Tag: quick and healthy

Meeting your nutrition goals can be much easier by preparing your meals ahead of time. This will help you save time in figuring out what you want to eat during the week and also decrease the chances of mindless eating. Plan for the week with these weekly meal ideas.

Menu Breakdown

Breakfast Recipe One: Cheesy Sweet Potato Egg Frittata

Egg Frittatas are a great way to pack in your vegetables and protein right at the start of the day. For this recipe, we sliced up sweet potatoes and scrambled some eggs. We added cheese for yummy gooeyness and chives for an earthy and savory flavor. This is definitely a nourishing and satisfying meal to keep you feeling full until lunch. 

Breakfast Recipe Two: Pineapple Carrot Muffin Bar

If you’re looking for a great carrot muffin recipe, this is a great option. We made it with crushed pineapple and grated carrots. You can have it for breakfast or a snack. It’s a good way of getting your veggies and fruit in one bite. Enjoy it with your cup of coffee in the morning. 

Lunch Recipe One: Shrimp Salad with Peanut Dressing

This fresh salad is made with juicy, sauteed shrimp seasoned with honey, garlic, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Serve it with an easy homemade peanut dressing. We used shrimp for this recipe since it is quick to cook, however, you can easily make this with diced chicken or even garbanzo beans or edamame for a vegetarian option. 

Lunch Recipe Two: Sweet Potato BLT and Salad

BLT is an iconic lunch sandwich, however, we upgraded our typical toast with nutritious and crunchy sweet potato slices. This takes the classic BLT and gives it a fresh and healthy new twist. 

Dinner Recipe One: Instant Pot Pineapple Beef Teriyaki

This super easy one-pot meal takes onions, bell peppers, garlic, and ginger and provides great flavor to beef chunks in a sweet soy sauce. Throw it in the instant pot, let the meat get tender, and you have a delicious meal that your family meal will enjoy.

Dinner Recipe Two: Pan-Fried Pork Chops with Red Cabbage

 This easy sauteed red cabbage makes an excellent side dish to seared pan-fried pork chops. The cabbage is seasoned with a balsamic vinaigrette, while the pork chop is lightly breaded with seasoned flour to get you a nice and crispy golden brown texture. 

If you enjoyed these meal ideas, try some of our free recipes:

• Pan-Fried Pork Chops with Rutabaga and Spinach
• Pineapple Chicken Stir Fry

Having ready to eat meals stored in your fridge for the busy week ahead will help reduce stress, save money, and help you eat healthy whole foods. If you don’t know where to start, here are some meal ideas to help you get started.

Menu Breakdown

Breakfast Recipe One: Breakfast Pizza

Pizza is a dish that we can enjoy any time of the day. And throwing an egg on top makes it even more exciting. For this recipe, we used naan bread.  Using naan bread skips the many steps of making your own dough and they are personal size and can get crunchy when baked. For the toppings, we used tomato paste and bright colored bell peppers and onions. However, you can make breakfast pizza in many different ways and pack them with healthy and delicious ingredients such as spinach, tomatoes, shredded cheese, and other sauce such as pesto. 

Breakfast Recipe Two: Chia Pudding with Mixed Berries

Chia pudding is such a great healthy breakfast that you can prep in advance for the week. It is creamy and loaded with protein, fiber, and omega 3s. Chia seeds are tiny seeds that are packed with so much nutrition and health benefits. They are mild in flavor and form a gel-like consistency when combined with a liquid. For this recipe, we used almond milk and sweetened it with honey, and topped it off with mixed berries. 

Lunch Recipe One: Taco Stuffed Acorn Squash

If you’re trying to stay on track and eat healthy meals but still want to enjoy your favorite flavors, then this taco stuffed acorn squash is a delicious combo of savory and sweet. The sweet acorn squash balances out well with the taco meat seasonings such as chili powder and paprika. Acorn squash is a comforting and hearty vegetable that is a lower-carb and gluten-free alternative to your flour tortillas that you may normally eat with taco meat. Just add your favorite toppings such as pico de gallo or fresh salsa.

Lunch Recipe Two: BBQ Chicken Flatbread Sandwich

This southern-style flatbread sandwich is filled with shredded and moist chicken smothered in sweet and spicy barbecue sauce. The sweet and smoky flavors make this an easy sandwich to enjoy during a weekday lunch. Top it off with any fresh vegetables you have in your fridge and enjoy it with a cool and crisp side salad.

Dinner Recipe One: Shrimp and Cabbage Stir Fry

If you’re looking for a low carb meal that you can throw together in less than 10 minutes, then this shrimp and cabbage stir fry are perfect for a weeknight meal. Cabbage is often overlooked and underrated, but it is packed with nutrients, helps with digestion, and keeps you full. It has lovely Asian flavors made from garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil. 

Dinner Recipe Two: Instant Pot Shredded BBQ Chicken with Roasted Broccoli and Corn

This Instant Pot BBQ Chicken recipe makes easy pulled chicken in the pressure cooker in less than 40 minutes with minimal prep. It is a quick dinner that you can make in large batches for busy days. It is a versatile recipe that you can serve up in a bun, on top of a salad or a baked potato, and even alongside roasted veggies.

If you enjoyed these meal ideas, try some of our free recipes:

• Scrambled Eggs with Sausage and Kale
• Beef Stir Fry with Pears and Vegetables

After a week of holiday meals, we are cleansing our palates with some citrus-flavored dishes. We could probably use a burst of freshness after all the comfort meals that we enjoyed last week! Citrus flavors have a unifying quality and bring crisp and refreshing flavors to meals. The best part is that they blend well with many different flavors and cuisines. Citrus fruits are also rich in multiple nutrients like vitamin C which help boost your immune system. We are bringing some zest to this season with a variety of simple recipes. 

Menu Breakdown

Breakfast Recipe One: Scrambled Eggs with Pork Carnitas and Pico de Gallo

Anytime we make a batch of pork carnitas, it’s always a good idea to set aside extra carnitas for breakfast. Eating the chewy shredded carnitas with soft scrambled eggs and fresh pico de gallo for breakfast is so satisfying. You can easily serve this meal between warm tortillas or even with a side of beans. If you have any extra veggies, such as bell peppers and potatoes, throw those in a skillet and serve them all together. You can also prepare your eggs soft and runny instead of scrambled eggs. Other toppings that will go well with this dish are fresh avocado, salsa, and cheese.

Breakfast Recipe Two: Cranberry Orange Oat Muffin Bars

These tasty muffins are healthy and aren’t overly sweet with tangy pops of cranberries infused with citrus orange flavors. These muffins have oats that are 100% whole grain which digests slowly giving you energy throughout the morning. If you make a large batch, you can freeze these and thaw them out for later when you are in the mood for muffins. You can always pop them in the microwave and warm them quickly. They are also portable and make for a healthy on the go snack. 

Lunch Recipe One: Grilled Ginger Lime Chicken Salad with Mango Salsa

This ginger cilantro lime chicken is so simple to make. While the citrus-marinated chicken can stand on its own, we decided to pack it with more flavor with delicious mango salsa. The sweetness of the mango pairs perfectly with the tangy lime flavors and also the fresh herbs with the cilantro. We serve this with a bed of spring mix, but you can also serve this over cilantro rice or quinoa for an amazing meal. 

Lunch Recipe Two: Grilled Orange Chili Steak with Orange Salsa

Flank steak is known for its hearty, beefy flavor. We marinated the steak with a citrus marinade and chili rub and topped it off with a flavorful orange salsa. We recommend using clementine segments since they are easier to peel and tend to be more juicy, sweet, and less acidic than other oranges. You can also serve the steak pieces in tortillas or on top of a bed of rice pilaf. You can easily turn this meal into a taco salad with extra veggies such as bell peppers, cucumbers, corn, and black beans. 

Dinner Recipe One: Pork Carnitas Tostadas

This is one meaty, rich, and savory dish with a burst of tangy flavors from the fresh limes and oranges. It’s so moist and tender and goes well on top of a crispy golden tostada. Once you shred the pork carnitas, you can also lay it flat across a sheet pan and put it under the broiler to crisp it up for extra flavor and texture. You can prep the pork the night before to get ahead. Feel free to customize these tostadas with your own toppings. If you’re looking for heat, you can add fresh jalapenos. Add acidic flavors by adding pickled red onions. We served this with a side salad, but you can also serve it with your favorite veggies or coleslaw. If you have extras or leftovers, you can save them for sandwiches. 

Dinner Recipe Two: Air Fryer Orange Soy Glazed Chicken with Roasted Broccoli

When you think of air fryers you typically think of air fryer french fries or air fryer chicken strips and recipes that we normally throw in a deep fry. However, the air fryer does so much more. We marinated our chicken thighs with an Asian inspired citrus soy glaze marinade. The chicken thighs come out so juicy on the inside with the perfect crisp on the outside. They are perfect with a side of veggies or steamed rice. When you’re in a pinch for time, this is a healthier version of takeout with no deep frying and no added sugar and it can be made in just 20 minutes.

Meal Planning and Preparation Tips

• For this meal plan, we incorporated ingredients that overlapped throughout the meals. Therefore, we decided to use citrus ingredients such as lime and orange to be the shining star for flavors since they go well with many different cuisines. 
• We also incorporated recipes that use the same meal preparation. For example, we used the prep technique of marinating our protein for our lunch salads. Then, we cooked them first on the grill pan to add a crispy char flavor, followed by transferring it to a sheet pan to finish cooking in the oven.
• We also took advantage of two appliances (the Instant pot and Air Fryer) for two recipes. These appliances allow for low maintenance cooking so that that we can focus on other things in the kitchen.
• For meal appeal, we topped things off with fresh pico de gallo versions with added fruit such as mango and fresh oranges throughout our meals.

If you enjoyed these recipes, try some of our free recipes:

• Air Fryer Chicken Kebabs
• Asian Beef Salad

• Air Fryer Chicken Kebabs
• Asian Beef Salad

The holidays are always a crazy time of year, and it always seems like we are short on time and money. So this week we are keeping meal prep simple and keeping it stress free, especially since we are probably overwhelmed with what we are already going to make for the holiday meals. To save time and money, we used pantry friendly ingredients that we already have on hand. We also incorporated seasonal ingredients that we will be using in our classic thanksgiving meals such as cranberries, pecans, and green beans. 

Menu Breakdown

Breakfast Recipe: French Toast Muffins with Strawberries

French toast is such a classic breakfast and easy since you can use things that you already have in your pantry. For this week, we decided to change it up and make it into muffins. After all, who doesn’t love french toast or muffins? With this recipe, we get the best of both worlds in bite-size form. The great thing about this recipe is that you can use any choice of bread, even gluten-free options. All you need is eggs, milk, and your choice of sweetener. If you want to keep this dairy-free, you can also use coconut milk. This is definitely a great recipe for holiday mornings that are quick, delicious, and fun for the whole family. Serve it with your choice of fruit and top it off with pecans or your choice of nuts.

Lunch Recipe: Cranberry Pear Chicken Salad

This recipe is a classic traditional mayo chicken salad with a holiday twist using seasonal ingredients loaded with the best seasonal flavors such as pears, cranberries, and pecans. Chicken salad is a staple in our weekly meal prep because you can easily use it as a salad topper, make a sandwich with it, or have it as a snack with crackers. This is a great light lunch option with seasonal flavors that you can enjoy right before the heavy Thanksgiving meals.

Dinner Recipe: Meatloaf Patties & Roasted Green Beans

While a classic meatloaf is baked in a loaf pan oven, we opted for hamburger patties and baked them flat on a sheet pan which took less time than traditional meatloaf. This method is a huge time saver, but you still get the classic flavors of meatloaf that we enjoy. You can serve these with your choice of sides. This week we kept it simple with roasted green beans. If you have leftovers, you can also enjoy these in-between toasted bread or hamburger buns. 

Leftover Suggestions

• If you have leftover cranberries, you can use the rest for cranberry sauce or make a cranberry vinaigrette for salads. 
• Since you are already purchasing green beans, go ahead and buy a large batch and prepare the green bean casserole which is a traditional Thanksgiving side dish.

This week can be a bit hectic with cooking, so if you need some ideas for holiday meals, be sure to check out our Easy Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas.