Quickest, simplest, healthy meals (Page 2)

Vegetarian here.  Not only do I not enjoy cooking, but I really don't have time.  So I tend to eat a lot of snacks/mini meals and mostly just do "food prep" on the weekends.

carrot sticks and hummus

celery and peanut butter

peanut butter and jelly on a toasted whole wheat bagel

hard boiled egg (I actually steam them in batches of 5 and usually do this about once a week)

low fat string cheese and a fruit leather

apples and cheese cubes and 7 grain crackers

chips salsa avacado black beans. 1 avacado sliced finely. half a can of black beans, enough salsa to make it into a "dip" (roughly a half cup +) and enough chips to eat it with.  YUMM!

lowfat cottage cheese with a snack bowl of diced peaches, or mandarins (like for kids lunch boxes)

caprese salad: fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, fresh basil, ground black pepper, drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette....mmmmmm

Can of progresso minestrone soup microwaved and either a grilled cheese, or a slice of toast.

Cheese quesadilla with avacado and salsa (maybe sour cream if I have it on hand).

Penne pasta (1 lb)  with marinara, can of peas and small jar kalamata olives: makes 4-5 meals

This sounds great- making this!! and the Runners Rice!!

Something else I love to make is Quinoa with black beans- I usually double or triple this and make ahead and take for lunch all week. I even love it cold and my 3 boys who mock healthy eating love it too!!

Stir fry onion and garlic in a little olive oil, add to 1 1/2 c. broth, add 3/4 c. quinoa (rinsed), add 2 tsp. cumin, dash or two cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add 1 c. frozen corn & 1 can black beans. simmer 5 more minutes, remove from heat.

On the side ready to mix in to taste I have fresh cilantro, grape tomatoes cut in half, and choped avocado.

mmmmmmmm good!!

if you want to see a picture of what this looks like: pic.twitter.com/mEiKysRH

And if you want to know more about quinoa- a seed not a grain. also a  great course of protien

read this.

Turkey burger (cooked in frying pan with cooking spray) + sweet potato (stab with knife and microwave for 2-5  minutes depending on size of potato and size of microwave). Add condiments as you please..... Toss in a lettuce salad if you've got it in the fridge.

Scrambled eggs (with any number of add ins: ham, bacon, cheese, spinach, mushrooms...) + lettuce salad + piece of fruit

I tend to avoid bread...but a wheat bun for the turkey burger and/or a piece of toast with the eggs would be good additions, depending on your daily calorie intake.

Erin

^^ This...and I add in a spoonful of soy butter (peanut butter alternative)

Jambalaya takes a while, but you can make a ton of it at once and freeze it into single- or double-serving packages that thaw and heat in just a few minutes.

One of my favorite quick meals is pulled chicken BBQ in under 30 minutes

Bake, broil, grill or poach a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. While still hot, put it in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on low and slowly increase the speed. It takes about 45 seconds to adequately shred the meat. Turn the mixer back to low and dump in your favorite BBQ sauce (or fajita seasoning or teriyaki or honey and sriracha or or or) and mix until evenly coated.

Doing it in the slow cooker is much better as all the connective tissue has time to render, but this definitely works and it's quick. It goes nicely on a bun, on toast, in a wrap, or next to/on top of rice, pasta, or veggies. It'll keep for a few days in the fridge and freezes well.

LOVE sweet potatoes- I like to get the frozen sliced round ones and lightly fry in butter  heat in a frying pan, I try not to microwave much. Great blog- I subscribed.

kloofyroland - 2013-04-05 4:36 PM A signature Fatburger loaded with everything and add in bacon and a fried egg.

Yes! Although I'd probably only eat this if I had really cut back on fats and had a craving for it (unlikely I'm able to cut back that much fat, but it's probably delicious anyway). 

I snack on all kinds of different things, but cooking in bulk and saving leftovers in the fridge or freezer is the easiest thing for me. I apologize to the vegetarians out there for this, but having a chicken sandwich is my favorite snack. Cook several chicken breasts beforehand seasoned in various combinations (salt, pepper, garlic powder, creole and chili powder makes a tasty quesadilla) and being able to warm them up to snack on is great. I never feel really full with just eating carb heavy snacks so I have to go counter to a lot of the easy snack ideas so far. 

TL;DR Chicken sandwich for the win. 

One of my staples is to throw a rock hen and a sweet potato in a crockpot before work (with an optional beer thrown in).  Takes 2 min to prep, and my house smells ridiculously awesome when I get home.

Thanks so much! I saw your comments. :-) I LOVE sweet potatoes. I buy the whole ones and microwave as described...I also buy the pre-diced ones in the produce section of the store, then toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast the at high heat with some diced onions. SO. Good. 

I also tend to make a lot of healthy soup, and freeze it in individual containers for lunches. Chili, lentil soup, beef vegetable...so many options!

Erin