Healthy Quick Meals

One big challenge for some of us is cooking dinner after a long day, especially if we haven't planned ahead. Here are some tips for preparing ahead for meals, along with some quick and healthy recipes.

Plan ahead:

• Plan your meals, including lunch and dinner, for the week ahead and do your grocery shopping on Saturday or Sunday. To save money, plan your meals around sale items.
  
• Cook enough for extra meals over the weekend for the week ahead. Cook a big pot of chili or soup for leftovers. Freeze the leftovers that you won't use within 2-3 days.
• If you don't like leftovers, just cook extra meat and use it in different dishes over the week. Make extra chicken and use it for salads, sandwiches, or other meals.
  
• Use a crockpot. You can prepare the ingredients the night before then cover and refrigerate. Before work in the morning, put the crock out at room temperature for a little bit and then heat on low to be ready for dinner when you get home. Use your choice of meat and veggies.
  
• Keep a few items that can be pulled together for a quick meal on hand.
  

Quick and healthy recipes:

Tuna with veggie salad
Ingredients:
Raw spinach or other leafy greens (Romaine, etc)
1 can or packet of tuna packed in water (drained)
Other veggies (tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, etc)
Your choice of beans or lentils
Olive oil and vinegar

Mix ingredients for a tasty and quick salad. You can use a tiny bit of mayo or some mustard to flavor the tuna if plain tuna is too boring. You could also use 1 can of cooked chicken (drained) but tuna gives us healthy omega-3s.

Corn and black beans
Ingredients:
1 package of frozen microwavable corn or 1 can of corn
1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
Salsa
Optional: Plain unsweetened low-fat or fat free Greek yogurt (to be used instead of sour cream)
Optional: Low-fat or fat-free shredded cheese

Heat the corn in microwave, according to directions. Mix ingredients. Can be served as a main dish with added chicken or other meat, or served as a side dish. This is a very versatile dish so you can change the amount of ingredients or add other seasonings.

Veggie and cheese stuffed baked potato (from Lickety-Split Meals)
Ingredients:
1 baking potato
1 cup frozen California blend frozen veggies
Low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
Optional: fat-free or low-fat unsweetened Greek yogurt (in place of sour cream)
Pepper

Wash and scrub potato. Pierce a few times with a fork and cook 4-5 minutes, longer for a bigger potato. Cook frozen vegetables according to directions, up to 6-8 minutes until done. Add veggies to baked potato, top with cheese and cook in microwave for one more minute. You could also add meat that was cooked earlier in the week.

Quick nachos, quesadilla, or burrito
Ingredients:
Tortilla chips, flour tortillas, or whole-wheat tortillas
Low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
Fat-free canned refried beans, black beans, pinto beans, or your choice of canned beans (drained and rinsed if necessary)
Salsa
Other veggies (tomatoes, green peppers, etc)
Leftover chicken, steak, or other meat

Layer ingredients on chips or tortillas. Heat to melt cheese as appropriate.

English muffin pizza
Ingredients:
English muffins (100% whole wheat for added fiber)
Spaghetti or pizza sauce
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Veggies (spinach, green peppers, tomatoes, etc)

Spread sauce of English muffin, add cheese and veggies. Microwave or broil in oven until cheese is melted.

Planning ahead is the key to serving quick and healthy meals for you and your family. Scheduling your meals for the week and having ingredients on hand will save time and energy in the evenings.

For many more quick and healthy meals, look for the book "Lickety-Split Meals" by Zonya Foco, RD. I have a copy that I can loan to others to view.