice, I also buy a couple of rotisserie chicken, break them up and freeze) or oven cook lean meat, can marinate meat with lemon juice and herb mix if you have time.
    Quick veg: In a high sided pan I saute a little onion, very thinly sliced carrot (about 1/2 a carrot if large, can use red capsicum instead if you prefer) and chuck in a couple of bunches of broccolini, add butter and put on lid and let cook on low to your liking. Tip - You can pre-cut the onion and carrot on the weekend and put in a ziplock bag, and the broccolini doesn't need chopping.
    Takes about 15mins, 2 pans total if you cook meat.

    On the weekend, I also puree a full head of steamed cauliflower (it's my version of mash potato) with 20-30g of butter and a tablespoon of parmesan cheese, S&P, and reheat it on other nights so I only have to organise the protein.

    Also what ever I cook, I try and cook enough to at least freeze one or two left overs meals for nights when I'm tired, on those nights I used to order take out, but now I reach for my own 'frozen meals', and everyone gets to choose what they want.

    My Saturday is pretty much taken up with doing the shopping and cooking/prepping meals. I'm in the same boat, work/gym/family, it's such a juggle. I get the family to help with the preparation and shopping, the kids love getting to choose their own fruits and veg for their lunch boxes. Preparation is everything, it makes weekends busy, but helps you to succeed on the weekdays.

    Good luck
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Options
    Omelettes/frittata

    Cook mixed vegies - good for using odds and ends from the fridge - chuck over some whisked up eggs, a bit of cheese... Voila, a meal! Serve with salad to bulk it up a bit more...
  • Maio44
    Maio44 Posts: 15 Member
    Options
    Steamed fish. Takes about 8 mins depending on size of fillet. While it steams, fry fresh ginger till crunchy. Serve fish with ginger on top and a teriyaki sauce....about a tablespoon. Low cal, filling and tastes amazing with an Asian stir fry or salad.
  • dfwesq
    dfwesq Posts: 592 Member
    edited April 2017
    Options
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    Omelettes/frittata

    Cook mixed vegies - good for using odds and ends from the fridge - chuck over some whisked up eggs, a bit of cheese... Voila, a meal! Serve with salad to bulk it up a bit more...

    Just what I was about to post! :) Saute some vegetables, then add beaten eggs and cook over low heat - no need to stir. My go-to vegetables are mushrooms and onions. A little grated parmesan cheese is a good addition if you want a cheesy flavor but fewer calories.

    Btw, sauteed onions closely mimic the texture of eggs, so you can add a lot of them without noticing much. Using a lot of onions instead of extra eggs is an easy and healthy way to bulk up your meal without adding many calories.

    Along the same lines as a frittata are tomato scrambled eggs. Here's a very basic and easy recipe I tried out - it was surprisingly good.
    https://goodandcheap.website/breakfast/tomato-scrambled-eggs/steps
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Options
    dfwesq wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    Omelettes/frittata

    Cook mixed vegies - good for using odds and ends from the fridge - chuck over some whisked up eggs, a bit of cheese... Voila, a meal! Serve with salad to bulk it up a bit more...

    Just what I was about to post! :) Saute some vegetables, then add beaten eggs and cook over low heat - no need to stir. My go-to vegetables are mushrooms and onions. A little grated parmesan cheese is a good addition if you want a cheesy flavor but fewer calories.

    Btw, sauteed onions closely mimic the texture of eggs, so you can add a lot of them without noticing much. Using a lot of onions instead of extra eggs is an easy and healthy way to bulk up your meal without adding many calories.

    I generally use a combo of 1-2 whole eggs with extra whites to bump up protein without the fat calories.
  • JaxxieKat
    JaxxieKat Posts: 427 Member
    edited April 2017
    Options
    I make a super quick curry. The rice cooks while you make the veggies and sauce. I use a bag of the steam in the bag veggies (usually broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower), 1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed, 1 can of full fat coconut milk, 3tbsp of curry paste, 1/2 of an onion, chopped, 1tbsp soy sauce, garlic powder, pepper, and a pinch of cumin. Microwave the veggies, sautee the onions, dump in the rest of the ingredients. When the veggies are done just throw them in the pan and mix everything together. Spoon that over the rice. You can also add some precooked diced chicken pieces, but I'm vegan so I keep it meatless. This recipe makes enough for me to eat lunch for 4 days, and it's really hearty.
  • JEE2015
    JEE2015 Posts: 146 Member
    Options
    Egg White, spinach, mushroom, sun dried tomato & bacon bits omelette.
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,765 Member
    Options
    1 x packet 2 minute noodles
    1 x pre-weighed baggie of frozen cooked chicken (I buy a roast chicken and then rip it up into baggies, write the weight on the front in permanent marker, and stash them in the freezer)
    1 x packet of microwave steam veggies

    I call this my 5-minute lunch. Noodles in pot to boil, chicken 2min in microwave, and then the veggies. Throw in bowl, mix up a bit, and chow down. Delish.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Options
    This isn't low carb, but it's my go-to to satisfy my hunger when very busy with less than a minute of prep time:

    Instant noodles with a can of tuna or cocktail franks and sometimes canned shiitake mixed in. Not the best foodie choice (I'm not a picky foodie anyway), but incredibly satisfying to me with a good balance of starch and protein. I'll often have a tomato on the side as well (I eat them like apples).
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    Options
    The trick to quick meals is to prep your ingredients in advance. A read a book a few years ago called "Consider The Fork" about the evolution of cooking. It turns out that Chinese food evolved to be small morsels of food because it would cook faster, therefore saving cooking oil, which was a scare resource. I adopted the concept myself and it gives you nearly endless possibility!. Take whatever protein you have (chicken, beef, pork, etc), cut it up into inch-ish size cubes; cut up your veggies to the same size (you can do this as soon as you get home from the grocery to save time of busy nights) and cook everything in the same pan with whatever your choice of seasonings is. Cook from "toughest" veggie (carrots, potatoes, etc) to tender (peas) and add the protein at least 4 minutes out for chicken or pork, 2-3 for beef (depending on how done you like it), and 2 for shrimp or shellfish). Start to finish, you'll have dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes.
  • RedheadedPrincess14
    RedheadedPrincess14 Posts: 415 Member
    Options
    Mashed potatoes with steamed veggies or rice and beans with veg :)
  • aquaticneko
    aquaticneko Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    DamieBird wrote: »
    The trick to quick meals is to prep your ingredients in advance. A read a book a few years ago called "Consider The Fork" about the evolution of cooking. It turns out that Chinese food evolved to be small morsels of food because it would cook faster, therefore saving cooking oil, which was a scare resource. I adopted the concept myself and it gives you nearly endless possibility!. Take whatever protein you have (chicken, beef, pork, etc), cut it up into inch-ish size cubes; cut up your veggies to the same size (you can do this as soon as you get home from the grocery to save time of busy nights) and cook everything in the same pan with whatever your choice of seasonings is. Cook from "toughest" veggie (carrots, potatoes, etc) to tender (peas) and add the protein at least 4 minutes out for chicken or pork, 2-3 for beef (depending on how done you like it), and 2 for shrimp or shellfish). Start to finish, you'll have dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes.

    This. I do this all the time. My prep the night before is usually to season small strips of chicken the night before with oyster sauce and cornstarch. You can of course add other things in if you want. My other preps are to prechop vegetables and blanch whatever ones I plan to use in my next meal. This allows me to preplan my meals and enter them in mfp. Then the next morning I simply stir fry my chicken and add my veggies in. I love to use konjac noodles and the ones I get come pre packed and cooked.
  • HGarcia1527
    HGarcia1527 Posts: 69 Member
    Options
    Fresh salmon and veggies. Use any seasoning you prefer and bake in the oven at 450 for 20 minutes. Easy, quick prep, quick cook and delicious
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    edited April 2017
    Options
    Meat of choice in the crock pot during the day.

    When we get home, some quick rice, black beans and a veggie - Rice bowls!

    My bowl has a lot less rice than hubby's and son's. ;)
  • cmjlavallee
    cmjlavallee Posts: 28 Member
    Options
    I love spiraled zucchini, squash, etc. (zoodles) or riced cauliflower so I'll often saute one of those add some turkey sausage, or chicken and some fresh salsa or Sharwoods Indian cooking sauces and done in 5 minutes. My local stores offer zoodles and the cauliflower pre-cut. Easy peasy!

Categories